HBO Asia Reveals Two New Originals

HBO Asia has added to its roster of originals the Chinese-language period drama Legacy and Trinity of Shadows, a Taiwanese series in partnership with CATCHPLAY and HKTVE.

Set in the 1920s, Legacy chronicles the lives of the wealthy Yi family and its three sisters who vie to inherit their father’s shopping mall business. In a time of upheaval and uncertainty, the three sisters set aside their differences to keep the business afloat and save their family.

Legacy is created by Yu Zheng (Story of Yanxi Palace) and stars Qin Lan (Story of Yanxi Palace), Han Geng (Ex-Files), Wu Jinyan (Story of Yanxi Palace), Nie Yuan (Story of Yanxi Palace), Liu Jun (All is Well), Miao Pu (The Rise of the Tang Empire) and Zhang Nan (The Legend of Haolan). Legacy will premiere exclusively on WarnerMedia’s regional streaming service HBO GO later in 2021.

“We’ve been ramping up our Mandarin series recently and Legacy promises to be a binge-worthy addition to our growing originals slate,” said Magdalene Ew, WarnerMedia’s head of content, entertainment, Southeast Asia. “It’s one of those shows that has truly something for everyone. It promises intrigue, suspense and romance, all with the backdrop of a fascinating time in China’s history.”

WarnerMedia, CATCHPLAY and HKTVE (Hong Kong’s ViuTV) have aligned for Trinity of Shadows. The 15×1-hour crime drama will premiere with two back-to-back episodes every Sunday at 9 p.m. from June 13 on HBO GO and HBO in Asia. In Taiwan, the series will also simulcast on the CATCHPLAY+ streaming service. The series is about a murder investigation that has similarities to a cold case from three years ago.

Trinity of Shadows is produced by David Tang (Dad’s Suit, The Long Goodbye, Who Killed Cock Robin?) and directed by Bo-Hao Hong (Dad’s Suit, Wake Up S2). The screenwriter is Chien-Ming Huang (Scoundrels, Wake Up). Kaiser Chuang, Sandrine Pinna and Kuan-Ting Liu lead the cast.

“It’s great to be working on another project with CATCHPLAY,” said Ew. “Trinity of Shadows has everything we are looking for—a show with a super-talented cast and crew, and an intriguing storyline told with an authentic local voice. With HBO Asia Originals like The Head and Miss Sherlock, we’ve had a great response to our crime and mystery series, so Trinity has great potential to click with our discerning audiences around the region.”

Daphne Yang, CEO of CATCHPLAY Group, said: “CATCHPLAY is honored to partner with WarnerMedia and HKTVE. After introducing our first Taiwan drama The World Between Us, which was also in partnership with WarnerMedia, it has been our mission to introduce more unique, made-in-Taiwan stories for an international audience. Trinity of Shadows will mark the first project of our series of endeavors in producing Mandarin-speaking original content and we look forward to sharing more this year.”

“We are proud to partner with WarnerMedia and CATCHPLAY in bringing Trinity of Shadows to audiences who appreciate plot-driven and gripping stories,” said Lofai Lo, director and general manager of HK Television Entertainment Company. “Creating compelling content and nurturing promising talent are the two key pillars at ViuTV. Trinity, our first production in Taiwan, marks our latest effort in expanding the horizon of content creation. We look forward to continuing bringing originality and diversity in production in the future.”