Copyright Variety
A new drama series exploring family bonds through online gaming has been selected for the Taiwan Creative Content Fest (TCCF), bringing together a cross-continental creative team anchored by veteran U.K. producer David Abraham and Singaporean showrunner Karl Gan. “Ready Player Mum” follows Allie, a woman who relocates across continents to be with her fiancé, only to face his sudden death. Left isolated in an unfamiliar land, she becomes the sole person capable of finding her grieving teenage stepson when he runs away – by tracking him through the violent online battle royale game they once played together as a family. The series marks a reunion of sorts for Abraham, the former CEO of Channel 4 (2010-2017) and founder of London-based Wonderhood Studios, with the kind of tech-infused storytelling that defined his tenure at the British broadcaster, which commissioned BAFTA-winning series including “Black Mirror” and “Humans.” “‘Ready Player Mum’ explores the changing nature of family connection and technology in a way that is entertaining and original,” Abraham says. “Karl has also created a world with the striking cultural backdrop of both U.K. and Taiwan today which will connect with audiences worldwide.” For Gan, the concept emerged from a deeply personal place during the COVID-19 lockdown. “During COVID lockdown, I was gaming so much by myself that my mother actually thought about starting a game just so she could have a conversation with me,” Gan says. “It honestly made me worried and paranoid that the next person I met online could be her.” That anxiety sparked the creative premise: “a mother and son from two different worlds who are unable to emotionally connect in real life, but ironically, through anonymously teaming up in a vicious, bloody, online battle royale, can begin to do so.” Gan created and served as head writer for the 2024 period boxing series “The Last Bout,” which earned a nomination for best Asian TV series at the Busan Asia Contents & OTT Awards and won an Asian Television Award for best production design. In 2019, “Fam!,” a series on which he worked, received an International Emmy nomination for best comedy. He also served as a staff writer on Ubisoft’s “Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla,” which achieved the franchise’s best opening-week sales. “On Instagram, LinkedIn, and other social media, it’s like everyone has constructed multiple avatars – just like in a game – to represent themselves,” Gan says. “The gaming aspects of this series are dazzling and fun, but at its core, this series revolves around two people seeking to simply connect authentically with each other and define for themselves what constitutes a family.” Producer Holly Chan serves through Neverland Entertainment Limited. She is a Golden Horse Award nominee for best adapted screenplay for “Stand by Me” and produced “Mad Doctor,” which won four Golden Bell Awards. Creative producer Goh Ming Siu created comedy series “First Class” (2008) and sports drama “Polo Boys” (2009) at Mediacorp Studios. His feature debut was “Repossession” (2019). At the 2024 TCCF, his miniseries “Pontianaks in Taiwan” won three awards. The project is currently in development. “The goal is to complete the series’ scripts and secure financing in 2026, with production scheduled to begin in 2027,” Chan says. “At TCCF, we hope to build creative and financial partnerships that can help the project travel beyond borders – both culturally and commercially,” Chan says. “TCCF is where the different worlds of gaming, literature, comics, film, and television intersect,” Goh says. “It is thus the perfect environment in which to find creative collaborators to help bring the different worlds of this series to life.”
