Singapore – BBC Worldwide Asia announced the launch of BBC First in Hong Kong. The premium drama brand has launched successfully in the major markets around the world including Australia, South Africa, Benelux and the Middle East and offers viewers the best British drama from the BBC and UK independent production companies. Viewers will also be able to access select popular and distinct shows from the BBC within 24 hours of their original transmission.
At launch, some of the highly rated and star-studded BBC dramas that Now TV’s subscribers can look forward to Class, The Collection, Undercover and War and Peace. From the makers of Doctor Who comes this epic young-adult series set in contemporary London. Written by award-winning author Patrick Ness and starring exciting new talent, Class is scary, funny, and as painful and sharp as a youth. Like all teenagers, the students at Coal Hill Academy have hidden secrets and desires. They are facing their worst fears, navigating a life of friends, parents, school, sorrow – and possibly the end of existence.
The Collection tells a story in Paris, the year 1947 when a fashion empire rises from the ashes of this war-torn city. Two very different brothers run the House of Sabine. Breathtakingly charming and thoroughly ruthless, Paul Sabine controls the business. Meanwhile, it is his reckless, hedonistic younger brother Claude whose fresh vision is ushering in a new era in haute couture. However, behind the glamour and success lie devastating secrets that threaten to tear this family apart. Undercover is about Maya, a barrister in London, is about to become the first black Director of Public Prosecutions. However, just as her life comes under intense public scrutiny, Maya discovers that her husband Nick has been lying to her for 20 years. At the same time, a case that has dominated her career is about to reach its conclusion. Rudy Jones, a black man in America, wrongly convicted of murdering a white politician, is to be executed. As she fights to save Rudy and discovers more about her husband’s past, Maya begins to realise there are bigger forces at work.
Adapted by leading screenwriter Andrew Davies, produced by BBC Wales and The Weinstein Company. War and Peace is a modern take on one of the most famous and epic stories of all time. Encompassing huge themes of love and war, life and death, the series features a star-studded line-up including Paul Dano, Lily James and James Norton. The series was filmed in Russia, Latvia and Lithuania. BBC Earth, BBC Lifestyle, CBeebies as well as BBC World News are also available on Now TV. In Asia, BBC First is available in Singapore and Malaysia, and as a block in Japan. It is also in Australia, Middle East, North Africa, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Existing Now TV subscribers with BBC Entertainment and BBC On Demand will have access to BBC First as a replacement for BBC Entertainment and BBC On Demand. BBC First will also be available to Now TV’s customers with Entertainment Pack Two.
