Apple TV+ today revealed the trailer for its Pachinko series, which is told across three languages – Korean, Japanese and English.
Epic in scope and intimate in tone, the drama series begins with a forbidden love and crescendos into a saga that journeys between Korea, Japan and America to tell an unforgettable story of war and peace, love and loss, triumph and reckoning.
The Pachinko series will premiere globally on Apple TV+ on March 25, 2022 with the first three episodes followed by new weekly installments each Friday during its eight-episode season through April 29, 2022.
The series is based on the acclaimed New York Times bestselling novel (check price at Amazon) by the same name and is created by Soo Hugh.
Filled with universal themes of family, love, triumph, fate and resilience, the series chronicles the hopes and dreams of a Korean immigrant family across four generations as they leave their homeland in an indomitable quest to survive and thrive.
Starting in South Korea in the early 1900s, the story is told through the eyes of a remarkable matriarch, Sunja, who triumphs against all odds. It juxtaposes her story with that of her grandson, Solomon, in the 1980s.
The series stars Academy Award-winning actress Youn Yuh Jung as older Sunja, Lee Minho as Hansu, Jin Ha as Solomon, Minha Kim as teenage Sunja, Anna Sawai as Naomi, and Jung Eun-chae as young Kyunghee.
Also starring are Inji Jeong as Yangjin, Jimmi Simpson as Tom Andrews, Junwoo Han as Yoseb, Kaho Minami as Etsuko, Steve Sanghyun Noh as Isak, Soji Arai as Mozasu, and, Yu-na Jeon as young Sunja.
Pachinko is written and executive produced by Soo Hugh (The Terror, The Killing), who created the series and serves as showrunner.
Kogonada and Justin Chon are executive producers and directed four episodes each, with Kogonada directing the pilot.
Michael Ellenberg and Lindsey Springer executive produce for Media Res, Theresa Kang-Lowe executive produces for Blue Marble Pictures; and Richard Middleton also executive produces.
Media Res’ Dani Gorin co-executive produces along with David Kim and Sebastian Lee.
“They say there are those projects that come along and change the very core of who you are as a filmmaker and a person. Undoubtedly, ‘Pachinko’ is that project for me,” said Soo Hugh.
“Not only is this a story of my forebears, it’s my tribute to them — to all of the Sunjas buried deep in all of our family’s history. It’s been an incredible honor to bring this series to life with this dedicated and gifted cast and crew.”
Mirko Parlevliet has been reporting on the entertainment industry since 1998 and founded Vital Thrills in 2018 to cover the latest streaming, movie, TV, and video game news. Mirko previously created the websites ComingSoon, Spider-Man Hype!, SuperHeroHype and ShockTillYouDrop.