Free kung fu tv show series#

Free kung fu tv show series#

Carradine also starred in the 1986 film and a television series in 1993-both of which were sequels to CaineвЂ™s story.Д«efore Carradine was cast, Bruce Lee was considered for the role. In one scene, a character called the Jerk tells Caine he smells вЂњyellow,вЂќ calls him вЂњChinamanвЂќ and taunts, вЂњno speaking English?вЂќ The blatant racism is complicated by the fact that Caine was played by a non-Asian actor. In the show, Caine faces anti-Asian discrimination as he ventures across the American Old West. The original Kung Fu aired for three seasons between 19. The complicated history of Bruce Lee and the original Kung Fu вЂњAnd for myself as a woman, I really wanted a strong female Asian lead who was kicking butt and was the role model that I wished I had growing up on TV.вЂќ And for me, in developing the show, it was really important that we change that,вЂќ Kim said. But she also acknowledged the elements she wanted to alter. At a media event last month, Kim said that the original series was groundbreaking for its introduction of kung fu to a U.S. The modern-day adaptation of Kung Fu is helmed by television writer Christina M. In recent years, a pattern of white actors cast as Asian characters in particular-from Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One in Doctor Strange to Scarlett Johansson as Major Motoko Kusanagi in the live-action adaptation of Ghost in the Shell-has sparked outcry for change. The new adaptation arrives at a time when calls for an end to HollywoodвЂ™s whitewashing of roles have gotten louder. The makeup of the cast carries extra weight given that Kung Fu is a reimagining of the 1972 television show of the same name by Ed Spielman, which followed the story of the half-Chinese, half-white Shaolin monk Kwai Chang Caine, played by David Carradine, a white actor. Kung Fu is also the first network drama that features a predominantly Asian cast-which includes seasoned actors Tzi Ma ( Mulan, The Farewell) and Kheng Hua Tan ( Crazy Rich Asians). вЂњTo have a fully fleshed out character who also does martial arts has really changed my perspective,вЂќ Liang says. NickyвЂ™s journey unfolds as she faces an organized crime group that threatens the safety of her family and community, and searches for the person responsible for murdering her Shaolin mentor at the monastery. She plays Nicky Shen, a Chinese American woman who, after dropping out of college and spending a few years in a monastery in China, returns home to San Francisco. But her role in Kung Fu-the CW series premiering on April 7-offers something entirely different. Liang was wary of one-dimensional Asian characters whose martial arts skills were their only defining trait. This shift in attitude did not come without careful consideration.