Sydney Morning Herald call it "highest quality"
ABC takes drama to Singapore
http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/box-seat/abc-takes-drama-to-singapore-20120907-25is4.html
ABC join forces with HBO Asia to create "highest quality" period detective drama.
Production has started in Singapore on the ABC's Serangoon Road. The prime-time drama series is an Australia/Singapore co-production, that marks the first original drama for HBO Asia.
The 10 x 1hr series created and produced by Paul Barron is a fast-paced detective series set against the exotic, tumultuous backdrop of 1960s Singapore.
It tells the story of Australian-born Sam Callaghan (Don Hany), whose childhood was spent in WWII’s Japanese internment camps and who returned to fight in the Malayan Emergency. He is a man deeply scarred by both these experiences. When his neighbour Patricia (Joan Chen) asks him to help keep her recently-murdered husband’s private detective agency afloat, Sam reluctantly agrees.
So begins a journey that sees Sam enticed into an unpredictable, dangerous world where the Chinese Secret Society gangs fight to control the streets, foreign powers vie for power and covert intelligence, and the city itself is a hotbed of racial and political turmoil.
His investigations, and his lover (Maeve Dermody), draw him into the privileged world of the European ex-pats with their fading colonial attitudes, opulence and political intrigues.
The detective agency’s activities also quickly bring Sam and Patricia into conflict with some of Singapore’s most powerful and ruthless factions – factions that are not afraid to kill to keep their secrets.
The series has attracted one of Asia’s leading actors in Chen (The Last Emperor, Twin Peaks, Mao’s Last Dancer, Home Song Stories) along with a stellar Australian cast including Hany (East West 101, Jack Irish: Black Tide, Rake, Offspring), Dermody (Rake, Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms and Paper Giants), Rachael Blake (Wildside, The Straits) and Michael Dorman (The Time of Our Lives, The Secret Life of Us).
Kim Dalton, Director of ABC TV said in a statement: “This is a very significant collaboration between Australian and Singaporean producers that will create compelling drama from our region. We are very pleased to be working with HBO Asia on its first locally commissioned television drama series. ABC TV’s work with Asian broadcasters, producers and funding agencies now extends across drama, animation and children’s programming.”
Jonathan Spink, Chief Executive Officer, HBO Asia said: “We’re very pleased to be in partnership with ABC TV to produce HBO Asia’s very first original series, and the highest quality locally produced drama for our Asian audience. While HBO Asia is still in the business of delivering the biggest and best Hollywood blockbusters and series, this milestone investment marks the beginning of our commitment in producing in top quality, relevant and riveting content.”
