A new television series about a legendary Chinese doctor will be aired later this year, but TVB said it was not inspired by the recent popularity of Korean dramas on doctors practising traditional medicine.
The Herbalist's Manual is a 20-episode drama based around the life of the Ming dynasty's Li Shizhen (1518 - 1593). One of the greatest Chinese medical doctors, he was called to serve the emperor but left shortly after to focus on furthering his medical knowledge.
His life's work is the massive Compendium of Materia Medica, a cornerstone of Chinese medicine and botany.
TVB's assistant controller external affairs Tsang Sing-ming said the series was shot last year before the station acquired the Korean hit series Jewel In The Palace - which set a record when its finale on Sunday drew more than 3 million viewers - and The Legendary Doctor - Hur Jun, which has been showing since Monday.
'Every summer we have this workshop discussing programme ideas for the coming year. The idea of making The Herbalist Manual came up last summer,' Mr Tsang said.
The series was shot locally from last September to early this year, and post-production is almost complete.
Mr Tsang said TVB often created dramas around a personality.