Chloe Bennet and Ronny Chieng have joined the cast of the “Interior Chinatown” series currently in the works at Hulu.
The pair join previously announced lead Jimmy O. Yang in the series. It was ordered at Hulu earlier in October, with the streamer also announcing that Taika Waititi had boarded the project to direct the pilot and executive produce.
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“Interior Chinatown” is based on the book of the same name by Charles Yu. Per the official logline, the show “follows the story of Willis Wu (Yang), a background character trapped in a police procedural trying to find his way into the larger story–and along the way discovers secrets about the strange world he inhabits and his family’s buried history.”
Bennet will play Lana Lee. Her official character description states, “Detective Lana Lee is a new lead making her debut appearance in the procedural cop show ‘Black & White.’ Lana brings a new energy to the series’ reliable but overworked premise. Exuding competence and an air of mystery, Lana represents everything Willis has dreamed of: success, a possible love interest, and a bigger role in the story. Self-aware, compelling, and enigmatic, Lana has a way of easily slipping between worlds—but this ability comes with a complicated reality of its own. When Lana enlists Willis’s help on a major case, the two form an unlikely partnership.”
Bennet is known for her role in the ABC-Marvel series “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D,” on which she starred as Daisy “Skye” Johnson, a.k.a Quake, throughout the show’s seven-season run. Her other notable roles include the ABC music drama “Nashville” and the animated Dreamworks film “Abominable.” She reprised her “Abominable” role in the upcoming spinoff series “Abominable and the Invisible City,” which bowed in October on Hulu. Variety exclusively reported that Bennet will appear in the third season of the hit FXX series “Dave.”
She is repped by CAA and Hansen Jacobson.
Chieng will appear in the role of Fatty Choi, Willis’ best friend. Fatty’s “passions include video games and malted beverages,” his character description states. “Unlike Willis, Fatty is much more comfortable with who he is and he’s content with his life working at the restaurant, drinking, hanging out, and being the sidekick in the story.”
Chieng is an accomplished stand up comedian, whose most recent special debuted on Netflix in April. He is currently a senior correspondent on “The Daily Show.” As an actor, Chieng is known for co-creating and starring in the ABC Australia sitcom “Ronny Chieng: International Student” as well as for appearances on shows like “Doogie Kameāloha, M.D.” and “Young Rock.” In film, he starred in the blockbuster “Crazy Rich Asians” as well as “Godzilla vs. Kong” and Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” among others.
He is repped by Artists First, APA, and Sechel PR, and Cohen Gardner.
Yu is adapting his book for the screen and serves as executive producer and showrunner on the series. Dan Lin, Lindsey Liberatore, and Elsie Choi executive produce via Rideback. Along with Waititi, Garret Basch is also executive producing via Dive, with Jeff Skoll and Miura Kite of Participant executive producing as well. 20th Television is the studio.
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