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| From upper left, clockwise, Late Night, Plus One, The Sun Is Also A Star, Warrior. |
In the wake of Asian August, during which we saw the premieres of three major movies featuring Asian Americans in leading roles, we are luxuriating in the Asian Spring blooms
From March to June, the sheer number of television series and films that already had or will have a season premiere or movie debut, leaves one breathless. It is almost enough to make one wonder what the fuss was over representation.
Asian August brought us Crazy Rich Asians, With its all-Asian cast, the movie broke box office expectations for a romantic comedy. The month also brought us To All the Boys I've Ever Loved, another romcom starring up-an-coming Korean American Lana Condor; and the thriller Searching starring John Cho. All the movies were critically acclaimed. One movie with Asian leads was unique but three movies with that cross-over appeal woke up Hollywood
While these movies and TV shows began development before the success of Crazy Rich Asians didn't hurt. The success of that single film had Hollywood questioning its own bias against casting of Asians. If projects were on the bubble, Asian August helped push them over the greenlight line.
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| Sandra Oh kicked off Asian Spring by hosting Saturday Night Live. |
Despite the dozen movies and TV series that debuted in Spring, don't be lulled into a state of inaction. There is still plenty of room for improvement. Studies show that AAPI actors are still a rarity and the vast majority of television products still don't include an AAPI cast member.
Hollywood may not be in a love affair with Asian-inspired projects, it is certainly full-blown flirtation bueled partially by curiosity and, let's face it, money. As long as these projects are making money, studio heads, directors and producers will keep the door open. Nevertheless, as Asian Spring demonstrates, we should acknowledge that representation and inclusion has taken a leap forward for the AAPI audience and artists.
While it is too early to say if this open door leads to institutional change in the entertainment industry, in the meantime, let's enjoy the unprecedented presence of Asians on the big and small screen:
PEN15: A comedy about teenage angst stars newcomer Maya Erskine learning how to survive middle school. Although it premiered Feb. 15, it is still available through the spring on Hulu's streaming network
Saturday Night Live: Sandra Oh hosted Saturday Night Live, only the third Asian American to host the comedy variety show, following in the footsteps of Lucy Liu (1962) and Awkwafina (2018)
Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists, Janelle Parish (To All the Boys I Ever Loved) and Sydney Park in this sequel to Pretty Little Liars. Freeform, March 20, 8 p.m.
Into the Badlands: The martial arts epic taking place in a dystopian future America stars Daniel Wu entered its final season, March 24 10 p.m. on AMC.
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| Warrior was so well received that it is already committed to a second season. |
Warrior: The Bruce Lee-inspired television series that takes place in 19th century San Francisco's Chinatown debuted April 5 on Cinemax
Killing Eve: The second season of this crime thriller starrin Sandra Oh, who won an Emmy for her portrayal of MI6 agent Eve Polestri. The series launched 9 p.m., April 7 on BBC America.
Unforgotten: Sanjeev Bhaskar stars as Sunny Khan in the British crime drama revolving around two London detectives. His costar is Nicola Walker. The third season began on April 7, PBS 10 p.m.
The Code: The television legal drama stars Philippa Soo debuted April 9 on CBS, 9 p.m. Soo plays Lieutenant Harper Li, a highly capable, hyper-organized and fierce lawyer whose ability to compartmentalize and prioritize makes her an asset to the team of military attorneys.
Plus One: The romantic comedy starring hapa Maya Erskine. Plus One premiered May 5. “This was something that I couldn’t have dreamed possible as a kid,” says Erskine. “As a kid, I didn’t see myself reflected back to me, so I didn’t see this as a possibility. So if this movie makes it out there and other people see it, I do hope that a young girl who is like me can look at it and be like, ‘Oh, I can be that woman.’”
John Wick: Parabellum stars Keanu Reeves in the third installment of this popular science fiction action franchise.
The Sun is Also A Star: The boy-meets-girl stars Charles Melton, a Korean American actor from Riverdale, as the romantic lead opposite Yara Shahid, of Blackish. It debuts in theaters May 17.
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| Disney went to great effort to appropriately cast the live-action Aladdin. |
Aladdin: The live action remake of Disney's animated movie stars culturally appropriate Naomi Scott as Princess Jasmin, Mena Massoud as Aladdin and Will Smith as the genie. The trailers are gorgeous. The musical film will have its general release to U.S. movie theaters on May 24.
Always Be My Maybe: The rom-com explores the premise of “the friend zone” with the comedic duo of Ali Wong and Randall Park. It will be on the Netflix streaming service starting May 31.
Late Night, Mindy Kaling’s buzzy look at sexism and diversity in the television writers' room (partially based on her real-life experience), will hit theaters on June 7, 2019. It stars Kaling and Emma Thompson.
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