There’s a lot happening in this trailer for The Sympathizer, one of the most anticipated new series coming from HBO this year. Anticipated because it’s from A24 and director Park Chan-Wook, the South Korean filmmaker behind Oldboy, in his first series effort since The Little Drummer Girl in 2018. An adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen‘s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, it’s something of a spy caper exploring the post-Vietnam War era with a critical and satirical eye.
Chan-wook co-created the series with Don McKellar, and exec-produces as well as directs each of the seven episodes. Robert Downey Jr., also a producer, has a role but the real lead is Hoa Xuande as The Captain, a half-French half-Vienamese communist spy whose divided loyalties are constantly tested. Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Phanxine, and Vy Le. Ky Duyen, Kiue Chinh, Duy Nguyen, Alan Trong, and Sandra Oh also star.
Here’s the synopsis: Based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, THE SYMPATHIZER is an espionage thriller and cross-culture satire about the struggles of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy during the final days of the Vietnam War and his new life as a refugee in Los Angeles, where he learns that his spying days aren’t over.
The Sympathizer premieres on HBO and Max on April 14th.
