HBO has ordered a one-hour Crazy Rich Asians drama series, bringing back original film stars Constance Wu, Henry Golding and Ronny Chieng, with Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh returning in a recurring role.
The series follows the 2018 blockbuster film, which became the highest-grossing Hollywood studio romantic comedy at the North American box office in nearly a decade. It is based on Kevin Kwan’s bestselling novels and will expand the story across eight episodes.
Adele Lim, who co-wrote the film, is adapting the series. Director Jon M. Chu, Kwan, and producers Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson are also returning to the project, which has been in development for about two years.
The show was initially developed at HBO Max, which commissioned a writers’ development room in early 2025. It has now moved to HBO, joining other Warner Bros.-based projects that have made the transition, including Harry Potter, Dune: Prophecy, IT: Welcome to Derry, The Penguin and Lanterns.
“We are so excited that Adele and the team behind the history-making film are bringing the next chapter of this story to life,” said Casey Bloys, Co-Chair and Chief Content Officer at Skydance Direct-to-Consumer.
Bloys described Wu, Golding, Chieng and Yeoh as global stars and said the team was looking forward to working with the cast and producers.
The television adaptation will take a different approach from the original film, which was a romantic comedy. The series will be a drama, a direction established early in its development.
Lim said the television format would allow the creative team to explore Kwan’s characters and fictional world in greater depth.
“It’s a Crazy Rich family reunion!” Lim said. “This series is the sequel we’ve been waiting for, but instead of just one movie, we get eight episodes to delve into the characters and worlds of Kevin Kwan’s brilliant books.”
The series follows Chinese-American Rachel, played by Wu, and her fiancé Nick, played by Golding, as they travel to Singapore to meet his family and friends. Rachel discovers that Nick’s family is extraordinarily wealthy as the couple prepares for marriage.
Kwan said fans had waited patiently for the story to continue and welcomed the opportunity to see his characters developed in a television series.
“Getting to see my stories and characters come to life with the breathing room of an HBO series is a dream come true,” he said.
Chu also welcomed the reunion, recalling how the original film changed his life and became a favourite among audiences.
He said he had been asked when a sequel would arrive almost every day for eight years, adding: “Well… bok bok bitch, we’re back.”
Jacobson and Simpson said the question they heard most often from fans was when they would get more Crazy Rich Asians.
The series is executive produced by Lim through 100 Tigers; Chu through Electric Somewhere; and Kwan, Jacobson and Simpson through Color Force, which developed and produced the film.
Other executive producers are Chloe Dan and Jeannine Tang for SK Global Entertainment, Naia Cucukov Richards through 100 Tigers, and Rose Lam. HBO and Warner Bros. Television are co-producing the series.
Channing Dungey, Chairman of Warner Bros. Television Group and US Networks, said the franchise had grown from a bestselling novel into a blockbuster film and now a television series.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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