Korean fantasy thriller romance “Black” has been given a Malay-language adaptation with a more supernatural spin. The series is produced by Malaysia’s Alpha47 Films, from a CJ E&M format.
It is co-directed by award-winning directors, Razaisyam Rashid and Kroll Azri. Cast includes Kamal Adli, Siti Saleha, Nabila Huda, and Zoey Rahman. It will air with this month with four back-to-back episodes each on Dec. 17 and 24, on pan-Asian streaming service Viu.
In the original Korean series, Black follows a grim reaper who enters the world of mortals and finds himself falling in love with a woman who can foresee death. (All 18 episodes of the original are available on Viu.)
The Malaysian adaptation replaces the concept of grim reaper with Bunian, a supernatural being from another dimension in Malay folklore. It sets the eponymous Black on a mission to track down his fugitive partner in the human world. Despite detesting humans for their primitive ways, Black falls in love with a woman whose ability to foresee death is key to his mission. Along the way, they become embroiled in a 20-year-old unsolved murder case that leads back to their shared past.
Viu, which is backed by Hong Kong’s PCCW, operates across 17 markets spanning Asia, the Middle East and South Africa. It claims monthly average uses of 36 million.
“Three of our original dramas out of Malaysia have received outstanding recognition at the recent Asian Academy Creative Awards. With a focus on original creative and international formats, Viu Malaysia took the opportunity to bring a localized version of CJ E&M’s powerful and haunting storyline of ‘Black’ to Viu audiences,” said Kingsley Warner, GM of Viu Malaysia.