Charles Yu Brings “Interior Chinatown” to the Screen

They say that what goes around comes around, but that’s not always the case. Fortunately, for screenwriter and author Charles Yu, that’s exactly the case. Yu was a screenwriter on the sci-fi hit “Westworld” when he came up with the idea of writing a screenplay-style novel to explore the stereotypical roles that Asian actors filled on set. That book, “Interior Chinatown,” published in 2020, has come back around and is now premiering as a limited TV series on Hulu produced by Yu and Taika Waititi. 

I talked to Yu about his experience adapting the book into a TV show, the importance of representation and character development, and the collaborative process of working with the cast to bring the story to life.

From Page to Screen: The Evolution of a Story

“What I have to remind myself is that it’s not just an opportunity. I don’t want to say responsibility, because that sounds kind of self-important. But if done right, the show could mean something to people,” Yu told me. “When I write books, when I write short stories, it’s to connect with people and to get to connect this way, in a different way for people that may not read as much or just aren’t going to pick up the book.”

But don’t expect the show to mirror the book exactly. Like the novel, the series follows Willis Wu (played by comedian and actor Jimmy O. Yang) as the “generic Asian man.” While the literary Willis yearns to move up the ranks and finally become “Kung Fu guy,” the Willis on screen is seeking answers to the mysterious disappearance of his brother, a Kung Fu guy. Along the way, he gets looped into the background of what seems to be a standard police procedural show, and becomes friends with Lana Lee (Chloe Bennet), a junior detective. By chasing answers, Willis leaves behind his life as a waiter at Golden Palace, your standard Chinatown restaurant, and his friend and busboy Fatty Choi (Ronnie Chieng). Strange things happen to Willis and Fatty, allowing room for both comedy and mystery. 

“It’s a mystery, and that mystery starts out as kind of one thing and deepens into another thing,” Yu explained. “If you’ve read the book, thank you. This very much is within the spirit of the book. I created the show along with many other people. It’s not like someone else came and tried to change it. The changes are because it’s a different medium, and also because, even within the time since I wrote the book, the story has evolved. Reality has evolved.”

Breaking Stereotypes: The Changing Landscape of Asian Representation

One of those evolutions is the fact that it is now raining hot Asian men (hallelujah!), according to the New York Times. Alright, that’s exaggerating, but Asian actors, both men and women, are taking center stage and being celebrated for it. Gone are the days of being cast as Asian Man #5.

Yu acknowledged that growing up — or even 15 years ago — he couldn’t imagine the kind of representation we are seeing, and noted that it’s amazing that Asian actors are now household names. 

“I do think that we’re in [the] early days still … ‘Interior Chinatown,’ the show, is trying to play with some of those ideas. There are still tropes,” he added. “I don’t know that we’ve seen yet the breadth and depth of the stories that can be told by AAPI creators.

“When we’re telling stories about people’s sort of ordinary lives and humanizing them that way, I think we can potentially reach even more people who may not yet be thinking and reading the kinds of things that, like, a very small subset of people in [Los Angeles], San Francisco, New York, Boston, for instance [are]. I do think there are lots of people who still might be excited or a little intimidated by something starring an all-Asian cast.”

Leading that cast is Jimmy O. Yang — who practiced a bit of method acting by buying a used and ancient Toyota and driving it to set, only to be stopped at the gate. But Yang hasn’t always been at the top of the call sheet. 

“I don’t want to say he exists for this role, but it was just this kind of marriage. Even in places where he diverges from Willis in the book or the Willis in my imagination, that’s a necessary and important part of this translation that he’s bringing his own flavor,” Yu shared, pointing out that Yang broke out as a background character on the satirical show “Silicon Valley.”

Character Dynamics: Expanding the World of “Interior Chinatown”

Many adaptations face the challenge of expanding a television world beyond the main character’s interior thoughts or individual actions. Thus, fans of the book will also find the flatter characters become whole and more fleshed out. While there is a Fatty Choi in the novel, Willis and him are not that close; however, in the show, the two are basically best friends but on very different paths. 

“Early on in the writing, it felt like Willis needed a partner in crime, a best friend, and a scene partner,” Yu reflected. “For Ronnie [Chieng] to come on and do it was incredible. I have been a fan of his for a while, and he’s so talented. That’s an interesting thing to me because Willis is so interior in the book […] so to externalize through their dynamic two paths — one leaves Chinatown, one stays in Chinatown — and the conversations they can have, both on the surface and below, hopefully will resonate with people.” 

Particularly for viewers from the Asian American community, Yu believes the contrasts in their characterizations will spark conversations about assimilation versus selling out. 

By expanding the world of the novel and fleshing out its characters, the series will definitely be something to talk about. The adaptation stands poised to spark important conversations, questions about representation and authenticity, and potentially redefine how our stories are told on screen.

Based on Charles Yu’s award-winning book of the same name, “Interior Chinatown” follows the story of Willis Wu, a background character trapped in a police procedural called “Black & White.” When he inadvertently becomes a witness to a crime, Willis begins to unravel a criminal web in Chinatown, his family’s buried history, and what it feels like to be in the spotlight. All 10 episodes will premiere on Nov. 19, 2024 on Hulu.

Images courtesy of Disney/Hulu