Main characters •
Ruco Chan as
Man-ho, the Eleventh Prince (十一貝勒旻皓), a
Manchu prince of the
Aisin Gioro family. He was the eleventh son of the
Jiaqing Emperor. Treated coldly by his father and unwelcomed by his older brothers, Man-ho often sneaked away from the palace to mingle with commoners. When the Canton naval fleet failed to take down Cheung Po Tsai and his pirates, Man-ho saw this as an opportunity to impress his father and led an expedition to the south, promising his father that he would eliminate the pirates from controlling the Canton port. • also as
Bowie, a wanted criminal mastermind from the 21st century and a descendant of Man-ho. The police and the media dubbed him as the modern-day "Bandit King." •
Tony Hung as
Cheung Po Tsai (張保仔), a Red Flag pirate. Cheung Po Tsai was the adopted son of pirate king Cheng Yat, who found him while he and his older brother were attempting to escape from a disaster. As a troublemaker, Cheung Po Tsai used creative ways to take down his enemies. After defeating an enemy ship, he succeeded his father as the lord of the seven seas, earning the name "Bandit King." His character is based on the real-life Chinese pirate,
Cheung Po Tsai. •
Grace Chan as
Wong Tai-mui (黃娣妹), a Cheung Chau police sergeant from the 21st century (of the year 2015). While chasing the criminal mastermind Bowie, Tai-mui got pulled into a time portal and travelled back in time to early 19th century Hong Kong, where she encountered Cheung Po Tsai and his crew of pirates. Using her knowledge of the future, she helped Cheung Po Tsai escape from Prince Man-ho's naval forces, but gets herself captured in the process. She was shocked when she sees Man-ho, who strongly resembles Bowie.
Supporting characters Pirates •
Maggie Shiu as
Shek Kiu (石嬌), a Red Flag pirate. She was the wife of pirate lord Cheng Yat and a close companion to Cheung Po Tsai. A natural-born leader, she assumed control of her husband's fleet after his death. She was bent on destroying the Qing army, who she believed murdered her husband. Her character is loosely based on the real-life female pirate
Ching Shih, who ruled the
South China Sea during the early 1800s. •
Ram Chiang as
Suen Sau-choi (孫秀才), Cheng Yat's right-hand man. He was educated and acted as Cheng Yat's strategist. • also as
Ip Hok-ming（葉學明） •
King Kong as
Lau Sing (劉星), a Red Flag pirate who grew up with English-speaking pirates. •
Tai Yiu-ming as
Shum Ho (沈蠔), a Red Flag pirate. He was one of Cheung Po Tsai's loyal followers. •
Law Lok-lam as
Cheng Yat (鄭一), lord of the Red Flag pirates and the husband of Shek Giu. His character is based on the real-life pirate captain,
Cheng I. •
Eric Li as
Wong Yi (黃義), a Black Flag pirate and Cheung Po Tsai's rival. • also as
Chu Yiu-kai（朱耀楷） •
Oceane Zhu as
Wu So-na (烏素娜), a pirate from a different country • also as
Kam Mei-kei（甘美琪）
Qing Imperial Court •
Lau Kong as the
Jiaqing Emperor (嘉慶帝), the seventh emperor of
Qing China. •
Susan Tse as
Imperial Consort Shun (淳皇贵妃), Man-ho's mother who had fallen out of favor with the emperor. • also as
Ip Wing-shan（葉詠珊） •
Elaine Yiu as
Imperial Consort Yim (炎貴妃), a Manchu royal from the
Plain Yellow Banner. The emperor's favorite concubine, Yim was the most powerful figure among the royal harem. Afraid that Man-ho would eventually gain the emperor's favor and strip her from power, she attempted to dispatch a spy to follow Man-ho in his expedition to the south. • also as
So Fung-nei（蘇鳳妮） •
Lee Shing-cheong as
Fok Yee-tai (霍爾泰), Consort Yim's uncle. Originally the admiral of Canton naval fleet, he got demoted from his rank after failing to capture the southern pirates. •
Otto Chan as
Siu-fu (小虎), Man-ho's assistant. He helped Man-ho fight the pirates and assists in overcoming obstacles put up by Fok Yee-tai. Became friends with Man-ho at underground fighting competition for money and the two became sworn brothers. •
Kelly Fu as
Ha-sim (夏禪), an imperial maid who serves Man-ho. Touched by her kindness and innocence, Lai Gung-gung arranged Ha-sim to accompany Man-ho in his expedition to the south. Ha-sim was extremely loyal to Man-ho and cared a great deal of his well-being. •
Katy Kung as
Tung-suet (冬雪), a palace maid who served Consort Yim. •
Elliot Ngok as
Lai Gung-gung (禮公公), an imperial eunuch who was the emperor's personal attendant. Lai was very loyal to Consort Shun, who he regarded as his saviour. Although Man-ho was unliked by the emperor, Lai remained supportive of him. • also as
Cheung Shing-mui（張勝妹）
Wong family •
Joel Chan as
Wong Yat-hin (黃逸軒), a risk-taking merchant and Tai-mui's ancestor. •
Mandy Wong as
Chu Suk-kwan (朱淑君), a prostitute and later Yat-hin's wife. •
Cilla Kung as
Wong Wing-yu (黄詠妤), Yat-hin's younger sister. • also as
Cheung Man-fung（張文鳳）
21st century Cheung Chau •
Claire Yiu as
Wong Tai-nui (黃娣女), Tai-mui's older sister. •
Joe Tay as
Fu Ma (傅碼), Tai-nui's stingy husband who spent most of his money to flatter the members of the Cheung Chau
rural committee. •
KK Cheung as
Leung Kim-fung (梁劍峰), the senior inspector of Cheung Chau's police division and Tai-mui's direct superior. Carefree and untroubled, Leung was also a
sinologist specialising in the
Qing dynasty. •
Mat Yeung as
"Sam" Ching Sum (程森), a
VIPPU police officer and Tai-mui's boyfriend.
Guest appearance •
Raymond Wong Ho-yin as
Unnamed Pirate, an unnamed pirate that crossed through the portal into the 21st century, bringing with him Cheung Po Tsai's former pirate associates. •
Evergreen Mak as
Cheung Po Tsai, a character originally played by Raymond Wong in the television drama
Slow Boat Home (2013). ==Production==