Haven’t we all felt at times like “background characters in someone else’s story” just waiting for our moment to be in the spotlight? Have you ever waited for some beautiful person to randomly show up and give you a quest, as if they were characters from a TV show? We’ve all been in situations where Kung Fu could break out at any moment. Have you ever wanted to put yourself out there? Interior Chinatown, Hulu’s new series based on Charles Yu’s 2020 bestselling novel of the same name, brings these dreams to life 100% literally.
According to the official synopsis, ‘Interior Chinatown’ tells the story of Willis Wu, a background character caught up in a police procedural called Black & White. While working and waiting in line, Willis dreams of a world beyond Chinatown and aspires to be the hero of his own story. Willis inadvertently becomes a witness to a crime in Chinatown. As she begins to unravel the web of crime, she discovers her family’s hidden history and what it feels like to be in the spotlight.
In addition to writing the original story, Yu plays the dual role of series creator and showrunner. This groundbreaking novel was written as if it were a TV show script (complete with stage directions and character introductions), so this adaptation makes sense in some ways. The series also clearly has fun with its inventive format. At one point, Willis’ desk falls through the floor and into the interrogation room, in a highly stylized sequence straight out of network TV. (The character himself seems incredibly confused that this reality-upsetting event has just happened.) The next moment, the memory of his brother literally slips through his fingers. It’s a fun little gag that puts the trope under the microscope, and is likely to manifest itself in even funnier forms as the series progresses.
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Yu is also an executive producer on the series, along with Taika Waititi, who directed the pilot. Interior Chinatown stars Jimmy O. Yang, Ronnie Chen, Chloe Bennet, Lisa Gilroy, Sullivan Jones, Archie Kao, and Diana Lin. All 10 episodes of the series will premiere on Hulu on November 19th.
