Mubi Unveils Release Date For Wong Kar Wai’s First TV Series ‘Blossoms Shanghai’

Mubi has unveiled the long-awaited release date for Blossoms Shanghai, the debut TV series from acclaimed Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar Wai.

Deadline revealed several months back that the landmark 30-part TV series would air via Mubi in Latin America, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Turkey and India. There remains no word on a U.S. or UK release.

Mubi has today said Blossoms Shanghai will launch on February 26 in these territories, while unveling key art and an exclusive clip. Mubi is taking an innovative approach to the show’s release, with release taking place in three tranches of 10 45-minute episodes and new parts launching every four weeks.

Set against dazzling 1990s Shanghai and adapted from Jin Yucheng’s novel, Blossoms Shanghai follows Ah Bao’s ascent from ordinary man to celebrated tycoon “Mr. Bao.” Guided by mentor Uncle Ye, restaurant owner Ling Zi, and Miss Wang of the Foreign Trade Office, he seizes the opportunities of a city reborn under economic reform. But when a mysterious woman opens The Grand Lisbon restaurant, his glittering world begins to fracture, exposing the fragile balance between success, memory, and longing. The show stars Hu Ge, Ma Yili, Tang Yan, Xin Zhilei and You Benchang.

Blossoms Shanghai aired in China more than two years ago but the wait for international release has been a long one. Revered Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar Wai is known for acclaimed movies such as Chungking Express, In the Mood for Love and 2046.

Mubi, which has had a troubling six months or so, has been pushing further into the TV series game of late, picking up Joe Wright’s Mussolini: Son of the Century, Cooper Raiff’s Hal & Harper, Wiliam Kentridge’s Self Portrait as a Coffee Pot, and Lars von Trier’s The Kingdom Trilogy.