The reality series, which delves deep into the heart of one of Asia’s top integrated resorts, examines how 9,000 staff scurry unnoticed daily in an underground labyrinth known as the “Heart of House” just to upkeep the renowned property.

TV ASIA Plus: How did you arrive at the decision to produce your first original series, starring non-celebrities?

We have made a lot of one-hour biographies, with P.Ramly and Siti Nurhaliza for example. We are a character-driven, people-driven brand; whether they’re famous people or real people with really good stories. We have been looking for a location-centric story where we can really capture the movement going back and forth, and here it was at our doorstep.

TV ASIA Plus: Describe the process of working with the hotel staff, some of whom might be camera-shy?

We identified the staff that we thought were going to make the best TV. Not everyone whom we interviewed wants to be on TV. And it’s very different from celebrities because you’ve got more time and access and they’re not under pressure. They might be a little aware of a camera on them but I would say that it is probably more relaxing because as a production company you’re not under the massive pressure that you are when you film celebrities.

TV ASIA Plus: This is a series about a landmark in Singapore. Were you concerned that this show might not have an audience elsewhere?

We were looking for a show that is going to resonate with our footprint which includes Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and a lot of customers that pass through this building are from these regions. At the same time, we know that it is such a gigantic operation that it should actually travel very well because when you look at the facts and figures it is going to be pretty interesting to anyone. You don’t have to be Asian at all.

TV ASIA Plus: Asian audiences are diverse, not just culturally, but in tastes and preferences as well. What are the challenges of creating such original content for viewers here?

Asia has a lot of rich cultures. So to get our Taiwanese audience interested in a Malaysian story for instance, I think that is a challenge for anyone. Language is also a challenge. We are always looking for stories that touch people wherever they’re from, from whichever culture.

And another one which I found quite interesting is humour. Humour is very personal to each culture. You can find humour to be quite subtle. If you look at a lot of the channels out there, finding humour that crosses all cultures can be quite difficult.

TV ASIA Plus: There are also bolder programmes like Obsessed and Hoarders on Bio. Is that a direction AAAN might eventually go into for its own productions?

We’ve actually made a show called Junky Monastery and for us, that was pretty gritty. It’s about a British guy – a drug addict, who goes to a special rehabilitation monk school in Thailand. So certainly, we are looking out for Asian versions of what you have mentioned. But the production community having the time and resources to go out and find those suitable for Asia, and open up those avenues on TV, will take a lot of trust and be a lot slower.

There’s a lot of gritty stuff that comes out of the US that we show on Bio but Asia has a different culture. Here, it is a little bit more nurturing, a little bit more sensitive and we need to “tip-toe” a little bit more.

TV ASIA Plus: Tell us what Bio’s direction is.

We want to celebrate people. Our stories are about people, whether they are famous or not. I think everyone who came to this integrated resort is facing logistical challenges that they’ve never had before and it is actually easy for us, in terms of documenting these people. We only touched on 12 TV-friendly characters in this series, but you know that there are so many more people here with great stories.

TV ASIA Plus: Would there be a follow-up series?

We are always open to doing more but let’s let it run its course first. We’re always looking at these character-driven stories. Locations are good too actually because you can get involved. We want a bit of familiarity with locations and places. The production community that we work with is on the lookout as well, not just in Singapore, but region wide. This is a hard one to top.