HBO Asia has announced a new original series titled Twisted Strings.
The television network revealed the series today (January 26) as its latest title under the HBO Asia Original banner. A thriller-comedy about a trail of bizarre deaths in the heart of Taiping City, Twisted Strings was executive produced by Taiwanese arthouse filmmaker Hou Hsiao-Hsien.
Watch the announcement trailer, which offers viewers a peek at the head-scratching plot –for instance, “a funeral without the deceased” and “a kidnapping without a kidnapper”:
According to a press release, the name of the series is inspired by a popular Taiwanese nursery rhyme. Each episode is loosely based on a line from the song, whose lyrics tell the story of a monkey’s life over seven days.
Twisted Strings was executive produced by auteur Hou Hsiao-Hsien (The Assassin, Millennium Mambo), whose involvement was announced last August. Huang Xi, whose 2017 debut film Missing Johnny earned him a Golden Horse nomination for best director, serves as writer and director.
The series’ cast is led by veteran actors Lee Kang-sheng and Sylvia Chang. Both Lee and Hou make their television debut with this project. Other actors attached to the project include Nikki Hsieh, Yo Yang, Yao Ti-ti, and Duan Chun-Hao, among others.
Twisted Strings will comprise seven one-hour episodes, with the first airing March 27 at 9pm Singapore time via HBO and its streaming platform, HBO GO.
The show will also be available on the CATCHPLAY+ streaming service in Taiwan and Indonesia. The series is produced by CATCHPLAY’s production arm, Screenworks Asia, in partnership with Taiwan’s Bossdom and Singapore’s Mediacorp.