Lulu Wang Boards Nicole Kidman Amazon Series ‘The Expatriates’

By Joe Otterson

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – “The Farewell” writer and director Lulu Wang is teaming up with Nicole Kidman for the drama series “The Expatriates” at Amazon.

The show had received a straight-to-series order at the streamer back in July. Wang is joining the series as a writer and executive producer and will also direct multiple episodes. Wang and Kidman had teased the former’s involvement with the series in a Twitter post on Wednesday.

“” is based on the novel of the same name by Janice Y.K. Lee. It explores the lives of a close-knit expatriate community in Hong Kong. Along with Wang, Kidman and Per Saari of Blossom Films will executive produce. Studios will produce.

“When I first read Janice Lee’s diasporic novel, I was immediately drawn to the rich characters and the global yet intimate exploration of life in modern Hong Kong,” said Wang. “I’m thrilled to be working with and Amazon, whose commitment to bold, nuanced storytelling make them the perfect partners to translate this atmospheric story to screen.”

Wang had previously been named as one of Variety‘s 10 Directors to Watch of 2019. “The Farewell,” Wang’s second feature, premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival in the U.S. Dramatic Competition, earning Wang a nomination for the Grand Jury Prize. A24 acquired the film for worldwide distribution and released it in theaters on July 7. It has since been nominated for best foreign language film at the 2020 Golden Globe Awards. Her first film “Posthumous,” starred Brit Marling and Jack Huston and was released in 2014 by The Orchard.

She is repped by UTA and Circle of Confusion.

“Lulu is a tremendously gifted writer and director,” said Kidman. “Like so many others, I was deeply moved by her work on ‘The Farewell,’ and I’m thrilled she’s going to help us bring ‘The Expatriates’ to life on screen.”