The Sympathizer is an upcoming drama miniseries created by Don McKellar and Park Chan-wook. Based on a novel of the same name by Viet Thanh Nguyen, this seven-episode series will come out on Max, formerly known as HBO Max. As soon as the trailer dropped, it went on to spark a major buzz among viewers.
Here’s everything you need to know.
Release date — when is The Sympathizer coming out?
The Sympathizer’s release date is April 14, 2024
Back in April 2021, an announcement from Viet Thanh Nguyen about a TV series adaptation of his novel confirmed that Park Chan-wook would be directing the series. The first teaser for the miniseries came out on April 12, 2023, announcing that the series would come out in 2024. Later, the second teaser that came out on February 15, 2024, showed the release date for the miniseries as April 14, 2024.
Trailer — watch it now
You can watch The Sympathizer trailer below:
The trailer hints at an interesting Cold War spy story. It opens with a man introducing himself as a spy who is caught between two worlds. He’s conflicted about his loyalties as he wrestles with his identity as a double agent. We see him living a seemingly normal life in America. But flashbacks reveal his past as a communist undercover agent during the Vietnam War. The trailer also shows him living in fear of being caught as everybody is on the lookout for the communist undercover agent among them.
Cast — who is in The Sympathizer?
The Sympathizer’s cast includes:
- Hoa Xuande as The Captain
- Robert Downey Jr. as The Congressman/The Agent/The Director/The Professor
- Toan Le as The General
- Scott Ly as Hefty Gunner Dao
- Fred Nguyen Khan as Bon
- Tien Pham as The Petulant Captain
- Sandra Oh as Sofia Mori
Plot – what’s the story about?
The Sympathizer is a dark comedy and spy thriller following a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist undercover in the Vietnam War, whose past as a spy comes back to haunt him.
It chronicles a Vietnamese man stuck between two worlds. He’s a communist spy who worked undercover in South Vietnam during the war. When Saigon falls, he escapes to America pretending to be a refugee. There, he deals with his dual identity while being haunted by his past. However, his life gets complicated when a dangerous mission forces him to confront his loyalties and risk everything.
