By PTI
LOS ANGELES: Action comedy show “American Born Chinese” has been handed a straight-to-series order by streaming service Disney Plus.
Filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton, who recently delivered a box office hit with Marvel Studios’ “Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”, will direct the series.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Kelvin Yu will serve as showrunner for the action comedy which is based on a graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang.
“American Born Chinese” follows the story of Jin Wang, an average teenager juggling his high school social life with his immigrant home life.
When he meets a new foreign student on the first day of the school year, even more worlds collide as Jin is unwittingly entangled in a battle of Chinese mythological gods.
The show will explore issues of identity, culture and family.
Melvin Mar, Jake Kasdan, Asher Goldstein, and Yang will executive produce the series, which is backed by Disney’s 20th TV.
“We are delighted to continue our relationship with Melvin Mar and Jake Kasdan and thrilled that Destin Daniel Cretton is set to direct.
The team are visionaries in bringing character-driven adventures to life, and we cannot wait for our audience to experience this fantastically memorable and imaginative adaptation of the graphic novel,” said Ayo Davis, president of Disney Branded Television.
“This is a great universal story that moves between worlds and explores the impact of culture, identity, and acceptance through the lens of adolescence,” she added.
Cretton, whose directorial credits also include indie hits like “Short Term 12” and “Just Mercy”, said he found the adaption’s script “riveting” and it left him “laughing and crying and jumping out of my chair on every page”.
“I feel deeply connected to the characters in this story and the brilliant team bringing it to life.
This show is going to be unlike anything we’ve experienced on TV, and I can’t wait for the world to see what we’re cooking up,” he added.
