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An upcoming Hallmark movie, All\u2019s Fair in Love and Mahjong, became the subject of criticism for what some see as a disregard for the Chinese cultural elements around which its story is based. <\/p>\n
The movie, as described on Hallmark Channel’s website, follows a school nurse who finds “unexpected hope through teaching Mahjong … that helps her build community and open her heart again.”<\/p>\n
Mahjong is a Chinese skill-based game for four using domino-like tiles, likely invented in the 1800s. It was soon exported to the United States, where it exploded in popularity in the 1920s and then found another swell of post-WWII attention with the help of Jewish players and communities. The game is once again experiencing a wave of popularity, with designer boards and trendy social clubs attracting younger players<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Hallmark movie features Yan-Kay Crystal Lowe, a Canadian actor born to a Chinese father who spent a significant part of her childhood in Hong Kong. Her character is part of a Mahjong club with another woman (lead actor Fiona Gubelmann) who “brings community after community together through the game she loves.”\u00a0<\/p>\n But outside of Lowe \u2014 who hasn’t publicly responded to the online backlash \u2014 none of the rest of the advertised cast is Asian. That has raised concerns about a lack of representation in a film ostensibly about an element of Chinese culture.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The movie was officially announced weeks ago. But when Hallmark Channel shared a poster on Instagram last week \u2014 featuring Lowe and Gubelmann alongside Tamera Mowry-Housley, Paul Campbell and Melissa Peterman \u2014 some voiced their displeasure online.<\/p>\n “What in the appropri-Asian,” wrote Reel Inequality: Hollywood Actors and Racism author Nancy Wang Yuen.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Collective ancestral sigh,” added Wong Fu Productions co-founder Philip Wang.\u00a0<\/p>\n “It\u2019s pretty disgraceful that you release something so tone-deaf, on the cusp of Asian Heritage Month,” wrote Deborah Lau-Yu, founder of Chinese culture platform F\u00eate Chinoise. (May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in the U.S. and Asian Heritage Month in Canada.)<\/p>\n “[It] is utterly disrespectful to the Chinese community globally.”<\/p>\n The film, directed by Canadian Jessica Harmon, is scheduled to release May 9. Its actual subject matter \u2014 and the treatment of Chinese culture and the game at its core \u2014 is not yet wholly known. But in a statement shared with CBC News, a Hallmark spokesperson said it is treated with respect, and its importance as a cultural totem is recognized in the plot.<\/p>\n “All\u2019s Fair in Love &\u00a0Mahjong\u00a0is a love story with connection at its core, highlighting family, friendship, and motherhood with warmth and humour,” they said. “The movie honours the heritage of\u00a0Mahjong\u00a0by recognizing the game\u2019s Chinese origin and\u00a0its\u00a0unique ability to connect cultures, generations and communities.” <\/p>\n Asian representation in media<\/p>\n All’s Fair in Love and Mahjong is far from the first title to raise discussions around what some call a dearth of Asian representation in media. <\/p>\n Broadway’s Maybe Happy Ending, a South Korean musical about a robot retirement home in a futuristic Seoul, won six Tony Awards last year. When producers announced their decision to replace departing half-Filipino actor Darren Criss with white actor Andrew Barth Feldman, performers and industry members similarly spoke of endemic whitewashing<\/a> in a business that they believe fails to represent Asian stories and performers.<\/p>\n \u201cThough we have long been expected to view white stories populated by only white actors as \u2018universal,\u2019 stories about people who look like us that are populated by people who look like us are rarely considered universal enough,\u201d wrote the Asian American Performers Action Coalition in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776812535_56_default.jpg\")
Helen J. Shen, left, and Darren Criss perform Never Fly Away from Maybe Happy Ending during the 78th Tony Awards in June 2025 at Radio City Music Hall in New York. (Charles Sykes\/Invision\/The Associated Press)<\/p>\n