What if you were merely a background character in someone else's police procedural?

Cultures · Published 10 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In the Hulu series Interior Chinatown, a waiter discovers his entire reality is scripted. Based on Charles Yu’s National Book Award-winning novel, this satirical drama explores the suffocating limits of stereotypes through the eyes of a man trapped in a fictional crime drama.

The series follows Willis Wu, a waiter at the Golden Palace restaurant, played by Jimmy O. Lang. Willis lives within the framework of a fictional police procedural titled Black and White. His mundane existence is disrupted when he begins investigating the mysterious disappearance of his brother, Jonathan, who died twelve years prior. The investigation is prompted by Detective Lana Lee, who recruits Willis to look into the case. This search for truth is complicated by the presence of other detectives, such as Miles Turner and Sarah Green, who are active in the Port Harbor crime scenes.

The show's setting, the Golden Palace, draws inspiration from the real-world Doyers Street and its tunnels in Manhattan’s Chinatown. The production utilized diverse locations to build its world, including the Universal Pictures backlot, Chinatown in Los Angeles, Toronto, and New Zealand. This physical breadth mirrors the show's thematic depth, as it uses satire to critique how Asian-American identities are often relegated to supporting roles in mainstream media. The production team managed to wrap filming before August 2023. This global scale helped ground the show's exploration of identity across different urban landscapes.

Critics have noted the series' ability to adapt its satirical source material to a thrilling effect. On Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an 87% approval rating from 31 critics. The cast features notable performers including Ronny Chieng as Willis's friend Fatty Choi, and Chloe Bennet as Detective Lana Lee. The production also incorporates cultural texture through Cantopop classics, such as Sam Hui's "Lullaby" and Frances Yip's "The Bund." The series also features works by Ricky Hui and Lazy Mutha Fucka. Beyond its critical reception, the show earned a nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography at the 2024 American Society of Cinematographers Awards.

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