Deadline is reporting that CW martial arts drama pilot Kung Fu has cast Gavin Stenhouse (Allegiance) and American Crime alum Gwendoline Yeo.
Inspired by the 1972-75 series starring David Carradine, with Christina M. Kim (Blindspot) developing for television, Kung Fu follows Nicky Chen (Olivia Liang), a young Chinese-American woman undergoing a quarter-life crisis. In search of purpose and direction, she soon finds herself at a monastery in her hometown in China. But Nicky’s attempt at discovering the peace within is foiled when she realizes how overrun with crime and corruption her hometown is, which inspires her to use her martial arts skills to bring criminals to justice.
Stenhouse will play successful ADA Evan Hartley, who still has a soft spot for his first love Nicky.
Yeo will portray cryptic Zhilan, a woman with criminal ties who murdered Nicky’s mentor, proving herself to be a formidable foe.
Kung Fu is one of six shows The CW currently has in development, with those on top of the straight-to-series orders they gave Arrow-verse entry Superman & Lois and Walker, Texas Ranger reboot Walker. The network has backdoor pilots that could spinoff Arrow and The 100 should they be ordered, as well as traditional pilots including presidential first daughter drama Maverick; a third attempt at The Lost Boys; and CBS castoff The Republic of Sarah, about a small town that becomes an independent nation.
In addition to his role on the NBC drama, Stenhouse’s television credits include Black Mirror, Into the Dark, and 9-1-1, while Yeo has appeared on the likes of Desperate Housewives, Wisdom of the Crowd, and Chuck.
