Stars Sam Song Li and Justin Chien both have their own ways of explaining The Brothers Sun, though in the lead-up to the premiere of the Netflix action dramedy, they’re still refining them. For Chien, talking to Consequence via Zoom, it’s “the action of John Wick with the humor of Rush Hour or 21 Jump Street, and the family dynamics of Ozark.” On the call, he turns to his co-star/on-screen little brother. “That’s the new one.”
Li’s answer: “I think it has the aesthetics of a Kill Bill, with sprinkles of 21 Jump Street. But actually I like the Rush Hour idea a lot.”
It speaks to how much the series, created by Byron Wu and Brad Falchuk, encompasses: The story begins when aspiring actor Bruce (Li)’s quiet life in Los Angeles gets turned upside down by the arrival of his older brother Charles (Chien): Turns out Bruce’s family is one of the most powerful crime organizations in Taiwan, a secret his mother (Michelle Yeoh) has been keeping from him his whole life — and now Bruce and Charles have to reconnect after 15 years, while trying to survive the gang war in progress.
Li says that for him, “We were doing a drama series that happened to be funny, and had action the whole time.”
“Yeah, we didn’t want to ham anything up,” agrees Chien. “We didn’t want to lean too heavily into the comedy, for the sake of being funny, but let those moments naturally arise in the dialogue and the absurdity of some of the situations.”
This all leads to a wild ride The eight-episode first season is a wild ride — and yes, the production team has ideas for a Season 2. Below, co-creator Brad Falchuk and director Kevin Tancharoen answer Consequence’s questions about everything from the casting to the location shooting to the show’s loving tribute to John Cho. (Including what John Cho himself requested from the set.)
[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers through the Season 1 finale of The Brothers Sun, “Protect the Family.”]
