Summary
The Brothers Sun is the first great show of 2024. It is a perfectly balanced action-comedy with a great script that provides serious drama.
Academy Award-winner Michelle Yeoh returns to Netflix in the original series The Brothers Sun. Season 1, consisting of eight episodes, was co-created by Brad Falchuk, known for writing on 9-1-1, American Horror Story, and The Politician. Although listed as a comedy, The Brothers Sun aligns with other genre-blending Netflix originals such as Beef, Cobra Kai, and Fubar, and the balance between action, comedy, and drama makes it the first great series of 2024.
The Brothers Sun is a brilliantly written series
The Brothers Sun follows the story of Charles Sun, who heads to LA to protect his mother and brother after their father has been killed. Upon arriving, he must break the news about the nature of the family business that neither his mother nor brother Bruce is aware of.
The series begins with Charles being attacked by three henchmen, but he makes quick work of the trio. Charles’s father, Big Sun, comes to visit to ensure he is okay, but it is all an elaborate setup to get Big Sun out of hiding, and a sniper shoots him from a distant building. His final words to his son are to protect his family, particularly his mother.
Upon arriving in Los Angeles, a man attempts to take Charles’ life inside his mother and brother’s house. Eileen, Charles’s mother, comes home to the mess and begins to ask many questions. He reveals that Big Sun is in a coma, and someone is coming for them.
The definition of captivating is “capable of attracting and holding interest,” and that is precisely what you are to expect from The Brothers Sun. From the moment the series starts, you are captivated by the fight sequence, followed by finding yourself laughing at Bruce’s inability to understand the family business.
On the surface, The Brothers Sun is a serious drama about a crime family dealing with death, murder, and protecting the ones they love. However, Bruce’s lack of knowledge about the family background and Charles’s frustration with it brings much-needed comedic relief throughout the show. Bruce Sun, played by Sam Song Li, has facial expressions and one-liners that are top-notch.
Opposite of Song Li is Justin Chien, who plays Charles Sun. Chien delivers a well-balanced performance that has many layers to it. While trying to protect his mother, Charles is forced to protect his “useless” brother while being chased by hired assassins. Mixed in all of this is the brilliant way the writers humanize Charles with his obsession with cooking. It’s such a controlled and nuanced performance by Chien that it blew me away.
You have Academy Award-winning actress Michelle Yeoh playing Eileen, a.k.a Mama, to bring the family dynamic together. Yeoh’s name alone brings the necessary recognition to get needed eyes on the series. Once reeled in, Yeoh’s balance of protective mom and kick-ass crime family matriarch will have you yearning for more from the actress.
The Brothers Sun‘s writing team deserves plenty of credit for balancing the comedy, drama, and action. Not once do you feel slighted by any of these things. The family drama is the center of the series, while when things get out of control, we have some fantastic fight choreography and well-delivered jokes to make you laugh amongst the madness.
Technically speaking, the series is perfect. It’s expertly shot by cinematographers C. Kim Miles and Andrew Mitchell, who use a dark color palette to set the tone. Composers Nathan Matthew and David Nick Lee have a tall task trying to balance the different tones in the series, but my goodness, I am in love with the score. It blends the different cultures well.
Overall, The Brothers Sun is a brilliant show that I can’t wait to revisit. It’s a well-crafted series with some strong writing and a great ensemble. I highly recommend checking this out the moment it drops because when you turn it on, you won’t want to stop watching until it’s over.
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