Robert Downey Jr. is a master of disguise in the trailer for “The Sympathizer,” a new spy series coming in 2024 to HBO’s rebranded Max streaming service.
Based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, “The Sympathizer” stars Hoa Xuande (“Cowboy Bebop”) as a spy for North Vietnam who becomes embedded in L.A.’s refugee community. Headed by Park Chan-wook, who serves as co-showrunner, executive producer, writer and director, “The Sympathizer’s” official logline describes the show as “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 resulting exile in the United States.”
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Downey Jr., who is as an executive producer on the project alongside his wife Susan Downey, takes on several roles in the show. Each of Downey Jr.’s characters have their own distinct look, as depicted in the trailer, and are meant to represent different aspects of the American establishment –among them an up-and-coming Orange County Congressman, a CIA operative and a Hollywood film director.
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The clip was unveiled on Wednesday at a Warner Bros. Discovery press event, during which the company also revealed that HBO Max will soon be just Max in an effort to integrate all of WBD’s brands under one streaming service.
The cast also includes Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Vy Le, Alan Trong, Vy Le, Ky Duyen and Sandra Oh.
“The Sympathizer” is a co-production between HBO, A24 and Rhombus Media, produced in association with Cinetic Media and Moho Film. Don McKellar serves as co-showrunner and executive producer alongside Park. Other executive producers include Nguyen, Amanda Burrell for Team Downey, Kim Ly, Niv Fichman for Rhombus Media, Ron Schmidt and Jisun Back for Moho Film. Fernando Meirelles and Marc Munden also direct. Writers include Mark Richard, Naomi Iizuka, Maegan Houang, Anchuli Felicia King and Tea Ho.
Watch the trailer for “The Sympathizer” below.
