With Singapore-set Sent, HBO Asia hopes to strike comedy gold
Singaporean YouTube star Haresh Tilani heads an ensemble cast drawn from across East Asia in channel’s tentative first step into comedy, directed by Alaric Tay and filmed in the Lion City
Who among us has not experienced the panic of having sent a text or an email to the wrong person; that sudden lurch of regret when we realise the accidental recipient is about to read things they shouldn’t; perhaps things about themselves? This very modern-day dilemma is the premise of a new HBO Asia comedy, Sent, which premieres on television today.
“The story resonated with me straight off the bat,” says Sent director and co-producer Alaric Tay. “Technology is taking over our lives at such a rapid pace that tech mishaps can ruin lives.”
The Singaporean-made series stars local YouTube star Haresh Tilani as Jay Bunani, a 30-year-old office drone and “beta male” doormat who vents his anger by typing out furious tirades to his colleagues and friends, then saving them in his work email drafts folder. He never intends to send them but, of course, it’s only a matter of time before Jay’s nightmare scenario unfolds and all his “hot emails” are delivered to the subjects of his rants.
The catastrophe at the heart of the plot may feel a little far-fetched; why would he add addresses to the drafts? The comedy, however, lies in the ensuing events as Jay’s friends and family turn against him and the press get hold of his story, escalating his humiliation.