Interior Chinatown (TV series)
Interior Chinatown is an American action comedy-drama television series created by showrunner Charles Yu, based on his 2020 novel of the same name. His novel won the National Book Award the year it was published. The series stars Jimmy O. Yang as a waiter in Chinatown who discovers that he is merely a background character in a fictional police procedural. Produced by 20th Television, the series premiered on Hulu on November 19, 2024.
Premise
Unbeknownst to him, Willis Wu is a background character in the fictional police procedural Black and White. When he chooses to investigate the disappearance of his brother twelve years earlier, he starts to uncover family secrets and the machinations behind his fictionalized version of Chinatown.Cast
Main
- Jimmy O. Yang as Willis Wu, a waiter at the Golden Palace, a Chinese restaurant. He feels trapped and wants to see the larger world.
- Ronny Chieng as Fatty Choi, Willis's best friend and co-worker at the Golden Palace
- Chloe Bennet as Lana Lee, a detective who recruits Willis to investigate the disappearance of his brother
- Sullivan Jones as Miles Turner, a detective who leads the investigation of several crime scenes in Port Harbor
- Lisa Gilroy as Sarah Green, a detective who leads the investigation of several crime scenes in Port Harbor
- Archie Kao as Uncle Wong, the owner of Golden Palace
- Diana Lin as Lily Wu, Willis's mother
Recurring
- Tzi Ma as Joe Wu, Willis' father
- Annie Chang as Audrey Chan, Willis's childhood friend and an aspiring lawyer
- Chau Long as Carl, an employee at Golden Palace
- Allan McLeod as Desk Sergeant Felix, a desk sergeant at the Port Harbor police
- Marlon Young as Janitor, a janitor working at the Port Harbor police
- Lauren Tom as Betty Chan, Audrey's mother and a real estate agent, who is an aspirational figure for Lily
- Michael J. Harney as Chief Walden, the police chief of Port Harbor PD
- Chris Pang as Jonathan Wu, Willis's late brother who died 12 years prior. His death was deemed mysterious.
- Maury Sterling as Brendan Carrey, an older detective who had worked with Jonathan prior to his death
- Spencer Neville as Aidan McDonough, a young detective who also worked with Jonathan 12 years ago
Production
Development
Development of a television adaptation of Interior Chinatown began in 2020. Hulu ordered ten episodes of the series in October 2022, when Jimmy O. Yang was announced as the lead and Taika Waititi would direct the pilot episode. The series is created by Charles Yu who also serves as the showrunner.Casting
In October 2022, Ronny Chieng and Chloe Bennet joined the cast of the series. In January 2023, Sullivan Jones, Lisa Gilroy, Diana Lin, Archie Kao and Tzi Ma joined the cast, with Ma joining in recurring capacity. In February 2023, Lauren Tom joined the cast in recurring capacity. In April 2023, Chris Pang joined the cast in a recurring capacity.Filming
Principal photography began by February 2023, with location shooting at the Universal Pictures backlot, Chinatown, Los Angeles, New Zealand, and Toronto, and wrapped prior to August 2023.Golden Palace Restaurant setting is inspired by the real-life Doyers Street and the real-life Doyers Street tunnels in Manhattan’s Chinatown.