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Park Chan-wook's The Sympathizer is easily one of the most anticipated shows of the entire year. It finally dropped a first trailer, giving a glimpse into the fast-paced and stylized world of the 1970s. The trailer, which is easily among the best we have seen in 2024, gave a glimpse at everything fans need to see without revealing much about the plot or the numerous twists that lay ahead in the miniseries.
Based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, also titled The Sympathizer, the story is set in the backdrop of the infamous Vietnam War, where a spy embedded in the South Vietnam army flees to the United States and continues to report back to the Viet Cong.
Alongside many interesting elements, the trailer also features an eccentric Robert Downey Jr. as the antagonist, who takes up multiple facets.
The Sympathizer will premiere on April 14, 2024, on HBO and Max.
The Sympathizer trailer promises an exciting cast and an even more exciting premise
Given that the limited series is based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and is directed by one of the greatest minds in contemporary cinema, it is hardly a wonder that the show's premise is jam-packed with brilliant plot lines, big twists, and well-written characters.
With Park Chan-wook's iconic style, something we saw recently in Decision to Leave, it seems that the exciting story will also be filled with visually stunning sequences and picturesque frames.
It is aided by a brilliant cast that includes Hoa Xuande, Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Vy Le, Kieu Chinh, and the incredible Sandra Oh, among many others. And, of course, there is also the Oscar-winning star Robert Downey Jr.
The premise for the show reads:
"Based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, The Symphatizer is an espionage thriller and cross-culture satire about the struggles of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy during the final days of the Vietnam War and his new life as a refugee in Los Angeles, where he learns that his spying days aren’t over."
The Sympathizer will have seven episodes, with the finale slated for May 26, 2024. The show is a co-production between A24, HBO, and Rhombus Media, with other companies also involved to varying degrees. Don McKellar serves as co-showrunner and executive producer. Park Chan-wook is also an executive producer of the show.
Alongside the highly successful novel by Vietnamese-American professor Viet Thanh Nguyen, there is also a sequel to the tale, titled The Committed, released in 2021. If things work well for this adaptation, we may get to see the sequel adapted as well in the future.
