Watch ‘The Joy Luck Club’ cast reunite to discuss how it changed AAPI representation

Another reunion is in the works for the popular web series “Stars in the House.” This time, Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley will host the cast of “The Joy Luck Club” in honor of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

Actors Kieu Chinh (Suyuan), France Nuyen (Ying-Ying), Ming-Na Wen (June), Lauren Tom (Lena) and Rosalind Chao (Rose) will appear on the episode along with author Amy Tan, who wrote the 1989 book that inspired the beloved movie

“The Joy Luck Club” reunion episode will air Friday at 5 p.m. Pacific on the “Stars in the House” YouTube channel and at StarsInTheHouse.com. Fans will be able to ask the cast questions, and all proceeds will be donated to the Actors Fund will go toward its COVID-19 financial relief fund.

The 1993 film adaptation followed a group of Chinese immigrant women in San Francisco as they gathered to exchange familial stories and play the game mahjong. The movie depicted the women’s Chinese American daughters striving to form an understanding of amid cultural clashes.

Tan’s book spent seven months on the New York Times bestseller list, and “The Joy Luck Club” had a profound impact within the Asian American community. For the film’s 25th anniversary, Times film critic Justin Chang wrote, “Here was a movie that allowed Asians and Asian Americans to feel seen in a way that Hollywood had never allowed them before.”

Previous “Stars in the House” reunions have included “Scandal,” “Melrose Place,” “Glee,” “30 Rock,” “Grey’s Anatomy” and “The Goonies.” Up next are events with the cast of the sitcom “Kate & Allie” and a 20th-anniversary reunion of the “Dreamgirls” benefit concert lineup.