Amazon Picks Up The Expatriates : Why You Should Be Excited

The show will be produced by Nicole Kidman.

Big Little Lies fans, rejoice: As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Amazon has officially green-lit a straight-to-series order of The Expatriates, a drama similar in tone to HBO’s Big Little Lies and set to be produced by actress Nicole Kidman. (No official word on if she will star in it, as of yet.) The series will be an adaptation of the book of the same name, by Janice Y.K. Lee, and will also feature screenwriter Alice Bell. This marks the first project from Kidman’s Blossoms Films to develop film, TV, and digital projects for Amazon Studios.

What can one expect from the new buzzy show? Well, it follows a similar spiderweb-style narrative of women, much like Big Little Lies, only this time it’s set in present-day Hong Kong. Meaning: Expect less panoramic sea shots of Big Sur, and more gritty, fast-paced city landscapes and darker undertones. “The story weaves an addictive tapestry that follows a group of complex women and their lives as outsiders in Hong Kong,” said Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios. “It’s a compelling exploration of the strength of these women as they persevere through struggles with marriage, career, parenting, and unimaginable loss.”

There’s salacious characters like Mercy, a Korean-American college graduate “with a questionable past seeking a new life,” or Olivia, a “Chinese local socialite who experiences a humiliating loss of status,” or Hilary, a “British expat who yearns for a child despite her uncertain marriage.” Unlike Big Little Lies, there seems to be more of a chance for casting diversity here—that’s always a good start—as the characters are Korean, Chinese, British, Australian, and more. More on that front once the casting gets underway.

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