The actress previews the new season and details the impact of Nicky and Henry's breakup.
Just when Nicky Shen is getting her life back in order, it's about to be up-ended at the worst possible time.
Kung Fu returns for season 3 on Wednesday, picking up four months after the events of the finale, which saw Nicky's world blow up -- in more ways than one. There was the breakup with Henry; losing an unlikely ally in Zhilan, who sacrificed herself for Nicky (but will be back somehow); and the potential return of a seemingly resurrected Pei-Ling, Nicky's shifu (or Xiao, the ancient creator of the warrior/guardian bloodlines, or someone else). As the new season opens, Nicky has settled into a new normal teaching at the local community center, embracing her role as shifu and continuing to rid the evils of Chinatown. But, of course, peace doesn't last very long in the world of Kung Fu.
"I really admire the fact that our writers were willing to strip Nicky down to the bare bone. Her powers are gone this season and she's kind of in a similar headspace of where she was when we met her in season 1 -- trying to figure out what her purpose is now that she's back in San Francisco," series star Olivia Liang tells ET. "Seemingly, she's saved the world twice and seems to be okay, but now she doesn't have Henry."
"It's really fun to explore someone who's mature but still needs to figure out who they are," she adds, "and I think that's very similar to how we all feel in life. All of these different ups and downs in the roller-coaster of what it is to be human."
The breakup with Henry, who left on his own quest to find the truth about his estranged father following his death, may have a greater impact on Nicky than she initially lets on. A new guy who comes into her life, crime-fighter Bo (Ben Levin), may be the antidote for Nicky amid Henry's temporary absence. The keyword being temporary.
"Henry left, Nicky of all people understood why he left because she did a very similar thing by running away to China and finding out and discovering who she is," Liang says. "She's got her family, she's got this reputation that has been building since season 2 of being the protector of Chinatown. She's really leaning into that and making sure that her community is safe. It's a little bit different now because she's maybe not invincible."
"We get to meet a new friend in Bo and he very safely fits in. She's got a job teaching classes at the community center, so she is making a little bit of money. She's living in his apartment, which is weird. I personally wouldn't do something like that, but I'm not Nicky. And I think she is just in that in-between stage that we all probably relate to and it's not a bad place to be. She's just going with the flow and everything seems to be going well until we see that she's actually struggling really hard with Henry leaving and she's mostly worried about him and trying to keep herself together. It was a hard break-up," the actress shares.
When Nicky and Henry do reunite early in the season -- specifically episode 3 -- there's a lot they need to work out, Liang says point-blank.
"They have such a deep understanding and love for each other. Nicky understands why Henry had to leave because she was in that space too, and she totally supports him doing that. That doesn't make it less hard and we'll find out that they haven't spoken at all," she reveals. "So she doesn't know if he's okay. She's not sure if she was supposed to wait for him. In that, she's like, 'Do I hope that you come back or am I supposed to move on with my life?'"
Liang offered a glimpse into Nicky and Henry's first face-to-face moment, describing it as "very charged." "They have to talk a lot of things out," she says.
"I know the audience will be rooting for them to work it out. But there's also this new guy [Bo] who's super interesting and I think Nicky should explore that too, since Henry was the literal first boy to say hi to her when she came back from China after seeing only women. And then she started dating him," Liang notes. "As Olivia, I'm also like, just see what else is out there. If it's meant to be, then you guys will get back together, but for now, let's see what else the world has to offer. I'm sure people will root for them to be together."
As for key episodes viewers should keep an out for, Liang singled out the previously mentioned third episode for the Nicky and Henry of it all -- "and we get to find out some really cool stuff about what Henry's been up to." Another favorite is episode 4, which she described as "wacky," and episode 8, which they hadn't begun filming yet.
"Episode eight... I'm personally excited because it's going to be -- the audience will be screaming at the TV," she hinted. "I was crying reading the outline, straight up leaking. It's very, very heartbreaking and the audience knows things that Nicky doesn't know and it's just going to be so intense."
The actress warned that season 3 "gets pretty dark," even though the DNA of Kung Fu's humor and banter still remains. "It is just super balanced with the humor and the heart and the stakes and the drama and the action. I feel like we keep getting more and more focused into what our show is capable of and what everyone is capable of," she says. "So I think the fans are really going to like it."
Kung Fu premieres Wednesday, Oct. 5 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.
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