SummaryThe six-episode adaptation of Janice Y. K. Lee's novel The Expatriates centers on three American women living in Hong Kong - Margaret (Nicole Kidman), Hilary (Sarayu Blue), and Mercy (Ji-young Yoo) - whose lives are connected and changed after a tragedy.
Created By:Lulu Wang
Expats
Season 1 Premiere:
Jan 25, 2024
Metascore
Generally Favorable
72
User score
Generally Favorable
6.5
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Metascore
Generally Favorable
72
67% Positive
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
33% Mixed
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Jan 25, 2024
91
Wang makes it easy to see how individuals connect to a family, how families connect to a community, and how communities connect to society at large. Sometimes, it can be difficult to recognize how our personal motivations affect other people, especially when catastrophes feel big enough to overwhelm everything else, but “Expats” expertly breaks life down into parts, before bringing it all together again in a moving, unshakable portrait.
Jan 26, 2024
90
“Expats” is a deeply nuanced and dark narrative about the things women sweep under the rug, and what happens when they become too weary to cover them up.
User score
Generally Favorable
6.5
60% Positive
29 Ratings
29 Ratings
23% Mixed
11 Ratings
11 Ratings
17% Negative
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
Jun 29, 2024
10
The plot as a whole is not very fulfilling, with a story centered around a abducted child and presenting a lot of selfish and broken characters that do not develop meaningfully throughout the 6 episodes. However, the insight the series provides around the expat life - which happens to be equally relevant for both rich (bosses) and poor (employees) migrants - makes it worth watching. Photography is great, and Hong Kong is definitely the perfect place to portrait the feelings of solitude, displacement, messiness and distress ever present in the lives of the suffering roaster of characters in the show.
Mar 1, 2024
10
The show is truly riveting. It's not like anything else I've seen on television before... it's almost like 6 individual film. I understand that it's not made for everyone, but I think that's part of the reason I find it so moving. It's not watered down to try and please everyone.
Jan 26, 2024
80
Wang’s storytelling abilities and talent for showing the nuances of everyday life ground this tale of wealth and trauma while taking it in a fresh direction. A bold new step for a consistently exciting director. Just so you know, whilst we may receive a commission or other compensation from the l
Jan 25, 2024
77
The middle hours of Expats hit the most roadblocks—after a flashback second episode neatly and carefully laying down all the tension bubbling up in the first, the show spins wheels in too obvious ways, the lowest point being a fourth episode where all our characters are trapped in single locations and are forced to directly and ineffectively voice their trauma. It’s imperfections like these that chip away at Expats’ merits, giving us a worthy but imperfect next step in Wang’s career.
Jan 16, 2024
70
Maybe Lulu Wang’s six-part series is hell on short attention spans, but hang on for a transfixing Nicole Kidman— leading a superb cast playing expats in Hong Kong with servants they barely see—who tears everyone’s lives apart when her youngest son goes missing.
Jan 23, 2024
58
This is not a missing-child mystery, and like life, the series doesn’t offer viewers clear resolutions or easy closure. Oddly enough, that may be the most cohesive thing about Expats, which feels, in the end, like many separate stories looking for a home.
Jan 24, 2024
40
A viewer may be inclined to blame the relentless tone of misery on the script, and there's plenty in it to earn blame. But the actors are an unpleasant group to hang out with, having apparently been directed by Ms. Wang to give everything from a Chinese crackdown to a crack in a ceiling (a metaphor for Hong Kong's collapsing independence, one presumes) the same emotional weight. When everything is treated as a tragedy, everything becomes trivial, which is not a bad description of "Expats."
Feb 1, 2024
8
Unique and in style, the cast is great, photography is beautiful! highly recommend it :)
Feb 7, 2024
4
Miserable people in a miserable story with almost miserable acting. I cannot fathom how anyone can rate this show positively!
