A polarising show since it first began production in Hong Kong, Amazon Prime Video’s Expats series attempts to go beyond its source material – yet ends up falling flat.
Hong Kong and Hollywood have long had a storied relationship. From local icons crossing over into big-budget features, to classic Hong Kong movies getting the remake treatment, the portrayal and treatment of Asian people, cultures, and countries by Western media productions have been evolving over the years. Most recently, the Nicole Kidman-produced Amazon Original Expats TV show has shed light on the topic of representation. Focusing on the American expatriate communities of Hong Kong, Expats’ portrayal of a privileged life, largely removed from issues the local community faces, has sparked much controversy.
Exacerbated by real-world points of contention surrounding its production in the city and the perplexing decision to not officially air Hong Kong, the show faced a heated local reception long before its premiere. With the high tensions surrounding Expats, I decided to watch the full six episodes of this miniseries, so that you don’t have to – and to see for myself what the final product had to say for itself.
A Hollywood actress graces Hong Kong – not so gracefully
For most Hong Kongers, part of the experience of watching Expats is coloured by the circumstances of its film production in the city. Picture this: it’s 2021 Hong Kong; almost all faces are adorned with masks and many of the city’s hotels are jam-packed with travellers undergoing a gruelling mandatory quarantine period on their own dime. Suddenly, enter Nicole Kidman. An Oscar-winning Australian legend in Hollywood, her adaptation of the 2016 novel The Expatriates and the decision to film directly in Hong Kong had already caused a stir. Then, to add fuel to the “fire”, Kidman was granted exemption from quarantine – she was allowed to go directly from a private jet onto the streets to film.
With Kidman’s treatment drawing heated comparisons to the subject matter of Expats itself, the series was branded with unfavourable connotations that followed it to its official January 2024 premiere. Dropping episodes weekly, the first episodes on Amazon Prime Video also revealed that it would not be available to watch in Hong Kong – a decision that left more questions than answers (in fact, no official answer was ever given). Thankfully, through the completely legal magical powers of the internet, I’ve still been able to watch Expats over the last few weeks. Even removed from its vexing real-world issues, the series has been an interesting watch.
What Expats is all about (warning: spoilers ahead!)
We meet the central players of the Expats TV show in the aftermath of an unspoken tragedy, right from the first episode. American expats, Margaret (Nicole Kidman) and her husband Clarke (Brian Tee), are planning a birthday party in an attempt to keep life going after a traumatic event. We’re able to observe a tense relationship between Margaret and Hilary (Sarayu Blue), an Indian-American expat (and presumably an old friend), as the latter juggles her decision to attend the party.
Meanwhile, the young Korean-American, Mercy (Ji-young Yoo), has been working odd jobs to stay afloat in Hong Kong, which lands her at the party working as a catering waitress. The explosion of these characters coming together jumps the story back in time by the second episode – to the tragedy that forever ties these women together:
Margaret is jealous of the close relationship between her helper Essie (Ruby Ruiz) and her children. So, after meeting Mercy on a boat party, she chooses to leave Essie behind and take Mercy with her instead on a trip to a night market. In a whirlwind of events, Margaret’s youngest son, Gus, goes missing at the market while under Mercy’s care, shattering everyone’s lives. The incident completely overwhelms Margaret and leads her to suspect everyone, including early accusations against Hilary’s husband who was at a bar on the fateful night. After recounting this catastrophe, the next four episodes delve deeper in the lives of these expats in Hong Kong.
Okay, Expats does have a good episode or two…
The best episode of the Expats series simultaneously points to its larger shortcomings. Episode five, named “Central”, is a feature-length (we’re talking over 90 minutes) episode that focuses on the helpers that have been in the background thus far. Margaret’s longtime helper, Essie, is given space to explore her feelings on Gus’ disappearance while Hilary’s helper, Puri (Amelyn Pardenilla), goes after her dreams of becoming a singer. With these two stories coming to the fore, it becomes more obvious than ever that Margaret is, by far, the least complex and interesting character in Expats, leading to the inevitable question: why should we be focusing on her story?
With eye-catching cinematography and arresting performances, “Central” is easily the best episode of Expats and (for better or worse) the episode that the series clearly indicates it cares about the most. In Hong Kong, there can be no expats without the helpers that keep their lives running smoothly. Doing more than just cooking, cleaning, and babysitting, these women live with families and are often very involved in their employers’ lives – whether they want to be or not. Essie feels conflicted for having such strong emotions about Gus due to the fact that she’s not his mother, even though she’s been raising him and his two older siblings for years. Hilary considers Puri a friend only until it’s inconvenient for her, wherein she callously reverts to treating Puri like a subordinate.
In fact, the director and series creator, Lulu Wang, had apparently pitched this episode concept to Amazon first, wanting ample space to showcase these stories, away from the source material. Incidentally, “Central” is the episode that feels most connected to the city of Hong Kong itself. Mercy shows up eventually to explore her feelings for a local university student, Charly (Bonde Sham), who becomes involved in the 2014 protests, while Charly’s friend, Tony (Will Or), faces the repercussions of his role in the protests. Practically a film in itself, the glimpse into these secondary characters starkly reveals how these are much more interesting stories than the one that’s been told so far – which Expats itself actually seems to be aware of.
The pitfalls of Expats: Going beyond the bubble of privilege
By all accounts, Janice Y. K. Lee’s novel is much more limited in its scope compared to the expanded world of the Expats TV show. The book clearly tells readers that these expats do not speak Cantonese and are, by and large, living in a different Hong Kong than locals. The decision for the series to go beyond this premise is understandable. Margaret speaking a few words of Cantonese makes her seem more sympathetic while showcasing characters from the rest of Hong Kong’s community paints the world more vividly.
However, I believe if Expats had gone more in the route of Crazy Rich Asians (2018), where the audience is limited to the world of its uber-wealthy main characters, its shortcomings would’ve appeared less prominent. Being the sole white American expat (a notable racial change from the book), Margaret was made the least layered character in the show – with several points of tension within her left unexplored in favour of repeating the same beats. Meanwhile Hilary, an Indian-American from an immigrant family background working a high-powered job in Hong Kong, is at least given a window into her complicated past and psyche. Yet, the lead up and aftermath of several of Hilary’s crucial life decisions in the back half of Expats are left only half-explored.
Throughout the series, the audience keeps getting peeks of what life is like outside the bubble of expat privilege in Hong Kong. From the queer community to wealthy local families, to the close-knit network of Filipino domestic helpers, these glimpses leave me wanting more. In fact, the 2014 protests are introduced in the final three episodes yet not fully committed to from either the local or expat view. Although exploring these events through the eyes of local protesters was interesting, limiting the POV to that of the expats might’ve more adequately served the story of Expats.
Final thoughts: where is home?
Personally, I like to reserve my final judgement of a series until I’ve seen the finale. From experience, I’ve found that the way a show lands the plane can sometimes rework how I see everything as a whole. Unfortunately (especially compared to the previous episode), the finale was middling at best. The cinematic decisions of the last confrontations of Margaret, Mercy, and Hilary fell flat and the resolution to the Gus incident was disappointing.
Ultimately, Expats’ attempt to reveal more of Hong Kong ended up leaving everyone’s stories only partially developed. Although the TV show would’ve been criticised had it limited itself to the world of expats, it might have at least helped the strength of the plot and fleshed out a more dynamic reality.
The best part of Expats is probably its cinematography, as the beauty of Hong Kong – including the destruction of typhoons – is wonderfully captured. Perhaps if the series had been a movie instead, it would’ve lended less room to stretch out unremarkable aspects and made everything tighter. In the end, what Expats ironically points to the most is that there are far more compelling stories in Hong Kong (including those of non-white expats) than what we’ve just watched.
