Nicole Kidman Controversial New Series Gets Censored

Created by Lulu Wang and starring Nicole Kidman, Expats is based on Janice Y. K. Lee’s 2016 novel The Expatriates. The story revolves around three female friends living as expatriates in Hong Kong. Slowly, their lives begin to unravel due to grief, pain, and the consequences of their choices. The series also stars Sarayu Blue and Ji-young Yoo.

While the Hong Kong government maintained a neutral stance on the censorship, stating that it had no comment on the “operational arrangement of individual businesses,” the move was likely triggered by the series content. Expats is set in 2014 and is expected to include scenes depicting the pro-democracy protests during that period.The Nicole Kidman series is not the first time Hong Kong has faced content-related issues. The controversial national security law, introduced in response to the 2019 protests, criminalizes subversion, succession, terrorism, and collusion with foreign forces, carrying severe penalties, including life imprisonment.

Then, in 2021, Hong Kong enacted a censorship law targeting films that might “endanger national security.” While streaming services are technically exempt from this law, the overarching influence of the law has implications for their operations. The Simpsons episodes, featuring references to the Tiananmen Square crackdown and “forced labor” in China, remain unavailable on Disney+ in Hong Kong.Film censorship expert Kenny Ng from Hong Kong Baptist University suggests that Amazon’s decision to block the Nicole Kidman series from Hong Kong is likely a precautionary measure. Given the sensitivity of the 2014 protest content, refraining from releasing Expats in the region serves as a “safe gesture to pre-empt any future potential business risk” in mainland China.

The censorship follows a contentious incident in 2021 when Nicole Kidman received exemptions from strict Covid-19 quarantine requirements to film parts of Expats in Hong Kong. The actress was allowed to skip the country’s mandatory 21-day in-hotel quarantine when she arrived via a private jet. Local authorities said the exemption was granted “for the purpose of performing designated professional work.”This decision sparked public outcry, with residents deeming it grossly unfair. Lawmakers within the legislature voiced concerns about the exemption, prompting a response from Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau. Yau defended the decision, stating that the crew had to be fully vaccinated and comply with quarantine special exemption requirements.

Despite arguments that the Nicole Kidman-led Expats would bring positive publicity and job opportunities to Hong Kong, dissident artist Badiucao said that the communist-backed regime would use it as a “soft propaganda program” to gloss over the realities in Hong Kong.Meanwhile, the first two installments of the six-part series received a warm response from critics who have praised Nicole Kidman’s performance as the haunted Margaret Woo. The series currently holds a 78 percent approval rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, with a 63 percent audience score.Source: NBC News