This January, the series ‘Expatriates’ premiered on Prime Video, a drama directed by Lulu Wang that tells the story of three American women in Hong Kong. One of the lead actresses is Nicole Kidman, who, following the success of other series like ‘Nine Perfect Strangers’ and ‘Roar’, returns to a starring role on the small screen.
The controversy over Nicole Kidman’s lack of quarantine
The controversy surrounding this series occurred during the pandemic in 2021. At that time, with covid-19 restrictions at their peak, the Hong Kong government granted Kidman an exemption from quarantine to carry out her work on the series. Kidman, who is also an executive producer of the series, arrived in Hong Kong from Sydney, Australia, on a private plane.
In response to public criticism, the Hong Kong government explained that “the case in question has been granted permission to travel to Hong Kong with a quarantine exemption for the purpose of carrying out designated professional work.” The quarantine exemption was granted for “filming, costume fittings, rehearsals, and business meetings.” The decision to grant this exemption also took into account “that it is conducive to maintaining the necessary operation and development of Hong Kong’s economy.”
This decision was a source of conflict with the island’s inhabitants, as local residents did not have the same freedom of movement as foreign visitors. Hong Kong’s health controls include a mandatory 21-day hotel quarantine for unvaccinated Hong Kong residents and a 14-day quarantine for vaccinated residents and visitors from most other countries. For instance, quarantine exemptions were not made for Hong Kong athletes returning from the Tokyo Olympics held in the same year.
Other controversies over ‘Expats’
In addition to this criticism, the Prime Video fiction ‘Expats’ has been the subject of controversies for its focus on the lives of wealthy foreigners in Hong Kong at a time when politics, education, and media are being reshaped by the mainland Chinese government in Beijing. However, Amazon, which produces the series, described ‘Expatriates’ as “a compelling exploration of the strength of these women as they persevere through struggles with marriage, career, parenting, and unimaginable loss.”
