SINGAPORE, 6 APRIL 2017 – HBO Asia’s first Mandarin Original series, THE TEENAGE PSYCHIC, premiered to rave reviews and positive ratings on Sunday, 2 April. In Singapore, the series came in as the top programme across all of StarHub’s English movie channels and had higher premiere ratings than any HBO Asia Originals to date.
In Taiwan, the series was also the top keyword search on the Internet and the series’ behind-the-scenes footage that was released on their Facebook page received over thousands of likes within the first hour. The page also received messages from eager fans sharing that they are looking forward to the next episode and hope to have more episodes to come.
THE TEENAGE PSYCHIC is jointly developed with HBO and Taiwanese broadcaster, Public Television Service (PTS) and award-winning Singaporean production company, InFocus Asia. The series revolves around Xiao Zhen (小真), played by Kuo Shu Yau (郭書瑤), who possesses psychic abilities but wants to lead a typical teenage high school life. Throughout the series, a traditional temple in Taiwan was featured that also caught the interest from foreign audiences.
The series’ entire Taiwanese cast include Kuo Shu Yau (郭書瑤) [Step Back To Glory (志氣); The Devil Game (劣人傳之詭計)], Kent Tsai (蔡凡熙) [Mon Mon Mon Monsters (報告老師！怪怪怪怪物！)], Chen Mu Yi (陳慕義) [Comes The Black Dog (黑狗來了)], Alina Cheng (鄭茵聲) [Love At Seventeen (我和我的十七歲)], Nana Lee (李千娜) [Youth Power (哇！陳怡君); One Million Star (超級星光大道)], Michael Huang (黃仲崑) [Wake Up (麻醉風暴)] and Sylvia Hsieh (謝翔雅) [You Light Up My Star (照亮我星球)].
THE TEENAGE PSYCHIC is a coming-of-age story that revolves around Xiao Zhen (小真), played by Kuo Shu Yau (郭書瑤), a 16-year-old girl who just wants to lead a typical teenage high school life. Born with the ability to see spirits, her life will never be normal. Xiao Zhen must juggle the pressures of teenage life – first love, academic success and peer pressure – with the demands of the spirit world. As Xiao Zhen learns to use her abilities to help the living deal with their loved ones on the other side – spirits who are lost, forgotten, angry or just crying out for help – this teenager finds that fixing other people’s problems gives her the strength she needs to navigate high school and her first major romantic encounter. Xiao Zhen’s powers become a danger for her as others seek to use her abilities for their own greed.
THE TEENAGE PSYCHIC is HBO Asia’s second Original production this year after the second season of HALFWORLDS, the dark action fantasy drama series set in Bangkok which premiered in January. A brand-new comedy series, SENT, set in Singapore will premiere later this year. Follow THE TEENAGE PSYCHIC on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TheTeenagePsychicHBO/, and join the conversation with #TheTeenagePsychic / #HBOAsia.
New episodes of THE TEENAGE PSYCHIC will air every Sunday, at 10pm (SIN) on HBO, with an encore playtime on Wednesday, at 9pm (SIN). The series will also be available on HBO GO. The series will end with a two-episode finale on 30 April.
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About HBO ASIA
Singapore-based HBO Asia brings the best of Hollywood to Asia first through its exclusive licensing deals with major Hollywood and independent studios, including Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Universal Studios, Warner Bros. and Lionsgate. HBO Asia has proprietary and award-winning HBO and HBO Asia Original programmes produced exclusively for HBO viewers. Wholly owned by HBO (a Time Warner company), HBO Asia reaches 23 territories across Asia with six 24-hour commercial-free subscription movie channels: HBO, HBO Signature, HBO Family, HBO Hits, Cinemax and Red by HBO, internet streaming platform, HBO GO, subscription video on demand service, HBO On Demand, and in China, 鼎级剧场 (ding ji ju chang). HBO Asia is also the exclusive distributor of BabyFirst and the DreamWorks channel in the region. Log on to www.hboasia.com for more information.
About Public Television Service (PTS)
With the passage of the Public Television Act by the Legislative Yuan, Taiwan Public Television Service Foundation (PTS Foundation) was established as a non-profit foundation to operate the Public Television Service (PTS), which started broadcast on July 1, 1998. The chief objective of PTS is to establish a public service mass media system. As an independent public service broadcaster trust by the public, PTS aims to provide value-added quality programming services covering a wide range of categories to present the diversity and creativity in Taiwan.
About InFocus Asia (IFA)
IFA Media is one of Asia’s premier content producers, producing award-winning factual and drama that rates across the world. The company is headquartered in Singapore with four offices across the region (Bangkok, Beijing and Taipei).
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HBO, Home Box Office and HBO Asia Originals are service marks of Home Box Office, Inc. THE TEENAGE PSYCHIC is a service mark of HBO Pacific Partners, v.o.f.
For more information, please contact HBO Asia:
Karen Lai
Director, Communications
Tel: (65) 6381 1796
Email: karen.lai@hboasia.com
Cheryl Foong
Manager, Communications
Tel: (65) 6381 1838
Email:cheryl.foong@hboasia.com
Chan Zi Ning
Executive, Communications
Tel: (65) 6381 1746
Email: zining.chan@hboasia.com