Tzi Ma, Rae Dawn Chong and Aileen Wu have boarded Canadian television series “Charlie Chan.”
Ma, known for “Mulan,” “Kung Fu” and “Interior Chinatown,” will executive produce and star in the title role. Chong, whose credits include “Interview With the Vampire,” “American Crime Story” and “The Color Purple,” will play Detective Joyous Green. Wu (“Alien: Romulus”) will portray Faye Chan, Charlie’s daughter.
A contemporary reimagining of the iconic character set in Vancouver, Canada, the reboot follows a Hong Kong immigrant who, after retiring from the Vancouver police department in frustration, quietly launches a private investigation agency, taking on cases for the city’s overlooked and forgotten. Quentin Lee and his producing partner Cindy Au Yeung — 2024 Canadian Screen Award winners for “Comedy Invasion” — will produce through their British Columbia–based banner Margin Films. Lee recently wrapped the third season of “Comedy Invasian” and the feature “The Way You Dance,” also starring Ma.
“Our series is a bold and necessary reinvention — a proud reclamation of a complicated legacy,” said Lee and Sager in a joint statement. “By crafting an authentic and modern hero, we are transforming a once-offensive cultural caricature into a complex, dignified protagonist for a new generation.”
Chong said she was drawn to the project’s global scope and its BIPOC representation, calling it “smart, quirky and very global.” Ma, meanwhile, spoke to the broader imperative of reclaiming culturally appropriated characters, and described Vancouver as an ideal backdrop given its embrace of multiculturalism. “We have the opportunity to lead the charge,” said Ma, “and provide this so-called ‘day player town’ the opportunity for the world to see the wealth of our Canadian talents.”
Creators and showrunners Quentin Lee and Josh Sager will present the package to international buyers at Series Mania Forum in France as part of Telefilm Canada’s Canada Pavilion. The “Charlie Chan” series announcement was made at Hong Kong FilMart.
Separately, Lee and Sager will also unveil “The British Detective” at Series Mania Forum, a prospective Canada-U.K. co-production from 2025 International Emmy-winning creator Roland Moore. Set in Victoria, B.C., the police procedural centers on a faded British aristocrat who, after retiring to Vancouver Island, reluctantly teams up with a sharp-witted Chinese-Canadian detective to solve a string of crimes. Moore most recently served as head writer on the British YA series “Fallen.”
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