Staying Fit
(Left to right) Brian Tee and Nicole Kidman in "Expats"; Hiroto Kanai in "Shōgun"; Lisa Lu in "Death and Other Details."
Prime; Hulu; FX
Asian talents have been unprecedentedly visible in Hollywood lately. On the big screen, there was Simu Liu in Barbie, who also performed in the “I’m Just Ken” number at the 2024 Academy Awards, where The Boy and the Heron and Godzilla Minus One were honored with Oscars. Past Lives and Perfect Days received Academy Award nominations.
On the small screen, the trend may be even more pronounced. Here’s just a small selection of shows worth celebrating during Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
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Death and Other Details (2024)
Why to watch: If Columbo and Hercule Poirot had a love child and raised it in the Knives Out mansion, the result might look a little like this luxury-cruise-ship murder mystery. Even when its convolutions get too convoluted, the series sprinkles its sparkly style so liberally across the massive, diverse cast that you enjoy watching who-didn’t-do-it almost as much as working out whodunnit. The Asian characters, who really come into their own from episode 3 on, span the show’s social strata, with woman-led Chinese clans representing both the Succession-style mega-rich and the below-decks staff. The vast disparity in wealth masks the strange similarity of skeletons in the closet.
Whom to watch: Mandy Patinkin, 71, is the best-known name in the cast, but Angela Zhou (Supergirl) is a standout as the steely manager of a ship’s staff that includes many of her relatives. Her opposite number across the social divide is the ruthless matriarch of a Chinese fast-fashion empire (Lisa Lu, 97, The Joy Luck Club, The Last Emperor).
What to watch next: If the lightweight murder-iness of this show has you craving something similar but with a darker heart, check out Mr. and Mrs. Smith on Prime Video. Maya Erskine (PEN15), who is of Japanese descent, summons up a storm of chemistry with Donald Glover (Atlanta) as the titular husband-and-wife spy team.
Expats (2024)
Why to watch: A deeply felt and richly textured drama, based on Janice Y.K. Lee’s best-selling novel The Expatriates, Expats is a prestige package, from its star, Nicole Kidman, 56, to its brilliant writer-director, Lulu Wang (The Farewell). Showcasing a cross-section of Hong Kong’s multinational population that is brought into collision by a tragedy just as unrest breaks out across the city during the 2014 Umbrella Protests, the limited series is a thoughtful, provocative and beautifully made examination of female relationships, expat privilege and troubled consciences navigating troubled times.
Whom to watch: Kidman’s glacially grief-stricken Margaret may be the center of this somber yet rewarding drama, but Sarayu Blue and Ji-young Yoo both deserve to break out as, respectively, Margaret’s cynical best friend and her unwitting young enemy.
Where to watch: Prime Video
What to watch next: If you’re interested in the expat/immigrant experience but the other way round, run, don’t walk, back to Prime Video to see Lulu Wang’s exceptional, funny-sad-sweet-insightful feature debut, The Farewell, starring Awkwafina.
Shōgun (2024)
Why to watch: Probably the best and certainly the most beautiful TV show that 2024 has so far given us, this magnificent adaptation of the 1975 novel by James Clavell is epic storytelling. Starting with the arrival in Japan of a pugnacious Briton (Cosmo Jarvis) in 1600 — when the isolationist nation was regarded as a myth by much of the West — the show quickly unfurls in every conceivable direction, taking in Portuguese missionaries, religious discontent, trade wars, manifold regional conflicts and internecine political wrangling over the imperial succession. Rich in historical detail, Shōgun is some of the most thrilling, romantic and action-packed TV in recent memory.
Whom to watch: This is an immaculate cast across the board, but the performances that will linger with you most come from the stunning Japanese actor Anna Sawai (Giri/Haji, Pachinko) and well-known veteran Hiroyuki Sanada (Lost, Westworld, Avengers: Endgame), 63, who, as the brilliant but embattled Lord Toranaga, has finally been gifted a role equal to his talents.
Where to watch: FX, Hulu, Disney+
What to watch next: Shōgun has been hailed as the natural successor to Game of Thrones, but the same could apply to Netflix’s 3 Body Problem, an ambitious — though necessarily simplified — adaptation of Chinese author Cixin Liu’s extraordinary sci-fi novel brought to you by the Thrones showrunners themselves.
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