‘The Farewell’ Director’s New Film Is Hidden in This Show

Poetic, powerful, and exquisitely shot, Expats’ fifth episode is director and creator Lulu Wang at the peak of her powers. And with the standalone “Central” coming in at 90 minutes long without any of the show’s main characters appearing until the halfway point, it’s also a complete departure from everything we’ve come to expect from Expats thus far—and from TV.

“Central” is a masterpiece. But how in the world did Wang convince Amazon to allow her to make it?

“It was actually the first episode that I pitched to the studio,” Wang tells The Daily Beast’s Obsessed in a recent Zoom interview. “I said, ‘I’m not making this series without this, so you have to say yes. Nicole [Kidman] is not going to show up until 35 minutes in.’ There’s always a little bit of rebel in me, where I’m like, what can I get away with?”

Read more at The Daily Beast.