A communist spy defecting to the United States finds out his days of espionage are not over in the dark comedy, The Sympathizer.
What is The Sympathizer About?
The events of HBO’s limited series, The Sympathizer, are inspired by Viet Thanh Nguyen’s 2015 Pulitzer Prize winning novel of the same name. In the book, an unnamed half-Vietnamese, half-French spy recounts his days with the Vietnamese Government and the events of his exile to Los Angeles.
Drawing inspiration from the book, the show’s creators, Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar, name the unidentifiable spy, Captain (Hoa Xuande). As North Vietnamese spy, he joins the South Vietnam army to gather intelligence and report back to the Viet Cong. Struggling with his original loyalties, he flees to the United States.
During his time in America, he lives in a community of South Vietnamese refugees. However, he continues to secretly spy on the community. Soon, he takes a job as a consultant for a movie on the Vietnam War. At this point he interacts with several characters all played by Robert Downey Jr.
Fresh off his Supporting Actor win at the Oscars for Oppenheimer, Downey plays the congressmen, the agent, the director and the professor. In a recent interview, Downey revealed that he shaved his head in order to save time when switching to different characters.
What is The Sympathizer Rated?
The Sympathizer is rated R for language, adult situations and nudity.
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How to watch The Sympathizer?
The seven episode HBO Original limited series will debut on Sunday, April 14, 2024 at 9:00/10:00 pm ET/PT. At the same time, the series will be available to stream on Max. After that, a new episode will debut each week on Sunday night.
