What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
Hungry Ghosts uses a supernatural haunting to tell a grounded story about war’s aftermath: family silence, displacement and the enduring ties people can feel to a homeland they were forced to leave. Set in contemporary Melbourne during the Hungry Ghost Festival, the series follows three generations of Vietnamese families as spirits connected to a tomb in Vietnam disrupt their lives.
What is Hungry Ghosts about?
In PerthNow’s 2020 account, the series begins after a tomb in Vietnam is accidentally opened. Spirits—many of them people who died in the war—haunt a Vietnamese community in Melbourne. The story unfolds during the Hungry Ghost Festival, when Vietnamese communities honour the dead.
At its centre is May Le, played by Catherine Văn-Davies. May is a second-generation, mixed-race Vietnamese Australian whose life has unravelled: she has lost her job and partner and is living with her grandmother. She discovers she has powers that she must use against Quang, a spirit tied to the haunting. The supernatural conflict gives the drama a way to bring the consequences of war into the present, across three generations.
How does the series portray war’s impact?
The PerthNow article describes Hungry Ghosts as foregrounding Vietnamese people’s experiences of war rather than viewing conflict only through soldiers’ perspectives. Its haunting connects past violence with loss, forced departure, love for a homeland and questions left unspoken between generations.
#1 Best Overall
That framing matters because leaving a country does not necessarily mean leaving one’s attachment to it. Văn-Davies described the perspective of people forced to leave a place they love as one “often overlooked,” adding: “there can be a deep, deep love for the country that they are forced to leave.” The line is her reflection in the interview, not dialogue from the series.
What Catherine Văn-Davies said about family silence
Văn-Davies connected her work on the project to her mother’s refugee history and to the questions children may carry when parents do not speak about traumatic experiences. She said her mother had not wanted to talk about it, either because revisiting the trauma was difficult or because she did not want to burden her children. She added: “I think children of people who have experienced that level of trauma absorb it in ways I think parents aren’t consciously aware of.”
For the actor, the series offered a context for questions that had been difficult to raise directly. “I don’t want to bring it up for the sake of my own need but to have a project which focused on and contextualised the questions I had was very beneficial to the both of us,” she told PerthNow. Her account is one family’s experience, not a claim that all Vietnamese-Australian families share the same history or respond to trauma in the same way.
Why its casting was notable
PerthNow reported that the series featured more than 30 Asian-Australian actors and 325 extras, presenting the scale of the casting as part of a long-awaited shift in screen diversity. Those figures are reported by the 2020 article; they are not independently confirmed here by production records.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →When it premiered
For historical context, PerthNow reported that Hungry Ghosts premiered on SBS on Monday 24 August 2020 at 9:30 p.m., with episodes airing over four consecutive nights through Thursday 27 August. Episodes were available on SBS On Demand at the time of broadcast. Those details describe the 2020 premiere, not current streaming availability.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Source
This account draws on Pierra Willix’s interview and series synopsis, “Hungry Ghosts brings into sharp relief the haunting legacy of war for Vietnamese-Australian families,” published by PerthNow on 16 August 2020. Read the PerthNow article.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- ❤️ INTERACTIVE VIETNAMESE LEARNING: Immerse your child in a Vietnamese children’s book experience where interactive sound and music make learning Vietnamese fun and engaging. A screen-free, enjoyable way for kids to learn Vietnamese while playing.
- ❤️ DUAL ACCENTS: Introduce your child to both Northern and Southern accents with this Vietnamese book for kids, helping them develop a well-rounded understanding of the language from an early age.
- ❤️ CULTURAL VALUES THROUGH 6 ORIGINAL VIETNAMESE SONGS: Featuring original Vietnamese chidren's melodies that effortlessly teach cultural values, combining the beauty of Vietnamese music with educational content.
- ❤️ PORTABLE DESIGN FOR ON-THE-GO LEARNING: Compact and lightweight, this Vietnamese baby book is perfect for learning on the move. Take this Vietnamese book wherever you go for continuous language exposure.
- ❤️ EDUCATIONAL TOY: Designed as both an educational toy and a Vietnamese children’s book, this product encourages early language development while making learning fun through interactive play.
Rank #4
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
