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If you’re looking for a new series to binge watch this New Year, I highly recommend the new Netflix series The Brothers Sun. This action comedy drama is the brainchild of producers Brad Falchuk (Glee, Pose, American Horror Story, Nip/Tuck and Scream Queens) and Byron Wu, and could well join the ranks of the former’s aforementioned successes, least of all be yet another win for Asian representation that has emerged in the last five years.

Starring Michelle Yeoh (yes, she’s in yet more things!) as Eileen Sun, the matriarch of a Taiwanese Triad group, the series follows her and her two very different sons Charles (Justin Chien) and Bruce (Sam Song Li) as their lives collide into chaos when their husband and father Big Sun is shot and comatose. Charles is a member of his father’s empire, the Jade Dragons, but as a young child the sensitive and timid Bruce was taken to LA by Eileen for safety and away from the criminal world. When the serious and quick-tempered Charles goes over to protect them they are all soon hunted down and must either hide or fight their enemies… even though it isn’t always clear who that is.

Despite The Brothers Sun being yet another show that almost causally glorifies and highlights the alleged prevalence of Asian Triads and gangsters who apparently have a global reach when it comes to corruption, power and violence, it is still quite frankly, a badass and rather addictive 8-parter I couldn’t not watch back to back. And I’m not someone who normally does that. I’m also not someone who cares much if spoilers are released and admittedly will skim the plots and outcomes just in case I decide earlier on that it’s not worth finishing. But with these currently unavailable on Wikipedia, for once it allowed me to be genuinely surprised and shocked at the many nail biting moments, cliffhangers and revelations throughout.

And believe me, there are probably more revelations than in the Bible (which I’ve not read but there seemed to be one every other scene), as well as almost certainly more deaths than Quentin Tarantino could fit into Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2. A number of scenes in The Brothers Sun were also clearly inspired by Tarantino’s 2-part classic judging by their sheer brutality, mirroring of some iconic scenes (watch to the end to understand what I mean), and its dark comedy.

One thing I will boldly spoil for those reading this who haven’t seen it so you’re not disappointed, is that Yeoh doesn’t flex her martial arts skills at all. While it is always great to see her do so, it has been refreshing as of late to watch her take on less action-packed roles in a number of films and shows (Crazy Rich Asians, Last Christmas, Everything Everywhere All at Once, A Haunting in Venice, Star Trek, and more). Even in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and American Born Chinese her action scenes were limited. This has allowed the Oscar-winner to showcase her versatile dramatic, comedic, and emotional acting chops.

Aside from the monumental amount of violence in The Brothers Sun, it is ultimately, like so many Asian and Asian-inspired shows, all about honour, respect, family values and protecting family. But above all, the biggest recurring theme is loyalty, which nearly every character – from Eileen, Charles, Bruce, Big Sun, their close friends, the henchmen and women, and even the brothers own love interests – has theirs put to the test.

Though there are of course some same tired stereotypes such as Eileen being a helicopter Tiger Mum, Bruce being “nerdy” and good at his studies, Charles being a dutiful first son, the Triads being painted as a network of fearsome terrorist organisations that even the West cower at the thought of, and more, many might be forgiven in light of the story’s journey or are flipped on their heads when a new twist is suddenly introduced.

For such a bloody, almost non-stop action series, the rollercoaster plot and character development – even of the less major ones – the comedy and even the tender and more emotional moments, make The Brothers Sun so much more than just another gangster show. Hopefully a second series on Netflix will see this genre reinvented, just like some of the characters wanted to reinvent the Triads…

Rating: 4.5/5