The nomination of 267 programmes across 41 categories from 13 countries with the richness of their differing cultural, storytelling ascendancy, talent and cinematic perspectives are looking forward to the 21st Asian Television Awards on 1st and 2nd December 2016 for the final verdict. The Asian Television Awards (ATA) is the pinnacle for recognising excellence in television entertainment around the Asia- Pacific region. For two decades now, this distinguished event has been embraced by broadcast industry professionals around the region and it’s a thrilling must-see event in the Asia-Pacific region. The nominated programmes were selected through a rigorous short-listing process involving pre-judging which narrowed the number of submissions to 267 programmes, and a final judging by key stakeholders of the jury to identity the final list of winners honoured for the fi nest Asian television entertainment bestowed by the 21st Asian Television Awards. Many of the broadcast industry’s brightest talents of the television entertainment get together once a year for this congenial celebration to mingle with friends and colleagues while recognising outstanding achievements by their peers, decided upon by 75 judges, with vast industry experience. HBO Asia’s Halfworlds and PTS’ A Touch of Green are two single programmes that have each received a total of 6 nominations. KBS drama Descendants of the Sun, starring Song Joong Ki and Song Hye Kyo as Yoo Si Jin and Kang Mo Yeon respectively, has been nominated in the ‘Best Drama Series’. The Korean drama follows the love story between a surgeon and Special Forces officer, both elite in their fields, in a fictional war zone.

MBC drama Marriage Contract, starring Lee Seo Jin and Uee as Han Ji Hoon and Kang Hye Soo respectively, is the latter of the two Korean dramas nominated. The remaining six titles nominated for ‘Best Drama Series’ includes 4 from Mediacorp – Channel 5 series The Hush, Channel 8 series The Journey: Our Homeland and The Dream Makers 2 as well as Suria series Bingit 3. HBO series Halfworlds and TBS series Downtown Rocket complete the list. ‘Best Comedy Performance by an Actor/Actress’ sees 6 nominees including Filipino Michael V – a recurring nominee for the category, who was also nominated last year, Hong Kong actress Bernice Liu, and Singapore-based Carla Dunareanu as well as Alaric Tay who won highly recommended for the same award in 2011. ‘Best Actor in a Supporting Role’ sees 8 nominees in total including last year’s host Max Loong and Pierre Png who won best actor in 2014 for his work in Zero Calling. ‘Best Actress in a Supporting Role’ sees 6 nominees including Singapore artist Julie Tan for her portrayal of Dong Zihuai in the year-end Mediacorp blockbuster The Dream Makers 2. ‘Best Actor in a Leading Role’ sees 6 nominees hailing from Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore and Thailand. Actor, screenwriter, director and producer Bront Palarae is nominated for his work on Eropah, Here I Am.

Also from Malaysia is Frederick Lee for his leading role in Turning Point. Singapore’s Christopher Lee is also in the list based on his performance in Crescendo. ‘Best Actress in a Leading Role’ sees 7 nominees from Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore and Hong Kong. Kristal Tin is nominated for her portrayal of May Suen Suk-Mui in the Hong Kong romantic-comedy Ghost of Relativity, which she had also won four other awards from three separate ceremonies. Media Prima artiste Jojo Goh snags a place for her work in the telemovie The Love Machine. The winners will be announced during the awards gala ceremony, slated to take place at the state-of-the-art auditorium at Suntec City, Singapore. Confirmed performers include JJ Lin, Charli XCX, Rossa Roslina as well as the recently announced Adrian Pang, Stephanie Carrington, Alden Richards and Baki Zainal will be hosting the “live” televised segment.