Where to watch Nicole Kidman's Expats? All streaming options explored

Expats, is a Prime Video original series starring Nicole Kidman. Its story follows three women who live in Hong Kong as expatriates. The series is directed by Lulu Wang, an American of Chinese descent who adapted the internationally best-selling novel The Expatriates by Janice Y.K. Lee. She also worked with Wang on writing the script for the show.

Nicole Kidman (Image via Prime Video, Expats, 2:22)

The series' lead character, Academy Award- and Emmy-winning actor Kidman and Lulu Wang are the executive producers on the series.

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Where to watch Expats? Streaming service explored

Expats premiered on Jan. 26 on Amazon Prime Video and the first two episodes are currently available to stream. The rest will be released weekly every Friday, with the finale coming out on Feb. 23, 2024.

This series has a 15+ age certification as it has a dark narrative about what women hide, and what happens when they're tired. It also explores visceral grief, what it is to know someone, and why choosing herself above everyone else may be her only salvation.

As per Beijing's stricter restrictions, the first two episodes premiered internationally on Friday, but are inaccessible in Hong Kong without a VPN.

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What is Expats about? Plot explored

The series, set against the vibrant and tumultuous tapestry of 2014 Hong Kong, primarily revolves around three American women, Margaret (Nicole Kidman), Hilary (Sarayu Blue), and Mercy (Ji-young Yoo).

Moving from New York City to Hong Kong's wealthy Mid-Levels with her husband and their three children, Clarke (Brian Tee) has changed her into someone she can't connect with.

The shift ended her job as a landscape architecture, leaving her yearning for more. She watches her children and tries to contain her jealousy for Essie (Ruby Ruiz), a middle-aged Filipina nanny and cleaner.

After a horrible event changes the family forever, Margaret abandons any pretense of purity. Instead, she channels her pain into tantrums, lengthy baths and thoughts of escape.

Hilary, Margaret's friend and neighbor, feverishly tries to repair her marriage while Margaret publicly crumbles. Hilary and her husband, David (Jack Huston), are childless and career-focused. Their assistant, Puri (Amelyn Pardenilla), keeps their home in order.

Umbrella Scene in the series (Image via Prime Video, Expats, 2:09)

However it only seems that way from beyond their floor-to-ceiling windows. Hilary lies to David and herself about their future because her mother taught her to hide. She unintentionally falls into her friend's cyclone of suffering, when tragedy hits Margaret's home, tearing apart her carefully controlled existence.

Any portrayal of these characters wouldn't be completed without discussing their class identity, but the debut episode is about gently uncovering their tragedies.

Clarke's parents want him and Margaret to return home to Philadelphia, but Margaret and her children call Hong Kong home. She knows some Cantonese and has an empty Kowloon flat that she uses to escape.

Although that's not the show's sole broader concern, what it means for her to call Hong Kong home, particularly in a moment of sorrow, is intriguing. The episode ends with Margaret and Hilary arriving home to discover ambulances outside their building, severing their friendship.

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The first two episodes of Expats are available now on Prime Video, with new episodes dropping weekly on Fridays.