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Interior Chinatown (TV series)

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Interior Chinatown
GenreAction comedy
Created byCharles Yu
Based onInterior Chinatown
by Charles Yu
ShowrunnerCharles Yu
Starring
Music by
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes10
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Joanne Toll
  • Alex Russell
  • Matt Okumura
Cinematography
  • Mike Berlucchi
  • Tari Segal
Editors
  • Andrew Groves
  • Joanne Yarrow
  • Nicole Brik
  • Patrick Tuck
  • Tamar Federknopp
  • David Chang
Running time34–47 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkHulu
ReleaseNovember 19, 2024 (2024-11-19)

Interior Chinatown is an American action comedy television series created by showrunner Charles Yu based on his 2020 novel of the same name. The series stars Jimmy O. Yang as a struggling character actor in Chinatown thrust into the spotlight after witnessing a crime. Produced by 20th Television, the series premiered on Hulu on November 19, 2024.[1]

Premise

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Willis Wu is a background character stuck in a police procedural called Black and White. One day he accidentally witnesses a crime, and as he investigates, he starts to uncover family secrets and a Chinatown criminal underground while learning how it feels to be in the spotlight.

Cast

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Main

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Recurring

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  • Tzi Ma[a] as Joe Wu
  • Annie Chang as Audrey Chan
  • Chau Long as Carl
  • Allan McLeod as Desk Sergeant Felix
  • Marlon Young as Janitor
  • Lauren Tom as Betty
  • Michael J. Harney[3] as Chief Walden
  • Chris Pang as Older Brother
  • Maury Sterling as Carrey, the original detective of the police procedural Black & White[4]
  • Spencer Neville as Aidan McDonough, the original detective of the police procedural Black & White[4]

Episodes

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No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release dateProd.
code
1"Generic Asian Man"Taika WaititiCharles YuNovember 19, 2024 (2024-11-19)1KBR01
Willis Wu is a waiter at the Golden Palace, who sees himself as a background character in a television show. He resents his father who trained his missing older brother in kung fu, and purposely trained Willis to fail as a way of protecting him. After witnessing the kidnapping of a young woman, later learning she was murdered, he becomes convinced that he is destined for something greater. He falls for the detective assigned to the case, Lana Lee, who visits the restaurant and informs her of the kidnapping. Lana recruits him to help take down the gangs in Chinatown and after some digging, reveals that his older brother was working with her unit before he disappeared. Motivated to find out what happened to his brother, Willis agrees to help Lana. Shortly afterwards, Willis sees the murdered kidnapped victim alive.
2"Delivery Guy"Ben SinclairEva AndersonNovember 19, 2024 (2024-11-19)1KBR02
Willis begins to duck out of work, forcing his friend and co-worker Fatty Choi to take over his duties. Lana takes Willis to the precinct, but he is somehow unable to enter the building. When Lana tries to introduce Willis to her superiors, Turner and Green, they seem incapable of noticing him. This allows Willis to overhear a very personal conversation about their opinion of Lana. Even after helping to solve a murder, a supernatural force prevents Willis from entering the precinct. A neighbor of Willis's passes away and Chinatown grieves his loss. Willis's mother, Lily, learns that he broke up an animal smuggling ring and now there is a vacancy in the former hideout building. Lily, having gained a realtor's license decides to buy the space. Inspired by a comment from Fatty, Willis feigns a food delivery and finally manages to enter the precinct.
3"Tech Guy"Jaffar MahmoodMatt OkumuraNovember 19, 2024 (2024-11-19)1KBR03
Lana gives Willis a tape from his Older Brother where he says that he thinks he is being watched by someone. Needing more information, Willis begins feigning more deliveries and ends up befriending members of the precinct. Audrey Chan, a girl who has a crush on Willis, helps him by determining the amount of food he needs to bring. Fatty beings to grow frustrated with dealing with customers, which has the effect of people wanting to come see him. Lana tries to get closer to the ever suspicious Green, who later approves of a recent bust. Willis learns that the files of past cases are not on digital. Realizing that no one notices the "tech guy" in charge, the precinct help Willis replace the tech guy where assuming his role allows him to master use of the computers. He opens up the files of his brother and finds hundreds of files about him.
4"Kung Fu Guy"John LeeTiffany So & Saba SaghafiNovember 19, 2024 (2024-11-19)1KBR04
Willis and Lana sit down and watch the files, presented as film clips, and learn that older brother was the "kung fu guy" for former cops McDonough and Carrey. Lily gets hired by realtor Betty Chan who comments how her husband Joe is always reflecting on his past. Fatty learns that he has become a viral sensation for his rude service, which his boss Uncle Wong fully supports, much to his chagrin. While Lana is away, Willis begins to dig further into the files and learns that older brother was the leader of the Painted Faces, a criminal gang. When Willis sees footage of older brother killing McDonough, he deletes all the footage. He tells Fatty to tell Uncle Wong that he quits, leaving him dejected. Suddenly, Willis realizes where older brother made his call and follows a hidden tunnel that leads him into the office of the Golden Palace.
5"Chinatown Expert"Alice WuNaiem BouierNovember 19, 2024 (2024-11-19)1KBR05
Willis and Lana suspect Uncle Wong, the owner of the Golden Palace, of being involved with Willis’s brother’s disappearance, and resolve to steal the keys to his office to investigate. To get him to drop his guard, Lana poses as Willis’s girlfriend during a family dinner. Willis gets into the office, and finds his brother’s pager, given to him by Carrey and McDonough, hidden behind a painting. After Uncle Wong returns unexpectedly, Willis flees through the tunnels, and finds that they connect many of the businesses in Chinatown. Meanwhile, Turner begins to notice that the world works in confusing ways, and begins to tire of the monotony of constantly solving cases the same way, though Green is satisfied with their life. When disarming a time bomb in the precinct, Turner’s disaffection leads him to let it explode, yet the bomb’s countdown stops as if he had successfully disarmed it.
6"Translator"Stephanie LaingKeiko GreenNovember 19, 2024 (2024-11-19)1KBR06
7"Detective"Pete ChatmonLauren OteroNovember 19, 2024 (2024-11-19)1KBR07
8"Ad Guy"John LeeAlex RussellNovember 19, 2024 (2024-11-19)1KBR08
9"Bad Guy"Anu ValiaEva Anderson & Greg CabreraNovember 19, 2024 (2024-11-19)1KBR09
10"Willis. Willis Wu."Stephanie LaingCharles YuNovember 19, 2024 (2024-11-19)1KBR10

Production

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Development

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Development of a television adaptation of Interior Chinatown began in 2020.[5] Hulu ordered ten episodes of the series in October 2022, when Jimmy O. Yang was announced as the lead and Taika Waititi would direct the pilot episode. The series is created by Charles Yu who also serves as the showrunner.[6]

Casting

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In October 2022, Ronny Chieng and Chloe Bennet joined the cast of the series.[7] In January 2023, Sullivan Jones, Lisa Gilroy, Diana Lin, Archie Kao and Tzi Ma joined the cast, with Ma joining in recurring capacity. [8][2] In February 2023, Lauren Tom joined the cast in recurring capacity.[9] In April 2023, Chris Pang joined the cast in recurring capacity.[4]

Filming

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Principal photography began by February 2023, with location shooting at the Universal Pictures backlot,[10] Chinatown, Los Angeles, New Zealand (Chinese New Zealanders), and Toronto (Chinatowns in Toronto),[11][12] and wrapped prior to August 2023.[13]

Golden Palace Restaurant setting[14] is inspired by the real-life Doyers Street and the real-life Doyers Street tunnels[15] in Manhattan’s Chinatown.

Release

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The series premiered on Hulu on November 19, 2024.[1]

Reception

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The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 82% approval rating with an average rating of 6.1/10, based on 17 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Adapting its satirical source material to imperfect but thrilling effect, Interior Chinatown is freewheeling entertainment with plenty to say about Asian-American stereotypes in media."[16] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 67 out of 100 based on 4 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[17]

Notes

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  1. ^ Tzi Ma is credited as "Special Guest Star" but is a recurring cast member.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b London, Rob (July 10, 2024). "Jimmy O. Yang and Chloe Bennet Are Trapped in a Procedural in First 'Interior Chinatown' Images". Collider. Archived from the original on August 20, 2024. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Rice, Lynette (January 19, 2023). "'Interior Chinatown': Diana Lin, Archie Kao & Tzi Ma Join Hulu Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 10, 2023. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  3. ^ Ihnat, Gwen (July 19, 2023). "The cast of Orange Is the New Black: Where are they now?". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Sun, Rebecca (April 11, 2023). "'Crazy Rich Asians' Star Chris Pang Joins Hulu's 'Interior Chinatown' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  5. ^ Thorne, Will (October 15, 2020). "Hulu Adapting Charles Yu Novel Interior Chinatown for Television (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on March 20, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  6. ^ Porter, Rick (October 13, 2022). "Interior Chinatown Series a Go at Hulu, Jimmy O. Yang to Star". The Hollywood Reporter. PMRC. Archived from the original on November 28, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  7. ^ Rice, Lynette (October 26, 2022). "'Interior Chinatown': Ronny Chieng And Chloe Bennet Join Hulu Series From 20th Television, Charles Yu". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  8. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (January 17, 2023). "'Interior Chinatown': Sullivan Jones & Lisa Gilroy Join Hulu Series Cast". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  9. ^ Rice, Lynette (February 28, 2023). "'Interior Chinatown' Casts Lauren Tom In Hulu Series Starring Jimmy O. Yang, Directed By Taika Waititi". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 20, 2024. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  10. ^ Singh, Sartaj (November 19, 2024). "Hulu's Interior Chinatown: All Filming Locations, Explored". The Cinemaholic. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
  11. ^ Crimmins, Peter (February 15, 2023). "'Interior Chinatown' is the Free Library of Philadelphia's all-city read". WHYY. Archived from the original on November 10, 2023. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  12. ^ Bach, Gabby (February 6, 2023). "How-To: Chloe's Bennet's Bob Haircut for "Interior Chinatown"". Beauty Launch Pad. Archived from the original on November 10, 2023. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  13. ^ Schweitzer, Robyn; Lauren, LaBelle (August 14, 2023). "T-Pain & Jimmy O. Yang Team Up with HelloFresh to Launch New Recipes with Unexpected, Flavorful Twists". Business Wire. Archived from the original on August 20, 2024. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  14. ^ Chai, Barbara (November 20, 2024). "In 'Interior Chinatown,' the Sets Have Main Character Energy". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 20, 2024. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
  15. ^ Walsh, Kevin (April 3, 2019). "'Bloody Angle': The Story of Doyers Street and Chinatown's Odd Alleys". StreetEasy. Archived from the original on April 7, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
  16. ^ "Interior Chinatown: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
  17. ^ "Interior Chinatown: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
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