I didn’t really know what to expect from Interior Chinatown going in. I have not read the original novel by Charles Yu, who also serves as showrunner and executive producer for this adaptation; nor was I familiar with anything this cast had done, save for Chloe Bennet’s work on Agents of SHIELD.
But Taika Waititi’s involvement quickly caught my eye and the hook of an average guy roped into a massive conspiracy felt very strong to me, so I was more than willing to give it a chance. And I am very glad I did because Interior Chinatown is one of the most refreshing takes on the often played-out detective genre that I’ve seen in years. Though bear in mind that this only applies to the first five episodes, as that was what was made available to me at time of writing.
What is Interior Chinatown about?
Willis Wu, played by Jimmy O. Yang, is an ordinary guy living an aggressively ordinary life working at his uncle’s restaurant; dreaming of living a glamorous and important life like on the detective shows he loves. Whether he likes it or not, Willis will soon get his wish when he accidentally becomes a witness to a crime; secretly partnering with Chloe Bennet as Detective Lana Lee, a self-described Chinatown expert.
With Lee desperate to prove herself to her seasoned mentors, Detectives Miles Turner and Sarah Green, and Wu just as desperate to find out how this crime and recent gang violence connect to his older brother’s disappearance twelve years ago, the two must work together to unravel the criminal conspiracy and discover the truth about Chinatown, Willis’ family, and the world around them.
How is Interior Chinatown?
If the story I just described to you sounded kind of trope-y, that’s by design. Interior Chinatown isn’t just a run-of-the-mill detective story. In universe, the events of the show take place inside of a Law & Order-style police procedural called Black & White. Even the period setting of the late 1990s reinforces this, as that was when the original Law & Order was in its heyday.
In this context, Turner and Green are the series leads, Lana Lee is the fresh new face added a few seasons in that may or may not be spun off into whatever the equivalent of SVU would be, and Willis, our protagonist, is a background character thrust into the main narrative. And this meta angle is where Interior Chinatown really shines, especially in its comedy.
The show has a lot of fun skewering typical cop show tropes, from the classic “zoom and enhance” cliche to the one-liners that would be wildly inappropriate at an actual crime scene. Moreover, it gets a lot out of how cop shows often treat minority characters as stock archetypes, both in terms of comedy and to make a genuine point about representation.
Our main character, who has the most to contribute to solving the case, is frequently excluded or outright ignored simply because he’s a “generic Asian guy.” Even the in-universe opening titles for Black & White engage in such an egregious example of the kind of tokenism seen in Law & Order and its contemporaries that it genuinely made me laugh out loud because of how accurate it was. It’s all shockingly clever and often hilarious, at least when it isn’t a depressing reflection of how much further behind we are than we should be when it comes to representation.
But the meta angle isn’t the only thing the show has going for it. The entire cast is great and they bounce off each other very well, the action is a lot of fun, and while how much of that aforementioned meta angle plays into the ongoing mystery is still unclear, it’s a mystery that I found consistently compelling. The twists are surprising but always make sense and I was always eager to see what happened next and how deep the rabbit hole went.
Plus, the series has a remarkably strong emotional core. Willis’ parents have their own recurring subplot that goes to some very deep places and many characters, especially Willis himself, frequently struggle with who they want to be for both themselves and others in a very grounded and relatable way. In the midst of the conspiracy and the comedy, there is a much more personal and deeply human element to the proceedings.
Also, I feel like I need to take a moment to highlight how much I adore Ronny Chieng as Fatty Choi. He’s one of Willis’ co-workers at the restaurant who frequently ends up running the place by himself once Willis gets busy dealing with the plot. As someone who’s done a lot of restaurant work in her life, his performance and this entire subplot were hilarious and deeply cathartic. I would watch an entire sitcom that was just that.
Is Interior Chinatown worth watching?
If I have any real issue with Interior Chinatown, it’s that I feel like I need to see more of it. Having only been given the first half of the season for this review, I have no idea where the mystery is going or whether or not it sticks the landing. But I desperately want to find out.
This show is probably my biggest pleasant surprise of the year so far. I came in with no expectations and got a hilarious skewering of cop show cliches with compelling characters, a strong emotional core, and a deeply engaging central mystery. However this ultimately pays off in the end, I will definitely be along for the ride.
Interior Chinatown premieres on Hulu November 19. Five out of ten episodes reviewed.
Interior Chinatown Review – Meta Mystery Is The Biggest Pleasant Surprise of 2024
Interior Chinatown is a remarkably engaging and well-crafted series that will have you laughing at its skewering of detective tropes, crying at the emotional struggles of its characters, and gasping at the shocking twists and turns of its mystery narrative all in equal measure.
