Hulu just gave us our first look at their upcoming adaptation of Charles Yu's bestselling 2020 novel, "Interior Chinatown", and, from the looks of this wild trailer, I'll absolutely be giving it a shot.
The trailer begins in a pretty sedate fashion, but it makes "Interior Chinatown" out as a combination of high-octane action and crime drama, spiced up with the comic stylings of its lead stars.
We start with our introduction to Willis Wu (Jimmy O. Yang), a "background character" trapped on the sidelines of a police procedural and living out a pretty bland life, day in, day out. That is, until, he crosses paths with a detective (Chloe Bennet) who enlists him as her inside man to look into a mysterious string of incidents occurring in Chinatown.
From that point, the teaser takes a turn. As hints of the case and the show's stranger side crop up, we're promised a "mind-bending" watch. Then, just as Willis warns that kung fu can break out at any moment in the area... we get a taste of some kung-fu action courtesy of Willis, his Golden Palace co-worker (played by Ronnie Cheng), and some mysterious thugs. Intrigued? Check it out below:
Watching the above "Interior Chinatown" footage, I couldn't help but recall two other action-packed projects from recent memory: the Daniels' thrilling multiversal adventure, "Everything Everywhere All At Once," and Netflix's underrated comedy-drama, "The Brothers Sun". As a big fan of both (and someone excited about Ke Huy Quan's forthcoming movie, "Love Hurts"), I'm hoping that Hulu's "Interior Chinatown" will provide similar thrills when it debuts later in the year.
Notably, the series also has Taika Waititi on board; Waititi both exec produced "Interior Chinatown" and directed the pilot. And if you also liked what you saw, you'll be pleased to know that you won't have long to wait to stream "Interior Chinatown", either. All 10 episodes will be available on Hulu from Tuesday, November 19.
What else do we know about 'Interior Chinatown'?
In addition to Yang, Chieng, and Bennet, the series also stars Tzi Ma, Sullivan Jones, Lisa Gilroy, Diana Lin, Archie Kao, Annie Chang, Chau Long, and Michael Harney.
Want a clearer breakdown of the story? Hulu's full "Interior Chinatown" synopsis reads: "Based on Charles Yu’s award-winning book of the same name, the show follows the story of Willis Wu, a background character trapped in a police procedural called "Black & White." Relegated to the background, Willis goes through the motions of his on-screen job, waiting tables, dreaming about a world beyond Chinatown, and aspiring to be the lead of his own story. When Willis inadvertently becomes a witness to a crime, he begins to unravel a criminal web in Chinatown, while discovering his own family’s buried history and what it feels like to be in the spotlight."
Need something else to watch while you wait for "Interior Chinatown" to drop? Check out our list of the best shows on Hulu that you can stream right now.
