Each TV The fan dreamed of being the main character.
Whether it's a spy thriller, science fiction epic, or living in a loft with a bunch of weird roommates, watching TV is imagining yourself as part of a larger whole. But as many minority actors can attest, Hollywood is quick to verify the reality of a person's dream of being the hero. There are stereotypes, tropes, and prescribed roles that filmmakers can't get enough of, even when they stifle a character or performer's true potential.
All of this informs the new commentary and characterization of Charles Yu's “Inner Chinatown,” based on his own novel of the same name. What if the people pushed to the periphery were aware of this, and how could they organically fit into the main story?
In “Interior Chinatown,” our main character is not the hero, even in his own eyes. Willis Wu (Jimmy O. Yang) feels like a background character in his own life, watching things happen not even around him but from several degrees of distance. From afar, he wistfully observes the daily adventures of detectives Miles Turner (Sullivan Jones) and Sarah Green (Sarah Gilroy), the crime-fighting duo known as “Black and White” and the stars of their own procedural criminal success. When a woman is kidnapped outside the restaurant where Willis works, the worlds of the main protagonist and the generic background actor collide in spectacular fashion, turning Willis' world upside down forever.
And so the series ends up being two sideshows: a meta-parody of crime procedurals in which Turner and Green take the lead, speak in clichés, and look very cool in low-angle shots with correction of bluish white colors; Willis' personal odyssey, in which he teams up with Officer Lana Lee (Chloe Bennet) and follows a trail that leads to his missing brother and deeper into family secrets. When they cross paths, Willis becomes invisible and unimportant, but the juxtaposition makes “Interior Chinatown” feel more like its superhero origin than anything else (Marvel alum Taika Waititi directed the first episode and is executive producer).
There's no exact analog for a show like “Interior Chinatown,” although there are a few that come close. “Kevin Can F*** Himself” deftly switched between genres, but this was meant to reflect the vapidity or inner turmoil of the characters, not how they saw themselves. “WandaVision” had the meta element that forced characters and situations to conform to the formula, but ended up being part of the larger world of the MCU. NBC's “Powerless” was a cute series that spotlighted characters who otherwise wouldn't be heroes, and there's a spiritual connection between that series and this one. Eventually, Willis realizes that his secondary status is his secret strength, and he bonds with people of the same level of presumed importance to get closer to the mystery at the center of the series.
Yang is captivating and likable from his very first frame, making Willis easy to root for no matter where he is in the story. Willis and Fatty (Ronni Chieng) read like characters who have been friends for years, the kind of feat that takes many years to build. Casting directors Mary Vernieu, Michelle Wade Byrd and casting associate Sydney Shircliff boast hit after hit, from Jones and Gilroy to the legendary Tzi Ma as Willis' father to Chris Pang as his missing older brother and hallowed by Willis and the Kung Fu Guy symbol of the series (they call it that, it's good!).
Released all at once, “Interior Chinatown” is an ideal binge, with episodes between 30 and 45 minutes, smartly paced action, and effective emotional beats with friends, family, and even possible romance. Only five episodes were screened for reviews, but they ended up exactly where you'd want to be halfway through the season, with storytelling growing more confident with each episode and an atmosphere of growing experimentation immersive. Through Willis's eyes, we are reminded to never underestimate a so-called supporting character and that even heroes have flaws.
Grade: B
All 10 episodes of “Interior Chinatown” are now streaming Hulu.
