An adaptation of Charles Yu’s award-winning 2020 novel of the same name, Interior Chinatown will premiere on Hulu on November 19. All 10 episodes of the series will be out on the premiere date.
The show, which Yu is also the creator and showrunner of, is a satirical narrative that examines Asian roles and stereotypes.
Leading the series is Jimmy O. Yang (Crazy Rich Asians, Love Hard). Yang plays the lead character, Willis Wu. He is accompanied by Chloe Bennet (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) as Detective Lana Lee, and Ronny Chieng (Crazy Rich Asians, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) as Willis’s best friend, Fatty Choi.
The synopsis for Interior Chinatown is as follows:
“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 and dreaming about a whole world beyond Chinatown. When he inadvertently becomes a witness to a crime, Willis begins to unravel a criminal web in Chinatown, his family’s buried history, and what it feels like to be in the spotlight.”
The pilot is directed by Taika Waititi, also an executive producer for Interior Chinatown.
During the TCA 24 Summer Press Tour, Yu joined Bennet, Chieng and Yang to speak about the show. He referred to the three actors as “the people who broke barriers,” per Salon’s Hanh Nguyen.
Bennet, in particular, spoke of her connection to her character.
“When I got to the part she was in, I was like, ‘Oh my god, they’re gonna make this into a show or a movie, and if I don’t play this character, I’m gonna quit,” Bennet said, as reported by Palmer Haasch of Insider Entertainment.
Along with Chieng, news of the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.-alumna’s casting was announced in October 2022. Upon the reveal, Bennet expressed her preexisting interest in the book and excitement for her involvement on Instagram:
In a recent Instagram post, Bennet has since called the Hulu Original “(her) favorite thing (she has) ever done.”
Enjoy a first look at Bennet, Chieng and Yang in Interior Chinatown:
INTERIOR CHINATOWN – “Season 1” – Interior Chinatown follows the story of Willis Wu, a background character trapped in a police procedural trying to find his way into the larger story—and along the way discovering secrets about the strange world he inhabits and his family’s buried history. (Disney/Mike Taing) CHLOE BENNET 
INTERIOR CHINATOWN – “Season 1” – Interior Chinatown follows the story of Willis Wu, a background character trapped in a police procedural trying to find his way into the larger story—and along the way discovering secrets about the strange world he inhabits and his family’s buried history. (Disney/Mike Taing) JIMMY O. YANG, CHLOE BENNET 
INTERIOR CHINATOWN – “Season 1” – Interior Chinatown follows the story of Willis Wu, a background character trapped in a police procedural trying to find his way into the larger story—and along the way discovering secrets about the strange world he inhabits and his family’s buried history. (Disney/Mike Taing) JIMMY O. YANG, RONNY CHIENG 
INTERIOR CHINATOWN – “Season 1” – Interior Chinatown follows the story of Willis Wu, a background character trapped in a police procedural trying to find his way into the larger story—and along the way discovering secrets about the strange world he inhabits and his family’s buried history. (Disney/Mike Taing) JIMMY O. YANG
