The first series of the high-altitude thriller Red Eye was something of a sleeper hit for ITV. Despite launching alongside big-budget rivals, the show built a steady audience, eventually drawing in eight million viewers.
For its star, Jing Lusi, the success brought a mixture of relief and a new kind of professional anxiety.
“My executive said to me, ‘This is your sophomore year. You’ve made a hit album, you’ve set the bar high and now you’ve got to deliver,'” Lusi told Radio Times. “And she was right. We do have to deliver.”
Moving from the air to the Embassy
While the first series took place almost entirely on a flight to Beijing, the second installment moves the action to solid ground—specifically the US Embassy in London.
Lusi returns as Hana Li, but the shift in setting changes the power dynamics. In the new series, she is forced to work on the “turf” of a new character, Clay Brody, played by Line of Duty star Martin Compston.
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Lusi described the experience to The Hollywood Reporter as “humbling” for her character. She noted that because the Embassy is under Brody’s jurisdiction, Hana has to seek permission to operate there, leading to immediate animosity between the two.
The actress also highlighted the technical difficulty of filming a show that takes place over a single day. “We film over three months but the story time is pretty much one day,” she said. This created a constant battle with continuity, where even a slight change in hair texture or a “too fluffy” look after washing it had to be corrected to maintain the illusion of a single, exhausting day.
The weight of the lead role
Before Red Eye, Lusi was well-known for supporting roles in projects like Crazy Rich Asians and Gangs of London. Moving to the top of the call sheet changed her perspective on the industry, particularly regarding how much she checked the weekly ratings.
“I’ve never worried about ratings before,” she admitted. “But I’ve never led a show before. I was so surprised and overwhelmed that the audience grew every week.”
Beyond the numbers, Lusi explained that she learned how to set the tone for a production by watching previous co-stars like Gal Gadot and Rowan Atkinson. She feels that being the lead is about more than just the performance; it is about the energy brought to the set every day.
Shifting the focus on representation
Lusi has been vocal in the past about the lack of East Asian leads on British television. However, as she enters the second season, she says she is beginning to step back from the role of spokesperson.
She recalled advice from fellow actor Benedict Wong, who told her she needed to “just do you” to avoid the pressure ruining her experience.
“In series one, Hana’s ethnicity mattered to the story,” Lusi told Radio Times. “Series two has moved on, it’s a different conspiracy, and Hana just happens to be an East Asian cop. So, she’s just being her – and I’m just gonna do me.”
Read more: ‘Red Eye’: British ESEA Actress Jing Lusi’s Lead Role is a Watershed Moment for Representation
While she still observes a discrepancy between the UK and US industries—noting to The Hollywood Reporter that Britain has yet to have its own “Crazy Rich Asians moment”—she is finding personal inspiration elsewhere. Recently, she has been learning Korean and immersed herself in K-dramas.
“It’s actually quite refreshing,” she said. “We made such a big deal about Crazy Rich Asians, and then there’s whole countries that are creating content that look like I do.”
Red Eye season two premiered in the UK on 1 January 2026.
The series airs weekly on ITV1, but for those who prefer to watch the entire story at once, all episodes are available to stream immediately on ITVX.
