- For the 1972 series, see Kung Fu (1972 TV series). For other titles, see Kung Fu franchise.
Kung Fu is an American martial arts action-adventure television series that premiered on Wednesday, April 7, 2021 in the 8PM hour. It is a reimagining with a female lead of the 1970's David Carradine-starring TV series.[1]The series is also produced by Warner Bros. Television, Berlanti Productions, and Quinn's House.
All episodes of Kung Fu are available to stream on The CW’s digital platforms following their broadcast on the network. An encore presentation of the first episode aired on TNT on April 11, 2021.
The series scored The CW’s highest total viewership number for a Wednesday debut in 7 years since The 100 debuted on March 19, 2014. It debuted to the tune of 1.4 million total viewers and a 0.2 in the 18-49 demographic. In addition, Kung Fu delivered The CW’s largest audience in the time period in two and half years since Riverdale in October 2018.[2] On May 3, 2021, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered in March of 2022.
Synopsis[]
In “Kung Fu,” A quarter-life crisis causes a young Chinese-American woman, Nicky Shen, to drop out of college and go on a life-changing journey to an isolated monastery in China. But when she returns to San Francisco, she find her hometown overrun with crime and corruption and her own parents Jin Shen and Mei-Li Shen are at the mercy of a powerful Triad. As a result, she will rely on her tech-savvy sister Althea Shen and her fiancé Dennis Soong, pre-med brother Ryan Shen, Assistant District Attorney and ex-boyfriend Evan Hartley, and new love interest Henry Yan as well as her martial arts skills and Shaolin values to protect her community and bring criminals to justice…all while searching for the ruthless assassin Zhilan who killed her Shaolin mentor Pei-Ling Zhang and is now targeting her.
Cast[]
Main[]
- Olivia Liang as Nicky Shen[3]
- Kheng Hua Tan as Mei-Li Shen[4]
- Eddie Liu as Henry Yan[5]
- Shannon Dang as Althea Shen[5]
- Jon Prasida as Ryan Shen[5]
- Gavin Stenhouse as Evan Hartley[6]
- Vanessa Kai as Pei-Ling Zhang[7]
- Tony Chung as Dennis Soong[8]
- Tzi Ma as Jin Shen[4]
- Yvonne Chapman as Zhilan[9][10]: (Recurring Season 1; Main Season 2-Present)
Recurring[]
Episodes[]
Season | Episodes | First Aired | Premiere Episode | Finale Episode | Last Aired |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season 1 | 13[13] | April 7, 2021 | Pilot | Transformation | July 21, 2021[14] |
Season 2 | 13 | March 9, 2022 | Year of the Tiger: Part 1 | The Source | June 15, 2022 [15] |
Season 3 | 13 | October 5, 2022 | Shifu | Beginning | March 8, 2023 |
Gallery[]
Concept artwork[]
Promotional images[]
BTS images[]
Videos[]
Streaming[]
All episodes of Kung Fu are available to stream on The CW’s digital platforms following their broadcast on the network.[16]
Broadcast[]
An encore of the series premiere aired on TNT on Sunday, April 11, 2021 at 10 PM.[17]
Episode Titles[]
In regards to the episode titles for Season 1, the likes of Christina M. Kim and Robert Berens wanted to stick to broad, one word statements of theme, usually (but not always) hinting towards Buddhist concepts or Pei-Ling Zhang’s past teachings for Nicky Shen.
Notes[]
- “Kung Fu” was previously set up at Fox with a put pilot order.
- The series hails from the Blindspot team of writer-executive producer Christina M. Kim, creator-executive producer Martin Gero.
- Kim, Gero, and Berlanti Productions are all currently under overall deals at WBTV.
- Christina M. Kim writes and executive produce.
- Martin Gero executive produce via Quinn’s House along with Greg Berlanti, David Madden and Sarah Schechter of Berlanti Productions.
- Warner Bros. Television produces the series.
- Hanelle Culpepper has signed on to direct the pilot and co-executive produces.
- On May 14, 2020, it was announced on Kung Fu's official Twitter, that the series would premiere in 2021.[18]
- The series is produced by Warner Bros. Television.
- Also on April 22, 2021, Chung was featured in a CW Spotlight video that was shared on the official Instagram account for the Kung Fu TV series.[19]
- On April 28, 2021, Gavin Stenhouse revealed they had Zoom table read for Hand, the fourth episode of Season 1.[20]
- On April 29, 2021, Shannon Dang mentioned in an Instagram post that the night before (April 28th), they wrapped Season 1 of Kung Fu. Dang went onto thank the crew and her fellow cast members while she recounted how in Feb. 2020, they got shut down due to COVID, reunited in September, and somehow through it all, managed to finish their 13th episode in April 2021.[13][21]
- Also on this day, in an effort to support the AAPI community and take action against the rise in xenophobic crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, IGN is joined forces with Stop AAPI Hate to host a charity stream where they played Fall Guys to raise funds. Subsequently, it was announced that Olivia Liang would be one of the guests for this charity play stream.[22]
- On May 1, 2021, in honor of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, the Hello Sunshine Instagram page is honoring films and TV shows about various Asian cultures, and with Asian and Asian American casts.[23]
- On May 3, 2021 it was announced that The CW had officially renewed Kung Fu for a second season due to premiere sometime in the 2021-2022 TV Season.[24]
- On May 24 ,2021, it was announced that the Season 1 Finale aired on Wednesday July 21, 2021 at 8PM on The CW.[14]
References[]
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cw_kungfu/status/1364652978007728131
- ↑ ‘Kung Fu’ Debuts Strong, Hits The CW’s Highest Wednesday Viewership In 7 Years
- ↑ ‘‘Kung Fu’ Reboot Pilot at CW Casts Olivia Liang in Lead Role
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 ‘Kung-Fu’: Tzi Ma & Kheng Hua Tan To Co-Star In the CW Reboot Pilot - Deadline
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 ‘Kung Fu’: Jon Prasida, Shannon Dang & Eddie Liu To Co-Star In the CW Reboot Pilot - Deadline
- ↑ ‘Kung Fu’: Gavin Stenhouse & Gwendoline Yeo Join the CW Reboot Pilot
- ↑ ‘Kung Fu’: Vanessa Kai Joins the CW Reboot Series
- ↑ ‘Kung Fu’: Tony Chung Joins the CW Reboot Series
- ↑ Antonio Jaramillo Joins ‘Snowfall’; ‘Kung Fu’ Casts Yvonne Chapman
- ↑ ‘Kung Fu’: Yvonne Chapman Upped To Series Regular For Season 2 - Deadline
- ↑ Ludi Lin Joins The CW’s ‘Kung Fu’ Reboot
- ↑ ‘Power Book II: Ghost’s Bradley Gibson To Recur On ‘Kung Fu’ Reboot
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Episode Number for Season 1 & Thank You Note for Cast & Crew - Instagram
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 The CW Unveils Summer Finale Dates for Walker, The Flash, Kung Fu and More - TV Line
- ↑ https://tvline.com/2022/04/07/the-cw-season-finale-dates-all-american-superman-lois-flash/
- ↑ The CW Sets Premiere Dates For ‘Kung Fu’, ‘Republic Of Sarah’ & Return Of ‘Dynasty’, ‘Legends Of Tomorrow’, ‘In The Dark’; New Slots For ‘Batwoman’, ‘Charmed’
- ↑ ‘Kung Fu’ Premiere To Air On TNT
- ↑ The CW is committed to bringing diverse perspectives and voices to creative roles behind the camera - Instagram
- ↑ April 28th Tweet - Twitter
- ↑ Warner Bros. IG Account - Instagram
- ↑ How to Watch the IGN x Stop AAPI Hate Charity Stream - IGN
- ↑ Must See Watchlist for AAPI Heritage Month - Instagram
- ↑ ‘Kung Fu’ & ‘Stargirl’ Renewed At The CW - Deadline