Reopening Hollywood North
The new Kung Fu series with Olivia Liang — a reimagining of the 1970s show with David Carradine — planned to start filming its first season in Vancouver today.
Target filming dates: October 13th to April 20th, 2021.
The CW ordered the project to series in May.
The pilot filmed in Vancouver for four+ days in March before a film industry shutdown because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
A quarter-life crisis causes a young Chinese-American woman, Nicky Shen (Olivia Liang), to drop out of college and go on a life-changing journey to an isolated monastery in China. But when she returns to San Francisco, she finds her hometown is overrun with crime and corruption and her own parents (Tzi Ma and Kheng Hua Tan) are at the mercy of a powerful Triad.
Nicky will rely on her tech-savvy sister (Shannon Dang), pre-med brother (Jon Prasida), Assistant District Attorney and ex-boyfriend (Gavin Stenhouse), and new love interest (Eddie Liu) as well as her martial arts skills and Shaolin values to protect her community and bring criminals to justice … all while searching for the ruthless assassin (Yvonne Chapman) who killed her Shaolin mentor (Vanessa Kai) and is now targeting her.
Cast: Olivia Liang, Kheng Hua Tan, Shannon Dang, Jon Prasida, Eddie Liu, Gavin Stenhouse, Tzi Ma, Tony Chung and Vanessa Kai.
Co-showrunners: Christina M. Kim and Robert Berens.
Producers: Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Martin Gero.
Characters:
Henry Chu (Eddie Liu), a martial arts instructor and Chinese art history buff who has instant chemistry with Nicky.
Nicky’s ex-boyfriend Even Hartley (Gavin Stenhouse), an Assistant District Attorney.
Assassin Zhilan (Yvonne Chapman), who killed Nicky’s mentor Pei-Ling Zhang and now is targeting Nicky.
Nicky’s brother Ryan Shen, (Jon Prasida) a quick-witted medical student who has to deal with the sudden return of his estranged older sister.
Nicky’s older sister Althea Shen (Shannon Dang), who’s newly engaged and on her way to planning her dream Chinese wedding.
Althea’s fiancé Dennis Soong (Tony Chung), a high school mathlete turned popular guy and beloved son of the wealthy Soong family.
Nicky’s parents Jin Shen (Tzi Ma), and mother Mei-Li (Kheng Hua Tan)— husband-and-wife restauranteurs whose secrets threaten to destroy their lives just as they deal with the return of their estranged daughter.
Nicky’s mentor Pei-Ling Zhang (Vanessa Kai), who trained Nicky in fighting at an all-female Shaolin temple of monks before she was killed by Zhilan.
