The never-ending revisions, all the endless preparations and ultimately, the fear of not knowing if you'll ever graduate from high school is just too stressful for some.
But that does make a good TV drama, doesn't it?
Focusing on the most stressful part of school
The 'Projek: Anchor SPM' is a teen-centred drama set in a fictitious boarding school called Tengku Isa Anuar School (STIA) located in Cameron Highlands.
The students at this school wear sweaters, play rugby and have school jerseys which they don with pride.
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While the whole look may be quite different from the usual sekolah menengah, the students there still face the same headache - scoring straight A's for SPM.
And that's the whole premise of the story.
Popular student and captain of the rugby team Aizat (Aedy Ashraf) keeps getting into trouble and is eventually given an ultimatum by his headmaster Awang (Adlin Aman Ramlie) to either score 8 As in his SPM or be expelled.
Pressured and pushed to a corner, Aizat comes up with a clever plan to get the school brainiac Aaidaa (Daiyan Trisha) to help him and the whole batch score by cheating during the exams.
Together with a host of colourful friends played by actors Sasha Abedul, Nadhir Nasar (Champion of Hero Remaja 2020) Chubb-E (Winner of Most Popular New Artist at the 33rd Anugerah Bintang Popular BH) and more, the students go through all sorts of challenges in an attempt to beat the system.
Also starring in the series are popular actors Hasnul Rahmat (Best Supporting Actor at the 30th Malaysian Film Festival), Tony Eusoff and Susan Lankester.
Malaysians approved!
When the show premiered on Astro Citra (Ch 108 HD/ Ch 128) on 15 March, it received a positive response from Malaysians.In fact, a lot of them took to their social media pages to tweet their approval for 'Projek: Anchor SPM'.
Those who watched the first episode lavished praises on the casts' acting, the treatment of the series as well as the plot:
Cerita ni from the trailer obviously mcm Bad Genius but the cinematography lawa gilaaaa and for malaysian drama its kinda cool, so im looking foward to this #ProjekAnchorSPM pic.twitter.com/E6xiYws8dF
— Minigi (@MrDumbbell012) March 15, 2021
We can see how #ProjekAnchorSPM is different from "Bad Genius" now. They weren't kidding about the "coming-of-age" part! Some viewers (like me) are having a big smile on our faces right now when the "coming-of-age" vibes are starting to kick in!
— silver (@sulkingskull) March 15, 2021
I don't know where to start, but #ProjekAnchorSPM is REALLY great so far! The cast members, their acting, the storyline, the cameraworks, the cinematography — EVERYTHING! AH! pic.twitter.com/HDnaF1ttdK
— silver (@sulkingskull) March 15, 2021
The cliffhanger is real. Not to mention that they are playing with our feelings now! This drama has all the perfect ingredients — my complaint would only be that it's only one episode per week! Looking forward to the next episodes! Can't wait! #ProjekAnchorSPM
— silver (@sulkingskull) March 15, 2021
we definitely need more high quality production like this, thumb up to team #ProjekAnchorSPM pic.twitter.com/ovEUBiFlkT
— ?Nadd is thinkin bout #써니 (@thinkinboutcuu) March 15, 2021
#ProjekAnchorSPM more than just a story about a bunch of kids trying to cheat on exam. Stories of the misfits trying to fit in, meeting parents' expectation, the burden of being the school 'role model', it's so refreshing to see this being discussed on local TV. Ep 1 & im hooked.
— nabil zamanhuri (@nabilzamanhuri) March 17, 2021
idk why but iloveee this drama #ProjekAnchorSPM , THE DRAMA IS PRETTY CANTIK CANTIK SUMPAH
— bae nana ♡ (@adrianahfzh) March 15, 2021
Done watching the 1st episode of #ProjekAnchorSPM Fresh storyline, beautiful cinematography, decent acting! I love the fact it used the year 2003 background instead of current year, also love how they played rugby instead of soccer as their common sport pic.twitter.com/hEwVT0WVL9
— ??? | Lovelyz Unforgettable ? (@babyzoul8) March 20, 2021
It’s nothing like the 7pm Malay drama. It’s fresh & resembles SBP. I love the cinematography. Go watch it on Astro On Demand! #ProjekAnchorSPM https://t.co/3BpaC6PDCU
— ?????? (@putrdan) March 18, 2021
You can catch the eight-episode series every Monday at 9pm om Astro Citra, or stream 'Projek: Anchor SPM' on Astro GO or On Demand.
You can also follow Astro Shaw’s social media pages for more updates.
