How To Make A Hit, According To Messrs Yu And Waititi

The Asian-led action-comedy Interior Chinatown is a fan favourite and critical darling. We speak to the brains behind the new Hulu and Disney+ hit.

- SUFFIAN HAKIM

CHARLES YU’S National Book Award-winning novel, Interior Chinatown, is finally getting the screen adaptation it deserves, some four years after it came out. It was always the natural next step since Yu had written it as a screenplay.

The series follows Willis Wu, a background actor portrayed by Jimmy O. Yang, who is relegated to playing the “Generic Asian Man” in a fictional cop show. Striving to become the hero of his story, Wu navigates surreal scenarios that blur the line between his life and the show’s universe.

Starring with Yang are Ronnie Chieng and Chloe Bennett. Yu shares the executive producer and showrunner roles with Aotearoa filmmaker Taika Waititi, who also directs the pilot episode.

Upon its release, the novel received critical acclaim for its sharp indictment of Asian stereotypes in Hollywood. In addition to winning the National Book Award for Fiction, Yu appeared on NPR and The Daily Show with Trevor Noah to promote the book and discuss the treatment of Asian Americans in pop culture.

Nevertheless, seeing the book turned into a series was pretty special, says Yu. “I didn’t think something like this could happen, honestly. When I was writing the book, I was writing it by myself.”