ContentAsia's Issue Three, October 2020 by ContentAsia

ISSUE THREE / OCT 2020

NTENT

Tried & True: Next steps & new ventures for Thailandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s True

Formats Outlook: Thailand in-depth

Plus: Soundbites & more from the ContentAsia Summit; Japan ramps up

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contents...

what’s in this issue... The Winners

Best Female Lead in the ﬁrst ContentAsia Awards. Rasika Dugal as Dr Meera Kapoor in Out of Love season one

Soundbites from... the C

NTENT

CONTENTASIA AWARDS

True stories

Mr Hurt, TrueID Indonesia

Thailand’s True Corp is making a play for digital streaming audiences in Indonesia and the Philippines with a duo of AVOD platforms that offer everything from news and short-form content to recent/library Korean, Thai and other Asian premium drama series.

Three wishes

Thai broadcaster BEC World is in the vanguard of an emerging breed of domestic media companies with an eye on regional opportunities. Surin Krittayaphongphun, BEC Multimedia Co’s TV business president, speaks about life on the frontlines of change.

Formats Outlook: Thailand

Thailand remains among Asia’s top formats markets, despite an almost 30% drop in volume this year against last year, and is showing every sign that Covid-19 related pressures are easing.

32 4

Blended family

Windows of opportunity

Nippon TV & The Story Lab open new windows on co-development with a hybrid game-showtalent contest that premiered in Japan at the end of September and makes its global debut at Mipcom.

Cuteboy Thailand, True CJ Creations

Thai joint venture, True CJ Creations, is charting a new path for scripted and non-scripted content in Asia, blending Thai practices and tastes with Korean skills and values. CEO Apicha Honghirunruang talks about creative journeys and his ambitions to create a unique brand of original stories.

Show Me The Money S2 Thailand, True CJ Creations

Witch way up Writer, creator & director

Asim Abbasi, talks about his new drama, Churails (Witches), a thriller about four women in Pakistan who form a detective agency to find cheating husbands and find themselves embroiled in a conspiracy. The series is bold, the women are fierce and fearless, and the whole series for India’s Zee5 entertains as well as raises a fist against toxic masculinity.

contentasia issue three, october 2020

New Life Love will save us all Hekimoglu everybody lies

Romance next door Ruthless City Meet us @ Our virtual Stand https://tinyurl.com/yy5qygov Kanal D

editor’snote

What now... We’re heading into the last quarter of a foul year. And, yeah, like every-

cal titles while cinemas remain closed. Will they buy out box office in

one, we’re drowning in platitudes about being grateful or thankful or

order to pip theatres to the post once cinemas re-open? Who knows. Will

whatever other emotional band-aids are being slapped on the difficult

Disney+ Hotstar’s launch budgets hold, and for how long? Rights holders

situations caused by sweeping destruction in the wake of pestilence of

in Indonesia hope they will. Rights holders in neighbouring markets are

biblical proportions. And we’re rolling our eyes as much as anyone at

salivating (and holding out for higher prices because they know they

corporations yapping on about being “in this together” (and yes, they’re

can, so they will, until they can’t anymore) and... well, that bubble looks

STILL doing it, who would have thought), and, using expensive content

lovelier and lovelier.

marketing videos, highlighting the value of basic skills like empathy and

The rush to follow in the footsteps of Korea’s Masked Singer to cre-

human connection. Hmmmmmmm. It took a pandemic? And then you

ate a global superformat continues, particularly out of Japan, where the

felt the need to tell the world about your new-found awareness be-

country’s power duo – commercial leader Nippon TV and Fuji TV – are

cause...? Wow. Sad and funny and I’m saving my critique of opportunis-

turbo charging their international co-development ini-

tic and inauthentic content marketing messages for another day though;

tiatives. The will is not new; Japan has for decades

watch out for the launch of ContentAsia Cheez (aka OMG Why??)...

worked with international partners on redeveloping

So, as much as we wish it wasn’t, that’s one trend that’s alive and well

segments of variety and game shows with various

and I’m summoning all my empathy to try to understand people’s need

levels of success. Mixed into the latest ambitions

to do something, anything, doesn’t matter what, in the face of a crisis.

are native co-development, starting with an equal

As the video industry preps for the first virtual Mipcom, we’re also seeing a lovely shiny content bubble over Southeast Asia – especially in In-

number of ideas on the table from both sides. And then there’s the reset of traditional pay-

donesia – as streaming platforms jostle for position. Will it last? Probably

TV platforms in Asia, which is great news for

not; do bubbles ever? But while it does, and as long as rights holders are

targeted, focused indie channels that have

getting paid and don’t count on good fortune in perpetuity, hallelujah

for years had to stand at the sidelines and

and why not.

watch giant studio-driven bouquets soak up

Then again, just imagine if Indonesia does pop, and the million or so

80% of affiliate spend. Well, that’s not hap-

people currently paying for at least one platform turns to two million or

pening anymore so while there’s less to go

20 million... Disney is a believer; why else would they spend so much on

around, it’s being spread around. Witness

local content. Others, like Thailand’s TrueID, are skeptical, hanging their

the new carriage deals that are coming

newly minted hopes, dreams and ambitions on an AVOD model driven

thick-ish and fast as platforms recalibrate.

by advertisers’ demands for a brand-safe, premium environment. And

And for that, we are grateful. No pandem-

there are many inbetween, so there’s that to watch.

ic required to make us so.

Content exclusivity is still highly prized, but no one is telling us they want everything regardless of the cost. Some shows are rumoured to be fetching US$400,000 per episode for regional rights; at that price, there is one, maybe two, bidders still around the table. In Indonesia, Disney+ Hotstar snapped up exclusive rights to a dozen or so direct-to-streaming theatri-

Editorial Director Janine Stein Assistant Editor Malena Amzah malena@contentasia.tv Research & Production CJ Yong cj@contentasia.tv Design Rae Yong

INTERNATIONAL Associate Publisher (Americas, Europe) and VP, International Business Development Leah Gordon leah@contentasia.tv

What is ContentAsia?

ASIA Sales and Marketing Manager Masliana Masron mas@contentasia.tv

To receive your regular free copy of ContentAsia, please email i_want@contentasia.tv

ContentAsia is an Asia-based information resource that refines today’s info-deluge into usable, digestible, and reliable intelligence about entertainment content creation, funding, financing, licensing, distribution, design and branding and technology across the Asia-Pacific region. ContentAsia’s range of products include electronic, print and online publications.

Published by: Pencil Media Pte Ltd l 730A Geylang Road, Singapore 389641 l T: +65 6846 5987 l W: www.contentasia.tv

contentasia issue three, october 2020

Always Closer. Always Together. The queen and the conqueror “Never forget you are my everything” Ana’s revenge “Some wounds open our eyes” The Road to Love “Would you take this chance with me?” Bolivar “I knew you were my destiny” Our love story is forever Caracol Television @caracolTVintl www.caracolinternacional.com earteaga@caracoltv.com.co America / Asia phone: +1. (305) 960 2018 Europe / Africa / Middle East Phone: +34 910 691291 Caracol Television

Best Female Lead in a TV Programme

Best Asian Horror Series

formats1H2018

Rasika Dugal, Out of Love Season 1 BBC Studios India Pvt Ltd 76 Horror Bookstore - Tin Can of Fear Taiwan Mobile (myVideo), Studio76 Original Productions

Best Director of a Scripted TV Programme Erik Matti, Food Lore HBO / WarnerMedia

Best LBGTQ+ Programme Made in Asia

Best Covid-19 Factual Feature Inventing Tomorrow: Tech in a Time of Pandemic CNN / WarnerMedia

And the winners are...

5 Lessons in Happiness, GagaOOLala / GOL Studios / Harvest Production Films Co

ContentAsia Awards 2020 Best Short-form Drama Series

Soul Food, Viddsee Studios

Best TV Format Adaptation (Scrip

Best Factual Programme

The Great Migration: First Steps, Beach House Pictures

Best Animated Kids TV Programme

8 Monster Beach - It Cone From Outer Space, Cartoon Network / WarnerMedia, Studio Moshi / Inspidea

contentasia issue two, september 2020 Pretty Little Liars Viu / Warner Bros / Cinema Collectiva

Best Asian Drama for a Regional/International Market Food Lore, HBO / WarnerMedia, Bert Pictures Pte Ltd

Best Current Affairs Programme

Borneo is Burning, CNN / WarnerMedia

Best Factual Entertainment Programme

Best TV Format Adaptation (Non-scripted) Mute it!, Nippon Television Network Corporation, AX-ON Inc

Ed Stafford: Man Woman Child Wild Beach House Pictures

pted) in Asia

Best Drama Series/TeleďŹ lm Made for a Local Asian Market

Best Male Lead in a TV Programme

Invisible Stories, HBO / WarnerMedia Birdmandog Pte Ltd

Best Quarantine-themed Drama/Feature/Programme Prin Suparat, My Husband in Law BEC World / Channel 3 Thailand

contentasia issue two, september 2020

SMK: Raya Dekat Jauh, Measat Broadcast Network Systems Sdn Bhd / Red Communications Sdn Bhd

INquotes

Who said what at the “There’s plenty of room for content from multiple services. And I think we are all just growing the pool of content available to consumers.” Myleeta Aga, Director, Content, Southeast Asia, Australia & New Zealand, Netﬂix

One of the values we see from iﬂix is that we can leverage a lot of historical content performance data to guide us in future decision making regarding content acquisition and production.” Kaichen Li, Head of WeTV & iﬂix

To make new content, we should not only tell a different story, but tell it in a brand new way. That’s what we mean by redeﬁning content.”

“The idea is to be able to deliver a production a month, and every week to have an episode of our Asian original production on top of the regular shows that we get from HBO Max and HBO.” Magdalene Ew, Head of Content – Entertainment, WarnerMedia Entertainment Networks Asia Paciﬁc

Chen Xiao, Senior Vice President, iQiyi

“We are committed to developing brand new series in addition to formats... eventually we will get to a point where the bulk of our originals are completely from scratch from ideas generated by local ﬁlmmakers as opposed to doing format buys.” Michael Lewis, Chief Content Ofﬁcer, GoPlay (Indonesia)

Exclusivity is something we all think is still very valuable. However, with more and more competition emerging, we all have to look at exclusivity a little differently.” Virginia Lim, Chief Content Ofﬁcer, Viu

Vernacular content remains a key differentiator and underpins two thirds of our viewership and advertising revenue.” Agnes Rozario, Director of Content, Astro (Malaysia)

contentasia issue three, october 2020

Why She Canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t R.I.P. 29 min x 6 We can still laugh, cry and be uplifted Yell 15 min x 120 NHK Nep NHK Enterprises

INquotes

“Demand for Thai content exceeds supply... Co-investment and sub-licensing helps to relieve supplyside shortages also helps OTT platforms to minimise costs while still taking the advantage of monetisation opportunities.” Kanop Supamanop, Chief Content Business Officer, Line Company Thailand

Premium TV economics have tilted towards streaming, but television is still worth an enormous amount of money, both in terms of what consumers still spend per unit cost on television and advertising dollars, particularly on free to air in markets like Indonesia, Thailand and to some extent the Philippines.” Vivek Couto, Co-founder and Executive Director, Media Partners Asia (MPA)

“Our own content and productions are only half the story in today’s content universe. The other half is about creator-led content, and that’s what this new MCN partnership with YouTube is about.” Loke Kheng Tham, CEO, Mediacorp (Singapore), announcing Mediacorp’s new YouTube multi channel network, Bloomr.SG MCN

Going forward, we are looking at more revenue from SVOD. Looking at our catalogues, at our 50 years of Thai drama, we believe SVOD will be very important for BEC revenues in the future.” Surin Krittayaphongphun, President, TV Business, BEC Multimedia Co. Ltd, Thailand

“For us free-to-air stations, OTT is a threat. But it’s not an immediate threat right now. It will take time.” Artine Utomo, CEO, Rajawali Televisi (RTV) Indonesia

OTT is growing, but there is not enough money yet. Free-to-air is the ultimate solution at the moment. OTT will do well when we promote on FTA... We have to focus on the main business first and then OTT.” Anne Jakrajutatip, Chief Executive Officer, JKN Global Media (Thailand)

We’re seeing explorations of LGBT stories that are not just focused on young hot gorgeous body/ cute face characters, but elderly gays and LGBT families. This whole plethora of characters and storylines is emerging.” Jay Lin, CEO, Portico Media / GagaOOlala / GOL Studios

contentasia issue three, october 2020

Banijayrights.com Storytelling for every audience

INquotes

“Covid accelerated the mindset changes required for us to be successful... do we still see tremendous headwinds and external factors, and are there still adjustments that need to be made? Absolutely.” George Chien, Co-founder, President & CEO, KC Global Media

Streaming platforms are another source of revenue, possibly covering 20-25% of the production budgets. It’s good for producers. And a lot of Indonesians still watch [traditional] free-to-air television, so we’re still producing for FTV. OTT hasn’t had much of an impact on that.” Sunil Samtani, Executive Producer, Rapi Films Indonesia

“Taiwan works very closely with Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Malaysia on Chinese content. But most production companies or distributors in Taiwan are not used to selling their content outside of Chinese markets. I think that’s our biggest challenge.” Dennis Yang, CEO & Managing Partner, Studio76 (Taiwan)

“People’s time is the most precious thing now... we don’t want to create a number of hours just for the sake of numbers. So it has to be good storytelling and it has to have strategic value. We don’t do just pure financial investments.”

The China venture [with Alibaba, Youku and the Shanghai Media Group] is an ecosystem play consisting of longform, mobile and short-form, live shows and instant clicks and buys via ecommerce, offline events and IP derivatives on multi screens in multi territories. This is about building up a foodrelated ecosystem built on a content foundation.” Tony Qiu VP/GM, Discovery Greater China and Korea speaking about Discovery’s new US$40m-US$50m content fund

Daphne Yang, CEO, Catchplay Group, talking about new JV production house, Screenworks Asia

We’re seeing the rise of higher quality TV production in Indonesia as local and global streaming platforms try to come up with different kinds of programming that doesn’t exist on free-toair or in feature films.”

“People are now very interested in being more daring and trying to produce beautiful series that also maybe challenge the audience and generate a conversation.” Sabrina Duguet, EVP Asia Pacific, all3media international

“In Thailand, we have to design characters differently. Some Korean dramas can build characters with only one or two actors. In Thailand, we may have to have three or four.” Apicha Honghirunruang, CEO, True CJ Creations Co Ltd talking about adapting Korean dramas

Wicky Olindo, Co-founder & CEO, Screenplay Films (Indonesia)

contentasia issue three, october 2020

HBO Latin America originals Screening Room An exclusive catalogue For you to enjoy. Visit Our screening room http://screeningroom.hbolag.com

INquotes

“It makes sense for us to collaborate more.”

“About 50% of our spend this year will be online for the ﬁrst time ever across APAC... we would like to see a healthy ecosystem. So diversifying that investment by supporting OTT chan-

Kylie Munnich, CEO, Screen Queensland, on new initiatives to work with Asian creators

It was very important to me for the good men to not have that toxic masculinity that stops women from ﬁnding their ambition, their voice...” Asim Abbasi, Creator, Writer, Director, “Churails”

“Once you know you are not making a commercial ﬁlm, you also know it’s going to require patience. You need to give it time to come together the way it needs to before you can take it out and show it to people.”

Production quality in Asia has improved dramatically in the past few years. It’s in the crafting of stories and the in-depth character development, editing and pacing... that’s going to take a bit more time.” Fotini Paraskakis, Global EVP, Entertainment, The Story Lab

Steven Murphy, MD (APAC), Motion Content Group

Anupama Mandloi, Producer, “Aunty Sudha Aunty Radha”

“A lot of the games out there are combat based... this needs to be handled intelligently and mindfully on broadcast TV.”

Boy love is an upcoming genre in both movies and TV series. There is a big opportunity for the genre to grow in Southeast Asia. BL series fan clubs are very strong.” Suchart Rochanakee, EP, “Love Love You” & writer, “Love Love You 2”

“In the past it has been difﬁcult to cast roles for boy love stories. The challenge came from the actors, who were concerned about questions of them being gay. But nowdays people are more open and the casting is easier.” Piyawat Chaithiangthum, Director, “Love Love You”

“The intent is different going to YouTube versus Facebook, to TikTok, to our own platform. So we have speciﬁc content for each of the different platforms.” Esther Nguyen, Founder & CEO, POPS Worldwide 16

nels to become stronger with better local content is important to us.”

“Sometimes we tend to take our family for granted, you know, and we don’t think that there’s a deep a talent, a wisdom, a beauty...”

Sonia Fleck, CEO, Bomanbridge Media, which distributes “Gamerz” in Asia

Tanuja Chandra Director, “Aunty Sudha Aunty Radha”, an indie ﬁlm about her two aunts living in a village in India

Our original content has always focused on Asia... The next step is to tell more human stories.” Debbie Lee, Founder & CEO, TechStorm contentasia issue three, october 2020

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contentasia issue three, october 2020

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countryproﬁles

Bad Genius, True ID Indonesia

True stories

TrueID Indonesia’s competitive advantage is both its bottom-up ap-

audiences, adding even more streaming activity to the regional frenzy

proach in terms of content mix as well as services within the platform.

and hanging another heavy load of hopes, dreams and ambition on,

“We have the ability to deﬁne our platform prioritising the speciﬁc

among others, Indonesia’s population of 274 million.

characteristics of Indonesian audience,” he told ContentAsia.

On 18 August 2020, less than three weeks before Disney+ Hotstar went

“TrueID Indonesia offers long form content like movies and series from

live with its high-energy live-streamed Indonesia launch, True Digital qui-

Indonesia and other Asian countries, which may be similar to the other

etly ﬂipped the switch on TrueID-branded advertising-supported on-de-

OTT platforms. But we will also include classic local movie titles or reruns of

mand platforms in Indonesia and the Philippines, following about nine

favourite local TV shows, which may not be considered by the regional

months of prep by teams on the ground in Jakarta and Manila. In both markets, the platform is being offered as a standalone advertising-supported direct-to-consumer service,

and global players,” he added. Indonesian ﬁlms on the platform include titles such as the comedy Cek Toko Sebelah (2016), romantic comedy Yowis Ben (2018);

with telco (or other) distribution partnerships still under

and Thai series Love You So (2019). Expansion includes lifestyle

discussion.

and anime, plus a wider geographic spread. Indonesian origi-

Indonesia country head, Armando Siahaan, says

nals are also part of the plan. Local content creators and digital studios are being invited

A huge segment of the Indonesian audience comes from a tradition of watching free-toair TV... they will seek premium content on digital platforms but with no willingness to pay.” Armando Siahaan, Country Head, TrueID Indonesia 18

in to power a short-form layer along with live TV and articles – “two forms of content still vastly consumed by Indonesians,” Siahaan says – that other regional players don’t offer. In the Philippines, the platform’s drama slate includes Illustrado (2014) and Tadhana (2017), both from free-TV broadcaster GMA Network. The focus is on nonscripted snackable content as well as a curated list of articles, which, like Indonesia, other OTT players don’t offer, says Philippines’ country head, Dindo Marzan. Across both markets, TrueID is committed to AVOD, including native advertising/branded content. Any subscription tier (if there ever is one) will be layered on top of the free ser-

contentasia issue three, october 2020

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countryproﬁles

Ilustrado, GMA Network

vices, Marzan says. “A huge segment of Indonesian audience comes from a tradition of watching free-to-air TV, so they never had to pay for content and are

nesian audiences”. Siahaan describes TrueID Indonesia’s current slate – Asian content, with the focus on Indonesia, Korean and Thai drama/ horror/comedy – as in its “early stage”.

used to the idea of watching ads. This segment is naturally shifting to

In the Philippines, Marzan says his biggest challenge is “building a new

digital. They will seek premium content on digital platforms, but with no

brand in a country where True is not widely known and Facebook, You-

willingness to pay,” Siahaan adds.

Tube, and Netﬂix are household names”.

In addition, “with such a shift, digital advertising spend is also growing rapidly in this market. Brands will more and more look for premium inventory. That is where we come to try and connect those two needs”.

True’s expansion rides an upward trend across Southeast Asia. Media Partners Asia (MPA) research notes that “online video consumption continued to soar through the pandemic in Southeast Asia during the

Siahaan says his biggest challenge is Indonesia’s diversity and, there-

ﬁrst half of 2020,” and that “the growth of premium video services has been

fore, the content mix across the archipelago. “Finding the right content

signiﬁcant, with a greater scale of consumers paying for online video in

formula is key,” he says.

large emerging such as Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand”.

“This is exactly why TrueID Indonesia does not want to restrict itself to

It’s still early days outside of Thailand for True Digital, which is a clear

limited content formats, genres and even services, and instead offers

market leader at home. According to MPA’s AMPD research, TrueID

a breadth of content verticals that we believe will resonate with Indo-

leads Thailand’s telco OTT rankings; data published at end Sept showed TrueID Thailand at 1.5m paying/authenticated subs in Q2 2020. For Q2 2020, TrueID Thailand reported 61% Q-o-Q growth in TV box/OTT penetra-

TrueID Philippines focuses on nonscripted snackable content. It does not require subscription and we work closely with content creators big or small. We also have aggregated and curated articles, which other OTT players don’t have.” Dindo Marzan, Country Head, Philippines, TrueID

tion to 1.4 million, making True the largest Android TV box operator in Thailand. Monthly video views were up 55% to 219 million. True’s plans in Indonesia kicked off in Dec 2019, when the Thai company set up a subsidiary in Jakarta with an investment of Rp24.99 billion/ US$1.7 million. At the end of August this year, True also set up a wholly owned subsidiary in Vietnam, True Digital Vietnam Joint Stock Company, with paid-up capital of VND4.7 billion/US$200,650. The Vietnam venture’s business is listed as data analytics and digital solutions. In trodding the regional video streaming path, TrueID enters a space still raw from the high-profile crashes of iflix (powered by smart-talking and breathtaking fund-raising strategies before assets were sold to Tencent/WeTV earlier this year) and Hooq (powered by Singtel, Sony Pictures Television and Warner Brothers), which entered voluntary liquidation in March. Opinions range all over the place on blame, the simplest of which is a difficult operating environment. That operating environment remains. What True for sure doesn’t have is the same approach to overblown announcements and overstated claims. And that may, in the end, be a good thing.

contentasia issue three, october 2020

Rai Channels Worldwide Distribution RAI Benedetta Migliore +39 335 183 2057 Benedetta.migliore@rai.it

countryproﬁles

Windows of Opportunity Nippon TV & The Story Lab open new windows on co-development with a hybrid game-show-talent contest that premiered in Japan at the end of September and makes its global debut at Mipcom.

Shigeko (Cindy) Chino

Fotini Paraskakis

Japanese commercial broadcaster Nippon TV and The Story Lab, the global content unit of Japanese agency Dentsu Aegis/Dentsu Inc, are making a new play for global audiences, combining game show ele-

The two companies are in discussion on additional original entertain-

ments with talent contest jeopardy in a combo they hope will open an-

ment format co-developments that are scalable creatively and com-

other window of opportunity on global co-development.

mercially and returnable across multiple territories; no details have been

The new format, 9 Windows, is the ﬁrst property out of the alliance that

released.

the two companies announced in December last year, and was chosen

The Story Lab alliance is part of Nippon TV’s ongoing international ef-

from dozens of ideas gathered by the two companies. Nippon TV will

forts. 9 Windows follows Block Out, a format based on a Nippon TV game

sell the format in Asia. The Story Lab will start selling international rights at

show segment redeveloped with European producer Red Arrow Studios,

Mipcom 2020.

as well as titles such as Battle of the Homes, Supper Stars and The Test.

The studio series is billed as a gameshow-meets-talent contest “celebrating ordinary people with outlandish skills”, including activities like

So far, Block Out has been adapted in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Spain and Holland.

building architectural landmarks from jelly or blowing out candles. Epi-

9 Windows is part of The Story Lab’s ﬂedgling international expansion

sode themes can include anything from make-up to music. Activities

initiatives in Asia, along with The Sound, co-developed with China’s Hu-

play out on an interactive set, that opens windows to contestants in their

nan TV.

homes. Across three rounds, the contestants compete for a cash prize.

The Story Lab’s global executive vice president for entertainment, Fo-

Japanese comedian Gekidan Hitori hosts the domestic show. The ad-

tini Paraskakis, says international markets – particularly in Western Europe

dition of a comedian as host is part of the format. “We are dealing with

and more recently in the U.S. and the U.K. – are more open than ever to

contestants who are not yet in the spotlight,” says Shigeko (Cindy) Chino,

ideas out of Asia.

Nippon TV’s associate managing director of international business devel-

This is partly because of the international success of Korea’s Masked

opment. “The comedian MC has the charm to maximise the results from

Singer and I Can See Your Voice, but also because creators across Asia

them... and to bring out their appeal,” she adds.

are more conﬁdent.

The Japanese version premiered on Nippon TV in Japan in the experimental 1am-2am slot on 24 Sept. The show outperformed its competition

“Efforts that have been put into international development in the past two years are paying off,” she says.

in the timeslot, with share for household and individual viewership hitting

Covid-19 has also opened a broader set of windows. “Now more than

23.5%, according to Nippon TV data. Episode two aired at end Sept; no

ever, broadcasters are looking for shows with a fast track to screen,”

decisions had been made at presstime on a regular ongoing series slot.

Paraskakis says.

contentasia issue three, october 2020

S VISIT U E AT ONLIN M MIPCO E+ ONLIN

Check out the Beethoven Trilogy.

Visit Us online at MIPCOM Online+ Check out the Beethoven Trilogy. Inspired by nature. Symphony for the World. World without Beethoven.

All three documentaries focus on The musical legacy that the composer Left behind and his global influence.

MIPCOM.online+

Inspired by Nature. Symphony for the World. World without Beethoven. All three documentaries focus on the musical legacy that the composer left behind and his global inďŹ&#x201A;uence.

countryproﬁles

My Forever Sunshine

Three wishes Thai broadcaster BEC World is in the vanguard of an emerging breed of domestic media companies with an eye on regional opportunities. Surin Krittayaphongphun, BEC Multimedia Co’s TV business president, speaks about life on the frontlines of change. BEC World remains one of Thailand’s most signiﬁcant producers and

lar that it was later made into a movie;

leads the country’s international distribution initiatives with new IP such

Kam Pi Pak Sa (The Justice, 1985), which

as My Forever Sunshine, Deceitful Love, Repercussion, My Husband in

broke new ground for a story by writer Su-

Law and Scent of Love following established dramas such as Love Des-

wanni Sukhontha about a person judged

tiny and Thong Ek on domestic and international schedules.

unfairly by society; the station’s ﬁrst period

The Bangkok-based national broadcaster has also forged landmark

drama, Prissana; horror drama, Mae

partnerships with the likes of mainland China’s Tencent for simulcast

Nak Prakanong, starring Tre-

rights in China and WeTV in other countries and has an ongoing alliance

rak Rakkandee as a woman

with Bangkok-based distributor, JKN Global Media, that has landed BEC

who dies giving birth while

World content on mass market, free-TV stations in Indonesia, Malaysia,

her husband is at war but

Philippines and Singapore for the ﬁrst time as well as on regional stream-

stays back as a ghost un-

ing platforms.

til

Thai broadcast veteran, Surin Krittayaphongphun, who returned to

returns;

Pongpat

Wachirabunjong’s

Angel

BEC World as TV business president in July this year, says the priority con-

Heart (Thong Nua Kao,

tinues to fulﬁll Thai viewing tasted across all age groups. The company

2013), starring James Ji-

makes about 1,000 hours – between 30 and 40 titles – of original drama

rayu in the story of a boy

a year across all genres. BEC World’s TV network, Channel 3, acquires

who steps up to ﬁll his

between 5% and 10% of its schedule a year.

mother’s shortcomings;

As Channel 3 prepared to premiere two Q4 2020 prime-time dramas,

and, more recently, the

My Forever Sunshine (November) and Deceitful Love (October), Krit-

mythic fantasy Nakee

tayaphongphun says: “We hope to continue to make programmes that

(2016).

ﬁt Thai and foreign tastes in China, the rest of Asia and other markets.” New shows join almost 50-years worth of Channel 3 drama production, creating a deep and wide library that includes some of Thailand’s most iconic titles, such as Kon Rerng Muang (1980), which was so popu-

24 Surin Krittayaphongphun, President, TV Business, BEC Multimedia Co Ltd, Thailand

contentasia issue three, october 2020

Love Love You A couple’s love is tested when one partner must move in with an attractive new student who is heartbroken, while the other gets a surprise visitor from his past who needs to find an answer to what could be. “Love Love You” is a charming boy-love drama about the test of true love. Love Love You 2 For our content sales, please contact: Mr Banpot Chawangorn (banpot@jknglobal.com) For our full catalog please visit www.jknworldwide.com

countryprofiles

Ranee (Bella) Campen and Thanavat (Pope) Vatthanaputi in Deceitful Love

What’s your experience so far with your own streaming platform Ch3+? “We’ve been able to reach younger viewers, which is an objective set from the beginning when we set up Ch3+. Going forward, we have a very good idea on how to make the platform a place for the younger generation to come and watch our programmes. It will completely complement our offline business.” What is your opinion on SVOD and AVOD and their contribution to BEC’s businesses in Thailand? “At the moment, BEC’s business is more AVOD. Going forward, we expect more revenue from SVOD. Looking at our 50 years of creating Thai drama, we believe that SVOD could be another

Our challenges are the same as all broadcasters in the world... we have to adapt, change the way we do things.” Surin Krittayaphongphun, President, TV Business, BEC Multimedia Co

important revenue stream for BEC”. What do you think the biggest challenges for free-TV broadcasters in Thailand are? “The same as all broadcasters in the world. We are facing

You mentioned censorship. How does this impact your business? “We

changing behaviour of viewers. Technology has changed TV viewing

are selling our content to international markets. Each market has its

fast and drastically. We have to adapt, change the way we do things

own regulations. Censorship systems in certain markets may take longer

and focus on where our viewers are. In addition to serving loyal viewers

than other markets. If we have a day-and-date simultaneous release in

in traditional ways, we are building Ch3+ to draw younger viewers to

Thailand and across other markets, all clearances have to be aligned.

our programmes.”

This may cause a delay to the premiere date in Thailand.”

What are the key threats, threats and challenges in expanding to global

What are you hoping for now with your regional and international dis-

markets? “It’s very difficult to compete on a global scale. We have

tribution business? “We have done well in Asian markets, and we hope

competitors who have been in this business for for a long time from Ko-

that we will continue to do well in other markets, especially in bigger

rea, China, India, the Philippines and Japan. I think those are the com-

markets such as China, Korea and Latin America. Besides selling con-

petitors who are very difficult for us. Besides the competition, there are

tent, we plan to do more activities, offer more to the markets, to viewers

regulations we have to face. We have to adapt to various censorship

in the markets that we sell our content to. If possible, we might be able,

policies and requirements. These are really new to us. For Thai content

in certain markets, to bring in our stars, actors, actresses to meet and

to go global, there is a lot for us to learn. I won’t say that’s a threat, but

greet local fans in each market. Probably, who knows, we might be

it’s something that we have to learn to be able to grow our business.”

able to start other businesses such as consumer products...”

contentasia issue three, october 2020

Know Your Neighbour! 9Windows

NIPPON TV New Comedy Gameshow MIPCOM 2020 The Story Lab

New Comedy Gameshow MIPCOM 2020

countryproﬁles

Blended family Thai joint venture, True CJ Creations, is charting a new path for scripted and non-scripted content in Asia, blending Thai practices and tastes with Korean skills and values. CEO Apicha Honghirunruang talks about creative journeys and his ambitions to create a unique brand of original stories.

Apicha Honghirunruang, Chief Executive Ofﬁcer, True CJ Creations Co Ltd Show Me The Money Thailand season 2

True CJ Creations – the Bangkok-based joint venture between Thailand’s

Money is totally dif-

True Corp and Korea’s CJ ENM – moved into the second half of 2020

ferent”. The ﬁrst sea-

ahead of its original production targets, with a slate of Thai adaptations of

son

Korean dramas and reality/competition programmes, its ﬁrst home-grown

but the hip hop com-

original Thai IP adapted and on air in China, a special interest in YouTube

munity

channel Online Station, a multi-platform distribution strategy and a mega

braced the second season...

effort to carve a space of its own in the premium series landscape.

“We’re not talking about TV any-

Chief executive, Apicha Honghirunruang, also says that while the fouryear-old company has open-door access to CJ ENM’s formats, he’s deter-

was

successful,

has

really

em-

more, we’re talking about multi access channels, OTT, internet and social communities.”

mined to create original shows from scratch using the learnings from some of the best Korean dramas around.

Reality show Cuteboy Thailand is True CJ’s ﬁrst original IP. The Chinese version premiered on Mango TV at the end of August. What does this

True CJ Creations is four years old. The initial aim was to have 10 produc-

mean for the company? “True CJ joined with Thai artist management

tions by 2021. How are you tracking against that? “We’ll deliver more

company Copy A to produce Cuteboy Thailand, which is not only our

than expected. By the end of 2021, we should deliver more than 18 IPs,

ﬁrst original IP, but also our ﬁrst step for us to open untapped markets like

including series and variety.”

China. This milestone is a good sign. We hope for more series-led culture to be expored in the near future.”

Thailand is a very competitive non-scripted market. Where does a show like hip-hop competition Show Me The Money Thailand, currently in sea-

Your drama series have included Thai versions of Voice, Oh My Ghost,

son two, ﬁt in? “In Thailand, most of the non-scripted programmes we

Tunnel and Unlucky Ploy (Another Miss Oh). Why these particular series

have are game shows, music or cooking programmes. Show Me The

and what space are you trying to carve out in Thailand? “Firstly, we pick

contentasia issue three, october 2020

7 eps x 25 mins Genre: Mystery Thriller 47 eps x 45 mins Genre: Drama

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countryprofiles

Unlucky Ploy

We are developing our own scripts. But we need time. We need to understand how to do it.” Apicha Honghirunruang Chief Executive Officer, True CJ Creations (Thailand)

platforms, like TrueID and Netflix. In addition, Netflix and TrueID serve different markets, so we partnered with both of them for Unlucky Ploy and launched the series at the same time and got good feedback from both platforms.” Is this the distribution strategy for all your series? “We try. For Voice, we worked with True4U, which is digital TV, and Netflix and True ID. But this time (Unlucky Ploy), we worked with a premiere launch on pay TV platform TrueVisions first and after that on streaming with TrueID and Netflix.” Do you own all the rights to the programmes that you adapt from CJ ENM? “Yes”. As a joint venture between CJ ENM and True, are you able to work with

scripts that match with the local market and then we discuss how they

other production partners? “Yes we can... There are no restrictions and

can be adapted and whether it will engage Thai audiences. Unlucky

we are open to doing anything as long as the projects are interesting

Ploy, for instance, takes place in an office setting, which is normal, ev-

and make sense.”

eryday life... The series is a romantic comedy, which means it’s easy to engage young Bangkok urban audiences. That’s the key.”

There’s a lot of pressure when you remake a high-profile Korean series in that audience have a certain expectation of what the Korean original

Four of your dramas have premiered on TrueID and on Netflix. Was that

was. Is the adaptation easier if you choose series that are not as well

the intention from the beginning? “From the beginning, we aimed to pro-

known? “Adaptation is not easy whatever you do. Firstly, Korean series

duce and export our content internationally. The four dramas on Netflix

production quality is so good. Not only the script, it’s the cast, the team,

worldwide are Oh my Ghost, Tunnel, Voice and Unlucky Ploy, which was

camerawork, art design... it’s all superb. When we pick a title to adapt,

the top show on local streaming platform TrueID and also rose to the top

we have to work hard and do a lot of homework... we want to build Thai

show on Netflix in Thailand in September.”

content production quality and we’re lucky to have a partner like CJ ENM. There’s a lot of knowledge we’re gaining from them.”

What’s your thinking on exclusivity versus inclusion on multiple streaming platforms? “We believe our target audience (Bangkok Urban) set their

What do you find are the main areas of difference that you have to work

their own primetimes, which is why we should premiere across multiple

on in adapting Korean stories for Thailand? “Korean series are a bit fast-

contentasia issue three, october 2020

er than normal Thai drama. We have

What’s been your biggest success so far? “We have a lot of fan commu-

to understand and be clear about

nity increasing since we launched Voice [the story of a detective whose

each character that the scriptwriter

wife is murdered and a policewoman with psycho-acoustic skills whose

designed for the series. The cultures

father was killed]. Most of the comments say we are no. 1 in terms of

of the Korean and Thai people are

Korean remake, no. 1 quality production in terms of Korean remake in

different, what they feel about the

Thailand. This means that the fans accept and love the way we tell the

characters are different. So we have

story to them. They accepted the quality of production that we’ve spent

to redesign the characters, the situa-

a lot of time on to study and learn to produce for the audience.”

tion, the location but still keep true to the concept. Some Korean charac-

What’s next for True CJ Creations? “We are trying to develop original scripts

ters can be drawn with only one or two

in Thailand. We have started working with Korean scriptwriters already.

actors, but in Thailand, we may have to

When we started the company, CJ ENM insisted that we need to develop

add more supporting roles to bring out the

our own scripts. But we still need time. We need to understand how to do it.”

main characters. So we have to design differently. In terms of production, we cannot com-

Where have you had to devote the most energy? “In terms of production

promise with the quality because now we are not

and research, we have to make it clear that Thai directors and talent

only serving Thai audiences, we are also going to other

understand the characters. When we decide on the team, we have to

Cuteboy Thailand S1

make sure everyone is moving in the same direction. It doesn’t always

markets.”

happen and in the end, it shows in the product. We do a lot of workWhat about subject matter? “Scripted Korean series tend to be about

shops, make sure all the talent across the board fully understands the

normal life, regular lifestyles, of say, doctors. And then it’s the quality of

script, the idea, the design.”

acting... that’s what i learned from Korea. It’s not only one element, if you want to make quality content, you have to ensure every part of pro-

What are you working on now? “We have many projects on hand right

duction goes the same way. So the actors/actresses are doing very well,

now, original scripts and localised adaptations. We have a series related to

but if there’s no support to the cover design and art, you cannot get that

doctors, which is very new in Thailand, we have a series related to teach-

high quality you seek.”

ers. We want to build a series that can motivate teachers and spread the message on how important they are to the country and to the students.”

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contentasia issue three, october 2020

formatsoutlook From Start To Clear, True CJ Creations for TrueID & Online Station/YouTube

Formats Outlook: Thailand Thailand remains among Asia’s top formats markets, despite an almost 30% drop in volume this year against last year, and is showing every sign that Covid-19 related pressures are easing.

Like everywhere, Covid-19 and widespread containment measures have

and, pre-Covid, was scheduled to air as The Woody

had an impact on format production in Thailand – Asia’s second largest

Show Thailand on mass market free-TV Channel 7.

formats market by volume with a genre-split dominated by audience-

We’re hearing the show will go on before the end of

based game, entertainment and a range of competition shows.

this year; no ﬁnal conﬁrmation at press time.

According to ContentAsia’s Formats Outlook, Thailand aired/commis-

At the same time as the industry counts the costs of Co-

sioned 33 formats in the ﬁrst half of this year – about 27% down on the 45

vid-19, formats volume was already declining by the time

titles we counted in the ﬁrst six months of last year.

the pandemic hit.

Our latest list for Thailand ranges wide, from adaptations of premium Korean drama such as Another Miss Oh (remade in Thailand as Unlucky Ploy) to online games and, for the ﬁrst time, a local adaptation of European eSports format, Gamerz, from Bomanbridge Media. Titles also include True CJ Creations’ Thai version of game format From

For full year 2019, Thailand had 27% fewer formats compared to the 70 recorded for full-year 2018. Between 2018 and 2019, Thailand recorded the largest drop in the number of format titles aired/ commissioned of any country in Asia.

Start Till Clear, which has a presence across platforms, including on You-

In the ﬁrst half of 2020, game shows totally

Tube’s Online Station; NBCUniversal’s World of Dance S2; Nippon TV’s

dominated with 31% of the total, followed by

Mother; Dori Media’s The Best Of All S3; two versions of ITV Studios’ The

cooking formats at 19% and singing shows at

Voice, Banijay’s Celebrity MasterChef; Fuji TV’s The Next Iron Chef S2; and

13%. The remaining 37% is split between business, real-

CJ ENM’s I Can See Your Voice.

ity, dance and drama (neck and neck at 6% each) and

Wildly popular rap music reality contest, Show Me The Money, has also returned, courtesy of the Bangkok-based True CJ Creations, a joint venture between Korea’s CJ ENM and Thailand’s True Group.

dating, music, social inﬂuence, talk show and variety (see chart opposite). Outside of sheer volume, Thailand has long been in Asia’s formats

Perhaps the most high-proﬁle Covid-related delay was the debut of

vanguard, picking up new titles ﬁrst and making bigger bets on

the local version of The Ellen de Generes Show (Warner Bros) hosted by

shows untested elsewhere in the region. Local creators also have

Thai personality Woody Milintachinda. The adaptation is the ﬁrst in Asia

bigger ambitions to create and travel their own formats.

contentasia asia issue three, october 2020

Game Show 31%

Cooking 19%

Singing 13%

Show Me The Money S2 Thailand, True CJ Creations

Unlucky Ploy, True CJ Creations

adapted in Thailand last year. Season

one,

produced

APJ&CO, aired on PPTV from March to April 2019. Season two ran to 23 March this year. Season seven of The Voice Kids Thailand ran to September this year. Japanese broadcaster Fuji TV has also enjoyed a warm welcome in Thailand for cooking competition format, The Next Iron Chef – another ﬁrst for the region. The series, a spin-off of Iron Chef, was designed to ﬁnd the next resident chef on the weekly episodes of Iron Chef Thailand If Ellen was the poster show for

on BBTV Channel 7. The series is produced by Bangkok-based indie, Heli-

brand new titles in 2019/2020, ITV

conia H Group, led by Heliconia’s CEO/exec producer Kitikorn Penrote.

Studios’/Talpa’s The Voice Se-

The 12-episode debut series ran from 23 June to 28 December 2019. Sea-

nior Thailand broke new ground

son two is currently under way.

as the ﬁrst version in Asia of the

Going forward, we expect premium drama formats to continue to pick

widely adapted format for older

up steam, driven by demand from streaming/digital platforms. Titles that

contestants.

have ridden this trend in the past 18 months include Mother and Aban-

The Voice Senior Thailand was

doned from Nippon TV Japan, and Tunnel, Voice and Another Miss Oh

one of three versions of The Voice

contentasia issue three, october 2020

from Korea’s CJ ENM.

formatsoutlook

Thailand Titles

Rights holder

Broadcast details

Broadcaster/ Genre channel

Synopsis

5 Golden Rings Thailand S2

ITV Studios Global Entertainment

3 Feb 2020. Airs Mon/Tues at 6pm6.50pm

Channel 7

Game Show

Tech and skill align in a pic-based quiz

Best Of All Thailand S3

Dori Media Group

TBC. S2 aired 8 June 2019 with rights to Feb 2020.

Channel 3

Game Show

Will a crowd answer a question correctly more often than an individual?

Catch Me Out Thailand

all3media Int’l. Rights acquired by Workpoint

TBC

Entertainment

Everyday people try to convince audiences they are professional entertainers

Celebrity MasterChef Thailand S1

Banijay. Acquired for Thailand by Heliconia H Group

Nov/Dec 2020

Channel 7

Reality – Cooking

Competitive cooking reality show

Family Feud Thailand S5

Fremantle

Ongoing, continued after S4

Channel One, Thailand

Game Show – Quiz

Contestants guess top answers to quiz-based surveys

From Start Till Clear

CJ ENM. Thai rights qcquired by True CJ Creations

Ongoing

TrueID, Online Station on YouTube

Variety / game show

Gamerz Thailand S1

Bomanbridge

June 2020

GMM

Entertainment

Gamers move into the GAMERZ House where, with professional help, they are drilled to maximise their abilities

Hollywood Game Night Thailand S5

NBCUniversal

15 May 2019-Nov 2021

Channel 3

Game Show

Two contestants in a casual game night with celebrities to win cash prizes

I Can See Your Voice Thailand S4

CJ ENM

Ongoing

Workpoint TV

Singing contest

A professional singer and panel of celebrity entertainers guess who has real vocal talent

Iron Chef Thailand

Fuji TV

4 Jul-26 Sep 2020; 12pm-1pm

BBTV Channel 7

Reality – Cooking

Master chefs challenge one of the Iron Chefs

MasterChef All Stars Thailand S1

Banijay

2 Feb 2020-2 Aug 2020; 6.20pm, Sunday

BBTV Channel 7

Reality – Cooking

A competitive cooking reality show

Money Drop Thailand S3

Banijay

4 Aug 2019-2 Aug 2020

Zense Entertainment Co Ltd for Channel 7

Game Sh

Contestants are given their cash prize at the start of the show. All they have to do it keep hold of it

Mother Thailand

Nippon TV

5 Mar 2020

LINE TV

Drama

The story of a woman who responds to an abused girl’s silent cry for help.

Next Iron Chef Thailand S2

Fuji TV

9 Aug-25 Oct 2020; 6pm-7.50pm

BBTV Channel 7

Reality Cooking

A spin-off series of Iron Chef Thailand; search for the next resident star chef

Price Is Right Thailand

Fremantle

17 August 2020, Mon-Fri, 6pm

Channel 8

Game Show

Contestants compete for cash and prizes by guessing the pricing of merchandise.

Ranking Show 123 Thailand

MBC

3 Mar 2019, ongoing

Workpoint

Entertainment

Seven celebrities get two chances to figure out how contestants rank themselves.

Shark Tank Thailand S2

Sony Pictures Television

5 Jul 2020

Channel 7

Reality – Character led

Shark Tank Thailand S3

Sony Pictures Television

TBC

Reality – Character led

Show Me the Money Thailand S2

CJ ENM/True CJ Creations

26 August 2020

True4U

Reality, competition

Rap music reality contest

Songland Thailand

NBCUniversal

Oct 2020

TrueID

Entertainment

Competition for songwriters

Aspiring entrepreneur-contestants make business presentations to a panel of investors

contentasia issue three, october 2020

Dating

Music

Social influencer

Talk Show

Variety

Business

Dance

Drama

Reality

Singing

Cooking

Game Show

TOTAL

Nippon TV’s Mother, adapted for Thailand by JSL Global Media for Line TV

Still Standing Thailand S7

NBCUniversal

22 Apr 2019-Sep 2020

Amarin TV

Game Show

10 opponents vie for $1m prize

Take Me Out Thailand S16

Fremantle

January 2020

TV Thunder/ Channel 3

Reality - Dating

A single man dates one of 30 single women

Top Chef Just Desserts Thailand S1

NBCUniversal

22 Feb-Dec 2020

One31

Reality – Cooking

Chefs compete against each other in culinary challenges, desserts version

Top Chef Thailand S3

NBCUniversal

2 Nov 2019-Jun 2021

One31

Reality – Cooking

Chefs compete against each other in culinary challenges

Tripping Thailand

Banijay

26 Mar-28 May 2020; 5pm, Thurs

TrueID

Reality – Social Experiment

A road trip where the car is powered by social media likes, shares and comments

Unlucky Ploy

CJ ENM/True CJ Creations

Wednesday - Thursday at 20:30 pm

True4U channel 24/TrueID

Drama

Based on Korean drama Another Miss Oh

Viral Factory Thailand

ViacomCBS Networks International

Jul 2020

TrueID

Reality

A show that features a roster of local talent/influencer

Voice Kids Thailand S7

ITV Studios Global Entertainment

13 July-7 Sept 2020

PPTV HD 36

Singing contest

Kids version of singing competition, The Voice

Voice Senior Thailand S2

ITV Studios Global Entertainment

17 Feb-23 Mar 2020

PPTV HD 36

Singing contest

Seniors version of singing competition, The Voice

Wall Thailand S1

Banijay

6 Oct 2018-31 Jan 2020; 7pm

One 31 HD

Game Show

The Wall is a wildly unpredictable, fast and simple game show with huge cash sums on the line

The Woody Show Thailand (adapted from The Ellen Show)

Warner Bros International Television Production

TBC

Channel 7

Talkshow

Interviews, performers, audience participation games & segments spotlighting real people with extraordinary stories and talents

World Of Dance Thailand S2

NBCUniversal

TBC

One31

Dance contest

Four expert celebrity dancers judge, guide and mentor the world's top dancing talent and troupes of all ages

X Factor Thailand S2

Fremantle/Syco

TBC

Singing contest

Performers compete to become the next singing sensation

contentasia issue three, october 2020

productioninterview

Witch way up Writer, creator & director Asim Abbasi, talks to ContentAsia’s Janine Stein about his new drama, Churails (Witches), a thriller about four women in Pakistan who form a detective agency to find cheating husbands and find themselves embroiled in a conspiracy. The series is bold, the women are fierce and fearless, and the whole series for India’s Zee5 entertains as well as raises a fist against toxic masculinity. Why a story about witches? And where did the characters come from? “Churails is a story of four women from different walks of life – two privileged, two from underprivileged backgrounds – whom fate brings together with a common purpose of finding some kind of a redemption. They decide to open a detective agency to find cheating husbands. That’s the starting point of the series and it develops into something more substantial when they come across other women who have been harassed or abused and they become saviours for these women, helping them out in whatever way they can, and then finally finding themselves embroiled in a conspiracy from which they need to save one of their own. Female-centric stories draw me more, I find women more complex and their stories richer, filled with conflicts and I feel like they are underrepresented. All my films have done that to a certain degree. Churails is doing the same thing. But I think in a much bolder and out-there fashion.” Asim Abbasi, creator, writer, director, Churails, for Zee5

Who is your inspiration for such bold female characters? “I think women I meet everyday. My mother is a very, very strong woman... I have four sisters, so I grew up in a household of women who I have always looked up to and taken inspiration from. I draw a lot from my observations in Pakistan, which is a third-world country, and living in the U.K. which is first world. I think women all around me face different kinds of oppression, different kinds of discrimination, but it’s a global phenomenon and I’ve seen it everywhere...

contentasia issue three, october 2020

Churails

It’s all those women that I’ve seen over my 40 years of existence and

we thought was going to hopefully go someway to changing mindsets.

captured it somehow and tried to bring it to the show.”

We always had to keep the importance of the project in the forefront because if we were just living for that day, we’d be like ‘okay this is ex-

As a man trying to portray female characters, how do you go about dig-

hausting we can’t do this anymore’. I think the end goal always had to

ging so deep into the reality of the female experience? “More than any-

be clear and we had to be always working as a team, I think that’s very

thing else, that’s the most terrifying thought for me because I’m well aware

very important, we had to have each other’s backs. If that would not

that I am always going to be one degree separated. I do not occupy a

have happened, the production would have crumbled.”

woman’s body, I do not walk in a woman’s body. I do not face the same discrimination myself. I see it. So that’s why I talk about the degree of sepa-

Some of the dialogue is pretty honest and direct. Were you concerned

ration and the only way I can counteract that to a certain degree is firstly

about censorship? “I wasn’t because, well, I did worry if there was go-

connecting the stories in a very humane level, where the humanity should

ing to be backlash if people, especially within Pakistan and India, were

be neutral, irrespective of gender and beyond that, surrounding myself

not used to content... well India now is, but in Pakistan Churails is the first

with women. With Churails, I had female script consultants who were with

thing like this. What is more important for me and for Zee5 was keeping

me from day one. I had to make sure I was telling the story as authenti-

the authenticity of these characters. Someone from an elite background

cally as I could from a female perspective. I did not want this to become

had to use a certain kind of abuse and someone from the street who is a

another male gaze, that’s not what the show was ever meant to be.... sur-

misfit and had never spoken a word of English had to use a certain kind of

rounding myself with female crew and script consultants and all of that in

abuse... The back story kind of drove that and once that had happened

the development phase really helped make sure I was on the right track.”

I didn’t want to self-censor because we do that in cinema, we do that in television where there are broadcast regulations. The great thing about a

This is not the first time you’ve dealt with rape, with other serious, deep and

digital release or a digital platform is that it is up till now free of those censor

meaningful topics. How did the series push you as a creator? “In unimagi-

restrictions. So it is very creatively liberating.”

nable ways because I think it’s long form so you’re doing 10 episodes, you are almost shooting it as a film, not as a TV serial in Pakistan or a soap.

Does living in London liberate you as a filmmaker or do you still hold

We took our time. It was shot over three months in the summer heat of

those traditional Pakistani values? “I think it would be a mix. I am very

Karachi, in over 100 locations, with 50+ cast members. It was a very dif-

close to my roots. I am very close to my own culture but I’ve also been in

ficult shoot, a very demanding shoot. It pushed me because it made

the U.K. for over 20 years so I’ve really literally spent half of my life in both

me realise how patient we need to be through the process and always

places. So I think what ends up happening is that you have a global out-

keep the end goal in mind – we were trying to create something that

look, you become a speaker for change and you want things to develop

contentasia issue three, october 2020

productioninterview

back home as well. That doesn’t mean that you want to get rid of your

my wife pushed me. My mother, who is the dominant one in my house,

traditions, your culture and framework. Within that framework, there’s a

finally she said ‘okay fine, if you really like it, do it’. She probably thought I

lot of room for growth and new narratives and new stories. Even with

would do it for a couple of years...”

Churails, I’m trying to do something that is culturally specific but speaks to global themes that can resonate with you and anyone else for that

You said a few years ago that TV series were not your thing and your

matter who doesn’t even know about the Pakistani culture.”

heart was actually in feature films. What changed? “I was talking about TV serials in Pakistan, very domesticated, about the struggle of a married

Tell me about the male characters... “There are some antagonists. They

woman and her in-laws... rehashed again and again because they rate

are going where they would typically go in a genre show. But I want to talk

and audiences watch them... That was something I was avoiding and

more about the men who are supporting these women in their missions... it

I’m still avoiding. What I’m getting with Zee5 is a completely different ball

was very important to me for the good guys to not have that toxic mascu-

game. It’s completely my story, creative freedom, 10 episodes, so it’s

linity about themselves, who were going to be stopping women from find-

still compact compared to that 23-episode serial thing that we have in

ing their ambition, finding their voice, living their lives the way they want to

Pakistan. That’s what made me decide to do this and I have been very

live. These are all big supporters; they are allies and they are softer, gentler,

happy. I probably have found my right medium. I would love to do more

understanding and empathetic. Those are qualities that are sometimes

digital series.”

seen as not appropriate for men because that is what toxic masculinity pushes forward. It tells you, you have to be a certain kind of a man. You

You had real success with your first feature film Cake – Pakistan’s Oscar

have to be aggressive, you have to be alpha... you have to have the

entry for foreign-language film and currently on Netflix. Do you think the

power. Churails shifts the power dynamics... I think it’s important to move

switch between movies and TV will continue? “I think I will keep on switch-

away from the regressive stereotype we’ve seen for so long.”

ing. With Cake, the theatrical run was amazing, and for your first film to be released in cinema, it has that ego satisfaction, but really the amount

The themes that you’ve chosen in the past have been pretty brutal... Have

of love that I have gotten from Cake once it went digital, because it got

you ever been tempted by the regular romcom, where everyone lives

more eyeballs, especially in India where it didn’t have a theatrical re-

happily ever after? “I’m not adverse to happy endings, as long as they

lease... To this day, people are touched by it and they send me emails and

are realistic. My feature film did have certain comical elements, but they

messages. It’s very moving to know that it has legs even two years after

came from the actual characters... I didn’t set out to make a comedy.

release. So that aspect of digital is very very exciting. And the second thing

It’s my history that dictates that because I left a career in finance, which

that’s exciting about [digital] is the diversification of content... It is always

I did for 10 years. I moved into filmmaking at 30. In a way, sometimes I

a struggle to get independent films made. It’s the scale films and then the

feel bad about it because I’ve missed out 10 years of creating something

smaller films. And I think that applies to all industries because it’s business

but in a way I’m also really happy because I came into filmmaking mature

first and creative later. Digital is giving the reins back to the content cre-

in my thought process and determined as to what stories I wanted to tell.

ators and saying ‘you create what suits you, what works for you because

So the temptation was minimised. Of course if someone comes and says,

what we’re looking for is a diverse library’.”

‘we’re going to give you lots of money to make a commercial blockbuster but you need to put songs and dances in it, you will think about it twice but

What’s your opinion on art being informed by political realities, particu-

up to now I’ve had the strength to say ‘no that’s not what I do’. I’m happy

larly between India and Pakistan? “Art has to stay away from institution-

entertaining but there has to be some cathartic, meaningful, social thing

al politics. We are doing our own politics. Our politics is to bring people

happening there for the audiences. They need to take something away

together. It is to bridge the gap to highlight cultural similarities. I hope

from it, it can’t just be they’re only there for the two hours.”

anyone who has seen Churails in India is saying, ‘hey, we’ve seen this, we know this, this is no different from what is happening here’. I think

You were an investment banker. At what point were you ready to follow

that similarity is very important because what institutional politics does

your passion for filmmaking? “I was always passionate about it and invest-

is focus on the division. For me, personally, I have never experienced

ment banking has really long hours. I would sometimes, as an analyst when

this, I’ve been very blessed. Even with Cake... we grew up with old Bol-

I started off right out of undergrad school, work for 15-16 hours and still try

lywood songs. I wanted to keep that essence in Cake, so I have a lot of

to write for an hour when I came home. It was very hard, but it was always

Bollywood songs in Cake. I had a fantastic editor from India, who came

there. So I spent 10 years doing finance, made a lot of progress and when

to the U.K. to edit for me –Aarti Bajaj. People who watched Cake, ac-

you’re earning good money, you’re young and you’re like ‘okay, I can

tors who watched it in India, tweeted about Cake because they liked it.

defer it’ but I think something switched in me when I was 30. I got married

I think there are a lot of people who want that togetherness, who want

and I had a lot of support from my wife who said ‘okay, go have a difficult

us to come together and make content. And yes, sometimes politics

conversation with my parents’. I need to have my parents’ blessing every

will interfere, we’ll fall and then we’ll try to get up again and that’s just

time I do something. So I was kind of scared to have that conversation but

what our journey is as artists.”

contentasia issue three, october 2020

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