Virginia Lim, chief content officer for streaming platform Viu, is ContentAsia's Woman to Watch for today because... she's just pressed play on her new production slate of 15 premium drama originals, including Viu's second Korean original, "Doom At Your Service". This in a landscape of extreme jostling and supersized bidding for Korean IP, which is driving streaming engagement across the region. 

The slate – the first developed fully under Lim since she joined Viu at the end of 2019 –  also includes new seasons of "Black" and "Keluarga Baha Don" for Malaysia, the return of "Assalamualaikum Calon Imam" in Indonesia, "Still" in the Philippines, plus the first new version of decades-old favourite – "Ugly Betty" – for Viu in South Africa. Eight other shows are in the works on Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. 

The deal with Korea's CJ ENM for Studio Dragon's 16-episode romance fantasy "Doom At Your Service" keeps Viu in play in Korea against global mega rivals, including Disney+, known to have picked up at least one expensive title for jaw-dropping license fees; Netflix, a past-master at jaw-dropping Korean commissions; iQiyi, also known to have spent a pretty penny on the few Korean rights it really really wants; and Tencent's WeTV. 

"Doom At Your Service", starring Seo In Gook and Lee Soo Hyuk, is about a young web novel editor diagnosed with brain cancer who makes a deal with the supernatural messenger between god and humans to live as she pleases for 100 days.

The series premieres on 10 May and will air on tvN in Korea and across Viu markets.

Lim says she is motivated by the challenge of entertaining and attracting audiences.

"I am at my best when coming up with creative ideas to improve our offering or make something new. The well-being of my team is a strong motivator too.I consider myself successful if I know my team is happy at their job and with their accomplishments," she says.

Here's what else she said in answer to the other two questions we've asked women across Asia's content industry for our latest series:

What would you like people to say about you when you are not in the room?

"What other people think of me is not my priority, I rather they focus on my work and contribution."

Are you now where you thought you would be when you were 20?

"At 20, I wanted to be an award winning director walking on the Oscars red carpet. Well… that didn’t happen. However I am now in the content business doing what I love so that’s pretty awesome too."

💥 ContentAsia's Women to Watch 2021 series asks women from across Asia's content industry to talk about what motivates them, what they would like people to say or think about them when they’re not in the room, & whether they are now where they thought they would be when they were 20.