Hong Kong locals unable to watch Nicole Kidman's show targeting expats

Expats, a television series starring Nicole Kidman, focuses on the lives of American women living in Hong Kong. However, the show has aired globally except in Hong Kong itself. Set in 2014, it includes scenes from the Umbrella Movement, a protest for free elections in the city that took place that year. Since then, protests in Hong Kong have largely ceased due to the Chinese government's enforcement of a controversial new law. It is unclear whether the decision to not air the series in Hong Kong comes from the authorities or Amazon Prime Video. This is not the first controversy surrounding the show. When Kidman arrived in Hong Kong for filming in 2021, she was suspected of receiving preferential treatment to bypass strict COVID-19 rules, which angered locals who had to undergo lengthy quarantine periods. The show has received positive reviews from critics but has faced backlash on social media in Hong Kong for the contrasting treatment it received. Although the show is available worldwide on Amazon's website, Hong Kong viewers encounter an "unavailable" message while trying to access the episodes. The series, based on Janice YK Lee's novel The Expatriates and directed by Lulu Wang, released its first two episodes on Friday. While it primarily focuses on intersecting lives after a family tragedy, it also portrays scenes from the Umbrella Movement. Hong Kong's recent restrictions on streaming content deemed to violate China's national security interests may be a reason why the show is unavailable in the city. Director Lulu Wang mentioned in an interview that the team took caution when depicting political scenes and sought guidance from legal teams due to the sensitivity of the subject.