Hulu Develops 'Gaijin': Joseph Gordon-Levitt Eyes Lead as Ramen Chef in Tokyo-Set Drama

Hulu is developing a drama series called Gaijin, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt executive producing and eyeing the lead role. The series is set in 21st-century Japan and centres on an American culinary school dropout who moves to Tokyo with his young son after his wife's death, moves in with his Japanese in-laws, and opens a ramen shop. Deadline

The show is inspired by the real-life story of Ivan Orkin, the New York chef who built his reputation by opening successful ramen shops in Tokyo before expanding his brand, Ivan Ramen, to New York and London. Orkin, a Jewish man from Long Island who married a Japanese woman and moved to Tokyo, opened his first ramen shop in 2007. He later appeared on Season 3 of Netflix's Chef's Table. Deadline

Shannon Goss is the writer behind the project. Goss served as co-executive producer on FX's Shōgun, whose first season won the Outstanding Drama Series Emmy — an award Goss shared in. She most recently co-executive produced AMC's The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon. Lionsgate Television is the studio. Deadline

The executive producing team is crowded. Gordon-Levitt and Orkin are joined by Jared Geller through Gordon-Levitt's Hit Record company, and by Mark Fasano, Matthew Goldberg, Michael Blustein and Andrew Gottlieb of Nickel City Pictures. Deadline

Gordon-Levitt recently appeared in Knives Out: Wake Up Dead Man. He has two upcoming films: Pendulum and 2034, an AI thriller he co-wrote and directed. Deadline

Orkin's background gives the fiction its spine. He graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, in 1993 with a major in Culinary Arts, and his first cooking job was at the celebrated French restaurant Lutece in 1993 and 1994. CIA Chef Bios He now owns Ivan Ramen and the Ivan Ramen Slurp Shop in New York City. CIA Chef Bios

For Gordon-Levitt, the role would mark a return to television after a run of film work. For Hulu, Gaijin adds a Japan-set drama to a development slate at a moment when the success of Shōgun on sister platform FX has drawn wide attention to stories rooted in Japanese culture and history. The connection is direct: Goss's Shōgun credit sits at the centre of the new show's pitch.

The project is in development, meaning no production start date or episode count has been announced. Whether Gordon-Levitt formally commits to star, and when cameras might roll, remain open questions.