ABC and HBO Asia Team Up For New Drama Series

ABC TV and HBO Asia have come together to produce a new television drama series by the name of Serangoon Road, which has commenced filming in Singapore with some pretty exciting names cast in the series' main roles.

Twin Peaks, Mao's Last Dancer and The Last Emperor star Joan Chen is onboard, as are much loved Aussie talents Don Hany, Maeve Dermody, Rachael Blake and Michael Dorman.

In the series, Hany plays Australian-born Sam Callaghan, who is deeply scarred due to a childhood spent in Japanese internment camps during WWII and time fighting in the Malayan Emergency. Upon the murder of his neighbour, Callaghan reluctantly agrees to continue his private detective agency, following the insistence of Chen, his neighbour's widowed wife.

Financing partners for the production include ScreenWest, ABC TV and ABC Commercial, HBO Asia and international distributors Content Media Corporation, while some of Australia's most sought after creative talents are onboard as well, including creator and producer Paul Barron, directors Peter Andrikidis and Tony Tilse, writers Michaeley O'Brien and Tony Morphett, line producer Richard Clendinnen, DOP Joe Pickering and production designer Herbert Pinter.

This is the first time ABC TV and HBO Asia have worked together on a drama series, HBO Asia CEO Jonathan Spink saying

“This milestone investment marks the beginning of our commitment in producing in top quality, relevant and riveting content,” he said in a statement released this morning.

Ten one-hour episodes of the series have been commissioned.