HBO Asia to launch its first original series

Serangoon Road is a 10-episode detective drama series set in 1960s Singapore, starring one of Asia’s leading actors, Joan Chen (pictured). The series, which is currently in production, will air across the 22 markets currently covered by HBO Asia.

HBO Asia’s move towards an original series marks a significant milestone for the channel, which has to date been famed for bringing the best of Hollywood to Asia.

It’s the latest in a long line of regional networks that are making stronger efforts to create locally produced content in a bid to be more relevant for Asian audiences.

Jonathan Spink, chief executive officer at HBO Asia, suggested the investment is just the beginning of HBO Asia’s commitment to produce “top quality, relevant and riveting content”.

“We’re very pleased to be in partnership with ABC TV to produce HBO Asia’s very first original series, the highest quality locally produced drama for our Asian audience”, he said.

Financing partners include HBO Asia, ABC TV and ABC Commercial, ScreenWest, and international distributors Content Television and Digital, a division of Content Media Corporation.

The series is being co-produced by Perth’s Great Western Entertainment and Singapore’s Infinite Studios.

HBO Asia's news comes as Nickelodeon is also announcing local production of its first Malaysian animation production, created and produced by Malaysia’s digital animation company Inspidea.

Akis is a 12-episode series of two-minute stories regaling the adventures of the highly imaginative Akis, a 7-year-old girl who loves to play-pretend all the time.

Nickelodeon has been actively localising content in various languages for its audiences, and is now taking a step forward by developing content out of Asia.

“This is the first time Nickelodeon has commissioned a studio in Malaysia to produce animated content and we are really pleased with what Inspidea has achieved," Syahrizan Mansor, senior director, Nickelodeon Programming & Creative, Asia, said. "Akis is a great example of the top-notch content being produced in Malaysia.”