American Born Chinese; will Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan recapture their Oscar success on the small screen?

After two well earned Academy Award wins this year for their roles in ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once,’ cast members Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan will reunite once more for the Disney+ television series ‘American Born Chinese,’ currently streaming on the platform from today. The series, adapted from Gene Luen Yang’s 2006 graphic novel of the same name, which itself drew influences from the classic Chinese novel, Journey to the West.

The series follows 10th grader Jin Wang, who is struggling to fit in with his peers. When he's tasked to show new exchange student Wei-Chen around, he is unexpectedly thrust into a battle between mythical Chinese gods, including Sun Wukong, the Monkey King (voiced by Daniel Wu) and Guanyin (voiced by Michelle Yeoh). 

An interesting note from series creator Kelvin Yu is that, much like the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Disney Princess pantheon, is that the characters in the work belong in the same category as it’s famous peers; leading one to speculate should it be a success, could it spin off into its own Chinese folklore universe - and provide the lucrative China market Disney continue to fawn over an opportunity to celebrate folk heroes of their own culture.

Speaking about the series, Yeoh believes that it is an important work that will have a resonance with Asian-American audiences who at times struggle with their own identity; "I have a lot of younger American born Chinese friends, and I see them trying to deal with their identities: 'Am I this or am I that?'" the actress told Entertainment Weekly. "And it's very hard, especially when you think, 'I have to fit in.'” 

“It's also hard for the parents because it's like, how do I help my child fit in and not stand out in the wrong way? But what we have forgotten is we should embrace each other's differences and not be afraid to be different. Our culture, our heritage, is so steeped with history and beauty," Yeoh adds. "Why would we not want to learn more about it?"

The series marks a very busy period for both Yeoh and Quan; Michelle Yeoh has three films currently in post production, including the latest instalment in the Transformers franchise, ‘Transformers; Rise of the Beasts’ along with her continued appearance in James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ series. 

While Quan, who has had a career resurgence we wouldn’t blame many for being envious of, has just finished filming his role in the upcoming Russo Brother’s film, ‘The Electric State’, opposite Millie Bobby Brown, and will featuring in another Disney+ series out later this year - the second series of the MCU’s ‘Loki.’