David Farnor | On 21, Dec 2023

“I just sometimes want to be alone.” That’s the sound of Lulu Wang’s Expats heading to Amazon Prime Video, and a new trailer gives us a closer look at the sweeping, star-studded drama.

Based on Janice YK Lee’s bestselling novel, the six-part drama stars Nicole Kidman (Big Little Lies, The Undoing), Sarayu Blue (Never Have I Ever, Blockers), Ji-young Yoo (The Sky is Everywhere, Smoking Tigers), Brian Tee (Chicago Med, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows) and Jack Huston (House of Gucci, Fargo).

Set against the vibrant and tumultuous tapestry of 2014 Hong Kong, Expats centers on three American women – Margaret (Nicole Kidman), Hilary (Sarayu Blue), and Mercy (Ji-young Yoo) – whose lives intersect after a sudden family tragedy. The series interrogates privilege and explores what happens when the line between victimhood and culpability and blame and accountability becomes blurred.

The series premieres on Amazon Prime Video on 26th January. Here’s the trailer:

 

First look: Amazon’s Expats set for 2024 release

10th September 2023

The Expats will arrive on Amazon Prime Video in early 2024, and new images give us a first look at the series.

Based on Janice YK Lee’s bestselling novel, the six-part drama stars Nicole Kidman (Big Little Lies, The Undoing), Sarayu Blue (Never Have I Ever, Blockers), Ji-young Yoo (The Sky is Everywhere, Smoking Tigers), Brian Tee (Chicago Med, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows) and Jack Huston (House of Gucci, Fargo). Set against the vibrant and tumultuous tapestry of 2014 Hong Kong, Expats centers on three American women – Margaret (Nicole Kidman), Hilary (Sarayu Blue), and Mercy (Ji-young Yoo) – whose lives intersect after a sudden family tragedy.

The series interrogates privilege and explores what happens when the line between victimhood and culpability becomes blurred. Brian Tee, who plays Margaret’s husband Clarke and Jack Huston, who plays Hilary’s husband David also star in the series.

Lulu Wang serves as a creator, director and writer, with exec-producers including Wang, Daniele Melia for Local Time, Nicole Kidman and Per Saari for Blossom Films (Rabbit Hole, Nine Perfect Strangers) and Alice Bell (The Beautiful Lie, The Slap), who was the first writer onboarded to the series. Theresa Park for Per Capita Productions (After Yang, Bones and All) and Stan Wlodkowski (The Old Guard) also serve as executive producers. Vera Miao (Two Sentence Horror Stories), Gursimran Sandhu (Game of Thrones), and author Janice Y.K Lee served as writers on Expats with Bell and Wang.

The series debuted it feature-length penultimate episode at the Toronto International Film Festival this weekend. The whole thing will arrive on Amazon Prime Video worldwide next year.

 

Lulu Wang joins Amazon’s The Expatriates

14th December 2019

Lulu Wang has boarded Amazon’s The Expatriates.

Based on the best-selling novel by Janice Y.K. Lee, the series is set against the backdrop of Hong Kong and explores the lives of a close-knit expat community, where wealth matters, bonds are temporary and private lives are made public. It follows Margaret, an American architect who suspects something is wrong with her latest project, Mercy, a Korean-American college graduate seeking to escape her past, Hilary, a Brit who yearns for a child, Tammy, a high-flying alpha whose husband has a second, unknown family, the decadent Barbara, the loyal Franny, and the humiliated socialite Olivia.

The project is the first under Amazon’s first-look deal with Nicole Kidman’s production banner Blossom Films and was announced last year, with Alice Bell (The Beautiful Lie) on board as writer.

Now, as Wang enjoys acclaim and Golden Globes nominations for her feature The Farewell, starring Awkwafina, she has joined the project as a writer and executive producer. She will also direct multiple episodes.

“When I first read Janice Lee’s diasporic novel, I was immediately drawn to the rich characters and the global yet intimate exploration of life in modern Hong Kong,” Wang said in a statement. “I’m thrilled to be working with Nicole Kidman and Amazon, whose commitment to bold, nuanced storytelling make them the perfect partners to translate this atmospheric story to screen.”

“Lulu is a tremendously gifted writer and director. Like so many others, I was deeply moved by her work on The Farewell, and I’m thrilled she’s going to help us bring The Expatriates to life onscreen,” added Kidman.

Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke commented: “We are so proud to have a visionary filmmaker in Lulu Wang take the helm of our new global series, The Expatriates. We know her fantastic eye for authenticity and deep character development skills will bring the complicated, challenging and fascinating women of this story to life.”

 

Amazon orders The Expatriates from Nicole Kidman’s Blossom Films

31st July 2018

Amazon is teaming up with Nicole Kidman for new drama series The Expatriates.

Produced by The Others star’s banner, Blossom Films, the series is based on the best-selling novel by Janice Y.K. Lee, and will be adapted by Alice Bell (The Beautiful Lie).

The project is the first under a first-look deal with Blossom Films, announced earlier this year. Amazon confirmed the commission at the TCA press tour this weekend, with head Jennifer Salke saying she was “thrilled” to kick off their relationship with the story.

“It weaves an addictive tapestry that follows a group of complex women and their lives as outsiders in Hong Kong,” explained Salke. “It’s a compelling exploration of the strength of these women as they persevere through struggles with marriage, career, parenting and unimaginable loss.”

Set against the backdrop of The Vertical City, the series will explore the lives of a close-knit expat community, where wealth matters, bonds are temporary and private lives are made public. It follows Margaret, an American architect who suspects something is wrong with her latest project, Mercy, a Korean-American college graduate seeking to escape her past, Hilary, a Brit who yearns for a child, Tammy, a high-flying alpha whose husband has a second, unknown family, the decadent Barbara, the loyal Franny, and the humiliated socialite Olivia.

The Expatriates is exec produced by Kidman and Per Saari for Blossom Films and Theresa Park for POW! Productions, with Lee serving as consulting producer.

Kidman describes it as “the beginning of our shared goal in making delicious stories with something meaningful to say about the world”.

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