Disney+ has released the official trailer for the action-comedy series titled American Born Chinese, according to a Disney press release. All eight episodes of the genre-hopping series will be released on May 24, 2023, on Disney+.
American Born Chinese is a TV series adaptation of Gene Luen Yang’s graphic novel with the same title. It revolves around a typical American teenager who befriends the son of a mythical god, which brings about significant changes in his life, according to TV Insider. Through the elements of family, comedy, and Kung-Fu action, the series portrays the challenges and struggles of a young man fighting for his identity.
The series is described as ‘coming-to-age ‘ and stars Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Crazy Rich Asians), Sydney Taylor (Marked Men, Just Add Magic: Mystery City), Ke Huy Quan (The Goonies, Everything Everywhere All at Once), former Taekwondo champion Jimmy Liu, Ben Wang (Chang Can Dunk, MacGyver), Daniel Wu (Warcraft, New Police Story), Yann Yann Yeo (Rise of the Legend, Ilo Ilo), and Chin Han (The Dark Knight, Contagion), according to the Disney press release.
The series features guest stars portraying iconic Chinese mythical characters, including Stephanie Hsu (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) portraying the Goddess of Stones, Shiji Niangniang; Ronny Chieng (M3GAN, Crazy Rich Asians) portraying the unconventional monk, Ji Gong; Jimmy O. Yang (Crazy Rich Asians, Silicon Valley) portraying the Dragon King, Ao Guang; James Hong (Kung Fu Panda, Everything Everywhere All at Once) portraying the Jade Emperor; Leonard Wu (Magnum P.I., Alita: Battle Angel) portraying Niu Mowang/Bull Demon; and Poppy Liu (Sunnyside, Hacks) portraying Princess Iron Fan. Lisa Lu (Crazy Rich Asians, The Last Emperor) portrays soon-to-be retired acupuncturist Ni Yang, while Rosalie Chiang (Turning Red, Soiled) portrays student activist Suzy Nakamura.
According to CBR, in October 2021, Disney+ greenlit a series adaptation, with Destin Daniel Cretton (Just Mercy, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) set to direct and executive produce, and Kelvin Yu (Grandma’s Boy, Bob’s Burgers) as executive producer and showrunner. The author and illustrator of the original 2006 graphic novel, Gene Luen Yang (Fresh Ink an Anthology: Audio Book), is also an executive producer. Yang stated in an interview with CBR that while the graphic novel had a vague 1990s setting, the Disney+ adaptation would be modernized for 2023.
“We had a conversation about what is the same and what is different about the Asian American experience,” explained Yang. “I think being an Asian American still feels like living in between worlds. It still feels like you are caught in between two different sets of cultural expectations, sometimes between two different languages, and sometimes even between two different names. When I was growing up, I had one name at school and another at home. Kids today who are immigrant kids, that is still pretty common. That was sort of the core the entire show was built on.”
Also, executive producing the series is Melvin Mar (Jumanji: The Next Level, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story), Asher Goldstein (Just Mercy, Green Room), and Jake Kasdan (Jumanji: The Next Level, Zero Effect).
Catch American Born Chinese on Disney+ on May 24, 2023.