TELEVISION - ABC's 'Fresh Off the Boat' TV Series

"Will ‘Fresh Off the Boat’ turn the tide for Asian Americans on TV?" PBS NewsHour 2/14/2015

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  The new ABC sitcom "Fresh Off the Boat" debuted to winning ratings and marked the first time in 20 years you could watch a network series centered on an Asian-American family.  But will the popular sitcom clear the path for more exposure of Asian Americans in pop culture?  NewsHour's Mori Rothman reports.

MORI ROTHMAN (NewsHour):  Like millions of Americans, Jeff Yang watched the recent premiere of “Fresh Off the Boat.”  Yang is a columnist for the Wall Street Journal online and has written about Asian-American issues and America’s changing demographics for decades.

JEFF YANG, Wall Street Journal:  Asian-Americans are disproportionately educated, which means that there’s a growing middle-class and upper-middle class, white-collar population of Asian-Americans, affluent with disposable income.  The kind of demographic that marketers historically have been seeking to reach.

MORI ROTHMAN:  According to the 2010 Census, which defines Asians as people originating from dozens of countries, including China, India and the Philippines, Asian Americans account for a small segment of the U.S. — just over 17 million people.  But a Nielsen report on the Asian-American consumer says Asians are the fastest growing group in the U.S., having grown 58 percent from 2000 to 2013.

That’s why Yang believes TV lineups are diversifying.  Networks made a splash last year by announcing 10 new shows this season with non-white characters or non-white show creators.  But Yang is paying special attention to one show, and not just because he studies demographics.  He’s watching for his son.

JEFF YANG:  I can’t even claim to be a dispassionate observer here, and nor would I want to.  You know, my son, of course, is the lead kid.  He plays 11-year-old Eddie Huang in “Fresh Off the Boat.”

EDDIE HUANG, FRESH OFF THE BOAT:  That’s me, your boy Eddie Huang, check it, 11-years-old…

JEFF YANG:  I could never have imagined that it would be my offspring, the next generation who would be at the very center of a moment that I’ve kind of looked forward to for all of my adult life.