Mediacorp and creator of Mr Kiasu collaborate to bring the well-loved character back to local audiences

Singapore, 14 November 2019 – Mediacorp and Johnny Lau, creator of Mr Kiasu, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today to collaborate on a series of upcoming projects featuring the iconic and popular character over the next three years. And the first of these will be Mr Kiasu’s inaugural radio drama on Mediacorp’s CAPITAL 958 come 18 November 2019. 

A character created by Johnny Lau in 1989, Mr Kiasu’s personality is based off the local concept of “kiasu” (commonly known as “the fear of missing out”) and features a tongue-in-cheek portrayal of the behavior of Singaporeans. Mr Kiasu was first featured in a series of comic books by Lau and his co-authors, and has since catapulted into much success and popularity among locals, with adaptations made into a stage musical, television series and soon a web series.

Aligned with Mediacorp’s strategy to provide innovative content that is close to the hearts of Singaporeans, this new collaboration will see Mediacorp and Lau working closely together to showcase Mr Kiasu across multiple initiatives on Mediacorp’s Chinese News and Current Affairs platforms.  The first is a 15-episode radio drama Kiasu Playbook《怕输攻略》, a commemorative Bicentennial special that features Mr Kiasu travelling back in time to uncover Singapore’s history, and meeting figures like the legendary Sang Nila Utama and founder of modern Singapore Sir Stamford Raffles, among others.  The drama is scripted by crosstalk performer Soo Wee Seng and produced by CAPITAL 958’s presenter Lu Linxuan, and will showcase music arrangement by renowned Chinese chamber orchestra Ding Yi Music Company.

Chua Chim Kang, Chief Editor of Chinese News & Current Affairs, Mediacorp, shared: “The MOU signing today kick-starts our strategic partnership with Mr Johnny Lau to feature the well-loved Mr Kiasu in a series of exciting and creative content across a myriad of Mediacorp platforms for our audiences. Leveraging the familiarity and popularity of the character, we hope to connect with and inspire our viewers, listeners and digital audiences, and fans can look forward to our first collaboration ‘Kiasu Playbook’, a special radio drama that will premiere on CAPITAL 958.”

On the collaboration, Lau also said: “I am very excited to be working with Mediacorp to showcase Mr Kiasu in refreshing and innovative formats never seen before – for the first time, audiences will get to ‘hear’ Mr Kiasu come alive, without accompaniment of the visual character. The script direction took many months of debates and tweaks before we were happy, and it was not as easy as I first thought. But I am very pleased with the outcome, and I hope the audiences will love it too!”

Premiering on CAPITAL 958 on 18 November¹, the radio drama will feature Mediacorp artiste Ben Yeo as the voice of Mr Kiasu, alongside CAPITAL 958 presenters in other roles. 

“This is my first attempt at a radio drama and the experience has been really interesting! Not only is it fascinating to explore Singapore’s history through the eyes of Mr Kiasu, it is also extremely meaningful given that it is the Singapore Bicentennial this year, and I am very honoured to be able to play this role,” said Yeo.

¹The radio drama will air from 18 Nov – 6 Dec (weekdays); each ep will be available at the following timings each day: 6.30am, 11.50am, 2.50pm, 7.50pm, 10.15pm.  

Media contacts

Chua Pauline
Communications Specialist
Corporate Marketing & Communications, Mediacorp
Tel: +65 6359 7307
Email: chuapauline@mediacorp.com.sg

About Mediacorp

Mediacorp is Singapore’s largest content creator and national media network, operating six TV channels, 11 radio stations and multiple digital platforms including CNA, Singapore's most used news app, and Toggle, its digital video platform. Its mission is to engage, entertain and enrich audiences by harnessing the power of creativity.

Mediacorp pioneered the development of Singapore’s broadcasting industry, with radio broadcast in 1936 and television broadcast in 1963. Today, it reaches 98% of Singaporeans in four languages weekly and has a growing Asian audience base through CNA as well as entertainment content that is distributed across markets in the region.

The Mediacorp Partner Network brings Mediacorp together with industry-leading brands like ESPN, Edipresse Media, 99.co and VICE to deliver rich content for consumers and effective solutions for advertisers.

Mediacorp is the recipient of industry accolades including New York Festivals, World Media Festivals, PromaxBDA (World and Asia) and Asian Academy Creative Awards.

For more information, please visit mediacorp.sg.