Amazon Prime Video's upcoming series Expats has been surrounded by controversy since its announcement. It appears that the show, starring Nicole Kidman, has hit a significant delay, with the star leaving Hong Kong after reportedly failing to adapt to the city.
The award-winning actor has returned to Australia, where she will remain for at least two months before returning to complete Expats in November. There are reportedly several reasons for Kidman's departure, including an apparent failure to adapt to the local environment and an overall discomfort with her working conditions. She was unable to find adequate place to rest while filming in Hong Kong's busy streets, and came into conflict with director Lulu Wang. Filming was put on hold for three days before Kidman filed for a two-month leave.
It should be noted that the size and density of Hong Kong means that, unlike most other productions, filming in Hong Kong -- especially for a project such as Expats -- must be filmed in view of the general public and cannot often be closed off. It was reported that Kidman only had a small tent to retreat to when not filming.
Expats was met with controversy from day one due to its core premise and poor timing. Many Hongkongers decried the project for being tone-deaf and built on the trope of a white visitor to an exotic land. These projects oftentimes marginalize the setting's locals and possess a variety of misrepresentations, assuming they don't completely ignore those locals' issues. Beyond the show's concept, the Amazon Prime Video series also faced backlash due to the fact that it was being filmed shortly after the implementation of a draconian national security law, imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing and its Chinese Communist Party-ruled government.
Earning the series more ire was the fact that the Hong Kong government allowed Kidman to enter the city without undergoing the 7-day quarantine period required for other visitors to prevent the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). A government representative later explained that the decision was made because the government believed the Kidman and the Amazon Prime Video series were "conducive to maintaining the necessary operation and development of Hong Kong's economy." Critics believe that the Hong Kong government is desperate to invite projects such as this in order to help restore the global image of Hong Kong, following the protests that gained worldwide attention in 2019.
Since it passed in June 2020, the national security law has effectively removed many of the democratic rights and freedoms that the local population once had. It was also the cause of a recent exodus from the city, during which approximately 90,000 locals left to the United Kingdom and Canada, both of which have provided lifeboat schemes for Hong Kong residents in response to the city's crackdown on democratic freedoms.
Source: The Standard