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PREMIERE: KUNG FU Reboot with Olivia Liang Debuted To a Big Audience By The CW Standards

Kung Fu

I really, really wanted a kick-ass, strong female Asian lead — showrunner Christina M. Kim.

Gender-swapped Kung Fu reboot —  with Olivia Liang as kick-ass Nicky Shen — premiered last night to 1.4 million viewers and 0.2 in the demo, giving The CW its highest viewership for a Wednesday night premiere in the 7 years since The 100 debuted.

Nicky Shen returns home to Vancouver as San Francisco after three years away.

Tzi Ma is Nicky’s father Jin Shen

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 (Gwendoline Yeo) who killed her Shaolin mentor and is now targeting her. 

Filming in Vancouver’s Dr. Sun Yet-Sen Classical Chinese Garden.

 

Night shoot.

Filming in Vancouver’s Chinatown.

The series has been filming in Vancouver since mid-October.

Filming dates: October 16th to April 26th, 2021.

Related: The CW’s Kung Fu  Reboot With Olivia Liang Starts Filming in Vancouver.

Cast: Olivia Liang, Tzi Ma, Kheng Hua Tan, Shannon Dang, Jon Prasida, Eddie Liu, Gavin Stenhouse, Gwendoline Yeo, , Tony Chung and Vanessa Kai.

Olivia Liang as Nicky Shen.

The family

 

Characters:

Henry Chu (Eddie Liu), a martial arts instructor and Chinese art history buff who has instant chemistry with Nicky.

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 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 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 ex-boyfriend Even Hartley (Gavin Stenhouse), an Assistant District Attorney.

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.

Assassin Zhilan (Gwendoline Yeo), who killed Nicky’s mentor Pei-Ling Zhang and now is targeting Nicky.

Writer/producer: Christina M. Kim.

Producers: Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Martin Gero.

Nicky’s brother Ryan Shen, (Jon Prasida).

Related: Olivia Liang Cast as Female Lead in a Reimagined Kung Fu Pilot for The CW.

The pilot filmed in Vancouver for four+ days in March before a film industry shutdown because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Related: The CW’s Kung Fu Reboot Pilot With Female Lead Expected To Film in Vancouver.

The CW ordered the project to series in May.

Filming in Vancouver:

Batwoman’s Camrus Johnson reached out to the Kung Fu family.

And Supernatural’s Richard Speight Jr. directed episode 10.

 

Kung Fu airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m., on The CW.

 

 

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