Joseph Gordon-Levitt to Star in New Hulu Drama "Gaijin" Following a Westerner's Life in Japan

The project is inspired by the real life story of Chef Ivan Orkin.
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Following the success of Shōgun, Hulu is developing a new drama about a Westerner's adventures in Japan, this time set in the 21st century.

What's Happening:

  • Deadline reports that Hulu is developing Gaijin, a new drama starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt about an American culinary school dropout who spontaneously moves to Tokyo with his young son following his wife’s death.
  • Desperate to maintain a connection to his wife’s home country, Ivan (Gordon-Levitt) plunges headfirst into life in Japan. He moves in with his in-laws, whom he barely knows and barely likes, and takes action on a long-held dream of opening his own restaurant – in this case, a ramen shop. Through hardships, culture clashes and humorous moments lost in translation, Ivan will, over the course of the series, take on the Herculean task of building a business and rebuilding a life.
  • Gaijin is an appropriate title for the project, as the Japanese word means foreigner or outsider.
  • Based on the real-life story of New York chef Ivan Orkin, who became famous for operating successful ramen shops in Tokyo before expanding Ivan Ramen to his home town and London and starring on Season 3 of Netflix’s Chef’s Table.
  • The project hails from Shōgun co-executive producer Shannon Goss. 
  • Gordon-Levitt has recently been seen in projects such as Knives Out: Wake Up Dead Man, Super Pumped and Poker Face.

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