Is CW’s ‘Kung Fu’ Coming Back For Another Season?
Maybe I’m making something out of nothing. That’s almost certainly the case. But a recent post on Instagram has me and at least a few fans hoping for a new season of Kung Fu.
To be absolutely clear, there has been no announcement of a new season. There aren’t even any rumors. This entire article is based on speculation about a single post on Instagram that I’m choosing to interpret as a cryptic message, despite the overwhelming likelihood that it doesn’t mean anything.
Maybe It’s Destiny
Midday on April 11th, the official Kung Fu Instagram account posted a promo image of series star Olivia Liang as her character Nicky Shen from the first episode of the show. The caption reads, “Never stand in the way of destiny.”
Now, a reasonable person would look at this and think, “oh, that’s a nice reminder of a show I enjoyed. Thanks, CW.” And that would be the end of it. But me, and a few other fans in the comments, are grasping at the hope that the post is a teaser for a potential fourth season. It’s Nicky’s destiny to return, right? Right?!
They’ve Been Gone For A Long Time
Before this new post, the last activity on Kung Fu‘s Instagram was on May 11th, 2023. That date is significant for two reasons. First, it’s Olivia Liang’s birthday, and that’s what the post was celebrating. May 11th, 2023 is also notable because it is the day it was announced to the public that Kung Fu was canceled. The Kung Fu account has been silent for nearly two years since then. Until today, when they made a post about “destiny.” So, can you see why my mind went directly to “new season?”
Of course, Kung Fu isn’t the only canceled CW show to have an active Instagram page. As commenters pointed out, shows like Legacies (2018-2022) and The Originals (2013-2018) also started posting on social media again after lengthy breaks. Maybe the people at The CW are just making an effort to keep their legacy series on people’s minds for streaming numbers and general fandom reasons. As for me, I’m choosing to get my hopes up, setting myself up for almost certain disappointment.
You Should Watch Kung Fu
If you’ve never seen the series, you should give it a chance. It’s inspired by the series of the same name from the 1970s starring David Carradine, but it is a complete re-imagining.
This modern series is about a young Chinese-American woman, Nicky Shen, who trains in kung fu for three years in a Chinese monastery. When her shifu is killed in an attack, Nicky returns to her family in San Francisco. While continuing to search for her master’s killer, Nicky begins cleaning up her city’s problems with crime, unintentionally turning herself into a local hero in the process.
The show is episodic, with most episodes featuring a new crime or mystery to solve, which is usually intertwined with some domestic issues among Nicky and her family, as well as the season’s ongoing narrative. There’s action, humor, drama, and even a good amount of magic. The series is often cheesy in its approach to storytelling, but it’s a lot of fun. And the cast is superb.
Frankly, the best part of the show is the cast. In addition to Olivia Liang as Nicky, Shannon Dang plays Nicky’s sister Althea, Jon Prasida is their brother Ryan, and their parents are played by Tan Kheng Hua and Tzi Ma. Eddie Liu, Yvonne Chapman, Gavin Stenhouse, Vanessa Kai, Tony Chung, and JB Tadena round out the rest of the main cast, and everyone’s chemistry together is fantastic.
If you want to watch, all three seasons of Kung Fu are streaming on Max. Hopefully a fourth season will be added at some point. While you’re there, also watch all three seasons of Warrior (2019-2023), another fabulous martial arts series that was canceled too early (it was canceled twice, actually).
