Acclaimed author Charles Yu makes his debut as a showrunner with Interior Chinatown, which he adapted for the screen from his 2020 novel of the same name. Part comedy and part crime series, the meta-mystery premiered November 19 on Hulu, telling the story of Willis Wu (Silicon Valley's Jimmy O. Yang). Willis is a background actor who waits tables and portrays Asian American cliches on projects such as the police procedural Black and White, but his life is turned upside down when he witnesses an abduction in his hometown.

Interior Chinatown is executive produced by Taika Waititi and features stellar ensemble cast that includes Chloe Bennet (Agents of SHIELD as Detective Lana Lee, who was specially assigned to the case but is not taken by her fellow police officers, Ronny Chieng (M3GAN) as Willis' unambitious coworker Fatty Choi, as well as Tzi Ma (Mulan) and Diana Lin (The Farewell) as Willis' parents. The latter are still grieving the disappearance of their eldest son, whose fate is yet another mystery that Willis seeks answers to when he s Detective Lee's investigation.

ScreenRant interviewed Waititi and Yu about turning the latter's novel into a series, and how Interior Chinatown reflects their own experiences in the entertainment industry. Yu revealed that he saw Willis' parents and their struggles as Asian American immigrants as the heart of the story, while Waititi referred to the protagonist's imposter syndrome as a universally relatable arc for audiences everywhere.

Interior Chinatown’s Adaptation Process Was No Walk In The Park

“You've got to start specifying what things are and what we're trying to get across.”

Screen Rant: Interior Chinatown is phenomenal. I'm going to go back and rewatch because I feel like there are little clues and tidbits hidden throughout the episode, so I can be a detective myself in the show. Charles, how did the journey of transforming Interior Chinatown from a novel to a series begin?

Charles Yu: I had a book to write, and I was stuck. [Laughs] The heart of the book was the story of Willis' parents; they have these little bits of their lives, and they don't feel like a story because they're not the main characters to people. How do you make that a story?

I think the eureka moment was when it came through Willis' perspective. It's like, "Oh, the child of these immigrants will tell the story and try to make something out of these little bits."

Screen Rant: Taika, in working with Charles, can you talk about maintaining the integrity of the source material while also exploring new creative ventures for the show?

Taika Waititi: A lot of the adaptation process had been done by the time I came in. I read the first draft of the pilot and fell in love with that, then read the book and fell in love with that. I knew it was going to be a difficult task just to translate all of that stuff because a book is one thing, but then making things clear and understandable, and explaining the world and how it works and what the rules of the world are, that's another thing onscreen. You've got to be very specific and lead the audience by the hand.

I relied heavily on Charlie and his knowledge of the world that he had created. He's the mastermind of everything. A lot of us would, off to the side, go, "What does this bit mean? What does he mean by this?" I didn't know. "What does that mean?" You were good as well to just go, "I'm not sure. We should fix that!" But it's a great collaboration. It's really good to work with someone who's not precious about those things and understands that you've got to start specifying what things are and what we're trying to get across.

Interior Chinatown Tackles Imposter Syndrome Through Willis’ Journey Of Self-Discovery

“You're just saying this trendy term imposter syndrome, and you don't even know what it means."

Screen Rant: Charles, there's this line in episode 4 that I love: "If you pretend long enough, you might just lose yourself." Can you talk about Willis' journey as he uncovers information about his brother?

Charles Yu: Thank you for calling out that line. I think it's in a lot of ways — not an Easter egg, but there are ways you can just hit on the heart of it. I think that this story starts with Willis, but it extends to so many other characters. It is about people hiding parts of themselves, and what we're watching as Willis levels up over and over, is that he's finding new ways he can be.

There are other identities he can take on, but none of them exactly match who he is. But he's kind of growing through each of them, and I think that as he searches for his brother in the course of the season, he's also on a [journey of] self-discovery as well.

Screen Rant: I saw a lot of myself through Willis at times in this show. How did his experience as a background actor while waiting tables mirror or differ from your own journeys in the entertainment industry?

Taika Waititi: I've basically had the same journey as him. I started off as a waiter and was in the background of many shows. In fact, I was a waiter in real life and then my first roles were playing waiters. So, that's all I had then.

But I think we all go through life thinking we are the main characters in our own story, and we are. But I went through life not really considering all of the other players in my story, and realizing as I got older that everyone's going through the same thing. Every single one of us is going through the same doubts and imposter syndrome feelings and all those moments where you're like, "Is this what my destiny is? Am I doing what I should be doing? Is there something more for me?" I really relate to all of that, and I think everyone can relate to that.

Charles Yu: Imposter syndrome [is something] I have always had. I mean, I have it right now sitting here talking about the show that I've worked for years on. Still, there's something inside of me that's going, "You don't know you're going to fail."

Taika Waititi: I feel like whenever I use the word imposter syndrome, I feel like more of an imposter. I feel like everyone uses that term now, and as I hear it coming out of my mouth, I'm like, "Man, you're just a fraud. You're just saying you're an imposter. You're just saying this trendy term imposter syndrome, and you don't even know what it means."

Charles Yu: I think you do. [Laughs]

More About Interior Chinatown Season 1

Based on Charles Yu’s award-winning book of the same name, the show follows the story of Willis Wu, a background character trapped in a police procedural called Black & White. Relegated to the background, Willis goes through the motions of his on-screen job, waiting tables, dreaming about a world beyond Chinatown and aspiring to be the lead of his own story. When Willis inadvertently becomes a witness to a crime, he begins to unravel a criminal web in Chinatown, while discovering his own family’s buried history and what it feels like to be in the spotlight.

Check out our other Interior Chinatown interviews here:

• Jimmy O. Yang
• Archie Kao & Tzi Ma
• Lisa Gilroy & Sullivan Jones
• Chloe Bennett & Ronny Chieng

All 10 episodes of Interior Chinatown are now available to stream on Hulu.

Source: Screen Rant Plus