# Joseph Gordon-Levitt To EP, Poised To Star In ‘Gaijin’ Drama Inspired By Ivan Orkin In Works At Hulu

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/joseph-gordon-levitt-to-ep-poised-to-star-in-gaijin-drama-inspired-by-ivan-orkin-in-works-at-hulu/
- Published: 2026-08-11T17:00:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-08-24T11:12:28+00:00
- Original publisher: Deadline
- Original article: https://deadline.com/2026/08/joseph-gordon-levitt-gaijin-hulu-ivan-orkin-shannon-goss-1237030851/
- Topics: Asia, Celebrity, Entertainment, Geopolitics, Politics, TV, World

## Key points

- Hulu developing "Gaijin," a modern Japan-set drama
- Joseph Gordon-Levitt to executive produce and likely star
- Story inspired by chef Ivan Orkin's Ivan Ramen origins

## Summary

Hulu is developing "Gaijin," a new drama in which Joseph Gordon-Levitt is set to executive produce and star, marking another Japan-set project for the streamer following FX's acclaimed "Shōgun." The series comes from "Shōgun" co-executive producer Shannon Goss and is inspired by the real-life story of chef Ivan Orkin, founder of Ivan Ramen, giving Hulu a modern-day companion piece to its award-winning period drama.

The show follows an American culinary school dropout who moves to Tokyo with his young son after his wife's death, moving in with unfamiliar in-laws and pursuing his dream of opening a ramen shop amid cultural clashes and setbacks. Orkin and Goss executive produce alongside Gordon-Levitt and Jared Geller, with Lionsgate Television producing. Goss shared in a Shōgun Emmy win for Outstanding Drama Series, while Gordon-Levitt has several other projects in the pipeline, including "Pendulum" and an untitled Netflix AI thriller he wrote and directed.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.