Warning: This article contains spoilers.
For fans of shows such as Death and Other Details, or the film Crazy Rich Asians, a new drama thriller series has entered the conversation. Out now on Disney+ and Hulu, The Season follows Cola (portrayed by Jessie Mei Li) as she infiltrates the world of the elite in Hong Kong during the infamous boating season. Guided by her mentor Carrie (portrayed by Celina Jade), Cola uncovers secrets, rights wrongs, and creates a path for herself in this unfamiliar world. Ultimately, it’s up to her to determine whether she survives the season or not—figuratively and literally.
The show is equal parts mystery, revenge, and drama. Everything starts off lighthearted, but soon enough, it’s easy to see that nothing is as simple as it appears. Betrayals, deceit, and ulterior motives line everyone’s thoughts, and as each person looks out for themselves, the pristine and perfect season begins to fall apart. Those assumed to be your friends turn out to be enemies, and strangers become witnesses and accomplices. Underneath the glitz and glam, there’s a darker world full of murder, drugs, sex, and lies.
As the story progresses, Cola and those around her learn to let go of the past, take accountability for their mistakes, find themselves and their sense of belonging, and look toward the future. As people’s true nature is revealed, will Hong Kong’s old money, Christopher Hext (portrayed by Toby Stephens) and his wife Fiona (portrayed by Karena Lam), be able to protect their empire and their daughter Alison (portrayed by Kôki), or will deceit and revenge knock them down?
With only six episodes to tell the story of Cola, her family, the Hext family, and all those who are intertwined, it’s impressive how well-paced everything remains. Each episode focuses on one event at a time, neatly segmenting each major incident. Separating each key moment gives audiences the space to formulate their own thoughts and predictions and allows suspense to continue to build with each episode.
Ahead of the show’s release, Asia Blooming spoke with actors Chris Pang and Justin Chien, who play Hong Kong elites Andrew Fung and David Ho respectively, about their characters and the cast’s chemistry.
Married to Nikita (portrayed by Reina Sawai), the woman in charge of the exclusive women’s club, Andrew Fung is unafraid of getting his hands dirty to get his way and harbors a romantic secret. David Ho inherits the role of Hext’s family lawyer from his father, becoming the family’s newest trusted confidant. Having just divorced his wife, he’s considered Hong Kong’s most eligible bachelor, yet he has his sights firmly set on one particular person. Aside from his own romance, he has his own secrets to keep, and they may be even more scandalous than Andrew’s.
Both Chien and Pang have been acting for several years, but neither has taken on a role of this nature before. When thinking back to what initially drew them to The Season and to their respective characters, one of the main drivers was the setting. “What drew me to The Season, apart from my character, was the opportunity to film in Hong Kong,” Chien began. “I grew up there, and I hadn’t been there in so long. Reading the script and having the opportunity to film there felt like a chance to get reacquainted with an old friend.” Pang said, “My interest was a combination of how fun the script was, and also Hong Kong. To film there has been a dream of mine since I grew up watching Hong Kong cinema, so being there and shooting was really just something else. It’s such a romantic, beautiful city to photograph, and we really showed it off.”
Chien and Pang share an interesting dynamic onscreen as Andrew and David. The pair are friends, but they also share an intense moment towards the end of the series when opinions clash. Like siblings, however, the interaction only brought them closer by the end. In a way, their dynamic was the best representation of how complex each character in The Season was, and how well their characters were developed. “My character, Andrew, was a massive, massive dick, and I’ve never played someone like that before, so that was really fun to me,” Pang started. “He’s quite abrasive as soon as you meet him. You get who he is because he’s very unapologetic about his thoughts and feelings, he has no filter, and he just says what he thinks. He’s quite offensive, to be honest, and he’s not very likable, so the challenge was to bring all that out, have fun with the character, but make him lovable at the same time, like someone you love to hate.” Similarly, Chien enjoyed seeing the different sides of his character. “David is a very complex character,” he described fondly. “He has a shiny, well-liked, well-respected exterior, but deep down, he’s struggling with a lot. I found that the most challenging part of playing him, but I also found that to be the most interesting aspect of him for me to play with.” With characters who are close like siblings, it was only natural that the two actors also became close.
Even prior to our conversation, staff described the two as best friends, messing around together between interviews. At the start of our conversation, the pair came into view with their arms around each other, laughing about something only the two of them knew. “We built our chemistry by working on our friendship. We didn’t get off to the best start, and then after we spent some quality time together, we actually realized, ‘Man, he’s pretty cool,’” Chien joked with a laugh. “In all seriousness, though, not just the two of us, but we all really bonded as a cast. Celina [Jade], Karina [Lam], Toby [Stephens]; we all got along so well because we had such a love and respect for each other. We got to know everyone as friends, we helped each other through our auditions, we filmed together, we worked out together, we went on excursions together. I think that just naturally helped us have that rapport as characters as well, and I hope it shows on the screen.”
Although there were many pros to having a limited number of episodes—especially since they were well-paced—it also left some things unsaid and open-ended. For Chien and Pang, if given one more episode as David and Andrew, they both wanted to dive into their pasts. “I would have loved to see more of Andrew’s relationship with his wife and more of his home life,” Pang admitted. “The thing about Andrew is that he has a tough exterior. He’s very alpha about the whole thing and he gives off that vibe, but in reality, in his quieter moments, he’s actually very sweet. He just wants to be loved, and he’s quite insecure about it.” Similarly, Chien shared, “David is recently divorced at the start of the show, but if I could spend one more episode with him, I’d go back in time to see what things were like and what his life was like when he was still with his teenage sweetheart—his ex-wife. How they spent their time together, and how they were with his son.”
Despite those small desires to share more about each of their characters, the two actors look forward to audiences around the world being able to watch The Season. “The show is like the color maroon,” Pang started off. “Red is the color of love, lust, and energy, but with this show, we see a bit of a darker side and we see the underbelly, so I’d say it’s more maroon than red.” Giving a hint of what’s to come for David, Chien chose the color orange to describe the series. “It’s the color of heartbreak.”
The Season is now streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
