In this look behind the scenes at BLOSSOMS SHANGHAI, director Wong Kar Wai explores his relationship to his birthplace of Shanghai, while key crew members discuss the series’ stunning recreation of the city in the roaring 1990s.

“8.8 Seconds”
Directed by Wong Kar Wai • 2023 • China
Starring Hu Ge, You Benchang, Ma Yili

Mentored by the aging financial maestro Uncle Ye, the ambitious Ah Bao transforms himself into Mr. Bao, a rich, influential stock trader. Even after he’s the victim of a hit-and-run attack that nearly kil...

“God of Wealth”
Directed by Wong Kar Wai • 2023 • China
Starring Hu Ge, You Benchang, Ma Yili

Mr. Bao finds himself entangled in a stock-market fiasco that cripples many small-time traders and damages his reputation. His friends rally round him at Tokyo Nights, a small, unglamorous restaurant th...

“Lesson One”
Directed by Wong Kar Wai • 2023 • China
Starring Hu Ge, Xin Zhilei, Dong Yong

A provincial factory manager, Mr. Fan, wants to do business with Mr. Bao, but—dazzled by Li Li and the riches he sees at the Grand Lisbon—he tries to sweeten the deal. Mr. Bao plays hardball.

“Flame-Kissed Cotton”
Directed by Wong Kar Wai • 2023 • China
Starring Hu Ge, Tang Yan, Dong Yong

A goofy, mink-clad interloper named Mr. Wei tries to steal Mr. Fan’s business, but Mr. Bao is helped by Miss Wang, his adoring contact at the Foreign Trade Office whom many people think is his girlf...

“A Fire in the Spring”
Directed by Wong Kar Wai • 2023 • China
Starring Hu Ge, Tang Yan, Dong Yong

Mr. Bao and Mr. Fan sign a contract to distribute made-in-China San Yang shirts. This groundbreaking deal leads to Mr. Bao giving Miss Wang a thank-you gift that will come back to haunt them both.

“Silence Is Golden”
Directed by Wong Kar Wai • 2023 • China
Starring Hu Ge, Xin Zhilei, Ma Yili

Li Li gives an enigmatic gift to Mr. Bao, who warns her that the Grand Lisbon won’t last more than three months. Thanks to a brilliant marketing move by Mr. Bao, San Yang shirts become a smash hit at ...

“Zhuji”
Directed by Wong Kar Wai • 2023 • China
Starring Hu Ge, Xin Zhilei, Ma Yili

Li Li’s rivals on Huanghe Road’s restaurant row begin sabotaging her business. Mr. Bao has his own problems: thuggish counterfeiters have begun cranking out knockoffs of San Yang shirts, threatening to destroy sa...

“No. 27 on the Bund”
Directed by Wong Kar Wai • 2023 • China
Starring Hu Ge, Tang Yan, Ma Yili

In a bold move, Mr. Bao drives into the industrial boondocks to cut a deal with the knockoff-selling gangsters. Fearing for his safety, Miss Wang follows him there, risking her life to make sure he’s n...

“Snakes on Fire”
Directed by Wong Kar Wai • 2023 • China
Starring Hu Ge, Xin Zhilei, Ma Yili

Li Li remains under attack by a group of restaurant madames led by the hotheaded Mei Lin, who sponsors a coup in the Grand Lisbon’s kitchen. Li Li goes to Tokyo Nights for help from Mr. Bao, a move that ...

“Who Is Mr. A”
Directed by Wong Kar Wai • 2023 • China
Starring Hu Ge, Xin Zhilei, You Benchang

With the help of Uncle Ye, Mr. Bao thwarts the attack on the Grand Lisbon so successfully that the restaurant sets Huanghe Road abuzz with talk of its famous new dishes. Mr. Bao is now at his triumpha...

“King of Nanjing Road”
Directed by Wong Kar Wai • 2023 • China
Starring Hu Ge, Xin Zhilei, Ma Yili

As Mr. Bao’s relationship with Li Li deepens, his friend Tao Tao finds himself knee-deep in romantic calamity.

“Pearl Earrings”
Directed by Wong Kar Wai • 2023 • China
Starring Hu Ge, Tang Yan, You Benchang

Over at the Foreign Trade Office, Miss Wang’s success has spawned envy and led a shifty colleague to smear her, twisting a well-intentioned gift from Mr. Bao into evidence of accused bribery.

“1987”
Directed by Wong Kar Wai • 2024 • China
Starring Hu Ge, Tang Yan, Ma Yili

Miss Wang’s fall has repercussions at Tokyo Nights, where Ling Zi’s role in what happened breeds discord in the place that Mr. Bao thinks of as his refuge. The funny, friendly world of Tokyo Nights explodes in anger...

“Flower of Route 13”
Directed by Wong Kar Wai • 2024 • China
Starring Hu Ge, Tang Yan, Du Juan

Mr. Bao’s romantic past and present collide. While Miss Wang gets bullied at the factory where she’s been reassigned and Ling Zi remains missing, Mr. Bao flashes back to his passion for Xuezhi, a beaut...

“Ginza Night Club Rie”
Directed by Wong Kar Wai • 2024 • China
Starring Hu Ge, You Benchang, Tang Yan

When the leadership changes at the department store he’s been supplying with product, Mr. Bao must seek out new allies—and sources of profit.

“Hong Kong Blues”
Directed by Wong Kar Wai • 2024 • China
Starring Hu Ge, Ma Yili, Du Juan

Ling Zi remains absent, prompting Mr. Bao to reminisce about when he first met her in Tokyo four years earlier. In Ling Zi’s absence, her friends haplessly try to keep Tokyo Nights going. The past still he...

“Slap in the Face”
Directed by Wong Kar Wai • 2024 • China
Starring Hu Ge, Tang Yan, Ma Yili

The two reliable women in Mr. Bao’s life begin distancing themselves from him. Ling Zi returns to Shanghai full of resolve and dissolves her business partnership with him. Mr. Bao oversteps by providing ...

“Shanghainese Kaiseki”
Directed by Wong Kar Wai • 2024 • China
Starring Hu Ge, Tang Yan, Ma Yili

The distancing continues. Planning to overhaul Tokyo Nights, Ling Zi goes to the Grand Lisbon for research. Miss Wang decides to open her own business—with no help from Mr. Bao. She throws a disastro...

“Cadillac”
Directed by Wong Kar Wai • 2024 • China
Starring Hu Ge, Ma Yili, Tang Yan

As Ling Zi renovates Tokyo Nights, she remembers how she and Mr. Bao built the restaurant together. Miss Wang and Mr. Wei prepare for their company’s opening banquet. Mr. Bao makes mistakes, personal and financial.

“Only Catfish Eats Meat”
Directed by Wong Kar Wai • 2024 • China
Starring Hu Ge, Ma Yili, Huang Jue

Amid a flurry of corporate intrigue, Mr. Bao starts ramping up his plans to stop the unethical Qiang from becoming the big dog in town. Qiang has a personal score to settle: he was once in love wi...

“Point of No Return”
Directed by Wong Kar Wai • 2024 • China
Starring Hu Ge, Xin Zhilei, Huang Jue

When Qiang attempts a hostile takeover of a Shanghainese company, Mr. Bao forms a pact with Li Li—money for information. Mr. Bao and Li Li’s employees profit off of Qiang’s bid, but collateral dama...