The Sympathizer’s Playing Both Sides

Sympathize with the plight of actors who have to keep 8 million plot details straight — for example, Hoa Xuande and Robert Downey Jr. of the upcoming HBO series The Sympathizer. Xuande plays the Captain, a North Vietnamese spy spying in South Vietnam, who then must move to America and consult on a movie about the Vietnam War. “Never once did I forget about my mission,” he narrates. A lot to keep straight, right? Meanwhile, Downey plays four separate antagonists. The trailer, out March 28, has Xuande in a slew of different wigs. Love the shaggy platinum blond.

The first teaser came out back on April 12, 2023, a year ahead of the premiere on April 14, 2024. Taking the coveted Sunday-night slot, the episodes will be available on Max concurrently. Based on the Pulitzer Prize–winning novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Sympathizer is co-showrun by Don McKellar (The Drowsy Chaperon) and Park Chan-wook (Decision to Leave), who, Oldboy fans may note, is quite the expert at crafting stories that make your eyes bulge from your head. Other cast members include Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Nguyen Cao Ky Duyen, and Sandra Oh. Get ready to memorize a lot of names but not that many faces.

This post has been updated.