What's in a name? The potential to make new deals out of old intellectual property, for one. "Kung Fu," which premieres Wednesday on the CW, is related by contracts and corporate history to "Kung Fu," the 1970s David Carradine series about a half-Chinese Shaolin monk roaming the Old West; what they have in common is a main character schooled in martial arts whose mentor is killed. And, apart from a title and a screen credit for Ed Spielman, who created the original series â Christina M. Kim, whose credits include "Blindspot" and "Lost," is the new version's showrunner â nothing else.
In the latest adventure series from Arrowverse honcho Greg Berlanti, Olivia Liang plays Nicky Shen, who spin-kicks things off with a narrated quick trip charting her progress from Harvard college girl to kung fu fighter. Realizing that the "cultural tour" of China on which she's been sent by her mother is just a dodge to find her a nice Chinese boy, Nicky bolts, jumping into the back of a truck belonging to Pei-Ling Zhang (Vanessa Kai). "You make the path that you live," says Pei-Ling, who takes Nicky up to the all-female Shaolin monastery she oversees. "These women were warriors," thinks Nicky, watching the lady monks go through their martial arts paces and poses, and signs on.