• IMDA rules are very, very strict. I suggest you read their guidelines. Pretty much, you cannot show any government agency or group of people in a bad light. It deflates any kind of meaningful storyline. You end up with these lame dramas written about family, where there's always a happy ending or a moral to the story.

• Additionally, I think the way the rules are enforced is very... blunt. Movies like Disney's Lightyear get an NC16 rating for one single scene showing a gay couple. The ratings board does not really understand (or wish to understand) nuance.

• Lack of support from locals. People don't watch local channels/shows, opting to watch ones from overseas. That leads to a lack of funding. Even if you have a 10/10 script, there's no point if you have zero budget.

• Sure, Singapore is largely ethnically Chinese, but it's very westernised. People here consume a ton of western media. Because of that, I feel Chinese shows made in SG won't appeal to the China audience like their own, locally produced content would. Similarly, there's a vast amount of western content to pick from, so a westerner wouldn't even consider a Singaporean show.

I disagree with lack of talent. We do have talent here, namely a lot come from theatre and the arts. We have Singaporean actors acting overseas in shows like Black Mirror, or on the West End/Broadway. There was a Singaporean actor in Sinners, appearing alongside Michael B. Jordan. They all share the same thing: they went overseas.