Set aboard the SS Varuna, a luxury cruise ship sailing down the Mediterranean Sea, Death and Other Details is a new murder mystery streaming on Hulu/Disney+.
It’s not your standard who-done-it show, though. The 10-episode series features multiple Asian diaspora characters and storylines. New Zealand actress and writer Angela Zhou stars as Teddy Goh, the ship’s crew manager.
Cold Tea Collective interviewed one of the show’s writers and actors, Angela Zhou.
Leveraging her heritage in Hollywood
Born in China and raised in New Zealand, after completing her education in England, Zhou eventually moved to Los Angeles to pursue opportunities in Hollywood.
Zhou’s beginnings in Hollywood were “lucky,” she says, as she had worked both as a writer and actor. She recalls not needing to hide her heritage or take on traits to fit into particular situations for roles. “I could see a space for more Chinese and U.S. co-productions. I’d heard from mentors that people were looking to cast people who were Chinese and could speak English, Cantonese or Mandarin.”
She notes that the only thing she downplayed earlier in her career was that she was also a writer. “When starting out, and you’re picking a lane, you’re throwing all of your effort into that to try and get noticed in the market first,” she recalls. Now, Death and Other Details accredits Zhou for co-writing eight out of ten episodes, a unique role to take on in front and behind the cameras.
Using language to support character development and storytelling
What makes Death and Other Details unique is that there are not one but two main Chinese families in the cast. The Chun and Goh families lead very different lives — the Chuns are wealthy guests on the cruise, whereas the Goh’s work onboard. Seeing the depth and dimensions of these characters through their interactions and specifically…
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