Kung Fu: Pilot
April 7, 2021 6:20 PM - Season 1, Episode 1 - Subscribe
A quarter-life crisis causes a young Chinese American woman, Nicky Shen, 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 are at the mercy of a powerful Triad.
IndieWire Review: CW’s Update of a Classic Is Fleeting, Familiar Entertainment - Likable talent and solid action scenes clash with clichéd plotting and direction in The CW's reboot of a classic series.
The Wrap: How Kheng Hua Tan Is Dispelling the Tiger Mom Stereotype, From ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ to ‘Kung Fu’ - The veteran actress also gushes on starring opposite “Asian American Dad” Tzi Ma in the CW reimagining
The Wrap - ‘Kung Fu’ Star Tzi Ma Explains Why This Asian Dad Is Unlike the Others You’ve Seen Him Play
Variety - ‘Kung Fu’ Showrunner Strives for ‘Three-Dimensional’ Portrait of Asian American Family
Den of Geek - Kung Fu: Inside The History of a Martial Arts Classic - The CW takes on the iconic Kung Fu franchise with some new twists on an expansive canon.
IndieWire Review: CW’s Update of a Classic Is Fleeting, Familiar Entertainment - Likable talent and solid action scenes clash with clichéd plotting and direction in The CW's reboot of a classic series.
The Wrap: How Kheng Hua Tan Is Dispelling the Tiger Mom Stereotype, From ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ to ‘Kung Fu’ - The veteran actress also gushes on starring opposite “Asian American Dad” Tzi Ma in the CW reimagining
The Wrap - ‘Kung Fu’ Star Tzi Ma Explains Why This Asian Dad Is Unlike the Others You’ve Seen Him Play
Variety - ‘Kung Fu’ Showrunner Strives for ‘Three-Dimensional’ Portrait of Asian American Family
Den of Geek - Kung Fu: Inside The History of a Martial Arts Classic - The CW takes on the iconic Kung Fu franchise with some new twists on an expansive canon.
I'm not even 5 minutes into the pilot and I'll probably have to not follow this series.
This isn't a remake of the old series, it's a completely different show with the same name.
posted by Catblack at 11:37 AM on April 9, 2021 [2 favorites]
This isn't a remake of the old series, it's a completely different show with the same name.
posted by Catblack at 11:37 AM on April 9, 2021 [2 favorites]
I never watched the original series, or any of the permutations mentioned in the Den of Geek article, so, it not being an actual reboot/remake doesn't bother me. And it's nice to finally have a martial arts show where the lead isn't a white guy.
I do think the premise seems like it's going to be at odds with itself -- they wouldn't have introduced Nicky's family and the Triad threat to them and their neighbors if Nicky wasn't going to be staying in San Francisco to protect them. But introducing the sword as one of several mystical objects that need to be found/protected seems more suited to a quest show where the protagonist does the whole 'wandering vigilante' thing.
posted by oh yeah! at 2:42 PM on April 9, 2021
I do think the premise seems like it's going to be at odds with itself -- they wouldn't have introduced Nicky's family and the Triad threat to them and their neighbors if Nicky wasn't going to be staying in San Francisco to protect them. But introducing the sword as one of several mystical objects that need to be found/protected seems more suited to a quest show where the protagonist does the whole 'wandering vigilante' thing.
posted by oh yeah! at 2:42 PM on April 9, 2021
it is so clunky and CW and SO MUCH FUN. The ridiculousness of the plot mixed up with all the beloved martial arts tropes and the CW pretty people, and most of all the fight scenes are nicely shot and choreographed to be super fun. The family that vigilantes together is the family that stays together!
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 5:59 AM on April 10, 2021
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 5:59 AM on April 10, 2021
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posted by oh yeah! at 6:41 PM on April 7, 2021