https://www.asiaone.com/entertainment/jack-neo-liang-po-po-returns-chinese-new-year-movie-2026
entertainment
Jack Neo announced he will be releasing a new Liang Po Po movie for Chinese New Year 2026.
PHOTO: Facebook/Jack Neo, screengrab/YouTube/JTV
PUBLISHED ONDecember 04, 2025 10:55 AMBYYeo Shu Hui
Local director Jack Neo has announced he will be releasing a new Liang Po Po movie for Chinese New Year 2026.
In a Facebook post yesterday (Dec 3), the 65-year-old comedian announced his new movie titled Liang Po Po: The Comeback, and wrote in the caption: "Okay, I kept mum for a long time because I wanted to give everyone a surprise. To old friends and fans, she is back after 24 years to meet everyone."
The movie synopsis has not been released at the time of writing, but after overwhelming support from netizens, Jack said in the comments section of his post that he will be releasing a teaser video today.
Liang Po Po (Granny Neo) is a comedic elderly woman created by Jack in the 90s for one of the segments in his immensely popular TV show Comedy Nite, where he cross-dressed and performed the character.
In an interview with YouTube podcast First Pot of Gold in July, Jack shared his inspiration for the 85-year-old came from a character named Yang Po Po (Granny Yang) from a Taiwanese variety show in the 90s.
He said: "Granny Yang's humour leaned towards the risque side. Not outright obscene, but definitely suggestive. In Singapore, we couldn't push boundaries like that... So I adjusted everything to suit our values, our local environment and our audiences' tastes and habits.
"We adapted it into a story about a lonely old woman. Her husband died during the Japanese Occupation. She has many children but none of them care about her, so she is a very lonely elderly woman. She wants to contribute to society, but she keeps getting ridiculed... That's the background we created for her."
He also shared that Liang Po Po came about as a "lucky opportunity" when he faced a bottleneck during Comedy Nite and was told to try playing her.
Jack said: "I kept putting it off. I said, 'Not me!' I really didn't want to do it... Then [the production team] said there was really nobody else [to play the character]. I asked them to get Moses Lim but they said he was too fat and they needed someone thinner... I told them I would just do one episode, and they agreed.
"But little did we know — and I can still remember — when I walked out from backstage, I hadn't even started yet, just the sight of Liang Po Po left the audience laughing. They just kept laughing non-stop. And I thought, 'Wow, this is insanely powerful. This is great.' No matter what I said or did, they kept laughing."
Liang Po Po's first movie was released in 1999, centering on the titular character running away from her retirement home in search of a new life, believing she can still contribute to society.
Along the way, she befriends hooligans Ah Beng (Mark Lee) and Ah Seng (Henry Thia). While they take advantage of her naivety to commit illegal acts at the beginning, their friendship soon turns into protection as they attempt to turn over a new leaf.
In recent years, Jack also appeared as Liang Po Po in commercials and entertainment programmes for seniors including Happy Can Already Season 4 (2018).
entertainment
Jack Neo's Liang Po Po returns to big screen for Chinese New Year 2026
Jack Neo announced he will be releasing a new Liang Po Po movie for Chinese New Year 2026.
PHOTO: Facebook/Jack Neo, screengrab/YouTube/JTV
PUBLISHED ONDecember 04, 2025 10:55 AMBYYeo Shu Hui
Local director Jack Neo has announced he will be releasing a new Liang Po Po movie for Chinese New Year 2026.
In a Facebook post yesterday (Dec 3), the 65-year-old comedian announced his new movie titled Liang Po Po: The Comeback, and wrote in the caption: "Okay, I kept mum for a long time because I wanted to give everyone a surprise. To old friends and fans, she is back after 24 years to meet everyone."
The movie synopsis has not been released at the time of writing, but after overwhelming support from netizens, Jack said in the comments section of his post that he will be releasing a teaser video today.
Liang Po Po (Granny Neo) is a comedic elderly woman created by Jack in the 90s for one of the segments in his immensely popular TV show Comedy Nite, where he cross-dressed and performed the character.
In an interview with YouTube podcast First Pot of Gold in July, Jack shared his inspiration for the 85-year-old came from a character named Yang Po Po (Granny Yang) from a Taiwanese variety show in the 90s.
He said: "Granny Yang's humour leaned towards the risque side. Not outright obscene, but definitely suggestive. In Singapore, we couldn't push boundaries like that... So I adjusted everything to suit our values, our local environment and our audiences' tastes and habits.
"We adapted it into a story about a lonely old woman. Her husband died during the Japanese Occupation. She has many children but none of them care about her, so she is a very lonely elderly woman. She wants to contribute to society, but she keeps getting ridiculed... That's the background we created for her."
He also shared that Liang Po Po came about as a "lucky opportunity" when he faced a bottleneck during Comedy Nite and was told to try playing her.
Jack said: "I kept putting it off. I said, 'Not me!' I really didn't want to do it... Then [the production team] said there was really nobody else [to play the character]. I asked them to get Moses Lim but they said he was too fat and they needed someone thinner... I told them I would just do one episode, and they agreed.
"But little did we know — and I can still remember — when I walked out from backstage, I hadn't even started yet, just the sight of Liang Po Po left the audience laughing. They just kept laughing non-stop. And I thought, 'Wow, this is insanely powerful. This is great.' No matter what I said or did, they kept laughing."
Liang Po Po's first movie was released in 1999, centering on the titular character running away from her retirement home in search of a new life, believing she can still contribute to society.
Along the way, she befriends hooligans Ah Beng (Mark Lee) and Ah Seng (Henry Thia). While they take advantage of her naivety to commit illegal acts at the beginning, their friendship soon turns into protection as they attempt to turn over a new leaf.
In recent years, Jack also appeared as Liang Po Po in commercials and entertainment programmes for seniors including Happy Can Already Season 4 (2018).
