TO LOCAL drama viewers, it might feel as if Jesseca Liu never left MediaCorp.

Over the past six months, the 32-year-old Langkawi native - who is signed to regional artiste management company H.I.M International - has scored lead roles intwo MediaCorp productions: Channel U's Secrets For Sale in April and The Oath.

She was one of seven "princesses" primed to be the next television Ah Jie.

Liu told The New Paper that since she left MediaCorp's management, she has received "more challenging characters" to portray on screen.

"In the past, I tend to get a lot of demure, gentle, girl-next-door roles. "But of late, I've been cast quite differently and it feels great to overturn those past impressions of myself.

"In Secrets For Sale, my character was spunky and very strong-willed.

"Now, in The Oath, the protagonist I play is feisty and stubborn."

In the show, Liu's dedicated surgeon character starts off bickering endlessly with Christopher Lee's Chinese medicine practitioner, but the two eventually become lovers.

Besides The Oath, Liu also has a small role as a cheerful islander in Taiwanese idol drama InTime With You, which is now airing on Saturdays over E City (StarHub Ch 825) at10pm.

She stars opposite Taiwanese heart-throb Chen Bo-lin and Malaysian crooner Abin Fang.

It marks her first shot at cracking the ultra-competitive Taiwanese showbiz industry, but Liu downplayed the hype, explaining that she is embracing these new opportunities in her usual placid manner.

"When it comes to choosing roles, I haven't changed. It still boils down to the script," she said. "So long as the script is good, it doesn't matter if it's a Taiwan, Malaysia or mainland China production, it's definitely worth considering."

This article was first published in The New Paper.