Tycoon Talk was an 8-episode series that aired in Hong Kong between August and September 2014. The first series profiled eight of Hong Kong’s most successful and well-known businessmen, including Allan Zeman the father of Lan Kwai Fong, Sir Gordon Wu of Hopewell Holdings, and Jim Thomson (Crown Worldwide).
This was the first time TVB (one of the free-to-air stations in Hong Kong) had ever commissioned an independent production house to develop, shoot and deliver a full lifestyle series in English. The show was well received and garnered consistently high ratings. Episode 4 (Jim Thompson) achieved 99 percent of English language viewership when it was first aired in September 2014.
The series was hosted by Sean Lee-Davies and produced by his company, Activis Media. Nick began on the project shooting second camera, then working as editor in post production. But when the principal camera person had to drop out for personal reasons, Nick took over as DP.
Later, Nick became principal story editor because, although we were working from script drafts, many of the show narratives had to be put together only after interviews and footage were complete. This meant working up against very tight deadlines, sometimes having to shoot additional material, and delivering to TVB’s at times arcane specifications. It was a huge learning curve for everyone involved, but has opened the door to more quality, locally produced programming, which we hope one day will go beyond just the Hong Kong market.
Watch the trailer above, or contact us for private access to any of the full episodes.
UPDATE: Tycoon Talk series one was recently honoured with a Highly Commended citation in the Best Talk Show category of the 2015 Asian Television Awards, beating entries from across the region, including CNN International and Channel News Asia.
