Amazon has ordered drama series "The Expatriates" from Nicole Kidman's production company Blossom Films based on the novel by Janice Y.K. Lee of the same name about a group of close-knit women expatriates in Hong Kong. screenwriter Alice Bell (The Beautiful Lie) is attached to pen the adaptation.
Here is Amazon's logline:
Set against the backdrop of "The Vertical City" of Hong Kong, the drama explores the lives of a close-knit expatriate community: where affluence is celebrated, friendships are intense but knowingly temporary, and personal lives, deaths and marriages are played out publicly — then retold with glee. There’s Margaret, a world-renowned American architect struggling with the unwavering suspicion that something could be wrong with her latest project — an ambitious skyscraper already gracing the Hong Kong skyline — until an unexpected event upends her life; Mercy, a Korean-American college graduate with a questionable past seeking a new life, who quickly finds herself embroiled in an unforgivable scandal; Hilary, a British expat who yearns for a child despite her uncertain marriage, then dabbles in local customs and make-believe identities in a deliberate attempt to change her fate; Tammy, a high-flying alpha-expat who is blindsided when her husband’s Chinese second family appears on her doorstep; Barbara, whose decadent lifestyle belies a ticking clock; Franny, an Australian expat loyal to anyone she’s having lunch with, who faces an existential crisis; and Olivia, a Chinese local socialite who experiences a humiliating loss of status. This is a delicious world of unusual alliances, heartfelt truths and mystifying superstitions; a place where fortunes are made and lost, families sundered and brought together, identities made and then remade in pursuit of an extraordinary life.
“After announcing our recent first look deal with Nicole and Blossom Films, we are thrilled to kick off this relationship by bringing this very popular novel from author Janice Y.K. Lee to Prime Video,” said Jennifer Salke, Head of Amazon Studios. “The story weaves an addictive tapestry that follows a group of complex women and their lives as outsiders in Hong Kong. It’s a compelling exploration of the strength of these women as they persevere through struggles with marriage, career, parenting and unimaginable loss.”
“I’m so thrilled about the Blossom-Amazon collaboration,” said Kidman. “The Expatriates is just the beginning of our shared goal in making delicious stories with something meaningful to say about the world.”
