Original scripted series "Halfworlds," which will feature a folklore-rich Malaysia, will be launched on HBO Asia. "Halfworlds" Season 1 Episode 1 will air on Sunday, Nov. 29 at 10 p.m. on HBO Asia.
According to Variety, the Asian counterpart of HBO will be launching the upcoming fantasy horror series starting next week. HBO Asia CEO Jonathan Spink expressed the network's quest on showcasing talents from Southeast Asia through "Halfworlds."
“’Halfworlds’ has been created with the scale to travel. This echoes HBO Asia’s collaborative commitment with creative talents across our region to develop premium Asian entertainment for regional audiences,” Spink said.
In the official synopsis from HBO, "Halfworlds" revolve around a supernatural world where demons and beasts or "Demit" co-exist with the humans. They remained undetected for several centuries after being enslaved by a special "family" of mortals. The Demit continued to live in the human world because of their ability to take on characteristics similar to our species.
The fantasy series will focus on the life of the 20-something Sarah (Salvita Decorte). She is a talented street artist who accidentally finds out about her mysterious past aside from a stranger she met. She is on a quest to find the unknown "Gift" in order to maintain the balance between the two worlds.
Acclaimed Indonesian filmmaker Joko Anwar created the eight-part series and co-written the script alongside Collin Chang. It stars Salvita Decorte, Reza Rahadian, Aimee Saras and Bront Palarae. The series will be catered for young adult audience and will feature English and Bahasa Indonesia subtitles.
In an interview with IGN, HBO Asia’s head of production and programming Erika North expressed her enthusiasm to work with Anwar. She also said that the network's big ambition is to have an interesting series which can be shown to local and international audience.
“Joko Anwar is a big force in the Indonesian film industry and has an incredible repertoire of movies that span across multiple genres. We are extremely excited at the opportunity to work with him,” North said.
North also added, “It is our hope that Halfworlds will leverage on its own distinctive South East Asian style as we want it to feel authentic as possible.”
"Halfworlds" is HBO's latest original series after "Dead Mine" and "Serangoon Road" in 2013, and "Grace" in 2014.
"Halfworlds" will premiere on Sunday, Nov. 29, at 10 p.m. on HBO Asia.
