‘The Cleaning Lady’ offers a look at the hidden side of Asian America

Elodie Yung leads a diverse cast in 'The Cleaning Lady.'

American audiences will get a glimpse of Asian America rarely seen on television with today's  (Jan. 3) debut of a new drama, The Cleaning Lady.

With Asian Americans playing key roles in the series' creation, writer, executive producers and actors, the drama will feature complex, 3-dimensional characters, who don't fit the model minority mold and beyond the supporting friend, nerd and martial artist stereotypes usually portrayed in U.S. media.

Miranda Kwok (The 100) adapted the story from an Argentine series. Instead of having the characters be East Asian, which most Americans associate with when they picture Asian people, Kwok chose to have her characters come from the Philippines, broadening the image of what an Asian looks like. 

“I was inspired to create a show with a Southeast Asian female lead, which is something we’ve never seen on prime time television,” stated Kwok during a discussion at the advance community screening of The Cleaning Lady.

“What excited me about the show is that I wanted to do a female ‘Breaking Bad’ type story, but have the point of view from an undocumented person,” says Kwok, who is also the creator and writer. 

Kwok also noted that she “wanted to explore the story of an undocumented immigrant and show how she can defy all the odds that were against her, find her strength and faces those challenges.”

Eloidie Yung will play the central character, Thony De La Rosa, a whip-smart Cambodian, who is a doctor from the Philippines. She comes to the U.S. for a medical treatment to save her son, Luca, (portrayed by Sebastien and Valentino LaSalle) but when the system fails and pushes her into become an undocumented American. She uses her cunning and intelligence to fight back, breaking the law for all the right reasons.

Yung replaced Shannyn Sossamon, a Filipino American actress who was originally cast as the lead character. Casting Yung, who is Cambodian French, created another problem. Rather than facing the sure-as-fire controversy if Yung continued to play a Filipino, the creators tailored the storyline to reflect Yung's own ethnicity. So the central character Reyna became Thony.

“My dad came from another country and had to make his own place in France, so I could very much relate to that. I was so glad I could be seen for the first time for really who I am as a whole person, with my origins, my background, and also just what I could bring as an actor,” Yung said during a Fox TCA panel, when the series trailer was released. “It was such a strong part, and draining, but beautiful to have.”

To underscore the Filipino factor, the music of FilAm rapper Ruby Ibarra will be used in the series. The Bay Area artist, known for her Filipino American themes in her original lyrics, wrote several new cuts especially for The Cleaning Lady.

There will be plenty of Filipino cultural references as the De La Rosa family maneuvers it's way through the hidden world of the undocumented. Thony's Filipino husband, Marco De La Rosa, will be played by Ivan Shaw, who was born in Taiwan.

Marco's sister Fiona is also undocumented and is Thony's best friend and roommate. “It is completely groundbreaking in terms of the show and it’s diversity," says Martha Millan, a Filipino Aussie actor. "Being a part of this is incredible! Phenomenal!’’

Sabastien LaSalle, who plays Thony's son, Fiona's children played by Shawn Lew and Faith Bryant are also Asian American actors.

Additionally the series will feature other actors of Asian descent as the plot moves forward, including Filipino American Lou Diamond Philipps and his real-life daughter Gracie, who will play father and daughter in the series story.

Shay Mitchell, (Pretty Little Liars) who like Kwok, is from Canada is also executive producing.

The series premieres as the U.S. is experiencing a surge of anti-Asian hate, a move to ensure Asian American history is taught in the nation's public schools, a rise in political activism and a debate over U.S. immigration policies.

Kwok wants The Cleaning Lady “to tell a more timely story as to what is going on today. I wanted to layer in a lot of issues through the story.”

The Cleaning Lady airs on Fox at 9 p.m., Mondays or streamed on Hulu.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AAPI perspective, follow me on Twitter @DioknoEd.