Stepping into Johor Bahru's Iskandar Studios, my colleague Chin Wee and I were immediately offered masks to protect our lungs from the "volcanic ash on set". Obviously, I was confused — what do you mean I need to protect my breathing on a set visit?

However, my confusion quickly dissipated once I walked into the film set, feeling chunks of black dirt give out beneath my feet, spotting foil pipes spewing ashy smoke behind ramshackle shophouses doused in dingy lights. It took me a while to register the chatter of actors and crew members in the midst of filming Mediacorp's new drama The Leftovers.

"The first time I saw this set, especially when I was wearing my outfit, I felt totally into my character. If you asked me to roll all over the place, I would," local actor Jeremy Chan told AsiaOne when we visited the cast on set in June.

"I'm quite an OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) person. So if you asked me to roll around like that, it's impossible, but the set makes it so real that I would be okay to do so. I really believe I'm staying in an underground city," added the 43-year-old.

The Leftovers is Mediacorp's first dystopian-crime drama series, set in the year 2037. The drama, which began filming in May and is expected to conclude in November, regales the aftermath of a volcanic eruption in Equaland that results in high rates of organ failure due to environmental pollution. Subsequently, organ transplantation becomes a necessity, giving rise to kidnappings and organ trafficking.

Jeremy plays Zhang San, a driver whose family members are in the triads. James Seah, 34, portrays Gao Shang, a policeman with a strong sense of justice whose mission is to stall the spread of the organ-trafficking syndicate. Zhu Zeliang, 28, portrays Jia Busi, the head of sales of a pharmaceutical company that produces lab-grown humans.

James felt similarly: "It's very rare to have the opportunity to be on a set like this. The realism of it definitely helps us actors get into character real quick because everything feels so real — I always get lost inside this set; I can't find an exit."

Yes 933 DJ-actor Zeliang also attested to the realism of the set: "I've got an itchy throat, the smoke's getting into my lungs... But I think it really helps to step on this ground — all the soil and dust makes you feel like you're really part of the scene, you know? You're blending in with the set — that's really fun."

James and Jeremy poked fun at the air quality: "You don't have to act. It's real — like you're breathless... It's called method acting."

When AsiaOne visited the set, it was the trio's first time there and we caught them rehearsing various fight scenes.

Jeremy rehearsed a fight sequence in a rundown alleyway alongside his onscreen partner Yunis To, while they clung onto a baby for dear life.

Jeremy shared: "Actually, it's not my fight. I'm just trying to help someone I love. But it ends up that in the first part, I beat up the guy. And then afterwards, I'm the one who gets beaten up."

James' role came in handy here, with his purpose being trying to stop the guy from beating up Zhang San.

They also shared that fighting on set was a rare opportunity that they looked forward to. Jeremy remarked: "You don't get to act and fight in this kind of environment very often at all. I think for the audience, it'll be very convincing. Because where can you find such a set?"

For Zeliang, he rehearsed his character's chase in snatching a baby, resulting in him getting stomped on in a big fight sequence with over 10 extras. He explained ambiguously: "I'm doing something else today — we're chasing after one of our high-value projects. The project is on the run, but I can't tell you what it is."

But for all the trials and tribulations their characters go through on screen, would the actors themselves be able to survive a volcanic eruption? The answer was a varying range of yeses.

Jeremy shared: "My survival instincts are quite good. Really. When I travel, I can always sense, 'Hey, that alley has danger!', 'Eh, where's the danger?' So whenever I assume there's danger or if something bad will happen if I chance upon it, I always have a plan B and C.

"I even told my wife (local actress Jesseca Liu) once, 'If there's any problem, just walk away and call the police. I'll stay here and drag the time out [until the coast is clear]."

James revealed that in his youth, he'd been a boy scout. He asserted: "So I think I have the survival skills and navigation skills to survive in the wild," which promptly earned him a jab from Jeremy, stating that in a volcanic eruption like the one in the show, he would be staying underground.

"Even if you stay underground you still need navigation skills! You need to know where's the place that sells pizza, where the food is, where the toilet is, where the water is," argued James.

With slight uncertainty, Zeliang shared his own take: "I would want to say that I would survive, like maybe I'm overconfident, but I know a little bit about survival skills. I know first-aid, I can bandage myself if I need to — provided I can find the right supplies. I could go on a scavenger hunt. Fingers crossed though, [this disaster] never happens to us."

The Leftovers also stars Li Nanxing, Jesseca Liu, Zhang Zetong and Desmond Tan. It has three seasons, with the first set to premiere in October 2026 on Mediacorp and Mewatch.

Watch our E-Junkies video for the interview!

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kristy.chua@asiaone.com

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