Mumbai: Eight years later, fans are ready to delve into a world of madness, wealth and family drama with HBO’s upcoming Crazy Rich Asians series. Most of the original cast of Jon M Chu’s film are returning for the show.
A teaser released late at night on 8 October using clips from the original film announced the show with Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Ronny Chieng, and Michelle Yeoh reprising their roles for the star-studded sensation. However, the series is yet to begin filming.
Wu will return as Rachel Chu, Golding as her fiancé Nick Young, Chieng as Nick’s cousin Eddie Cheng and Yeoh as the matriarch, Eleanor Young. The other three are series regulars.
The series picks up after the film, which ended with Nick proposing to Rachel. The couple had travelled to Singapore for a friend’s wedding, where Rachel discovered that Nick came from one of the country’s wealthiest families. The film was based on Kevin Kwan’s 2013 novel of the same name. He followed it with two more books, China Rich Girlfriend (2015) and Rich People Problems (2017).
Kwan will also be an executive producer.
“Our incredible fans around the world have been patiently waiting for this, and it will be worth the wait! Getting to see my stories and characters come to life with the breathing room of an HBO series is a dream come true,” he said of the upcoming adaptation, adding that he was particularly pleased about having more time for the characters.
Adele Lim, who co-wrote the film, will join as the showrunner.
“It’s a CRAZY RICH family reunion! This series is the sequel we’ve been waiting for, but instead of just one movie, we get eight episodes to delve into the characters and worlds of Kevin Kwan’s brilliant books,” Lim said in a statement.
Director Jon M Chu is back as an executive producer. He said a lot had changed for the cast in eight years. They had become “movie stars, superheroes, arena-filling performers and even an Oscar winner.”
Chu also mentioned the film’s popularity at mahjong nights and on flights. He said people had asked him almost every day for eight years when the sequel was coming.
No production or release dates have been announced yet.
(Edited by Insha Jalil Waziri)