Why Nina Lin From Only Murders In The Building Looks So Familiar
The stakes are higher than ever for the second season of "Only Murders in the Building." Not only are our lead trio of podcasters framed for the murder of Bunny (Jayne Houdyshell), the board president of the Arconia, but they're also competing with a separate podcast hosted by the famed Cinda Canning (Tina Fey). The second season of the Hulu comedy currently sports a fresh 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, making it the rare sophomore season that holds up to its debut.
The second season of "Only Murders in the Building" has introduced a slew of new characters, including Carla Delevingne's Alice Banks, who appears as Mabel's (Selena Gomez) love interest, and Amy Schumer, who appears as herself. And after the death of the beloved but nasty Bunny, all eyes are on Nina Lin, the new president of the historical Arconia. The character was only introduced in the second season of the series, but Lin is already on track to be a major force that could change the building's direction. And thanks to flashbacks, we know that Lin has had her fair share of beef with Bunny, who was shepherding her as the leader of the building.
Audiences watching "Only Murders in the Building" might be curious to know where they've seen Lin before. The pregnant president of the Arconia is played by Christine Ko, an actress who has only been on screen for a short period of time, but has already left a major mark.
She played a social media manager in The Great Indoors
Before Christine Ko was vying for the role of the Arconia's president, she starred in "The Great Indoors," her first major television gig. Ko plays Emma Cho, a hip social media manager for the adventure-focused magazine "Outdoor Limits." The CBS series focuses on "Community" star Joel McHale's Jack Gordon, a professional and renowned adventurer reporter who is tasked with guiding the magazine's young writing and content creation team as it pivots to an online-only model. Ko's character, alongside the rest of the team, are presented as stereotypical, internet-obsessed millennials who constantly butt heads with McHale's traditional Gen X manager.
CBS canceled the series during its freshman season after it failed to make an impression during the Monday night slot (via Deadline). Critics were mostly mixed on the series, with Tom Long of Detroit News pointing out how the show's humor was repetitive but nevertheless engaging. As for Ko, landing the role of Emma was a commendable milestone. While speaking with Rose & Ivy, Ko discussed how the series was her first "big job" in the United States. Prior to the show's debut, Ko revealed to NBC that the character of Emma was originally written as a blonde. After a successful audition Emma's character was changed to accommodate Ko's ethnicity, the first of a variety of instances where this actress was given the opportunity to shape her character.
While "The Great Indoors" adventure was cut short, Ko continued to take on interesting roles that proved she had more to give than just laughs.
Christine Ko popped up as an informant in Hawaii Five-0
After "The Great Indoors" was canceled, Christine Ko went on to appear in episodes of "Adam Ruins Everything" and "Deception," before landing a multi-episode arc on "Hawaii Five-0." In the reboot of the classic procedural crime drama, Ko played the mysterious Hawaii-native Jessie Nomura for six episodes in Season 8. Ko's stint on the series kicked off with Nomura being released from prison. After some hesitation, she agrees to become embroiled with Yakuza crime boss (Hideki Tashiro), becoming Adam Noshimuri's (Ian Anthony Dale) informant. Throughout Ko's arc, her character's loyalty to Noshimuri is constantly questioned.
In a twisted turn of events, it is Noriko Noshimuri (Susan Park), Adam's sister, who ends up killing Jessie off screen after a risky visit to a Yakuza bank. "It was such a good time and I played such a different character, to go from a sitcom and now I'm a criminal informant, it's fun being a bad guy, I like it!" Ko said while speaking with Mingle Media TV following her appearance on the crime series. The extended screen time on the CBS procedural eventually paved the way for Ko to land her most prominent and notable role to date.
The Only Murders in the Building Star is a graphic designer on Dave
After her arc on "Hawaii Five-0" came to a close, Christine Ko became a series regular on FXX's "Dave." Co-created by rapper and comedian Lil Dicky, "Dave" is a fictional take on the multi-hyphenate artist's rise to fame. As Dave tries to get his rap career off the ground, he comes across various celebrities and creatives who help guide him. This includes Emma, Dave's graphic designer who helps cultivate and shape his "brand" as a rapper. Emma also happens to be the roommate of Ally (Taylor Misiak), Dave's girlfriend, which leads to some tension in their business relationship. "Dave" is the first series where Christine Ko was given a main role, making the comedy a major milestone in her career. It also marks the second time Ko has played a character named Emma in a comedy.
The comedy series currently holds an 84% on Rotten Tomatoes." While speaking with Women's Wear Daily, Ko discussed how Lil Dicky allows actors to expand and workshop their characters, giving them freedom to shape them in their own image. Ko particularly praised the show's diversity and how it has allowed her to show an Asian-American woman rejecting the corporate world to instead embrace her artistic side. "I'm excited because we just haven't seen a lot of that for Asian American characters," Ko said while describing Emma's knack for the creative arts.
Christine Ko explored her roots in Tigertail
Before she landed her role as the pesky but ambitious Nina in "Only Murders in the Building," Christine Ko landed a major role in Netflix's "Tigertail." The directorial debut of Alan Yang, "Tigertail" follows a Taiwanese man (Tzi Ma) who moves to America to find better opportunities for himself and his family while attempting to preserve a connection with his culture. He eventually has a daughter, Angela (Ko), who he shares a strained relationship with.
The film was critically acclaimed upon release, with /Film describing it as an intimate "love letter, full of scribbles and crossed out words." In a conversation with W Magazine, Ko pointed out how she filmed "Tigertail" prior to "Dave," calling her appearance in the latter to be a "perfect transition." In her words, "'Tigertail' felt like a year and a half of therapy, and while I loved it and it was wonderful and I worked through every single thing you could possibly think of, I was ready to be a character," Ko said, discussing the weight of appearing as Angela in the Netflix film.
Since "Tigertail," Ko has appeared in Prime Video's "Upload," which sees her as a recurring character. It remains to be seen if Nina Lin will have an expanded role in "Only Murders in the Building," but we can't wait to see what Ko does next once she checks out of New York's fictional Arconia.