Hungry Ghosts is an Australian dramatichorror series, released on SBS and SBS On Demand on 24 August 2020.[1] The four-part miniseries is directed by Shawn Seet and produced by Stephen Corvini and Timothy Hobart with executive producers Sue Masters and Debbie Lee. The series is written by Timothy Hobart, Michelle Lee, Alan Nguyen, Jeremy Nguyen and John Ridley.[2]
Synopsis
Hungry Ghosts is a character-driven ghost story that explores the lives of three generations of Vietnamese Australian families all haunted by the traumatic events of the Vietnam War and the literal ghosts of their past. Set in contemporary Melbourne, Australia, the story begins when a power amulet is broken and Quang (Vico Thai), a vengeful spirit, is unleashed from his tomb and wreaks havoc across the Vietnamese diasporic communities bringing other spirits along with him.[3] The turn of events threatens to unleash these families' deepest fears and expose secrets long buried.
The series' hero, May Le (Catherine Văn-Davies), is a struggling Vietnamese Australian chef who has lost everything, both estranged from her mother and swindled by her ex-boyfriend. She soon discovers she has special supernatural powers needed to fight the evil spirits who have followed her family home.[4]
Cast and characters
Le family and friends
Catherine Văn-Davies as May Le: An aspiring chef who begins to understand that she has the power to battle the evil spirits.[5]
Suzy Wrong as Roxy Ling: May's best friend, a trans woman and gifted clairvoyant.[5]
Susan Ling Young as Stella Le: May's estranged mother.[5]
Linda Hsia as Phuong Le: May's grandmother.
Ann Truong as Young Phuong Le
Ryan Corr as Ben Williams: An intern doctor who struggles with the fact he can't always prevent patients from dying.[4] He serves as a love interest to May.
Nguyen family
Ferdinand Hoang as Anh Nguyen: Patriarch of the Nguyen family and a former ARVN soldier.
Koa Nuen as Young Anh
Gabrielle Chan as Lien Nguyen: Matriarch of the Nguyen family and Anh's wife.
Crystal Wang as Young Lien
Gareth Yuen as Paul Nguyen: Anh and Lien's adult son who struggles with his relationship with his father.
Filming began in May 2019 in Melbourne, Australia.[12] The series is a Matchbox Pictures production with Stephen Corvini and Timothy Hobart producing and Shawn Seet as a director. The series was funded by Screen Australia in association with SBS and Film Victoria. NBCUniversal International Distribution will distribute the series internationally.[13]
The cast includes more than 30 Asian Australian actors and 325 Asian Australian extras, which is a first for Australian television.[14][15]
Reception
The series was favourably reviewed. Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen, writing for the Guardian, gave it four (of five) stars and described the series as "unconventional and fascinating".[11] Both Nguyen, and Christina Lee reviewing the series for The Conversation, noted similarities in plot ideas between the series and the Harry Potter stories. Lee thought the series "gripping" and praised the soundtrack, though she did remark that within it the "romance is rushed and predictable, and it is disappointing that among such a rich Asian-Australian cast several of the Anglo-Australian cast members are headlined to promote the series".[10]