Introduction

2015 marked a banner year for Asian Americans in the media. In early 2015, ABC premiered Fresh Off the Boat—the first Asian American sitcom since the legendary failure of Margaret Cho’s All American Girl in 1994. The adaptation of celebrity chef Eddie Huang’s memoir was met with excitement from both audiences and critics, and was eventually renewed for additional seasons. In late 2015, ABC did the unthinkable and released a second Asian American sitcom. Dr Ken starred Ken Jeong of The Hangover fame, and was loosely based on Jeong’s life as a doctor. Along with the prominence of Asian American actors like Aziz Ansari, John Cho, Mindy Kaling, Kal Penn, Ming-Na Wen, Sandra Oh, and many others, it seemed that Asian Americans had finally arrived, particularly within the television landscape.