The Sympathizer is a new HBO limited series. What’s it about?
This one is a little hard to describe, so let’s just go with the HBO press release version:
Based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, THE SYMPATHIZER is an espionage thriller and cross-culture satire about the struggles of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy during the final days of the Vietnam War and his new life as a refugee in Los Angeles, where he learns that his spying days aren’t over.
“Biracial, bilingual. I was a synthesis of incompatibilities. So, what did I do?” someone named THE CAPTAIN begins in The Sympathizer trailer. “Saigon, 1975,” he goes on. “I was a man of two faces. The war was ending. And I awaited my new assignment.”
Beyond the intriguing premise, the other headline here is that recent Oscar winner Robert Downey, Jr. joins the cast as a character dubbed “Various,” which actually refers to four different characters that the iconic actor will play!
Well, that, and the fact that the cast includes Allan Trong, Fred Nguyen Khan, Hoa Xuande (as THE CAPTAIN), Scott Ly, Toan Le, and Sandra Oh.
I’m particularly intrigued by Sandra Oh, who I’ve been a big fan of dating back to her role in Sideways, a movie which blows me away every time I see it.
The tone of The Sympathizer looks really stylish and fun, with a production budget that brings the mid-‘70s story real verve and life.
At the very least, I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the kind of limited series that gets all kinds of awards buzz down the line, and in the meantime I plan on devouring this thing as soon as I’m able to watch it.
Pop culture stuff that has something to do with The Sympathizer
I was thinking about Robert Downey, Jr. recently, and realized that the one of the first roles that I ever saw him was a relatively small part in what I consider to be Rodney Dangerfield’s best movie and an absolute 1980s comedy classic: Back to School. He plays the weirdo college roommate (Derek) to Rodney’s (Thornton Mellon) son, Jason (played by Keith Gordon).
For most actors, this would be a standard kind of role and not make much of an impression on the audience, but Downey, Jr. was so strange and specific and funny, that he always stood out to me. And, some well documented years of struggles with substances aside, the rest was history.
The Sympathizer: when and where is it on?
The Sympathizer premieres on HBO (so you can find it on Max, I suppose) on Sunday, April 24th, 2024 at 9p. It’s a limited series that’s scheduled to have seven episodes in total.