''Singapore Social'' is an unscripted

docuseries Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries. Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film. *Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...

set in Singapore and broadcast by

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

. The

Netflix Originals Netflix is an American global Internet streaming-on-demand media provider that has distributed a number of original streaming television shows, including original series, specials, miniseries, and documentaries and films. Netflix's original pro ...

television series follows the lives of young successful Singaporeans as they defy expectations and traverse the tricky terrain of career, romance and family in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

and briefly,

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. It is notable for being the first docuseries with an all-Asian cast based in Asia for global release.

Series

Series 1 (2019)

The first series aired on 22 November 2019 on

and spanned a total of 8 episodes. The show was first announced in November 2019 with the first full-length trailer airing 8 November 2019. This series introduced the cast: Sukki Singapora, Nicole Ong, Mae Tan, Paul Foster,

Tabitha Nauser Tabitha Nauser (born 23 February 1992) is a Singaporean singer. Nauser was born to a Swiss father and a Singaporean Indian mother. In 2009, Nauser placed third in the third edition of ''Singapore Idol''. In 2017, Nauser's song “Bulletproof” ...

and Vinny Sharp.

Cultural impact

''Singapore Social'' has been widely acknowledged for its role in representation in the mainstream entertainment industry. Whilst it is broadly considered a subgenre of

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

, when it comes to representation internationally, especially in America, the show does add diversity to the reality TV genre, which still lacks Asian representation.

Local controversy

Immediately after the show released, ''Singapore Social'' received backlash online from local Singapore netizens. Some online critics felt that the show did an inaccurate job of representing life in Singapore, especially since Singapore is largely middle-class yet, others have pointed out that this backlash is a double standard considering there are many Western shows from this genre and therefore Singapore should be allowed to produce a similar format for a global audience. Following the initial backlash, local reviews now seem to be mixed, with many agreeing that whilst it may not portray all Singaporeans, unlike the film ''

Crazy Rich Asians ''Crazy Rich Asians'' is a satirical 2013 romantic comedy novel by Kevin Kwan. Kwan stated that his intention in writing the novel was to "introduce a contemporary Asia to a North American audience". He claimed the novel was loosely based on his ...

'', ''Singapore Social'' does succeed in representing a more diverse cast of Asians, particularly those of South-Asian origin.

References

External links

* {{Official site, https://www.netflix.com/title/80245262 2019 American television series debuts 2010s American reality television series Netflix original documentary television series English-language Netflix original programming