New Hulu dramedy "Interior Chinatown" uses satire to raise awareness to stereotypical treatment and racial bias.
Jimmy O. Yang leads the cast of the new Hulu series Interior Chinatown as Willis Wu, a waiter at his uncle’s Golden Palace restaurant who occasionally stumbles into the background of a police procedural called “Black & White.” When Willis crosses path with the star detectives, Turner (Sullivan Jones) and Green (Lisa Gilroy) — yes, the show-within-a-show’s title is a reference to their races — the entire vibe shifts. The light turns an antiseptic blue; the focus shifts from Willis to the oblivious cops who never acknowledge his existence. This series does good to establish race and emphasis that is it the factor that causes people to be categorically boxed in a stereotypical way. Without saying it loud and clear the series plays on clichés of certain races to indicate how they are placed or viewed in society.
The central mystery of Interior Chinatown involves the disappearance of Willis’ older brother (Chris Pang), a kung fu master trained by their father (Tzi Ma). Willis partners with Lana Lee (Chloe Bennet), a mixed-race detective assigned to Green and Turner’s squad for “cultural” reasons, to find out what really happened to his sibling. This tongue and cheek method can be both entertaining as well as frustrating at times for viewers. As lead character Willis is somewhat a sideline character in his own life, standing by watching things happen to him until he is jolted awake for reasons that aren’t good and involve crime.
The series is an adaptation of Charles Yu’s award-winning satirical novel that jabs at how Asian American men have been treated by society and in the industry. Tropes and cliches run rapid as this story unfolds and the characters are treated in ways that align with how they are viewed racially.
According to the AP this series explores racial treatment in Hollywood. The series’ episode titles reference different archetypes that have shadowed Asian American actors for decades. These include “delivery guy,” “tech guy,” “kung fu guy” and “Chinatown expert.” There has been a reclaiming in recent years of “kung fu guy,” particularly. Marvel’s “Shang-Chi,” the CW’s “Kung Fu,” and “Warrior” on Max all have protagonists with martial arts prowess who also deal with personal baggage. All three stories happen to take place in San Francisco’s Chinatown.
Throughout the entire 10-part series, creator Charles Yu masterfully uses satirize to convey a message to audiences about the insensitive and dismissive treatment of Asian actors in Hollywood. Produced and directed by Taika Waititi, who’s creative mind is known for works that convey just enough emotion, action, and simplicity to his cinema works in turn bodes well on screen for viewers of Interior Chinatown. As the duo of Yu and Waititi collaborate, Interior Chinatown will surely be a mind bending and thought provoking series.
The cast is a stellar ensemble that stars:
Jimmy O. Yang as Willis Wu.
Ronny Chieng as Fatty Choi.
Chloe Bennet as Detective Lana Lee.
Sullivan Jones as Miles Turner.
Lisa Gilroy as Sarah Green.
Archie Kao as Uncle Wong.
Diana Lin as Lily Wu.
All 10 episodes of Interior Chinatown are now streaming on Hulu as of November 19, 2024.
