From the written word to the screen, film and TV adaptations of popular books are ubiquitous in today’s media landscape. Whether you love it or hate it, most of the must-watch list on your streaming service of choice is likely inspired by or adapted from an already well-loved novel.
Nonetheless, the trend has helped introduce screen-loving audiences to some of the best writers of our time, including many Asian American authors who have contributed important works to the diaspora’s literary canon.
With that in mind, here are 8 movies and television series you may not have known were based on books written by Asian American authors.
The Sympathizer (2024)
Based on the debut novel by Vietnamese American author Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Sympathizer follows The Captain as he contends with his conflicting identities as both a mole for North Vietnam and a refugee in 1970s America during the Vietnam War. The Sympathizer catapulted Nguyen to fame as it became an instant hit in the literary circuit — achieving both a best-selling status and winning a Pulitzer Prize winner in 2016.
Expats (2024)
Though writer and director Lulu Wang’s The Expats has been making waves after debuting just this year, the series is actually based on Asian American author Janice Y.k Lee’s novel, The Expatriates, which debuted in 1998. The Expats revolves around three expatriate women living in Hong Kong whose lives intersect after a tragedy right as the city explodes into protest during the 2014 Umbrella Revolution.
Pachinko (2022)
The 2022 Apple TV+ series Pachinko, based on the novel of the same name by Korean American author Min Jin Lee, follows four generations of a Korean immigrant family after they leave their homeland and struggle…
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