Viu brews original Thai drama ‘My Bubble Tea’

Janice Lee

Asian streamer Viu has ordered its latest original scripted project, a romantic comedy based on an online novel that is to be produced in Thailand.

My Bubble Tea is a 13-episode show that Viu said it had developed using insights from its content consumption.

The story is based on a novel from Fictionlog, a user-generated content platform in Thailand, about a woman who concocts a ‘supernatural bubble tea brew’ to attract a lover. However, a man she despises accidentally drinks the tea and falls for her.

The show will be aired in the first quarter of 2020 and will be directed by Thammarong Sermrittirong (The Gifted). It stars Nichkhun Horvejkul of Korean boy band 2PM and Mean Phiravich, who previously appeared in drama Love by Chance.

Janice Lee, managing director of Viu owner PCCW Media Group, said: “From cast selection of talents who have great social media following to choosing an IP from Fictionlog that has an established online fan base, My Bubble Tea caters to the interests of the digital audience at the core of our content development.”

Lee added that: “We identified the Korean Wave, or Hallyu, as one of Southeast Asia’s main entertainment trends a few years ago and have since channelled a lot of effort into offering premium Korean content to Viu-ers – a move proving to be successful in customer acquisition and engagement.

“The Thai wave is now lapping on the shores in Asia, while Hallyu continues to gather momentum. This has prompted us to explore the combination of Hallyu and Thai wave to create a new and hopefully refreshing breed of entertainment for our audiences.”

Yesterday Viu revealed it had again linked up with HBO Asia to order a second season of its remake of Endemol Shine Group scripted format The Bridge.