Kung Fu has steadily been raising the stakes as Nicky Shen (Olivia Liang) and her family and friends defend San Francisco's Chinatown from all manner of criminal and supernatural threats. Season 3 is set to up the ante once again, as Nicky grapples with the loss of her boyfriend Henry Yan (Eddie Liu), only to encounter a new martial arts vigilante in Bo (Ben Levin). As Chinatown finds itself under attack from a new enemy, Nicky and her associates will be tested like never before, and the moral compromises they will be forced to make may save the day.

In an exclusive interview with CBR, Liang shared behind-the-scenes stories surrounding the new directions and casting with Kung Fu Season 3. She also teased a darker future for Nicky and her friends moving forward and explained how she prepared for what is quickly shaping up to be an even more epic season.

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Kung Fu Season 3 Nicky Shen

CBR: In talking with showrunners Christina M. Kim and Robert Berens, what directions did you want to take Nicky Shen in Kung Fu Season 3?

Olivia Liang: I was excited that they were willing to strip back and take away the powers and make Nicky just Nicky again. It was fun to see the parallels of Nicky's mindsets at the start of Season 3 being very similar to the start of Season 1, where she's trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life. This time around, this season, there are no secrets, and she's got a whole support system. It feels very mid-20s when you're in that quarter-life area of living and trying to just figure your life out. I was excited about that, and I really wanted to see dark Nicky. Season 1 was lost and sad Nicky, Season 2 was a lighter Nicky, and with Season 3, I wanted to explore a darker and grayer area for Nicky. And oh, will we see that this season! [laughs]

At the start of the season, we see that Nicky has taken on a mentor role, helping empower women in the community by teaching them martial arts. How was it taking the character in that direction?

It was so fun and also really scary. I think training sequences more than fight scenes and stunts scare me because there's nothing to hide behind. I do have to really look like I know what I'm doing. The stunts team really trained me hard, and I worked really hard at trying to look like I knew how to use that sword. [laughs] I hope I did a good job, but it's really fun to step into that mentor/shifu role after we've seen all the lessons Nicky has gone through in the first two seasons and step into Pei-Ling's shoes a little bit, especially with what we know is coming after the audience saw the end of Season 2. I'm very excited that Nicky has a job. It is Henry's old job, and Nicky is living in his apartment, which is weird, but baby steps!

One of my favorite scenes in the Season 3 premiere is when Henry's absence starts to get to Nicky, and we see cracks in her facade. We don't get to see Nicky emotionally vulnerable too often.

I think we're going to see that a lot this season. It was helpful that Eddie [Liu], my work husband, was not with me throughout the first couple episodes. It was a huge shift because, in the first seasons, most of our scenes were together, and his absence was really felt, and that was helpful. We start to see the cracks behind the smile when Althea starts pushing her, and we find out that Nicky is not doing great with the fact that Henry left. She understands why he had to do it, but it doesn't make it any less hard. It's been fun to explore those sides of Nicky and her not having it all together and putting on a brave face.

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Kung Fu Season 3 Nicky Bo

Speaking of Althea, Nicky's conversation with her in the season premiere feels like a reversal of an earlier scene when Nicky was there for Althea. How is it working on scenes like that with Shannon Dang?

She is the best scene partner. The whole cast is the best and gives everything, but with Shannon, we've known each other since before this show, and we really are like sisters. We've been through so much together throughout these couple of seasons, so it's really easy to not feel like you're acting, which is the best feeling as an actor when you get to get lost in it, and that's easy to do with Shannon. She's always such a supportive scene partner, and we always check in with each other to see what we need.

In that scene, in particular, I was like, "Could you just berate me a little bit and make me really feel like my life is a little pathetic that I'm living in [Henry's] apartment, I haven't moved on, and that his stuff is still here?" She was like, "I got it!" It's really nice to have such a supportive scene partner.

This season, Nicky gets a new love interest in Bo. How is it working with Ben Levin and welcoming him to the Kung Fu family?

He fits right in! When I found out that Legacies had to say goodbye, I secretly texted my showrunners and was like, "If you guys want a new love interest for Nicky, I don't know what you have planned, but my friend Ben might be available now to be on the show." I'm glad that it worked out, and he very seamlessly fit in -- not only with his character and how they wrote him and his skill set but also him as a person fits in very seamlessly with the cast. Everyone loves him already, and we all have a great time together. It's nice to see our Kung Fu family growing in this way.

What do you think Nicky sees in Bo versus what she saw in Henry?

I think Bo is a little bit more of a bad boy. Henry came in with the brains and also the martial arts skills, and he's so boyish, charming, and sweet. Bo is a little bit more of a mystery and more forward in a way, telling Nicky right away what he wants from her. Nicky and Henry seemed very sweet together, and I think with Bo, it's a little bit more like an adult relationship. [laughs]

Not just a rebound?

Not just a rebound!

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Kung Fu Season 3 Nicky fighting

Being Kung Fu, how do you feel about upping your game with the fight sequences and stunts after years of martial arts training for the role?

I'm feeling so much more at ease. Fight days would stress me out the night before, and I wouldn't be able to sleep because if I had my way, I'd do a take 100 times to get it perfect, but I know we don't have that kind of time. We have 12 hours to get the entire fight down for the episode. Going into this season, I feel a lot more confident and a lot less stressed. I think our stunt team has leaned into our strengths as fight performers. A big shoutout to my stunt double this season, Shara Kim. She honestly looks like me and there have been times when I've walked past her when she's in costume, and it's freaked me out. [laughs]

My proudest moment so far this season was when my showrunner Christina texted me saying she was in the editing room and asked the editor to swap a shot of Shara for a shot of me in a fight, and the editor was like, "Actually, that is Olivia." I was like, "Yes!" Finally, three seasons in, I tricked my showrunner into thinking I was a stunt person.

The Kung Fu Season 3 premiere is directed by David Grossman, who's been a part of the show before. How is it working with him?

He's awesome. He directed one of our favorite episodes last season, "Reunion," when we find out that Zhilan is not dead -- which seems to be a recurring theme on the show. He just gets it. He's efficient, knows exactly what to say to get you in the emotional space you need to be in, but he also keeps it really fun and light on set; he's got jokes for days. We're going to get him back for Episode 11 this season, and we love working with him.

If Kung Fu Season 2 was a war for the soul of Chinatown, what can you tease about Season 3?

Season 3, we're going to see darker shades of every single character. We've gotten to live with these characters for two seasons now. We know them and love them, and now our story is really pushing them in a darker direction. It's very exciting, and I think fans are going to be screaming at the television for certain episodes, but there's also so much humor. Our writers have leaned into what makes each person funny, and they're exploiting it in a good way. I'm just excited for people to see all the twists and turns this season, and I'm so excited to read everyone's theories because I guarantee no one is going to be able to guess where all of this is going to lead to.

Developed for television by Christina M. Kim, Kung Fu Season 3 premieres Oct. 5 at 9 pm ET/PT on The CW.