Disney just announced a new and upcoming TV series, American Born Chinese that will be available to watch on the Disney+ streaming app service. It is directed by Daniel Destin Cretton (known for Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings and Ten Rings). The Disney Branded Series will be produced by 20th Century Television.
The series will be based on the Eisner Award-winning and nominated, along with multiple other awards, a graphic novel of the same title by writer/artist Gene Luen Yang and colored by Lark Pien. The series will be written and executive-produced by Emmy® Award-winning Kelvin Yu (Bob’s Burgers), who also serves as showrunner, and Charles Yu (Legion, Westworld). The series will also feature Melvin Mar and Jake Kasdan (both of Doogie Kamealoha, M.D. for Disney+, Fresh Off the Boat for ABC, and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and Jumanji: The Next Level feature films), Asher Goldstein (Short Term 12, Just Mercy), and Gene Luen Yang are also executive producers.
The synopsis of American Born Chinese tells the story of Jin Wang, an average teenager juggling his high school social life with his immigrant home life. When he meets a new foreign student on the first day of the school year, even more worlds collide as Jin is unwittingly entangled in a battle of Chinese mythological gods. The show is a genre-hopping action-comedy that explores issues of identity, culture, and family.
Gene Luen Yang is no stranger to comics, as he has written multiple books both in single issue and graphic novel formats for Marvel, DC Comics, and Dark Horse Comics. Yang has also written some of his own original creations such as American Born Chinese along with another one of his highly and critically acclaimed graphic novels, Dragon Hoops. Yang’s most recent work can be read in Marvel’s current ongoing Shang-Chi series, which follows the success of the previous Shang-Chi miniseries in 2020. It could be irony, coincidence, or both, that Yang’s current Marvel work will unite him with director Daniel Destin Cretton after coming off the summer’s blockbuster hit, Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings.
Director Daniel Destin Cretton had this to say about his working to bring the acclaimed graphic novel to life:
“Reading Kelvin’s riveting adaptation of Gene’s incredible novel had me laughing and crying and jumping out of my chair on every page. I feel deeply connected to the characters in this story and the brilliant team bringing it to life. This show is going to be unlike anything we’ve experienced on TV, and I can’t wait for the world to see what we’re cooking up.”
With any book-to-screen adaptation, it will be very interesting to see how Yang’s book will be explored while considering some of the sensitive issues surrounding stereotypes and the characters who are involved in such actions. It’s a plus that the series is executive-produced and written by people of color from the API (Asian Pacific Islander) community.
Disney has not yet announced a release date or casting for the series, but it will be a series to look forward to when it releases on Disney Plus.
