Eight years after Crazy Rich Asians turned a mid-budget rom-com into a genuine box-office event, HBO is bringing the world of the Young family back, this time as a series rather than a sequel film.
The original cast, mostly intact
According to Variety, the new drama will reunite Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Ronny Chieng, and Michelle Yeoh in their original roles, picking up after the events of the 2018 film. That movie followed Rachel Chu, a New York economics professor played by Wu, as she flew to Singapore with boyfriend Nick Young (Golding) and discovered just how wealthy, and how complicated, his family really was.
Whether Awkwafina, Gemma Chan, Ken Jeong, or Nico Santos will return has not been confirmed. HBO has not announced the rest of the cast yet.
Same universe, more room to explore it
The series will run eight episodes, giving the creative team, and Kevin Kwan's source material, which spans three novels, far more room than a single film allowed. Kwan's original 2013 book spawned two sequels, and there is clearly more of that world left to mine.
Screenwriter Adele Lim, who co-wrote the original film, is stepping up to showrunner and executive producer, working alongside Kwan, director Jon M. Chu, and the rest of the original creative team.
What Lim is calling it
Lim described the project as a family reunion, and said the move to a multi-episode format is the version of the story fans have been waiting for all along, one with enough space to dig into characters the film could only skim past. 'Our writers room is humming and we can't wait to share what we've come up with,' she said.
HBO has confirmed production will start in 2027 but has not set a premiere date, finalized the rest of the cast, or confirmed filming locations. More details are expected as the project moves forward.
