As the first Asian-American family show on network TV in the US since Margaret Cho’s All-American Girl, Fresh Off the Boat has a ridiculously heavy burden to bear. If it receives poor ratings and ends up getting canceled, it’ll be slated by network executives as evidence that Asian-driven media “just doesn’t sell” and will further encourage the lack of Asian-American representation on TV. Because of that, I really wanted this show to do well.
However, seeing how bland and toothless the show is in comparison to the source text, I’m almost equally afraid of the show doing well and staying on the air. I don’t want network executives to think that the best/only method of depicting Asian-American culture is in a way that doesn’t actually resonate with the real experiences of Asian-American audiences.
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