For eight years, Crazy Rich Asians fans have been waiting for a sequel that always seemed just out of reach. Fans have speculated endlessly about whether Rachel, Nick, and the Young family would ever return, but we don’t need to anymore!
HBO has given a series order to Crazy Rich Asians, an eight-episode original drama series continuing the story of the 2018 blockbuster film. The original film’s co-writer Adele Lim will serve as showrunner, with Jon M. Chu and Kevin Kwan among the executive producers.
Constance Wu, Henry Golding, and Ronny Chieng will return as series regulars, reprising their roles as Rachel Chu, Nick Young, and Eddie Cheng, respectively. Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh will also return in a recurring role as Nick’s formidable mother, Eleanor Young.
Production on the series is set to begin in 2027.
Who Is Kevin Kwan?
The world of Crazy Rich Asians is not invented. It is remembered.
Kevin Kwan was born in Singapore into an old establishment family with extraordinarily deep roots. His great-grandfather was a founding director of Singapore’s oldest bank, the Overseas-Chinese Banking Corporation, and he grew up in a bubble of privilege that he would later describe as his own community’s story, one whose distinct timbre he felt was unexamined.
He moved to the United States at the age of eleven, when his family relocated to Texas. Only once he was on the outside looking in did he realize how unusual his world had been. He became inspired to write Crazy Rich Asians in 2009 while caring for his father, who was dying of cancer.
After two degrees from American universities, he worked in New York for Andy Warhol’s Interview Magazine, Martha Stewart Living, and Tibor Kalman’s design firm M&Co before turning to fiction.
The opening novel of his trilogy has been translated into 40 languages, and in 2018 the trilogy held the top three positions of the New York Times bestseller list for several weeks. He also made Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people that same year.
In a move that is arguably the most Kevin Kwan thing imaginable, he sold the film rights to Crazy Rich Asians for $1 in exchange for an executive producer credit and near-total creative control.
What Is the Crazy Rich Asians Trilogy?
Kwan published Crazy Rich Asians in 2013, China Rich Girlfriend in 2015, and Rich People Problems in 2017—a complete trilogy that has been waiting for a proper screen continuation ever since the film’s enormous success.
The first novel centers on the grand wedding of a Singapore socialite couple and follows Rachel Chu, who, when her boyfriend takes her to meet his family in Singapore, has no idea what is in store. What she does not know going in is that Nick Young is one of the most eligible bachelors in Asia, his family is unfathomably wealthy, and the world she is stepping into operates by rules she has never encountered.
The film adaptation became the highest-grossing Hollywood studio romantic comedy in nearly a decade—a cultural milestone that felt as significant for what it represented as for what it earned.
Two sequels went in and out of development for years, derailed by creative disagreements, scheduling conflicts, and Lim’s departure over pay-parity disputes. Notably, the HBO series brings Lim back fully in charge as showrunner.
The series could draw inspiration from the second book in the trilogy, China Rich Girlfriend, which follows Rachel as she discovers her biological father’s identity while navigating more family drama involving the Youngs.
The Creative Team Getting the Band Back Together
The reunion of this particular group of people carries real weight, and everyone involved seems to feel it.
HBO and Warner Bros. co-produced the series, and it stands out as a drama while the original film took the romantic comedy route. That shift in tone signals that the show intends to dig deeper into the world Kwan built, using the space eight episodes provide to do things a two-hour film never could.
Lim said it plainly in her statement:
“It’s a Crazy Rich family reunion! This series is the sequel we’ve been waiting for, but instead of just one movie, we get eight episodes to delve into the characters and worlds of Kevin Kwan’s brilliant books.”
Kwan’s statement captures the feeling from the author’s side:
“I am thrilled that the Crazy Rich Asians family is getting back together thanks to HBO and Warner Bros. Television. As producers, the most common question we get is ‘When do we get more Crazy Rich Asians?’ and we are so glad to finally have the answer.”
And HBO Chairman Casey Bloys confirmed the streamer’s enthusiasm:
“We are so excited that Adele and the team behind the history-making film are bringing the next chapter of this story to life.”
Executive producers include Lim via her 100 Tigers company, Chu via Electric Somewhere, Kwan, Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson of Color Force, Chloe Dan and Jeannine Tang of SK Global Entertainment, and Rose Lam.
What Happens Next?
HBO confirmed the series will pick up after the blockbuster film’s events, though it has kept specific plot details tightly under wraps for now.
No premiere date has been set. Production starts in 2027, which means we are realistically looking at a 2028 or early 2029 debut on HBO and Max.
The writers’ room is already running. The cast is confirmed. The team that made the original film one of the most culturally significant Hollywood releases in decades is back together, with more space to tell the story right.
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