Pan-regional OTT platform Viu is launching an eight-episode adaptation of Korean fantasy thriller Black. The Hong Kong-based streamer has also signed a deal with Singapore’s Mediacorp to co-produce two Chinese-language drama series.
Produced by Korea’s CJ E&M, the original Black follows a grim reaper who enters the world of mortals and finds himself falling in love with a woman who can foresee death. Viu’s adaptation, which incorporates Malay mythology, stars popular Malaysian artists such as Kamal Adli, Siti Saleha, Nabila Huda and Zoey Rahman.
Kuala Lumpur-based production house Alpha47 Films is producing the remake, which is co-directed by Razaisyam Rashid and Kroll Azri and will air with four back-to-back episodes on December 17 and 24. All 18 episodes of the Korean original are also available on Viu.
Meanwhile, Ink At Tai Ping (working title), the first of the two series that Viu is co-producing with Singapore’s Mediacorp, is a 15-episode murder mystery that explores the exploits of a female tattooist in her shop situated on Tai Ping Street in present-day Hong Kong.
Hong Kong actress Chrissie Chau will head the cast, which also includes Alex Lam, Adam Pak and Singapore’s Desmond Tan, Elvin Ng, Zhu Houren and Chen Shucheng. Hong Kong director-producer Kevin Tong is overseeing series development. Filming is expected to start in February 2020 in Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
The show will be streamed for free in September 2020 on Mediacorp’s digital service Toggle (to be renamed meWATCH from January 2020), as well as in the third quarter of 2020 on ViuTV. Details of the second Viu-Mediacorp co-production will be announced soon.