Where was Expats filmed? 4 iconic Hong Kong locations in Nicole Kidman’s new Amazon Prime TV show – from Victoria Harbour to the Instagram-famous Monster Building, and which cha chaan teng?

Jan 25 , 2024

Starring Nicole Kidman and filmed in Hong Kong, Amazon Prime’s Expats features many iconic backdrops in the city, including Fa Yuen Street in Mong Kok (pictured). Photo: Winson Wong

Hongkongers have been following the show’s production since 2021, when Kidman, director Lulu Wang and her crew were allowed to skip the city’s Covid-19 quarantine, sparking controversy

The series, based on The Expatriates by Korean-American author Janice Y.K. Lee, shows backdrops from the skyline to Fa Yuen Street – but Kidman’s Mid-Levels view was actually somewhere else …

Set to release on Amazon Prime Video on January 26, the long-anticipated Nicole Kidman-led series Expats is gaining plenty of buzz – especially among those in Hong Kong, where it’s set and filmed, who’ve been following the production since 2021. The series was filmed during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, at a time when Hong Kong was under stringent travel restrictions.

Nicole Kidman on the set of Expats in August 2021. Photo: Winson Wong

In August 2021, the government decided to allow the Hollywood star, and director Lulu Wang and her crew, to skip the city’s lengthy quarantine period in the name of filming Expats, which sparked outrage among residents.

Expats director Lulu Wang and Nicole Kidman in 2019. Photo: @thumbelulu/X

But what about the show itself? The series tells the stories of three American women living in Hong Kong, with Kidman’s character Margaret and her family struggling in the wake of a tragedy.

Expats is based on the novel The Expatriates by Janice Y.K. Lee, a Hong Kong-born American with Korean expatriate parents. Many of the city’s iconic locations provide the backdrop to the show.

The show’s recently released trailer offers a glimpse of the storyline as well as some of the scenery. Here, we trace the filmmakers’ footsteps for a look at where the novel and series found inspiration across Hong Kong.

1. Mei Foo Sun Chuen

This isn’t the first time Hong Kong’s unique residential architecture has been tapped for an international production. Michael Bay shot scenes for Transformers: Age of Extinction in front of Yick Cheong Building in Quarry Bay. Better known as the Monster Building, it’s become a famous Instagram spot for locals and tourists alike.