Taiwan drama The Teenage Psychic to premiere in April

HBO ASIA’S first Chinese language original series, The Teenage Psychic ( right and far right) will premiere across Asia on April 2 at 10pm on HBO (Astro channels 411/ 431).

The series is jointly developed with Taiwanese broadcaster Public Television Service (PTS) and Singaporean production company InFocus Asia (IFA), and adapted from the award-winning short film, The Busy Young Psychic, from PTS’ Innovative Stories strand.

With English and Bahasa Malaysia subtitles, this six-episode Mandarinlanguage series will also be available on Astro on the Go.

Episodes will air every Sunday, ending with a two-episode finale on April 30.

Set and shot entirely in Taiwan, this series is directed by 29-year-old rising Taiwanese writer-director Chen Ho-Yu.

The cast comprises several of Taiwan’s most popular young actors, Kuo Shu Yau ( Step Back to Glory, The Devil Game), Kent Tsai ( Mon Mon Mon Monsters), Chen Mu Yi ( Comes the Black Dog), Alina Cheng ( Love at Seventeen), Nana Lee ( Youth Power), Michael Huang ( Wake Up), and Sylvia Hsieh ( You Light Up My Star).

The coming-of-age story revolves around 16-year-old Xiao Zhen (played by Kuo) who just wants to lead a normal life. Unfortunately, she was born with the ability to see spirits, which forces her into the role of psychic.

Forced to juggle the pressures of teenage life – first love, academic success, and peer pressure – with the demands of the spirit world, Xiao Zhen learns to use her abilities to help the living deal with their loved ones on the other side.

She eventually realises that fixing other people’s problems gives her the strength she needs to navigate high school.

However, there are also those who want to take advantage of her abilities.

The Teenage Psychic is HBO Asia’s second original production this year after the second season of Halfworld, the dark action fantasy drama series set in Bangkok which premiered in January.

A third original series, a comedy titled Sent, set in Singapore, will premiere later this year.