The storyline, which circles around the biographical flashback of an extended Peranakan family in Malacca, is set in the s and spans to over 70 years and several generations of three families. It debuted on 25 November and concluded its run on 5 January It was shown on weekdays at 9 pm. The series was partly sponsored by the Media Development Authority of Singapore. Produced by MediaCorp in commemoration of the channel's 45th anniversary, The Little Nyonya is widely regarded as one of the greatest television series on Channel 8.
It has been acclaimed by viewers and critics, and ranked the highest viewership in the country in 14 years. The success of The Little Nyonya has led to the show being broadcast internationally. The series became the first ever Singaporean Chinese drama to be dubbed in Malay and aired on Malay-language channel Suria.
In December , the subscription-based streaming service Netflix acquired broadcasting rights for the series. Singapore aired the remake from 5 January until 10 March During a flashback to the past, Huang Ju Xiang is born into a large Peranakan family in Malacca where her mother is a mistress.
Not only is Ju Xiang kind and beautiful, she is also remarkable at all skills a Nyonya is expected to have. However, Ju Xiang is a deaf-mute due to a serious illness when she was young. Although she is the daughter of the respectable Huang family, Ju Xiang and her mother Tian Lan are treated as servants due to their illegitimate status, having no say in anything.
During a feast hosted by the Huang family, Ju Xiang catches the eyes of many men - Chen Sheng, the second son of the respectable Chen family, Charlie Zhang, a powerful and cunning businessman, and Yamamoto Yousuke, a Japanese photographer. Seeing his family's matriarch is also fond of Ju Xiang, Chen Sheng proposes to ask for Ju Xiang's hand in marriage but is ultimately turned down because of her disability. Ju Xiang is then forced to be Charlie's mistress by the Huang family in return for business gains.
