One Child, BBC2: four things you need to know about the China-set drama starring Harry Potter’s Katie Leung

Three-part drama explores Chinese culture through a fictional thriller plot
Emotional drama: One Child is the latest show in BBC Two's China season
BBC/Ed Miller
Ben Travis17 February 2016

The BBC have an impressive array of new dramas at the moment, with the continuation of Happy Valley and the launch of American Crime Story this week – and now it’s time to add One Child to the list.

Across three episodes, the miniseries explores various elements of Chinese culture and society through a thriller plot of mistaken identity and injustice.

Here are four things you need to know about the show.

1) It’s part of the BBC’s China season

As part of the Chinese New Year celebrations, BBC Two have been broadcasting a variety of programmes about the country’s culture and heritage – from One Child, to Rick Stein’s Taste of Shanghai, and documentaries about New Year traditions.

2) It stars Harry Potter actress Katie Leung

The lead actress in One Child will look familiar for anyone who watched the later Harry Potter films – Mei is played by Katie Leung, who took on the role of Harry’s on-off girlfriend Cho Chang.

This time she stars as a young woman in her early twenties, born in China but given up by her birth parents due to the ‘one child’ rule. Having grown up in Great Britain, Mei receives a call from her biological mother, revealing that she has an old brother back in China who’s been arrested for a murder he didn’t commit.

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3) It’s not just about the One Child Policy

While China’s population control policy marks a jumping-off point for the show, the three episodes also explore themes around corruption in China’s legal system, the application of the death penalty, and the disparity of wealth in the economically-booming country.

4) It has a fan favourite from Game of Thrones

While the show is predominantly set in China, Mei’s British adoptive father will be recognisable to Game of Thrones fans – it’s Donald Sumpter, who played Maester Luwin in HBO’s fantasy epic.

BBC Two, 9pm

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