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[NPR] A Brief, Weird History Of Squashed Asian-American TV Shows

February 6, 2015

 

In this image released by ABC, Constance Wu, from left, Forrest Wheeler, Hudson Yang and Ian Chen appear in a scene from the new comedy series "Fresh Off the Boat," previewing Wednesday with episodes at 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. EST. (AP Photo/ABC, Jordin Althaus)

In this image released by ABC, Constance Wu, from left, Forrest Wheeler, Hudson Yang and Ian Chen appear in a scene from the new comedy series “Fresh Off the Boat,” previewing Wednesday with episodes at 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. EST. (AP Photo/ABC, Jordin Althaus)

[NPR.ORG]

ABC’s new family sitcom Fresh Off The Boat is making big waves in the conversation about how Asian-Americans are depicted on TV in the U.S. — which, for the most part, is sparsely.

“Culturally, we are in an ice age,” celebrity chef Eddie Huang said in a recent New York Times profile. Huang’s memoir of the same name inspired the show. “We don’t even have fire. We don’t even have the wheel,” he wrote. “If this can be the first wheel, maybe others can make three more.”

People have tried to get this wheel rolling before. Margaret Cho’s All-American Girl aired briefly in the 1990s. And before that, there was Mr. T and Tina in 1976, a family sitcom starring Pat Morita (you may know him as Mr. Miyagi).

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