When her great-aunt Gugu (Lori Tan Chinn, giving auntie sass that belies her complexity), a magic-wielding Taoist priestess with a shady past, moves Jentry back to a Texas suburb, the teen trains herself to fight against the evil beings who covet her fiery powers. Along the way, Jentry teams up and forms drama-laced relationships with a millennia-old Chinese vampire named Ed (Bowen Yang of Fire Island) with a social media obsession, her high school crush Michael (A.J. Beckles from Dan Da Dan) who’s dealing with visions, and a lonely Painted Skin demon named Kit (Woosung Kim of the South Korean indie-rock band The Rose).

Jentry Chau is the vision of showrunner Echo Wu. Produced by Netflix Animation and Titmouse, Inc., the show is an incendiary production with luscious lighting and colors, ambitious mythical storytelling, and adventurous needledrops (such as the opening theme song “Flame,” by K-Pop group KATSEYE and Rekstizzy’s “Remember the Alamo”). In an environment where Netflix’s animated shows are often unceremoniously canceled, Jentry Chau has to take all the risks before the industry might kick it into the proverbial pit.

I recently interviewed Wu about the show, and as a Vietnamese Texan, who recognized her upbringing in Jentry Chau, I had to ask Wu about the infamous Alamo episode (an Alamo-critical episode rarely seen in children’s media) and the terrifying Junji Ito-inspired sequences.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length, and contains mild spoilers for the first season of Jentry Chau vs. The Underworld.

Caroline Cao: What was the process like developing the show? I’ve heard the show’s story also benefited from getting 13, instead of 10 episodes.
Echo Wu: It’s always fun developing a show because at that point, the sky’s the limit. There’s no budget or schedule to stop your imagination from running wild. We had so many ideas for cool demons and side characters and songs. I had the most here because we were able to take the skeletal arc that I had for the season and expand it into a rich, in-depth show full of amazing lore and monsters and satisfying character arcs. The show benefits from getting more episodes. I think for a character as complex as Gugu, it made sense that she needed to have some repercussions for what she’s done to Jentry. 

CC: How did you get to work with Ali Wong? And then other cast members like Bowen Yang?
EW: Ali came on very early on in the process as an executive producer. Before we even went out to pitch the show, I had a lovely conversation with her on the phone with my other EP Aron Coleite. I went further into detail about what I envisioned for the show, and she loved the show and wanted to be involved. As for Bowen, as soon as everyone saw the character description for Ed, it was unanimous that Bowen Yang would be the perfect casting. We sent out an offer along with a letter that I wrote to him asking him to come onto the show. I was over the moon when he accepted. The rest is history. 

CC: You grew up in the small town of Carrollton, Texas. On Coming Soon, you mentioned your house was a reference for Gugu’s house. You said, “OMG it’s therapy exposure.” I’m a Texan Asian like you and I chuckled at the Alamo episode because I grew up being taught the romanticized Alamo and Jentry Chau portrays a Texas generation more aware of the uncomfortable discussions about it. Have you read any responses from Asian Texans about seeing their lives on screen?
EW: Ah yes!  A few of my friends loved the Alamo episode. And I’ve seen a few responses online where fellow Asian Texans appreciated the accuracy of being a Texan student on a Texan field trip. I do think it’s been absolutely incredible seeing Texan Asian viewers pick up on the subtle Texan Asian nods, i.e. “Kevin Nguyen” (the name of a background character).

From left, Kit (Woosung), Michael (AJ Beckles), and Jentry (Ali Wong).

Netflix

CC: How did you grow up with the Chinese lore seen in the show? Were they bedtime stories? The hopping vampire? The Painted Skin demons? The hell of Diyu? What were the scariest myths for you?
EW: I grew up watching an animated series, Journey to the West. I have to say most of my general knowledge of lore has been either Sun Wukong related, or from watching anime (which has a ton of Chinese lore in them). Most of the monsters that ended up in Jentry were either from my own research, or thanks to our amazing cultural consultant, Kimberly Harui, who is a walking bestiary. To me, Nü Gui was by far the scariest and most famous story. 

CC: Were Gugu and Jentry’s parents modeled after anyone you knew? Honestly, I recognize my Asian mom in Gugu because she wants Jentry to train her powers and get into a good college.
EW: No, not anyone specifically, but she was inspired by every Chinese relative I know who puts their ambitions and their legacy into their children. It’s a lot of pressure, being the child of an immigrant. 

CC: You mentioned once your parents were supportive about you reading anime and manga? There are references to Naruto and Junji Ito. You also name influences like Over the Garden Wall and Gravity Falls. Were there any other specific anime or manga influences in the show?
EW: Growing up I loved Shōjo anime like Sakura Cardcaptors and Fruits Basket. I rekindled my love for anime during the pandemic, so working on Jentry, there were a lot more references to play with. We have some nods to One Punch Man, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Spy x Family, and Hunter x Hunter, and more, in the show. Working on Jentry also exposed me to a lot more anime because the crew would also recommend their favorite anime and infuse their own influences into the show! 

Gugu (Lori Tan Chinn) and Ed (Bowen Yang) in “Jentry Chau vs. The Underworld.”

Netflix

CC: Was there ever a point where you stretched the scariness and said, “Oh no, we’ve gone too far?”
EW: NO! I definitely wanted to go even scarier. But, I’m happy with the balance that we landed on. When we started getting sound designers and sound mixers involved in post, that’s when I think the horror got kicked up even further up a notch. Things that weren’t scary to me in storyboards, suddenly I couldn’t even watch it during mixing sessions. Sound design is everything with horror.

CC: What were among the most difficult sequences in Jentry Chau?
EW: I know this is a cop-out answer, but each kind of sequence really did come with their own challenges. But I think the hardest sequences were the emotional ones. There’s a lot of turning points in the series, especially for Jentry. In episode nine for example, Jentry talks to an empty house because she thinks (a ghostly) Gugu is ignoring her. It’s a raw and emotional moment that needed to be delicately handled.

CC: There’s so much wonderful music for Jentry Chau. Talk about getting those musicians to contribute those needle drops!
EW: It was such a dream come true! I’m still in awe of how we managed to pull off getting an insane lineup of artists for the show. We had written the songs way beforehand, so that storyboards could be timed out to them, and we only had written a wishlist of artists we wanted to ask. And astonishingly enough, many of the artists said yes! Everyone was encouraged to add their own flourishes to the song and make it their own.

Some artists wanted a more hands-off approach and recorded on their own time and handed in the song only when they felt happy with it, while other artists preferred to collaborate, so the music team and I would go to the recording sessions with them. It was so unreal when the final mix was dropped in with the picture. We were so used to hearing just the demos that when we heard the actual songs, we were all losing our minds during the mix.

From left, Stella (Cristina Milizia) and Jentry (Ali Wong) in “Jentry Chau vs the Underworld.”

Netflix

CC: A lot has been said about Jentry’s vibrant wardrobe. How many outfits did you design for her in total?
EW: I think out of the dozens of outfits explored for Jentry, only about 15 or so made it into the show. We were fortunate enough to work with fashion designers like Alex Myung.

CC: There’s a lot the show has to tie up at the end. Tons of animation fans, me included, want Jentry Chau vs. The Underworld to be greenlit for a season two, especially when animation is struggling. What are general ways to support animation we might take for granted, to help more shows like Jentry get made?
EW: I think it’s been particularly hard for shows that aren’t related to an existing IP or have little or no marketing behind them. I think the best thing to do is continue to spread the word about how much you love the show. Word of mouth is one of the best ways to amplify the show and let the world know Jentry exists! Find any excuse you can to celebrate how far Asian American voices have come.

Spread the word. Talk to the creators. Make fan art and fan videos. Find a way to cut through the noise. Animation has and always will be a painstaking labor of love. But we do it for the fans and for the people who will resonate deeply with it.