Kung Fu's Olivia Liang Teases What's Next For Nicky Shen On The CW Series - Exclusive
In its first season, The CW's "Kung Fu" introduced us to Olivia Liang's Nicky Shen, a young woman who dropped out of college to fully immerse herself in the world of Kung Fu at a Shaolin Monastery. But after three years and the death of her mentor, Nicky returned to her hometown of San Francisco to reconnect with her family – and hunt down her mentor's killer. Now that she's accomplished that, the show's second season brings all new adventures that further its mythology and continue Nicky's quest to protect her city and the people she loves.
Billionaire mogul Russel Tan (Kee Chan) spent most of "Kung Fu" Season 1 pulling strings behind the scenes, but in Season 2, he's become a much bigger problem for Nicky, especially since he's now in San Francisco. Plus, in the season's first episode, Nicky meets her cousin Mia (Vanessa Yao), who Russell seems to think has an important role to play in his plans. While the Shens welcome Mia into their family and Nicky does her best to protect her, Mia isn't quite as receptive to these previously unknown family members as they are to her.
Nicky balances all this with her burgeoning romance with Henry (Eddie Liu) and her relationship with her parents, brother, and sister, who are all dealing with their own problems. In other words, Nicky's got a lot on her plate, and Liang plays her as someone determined to tackle it all with as much grace as she can muster. In an exclusive interview, Liang sat down with Looper to tease what's coming up for her character and "Kung Fu."
New characters, surprising allies, and grey areas
The first episode of "Kung Fu" Season 2 introduces fans to Nicky's mysterious cousin Mia, someone the Shens had no idea existed. But Liang said that just because Nicky and Mia are family, doesn't mean their relationship will be an easy one.
"Coming into a family like the Shens, where there's so much love and no more secrets and everyone is so supportive, the Shens want to extend that to Mia, and Mia in her nature is unable to accept it," Liang shared. "We'll find that what really puts [Nicky and Mia] at odds is that they have a different definition of what it means to be a family. With the Shens wanting so badly to protect and help Mia, who is in danger, we'll see some pushback from that."
The conflict with Mia leads to a new perspective for Nicky that Liang is especially looking forward to audiences seeing in Season 2. "What I'm excited for people to see the season from Nicky is her having to toe the line between good and evil," Liang revealed. "Season 1 Nicky was very black and white and right and wrong, and she always wanted to do the right thing. This season, with Mia being in danger, who is her family, a common thread for Nicky is: What are the lengths she will go for her family?"
Something else fans may witness this season is a team up between Nicky and her Season 1 nemesis Zhilan (Yvonne Chapman). When Looper floated the possibility with Liang, she gave some hints of what could be. "If people suspect [a Nicky-Zhilan team up], that is a very great story. I support that idea," Liang disclosed. "Without giving too much away, that is very smart because you are right: Russell moves into San Francisco and that's where Nicky lives, and we know that Zhilan wants more than anything to take Russell down."
The second season of "Kung Fu" air on The CW at 9:00 p.m. ET. New episodes are available on the CW website and app the following day.