Toggle & ViuTV Co-Producing Suspense Drama Bluetick

Toggle and ViuTV are collaborating on their first co-production, Bluetick, a 20-episode suspense drama.

Based on Hong Kong author Ray Leung’s best-selling novel, Bluetick centers on ten strangers who attend the funeral of their common friend. One of them sends a message to her deceased friend, only to receive a “blue tick,” indicating that the message was delivered and read. One after another, those who attended the funeral are murdered.

Bluetick will be simulcast to audiences in Singapore and Hong Kong, via Toggle and ViuTV, respectively. Scheduled for launch in September 2018, the series will start filming this month and will be released over 20 half-hour episodes.

Filming will take place across Singapore, Hong Kong and various places in mainland China. As the first co-produced Toggle Originals program, the project is fully supported by Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA).

Anil Nihalani, the head digital products and technology Mediacorp, which owns Toggle, said, “The collaboration with ViuTV marks another milestone for Toggle, and reinforces our commitment to delight our audiences with quality original content, up the ante with international production and casts that they can already relate to. Through this collaboration, we also hope to introduce Mediacorp’s wide content offerings to audiences in Hong Kong through Toggle.”

Doreen Neo, chief content officer of Mediacorp, said, “We feel privileged to collaborate with ViuTV for this co-production. Having the opportunity to participate in a myriad of co-productions over the years, we hope to bring into this collaboration our production expertise and creative talents. With the strength of both platforms, Toggle and ViuTV, and a combination of production and acting talents from both sides, I am confident that we can create content that will resonate with viewers not just in Hong Kong and Singapore, but across Asia.”

Lofai Lo, general manager of ViuTV, said, “It is a great pleasure to collaborate with Mediacorp. By forging a creative dynamic between our two production arms, we hope to produce a creative and unique drama series that blends the best of both cultures in Singapore and Hong Kong. Our collaboration enhances our ability to serve the Chinese audience in different parts of the world, and also heightens ViuTV’s production quality. By taking an initial step in international co-production, ViuTV can establish and strengthen its brand presence around the world, and further our mission to provide more variety and choices to our Chinese audiences.”