HBO Asia’s first comedy drama series, SENT, will be making its debut across Asia on Sunday, September 17, 2017, exclusively on HBO. The eight-episode half-hour series will premiere with double back-to-back episodes at 9pm (SIN) with two new episodes premiering on subsequent Sundays at the same time, culminating with two back-to-back episodes onOctober 8, 2017. SENT will also be streaming on HBO GO and will be available on HBO On Demand.
Filmed entirely on location and set in Singapore, “SENT”, tells the story of Jay Bunani (played by Haresh Tilani), an unremarkable and meek financial compliance officer whose only way of coping with the stresses of life is to draft searing and eye-wateringly honest emails to anyone who aggravates him. This backfires one fateful day and his drafts folder full of hundreds of these “hot letters” are accidentally sent out, turning Jay into an Internet sensation overnight and not the good kind. While also juggling the pressures of a failed engagement and keeping everything a secret from his parents, Jay has no choice but to turn to an old college friend, Max Wong (played by Alan Wong) for help, the only person who sees Jay’s predicament as an opportunity for Jay to dream a little bigger. Set in the world of memes, GIFs and hashtags, Jay’s journey of self-discovery is further set in motion when an unexpected job opportunity with the country’s leading restauranteur and slightly-shady business man, Zacheus Lee (played by Adrian Pang), leads him down an unexpected road to finally turning his life around.
Developed by HBO Asia and produced by local production house Very Tay, “SENT” will feature an ensemble cast of actors who are based in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, India and Hong Kong. They include Haresh Tilani (Ministry of Funny), Alan Wong (Tanglin), Adrian Pang (The Blue Mansion), Carla Dunareanu (The Kitchen Musical), David Asavanond (HBO Asia’s Halfworlds Season 2), Rosalind (Roz) Pho (Light Years), Dhanya Nambiar (Rojak), Indi Nadarajah (Setem), Anuradha Chandan (Kapoor & Sons), Laanya Asogan (On the Rocks), Emil Marwa (East is East), Mike Leeder (The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor), Nikki Muller (High Class), Stephanie Carrington (The Pupil) and Crispian Chan (Apprentice). Singaporean comedian Alaric Tay directed and co-produced the series.
“SENT” is produced in partnership with the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) as part of a two-year collaboration to develop the drama production capabilities of Singapore’s media industry and talent. Under this partnership, HBO Asia will work with local talent and companies, and train them to develop and produce compelling content for international audiences.
“SENT” is HBO Asia’s third Original production this year following the second season of HALFWORLDS, the dark action fantasy drama series set in Bangkok which premiered in January and THE TEENAGE PSYCHIC, HBO Asia’s first original Chinese series set in Taiwan that premiered with breakthrough ratings in April. To date, HBO Asia has produced nine Asian Originals with more slated to premiere in the coming years. Being the first network in Asia to produce original content for the region since 2012, HBO Asia is committed to expand its repertoire for Asian audiences.
HBO Asia’s first original comedy drama series, “SENT”, premieres exclusively on HBO with two episodes back-to-back on Sunday, 17 September at 9pm (SIN). Two new episodes from the eight-episode half-hour series will premiere every Sunday at 9pm (SIN). The series will also be streaming on HBO GO and will be available on HBO On Demand.