HBO Asia Expands Originals Team

WarnerMedia has bolstered the HBO Asia originals team, with appointments for development and production in scripted and unscripted.

May-Yi Lee has been tapped to lead development and production for Unscripted, while Garon De Silva has been named the new lead of development and production for scripted.

Taiwan-based Lee is an award-winning executive producer who has worked with Asian storytellers on hundreds of productions over more than 20 years. She joins WarnerMedia from National Geographic, where she joined forces with creative talent across Southeast Asia, Japan and China.

A founding member of the HBO Asia originals team, De Silva has overseen the development of scripted HBO Asia originals, including Dream Raider (2020), Invisible Stories (2020), Food Lore (2019), Folklore (2018), Grisse (2018), Halfworlds season two (2017), The Teenage Psychic (2017) and Sent (2017). He was also co-creator and showrunner for Grace (2014) and Halfworlds season one (2015).

Magdalene Ew, head of content for entertainment at WarnerMedia in India, Southeast Asia and Korea, said: “As we continue to grow our team, May-Yi will be integral to our search and development of quality unscripted programming. With her rich experience and industry connections, she will be able to deliver against our considerable ambitions, especially in the documentary and reality TV genres. At the same time, Garon will now focus entirely on scripted originals. He is tasked with expanding our slate of original Asian scripted entertainment and leading the team that brings to life the region’s best stories.”