Singapore – HBO Asia announced on July 24 that it will – for the first time ever – be offering a free sampling of the first episode of the brand-new Cinemax Original Series, The Knick, on its website and on HBO Asia’s YouTube channel for a period of two weeks from August 11 to 25, just two days after its Asian television premiere.

“This is the first time HBO Asia is offering the entire pilot episode of our original series for free to all audiences, including non-subscribers, on our website and on the HBO Asia YouTube channel,” said Magdalene Ew, Head, Marketing, Creative and Content, HBO Asia. “We hope this free sampling of the Cinemax Original series, The Knick, will help build interest in the brand-new show, offer more viewers a chance to watch the show legitimately, and prompt viewers to subscribe to the channel.”

The first episode of The Knick on HBO Asia’s YouTube channel and the cinema website will be available in eight territories – Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand. Subtitles will be available in Hong Kong (Chinese), Indonesia (Bahasa Indonesia), Malaysia (Bahasa Malaysia), Taiwan (Chinese) and Thailand (Thai).

Starring Academy Award and Emmy nominee Clive Owen (Children of Men, HBO’s Hemingway & Gellhorn) and directed by Academy Award and Emmy winner Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Side Effects, HBO’s Behind the Candelabra), The Knick is set in downtown New York in 1900 and centres on the Knickerbocker Hospital and its groundbreaking surgeons, nurses and staff, who push the boundaries of medicine in a time of astonishingly high mortality rates and zero antibiotics. The Cinemax Original Series has been renewed for a second season ahead of its series premiere. The entire first and second season of The Knick will be directed by Steven Soderbergh.

This follows the recent announcement that all HBO and Cinemax scripted content on HBO Asia’s network will air less than 24 hours (on the very day and date) of its U.S. premiere, starting with The Knick. The ten-episode drama premieres in Asia exclusively on Cinemax on August 9 at 10pm (9pmThai/Jkt). New episodes will air every week at the same time. Subscribers of HBO GO can catch the series even earlier as new weekly episodes are available on the broadband streaming service less than 12 hours after it debuts in the U.S. from August 9. The series is also available free on HBO On Demand from August 18.