HBO series focuses on Asian American actors

Daniel Dae-Kim: "We all become part of the American experience."

IT'S MAY and you know what that means. Newscasts and networks will give us a spate of Asian-themed shows because it is Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month. The other 11 months the networks hardly notice us, but May comes along and - watch out!

I guess you have to appreciate what we can get. (Right here, if I could, I would place a sarcastic emoji, but no one has designed that yet.)

This is the fifth year of HBO's East of Main Street series and its focus is the difficulties of being Asian and being ian actor. "This year, with so much attention being paid to racial and cultural diversity in Hollywood, we wanted to examine what it takes for Asian Americans to succeed in the entertainment industry," said director and producer Joseph Yi.

As a director/cinematographer, Yi's work has been showcased in such magazines as Creativity and Vice. Yi teaches 16mm and digital cinematography at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. He also consults for Canon USA. Yi attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts Film Program.

Lucy Liu: 
"I want to be that change."

East of Main Street: Taking The Lead will be available on HBO On Demand, HBO GO, and HBO NOW, and showcases a select group of Asian Americans in various stages of their movie and television careers. To celebrate the film, HBO is hosting a VIP screening and panel discussion with some of its stars in New York City on May 6.

Other actors in the series are: Lucy Liu, Daniel Dae Kim, BD Wong, Aasif Mandvi, Sheetal Sheth, Russell Wong, Lucille Soong, Jimmy Ouyang, Melanie Kannokada, Dennis Oh, Raymond J. Lee, Nivedita Kulkarni, Tobias Wong, Michelle Goike, Veronica Reyes-How and Katarina Zhu.

"The award-winning East of Main Street series garnered attention from prevalent actors who expressed interest in getting involved," said HBO Senior Vice President for Multicultural Marketing Lucinda Martinez. "We're excited to give audiences the opportunity to hear from and be inspired by them, with this newest installment."

East of Main Street: Taking the Lead will be available on HBO On Demand, HBO GO, and HBO NOW throughout the entire month of May. The special will also be offered on HBO's YouTube platform for a limited time on May 4-6th for non-HBO subscribers to enjoy. Check out the trailer below.

So readers, along with the Asian American documentary series hosted by Lea Salonga airing on PBS, we've got a lot of television to watch this month. Check your local listings for show times. Keep in mind, all that you see in these shows, even the ones that take place in Asia, are all part of America's diversity. Our stories are part of the complete American story. 

You can watch the whole video here.

###

RELATED: 

Lea Salonga hosts PBS documentary series

Why the Oscar nominees are all white

White House summit on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders