‘Kung Fu’ Reboot Pilot at CW Casts Olivia Liang in Lead Role
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Olivia Liang has been cast in the lead role of The CW’s “Kung Fu” reboot pilot, Variety has confirmed.
“Kung Fu” is a reboot of the original series created by Ed Spielman. In the new version, a quarter-life crisis causes a young Chinese-American woman, Nicky Chen (Liang), to drop out of college and go on a life-changing journey to an isolated monastery in China. But when she returns to find her hometown overrun with crime and corruption, Nicky uses her martial arts skills and Shaolin values to protect her community and bring criminals to justice — all while searching for the assassin who killed her Shaolin mentor and is now targeting her.
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Liang is no stranger to The CW, having recently appeared on the network’s show “Legacies.” She has also appeared on show’s like Hulu’s “Into the Dark,” ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” and Netflix’s “One Day at a Time.” Should “Kung Fu” get picked up to series, it would mark the first TV lead role of her career.
She is repped by Abrams Artists Agency.
“Kung Fu” was previously set up at Fox with a put pilot order. Christina M. Kim will write and executive produce. Martin Gero will executive produce via Quinn’s House along with Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter of Berlanti Productions. Warner Bros. Television will produce. Kim, Gero, and Berlanti Productions are all currently under overall deals at WBTV.
The CW’s other pilots this year include the dramas “The Republic of Sarah” and “Maverick,” while the network has already given out series orders to a reboot of “Walker, Texas Ranger” starring Jared Padalecki and “Superman & Lois.”
Deadline first reported Liang’s casting.
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