The rise of ViuTV with boy band Mirror and dramas like Ossan’s Love

Viu’s innovative programming has made it Southeast Asia’s second largest streaming service by paid subscribers, coming second to Disney+ and ahead of Netflix

The network’s dramas reflect society’s rising tolerance of once taboo topics and their modern storylines have enticed the likes of Loletta Lee back to acting

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Since winning the ViuTV talent show Good Night Show – King Maker in 2018, 12-member boy band Mirror have been on a meteoric rise in the entertainment world. Photo: @mirror.weare/Instagram

Published: 7:15am, 3 Sep 2021Updated: 12:26pm, 3 Sep 2021

The unprecedented success of five-year-old Hong Kong broadcaster ViuTV is reflected in one of its biggest creations to date – boy band Mirror.

From winning the station’s talent show Good Night Show – King Maker in 2018 to becoming the hottest stars in town, the rise of the 12-member Canto-pop group has been meteoric.

Camped outside shopping malls, the band’s avid and mostly female followers queue for up to 24 hours to secure the best viewing spots for their appearances. The fans’ devotion prompted a group of husbands to start the Facebook group “My wife married Mirror and left my marriage in ruins” to share their grievances.

Meanwhile, according to research firm Media Partners Asia, Viu – also a subsidiary of PCCW, a public company whose chairman is tycoon Richard Li Tzar-kai, that focuses on streaming Korean dramas and Japanese animations – is now Southeast Asia’s second largest streaming service by paid subscribers, behind Disney+ but ahead of Netflix.

Edan Lui (left) and Anson Lo of boy band Mirror meet their fans at a Gucci store in Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. Photo: Felix Wong

Some ViuTV programmes have been sold to overseas streaming platforms. Its recent 15-episode production Ossan’s Love, adapted from a Japanese TV series of the same name, about the relationships between gay men and featuring Mirror singers Anson Lo Hon-ting, Edan Lui Cheuk-on and Stanley Yau Sze-chun, was bought by Japanese streaming platform Telas and has been showing since August 21.

ViuTV series We are the Littles (2020), about a woman coach who trains an all-male volleyball team to success, has been bought by KTSF, an Asian television station owned by Lincoln Broadcasting in California. KTSF has been showing it since August 18.