Asians on TV: "A revolution is happening," Most Asian/Americans ever this season

The Huang family returns

The handy, dandy complete guide to Asian-viewing on TV
IF 2014 saw a trickle of Asian/Americans and Pacific Islanders on American television, then 2015 is (relatively) a deluge. This week the fall season is launching a majority of shows and more will be released for the winter season.

Not counting the reality shows or daytime TV and not counting Marco Polo epic which has a huge, huge cast or the television/movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, I count 52 roles being played by Asian/American or Pacific Islanders this year. I'd venture to guess that this a record.

With the number of shows that are being aired, the list below, while it looks plentiful, shows that the TV industry is starting to recognize that their audiences want more diversity in their actors and themes. However, there is still a long way to go if the industry wants to reflect its real audience.

Casting diversity has been the hot topic in production circles for the past few years but because of social media with its immediate interaction, the topic has really heated up. The success of shows like Fresh Off the Boat, Blackish and Empire was enough to force networks to rethink their casts and to be more willing to think out-of-the-box of when seeking new shows.

Keep in mind, although 2014 was an improvement from years past, a study by Fusion shows that TV shows featuring Asian/American in the lead roles may be still only in its starting phase.

America television has not done a good job depicting Asian/Americans but the upcoming television season could be turning point - if the ratings bear out. If ratings are poor for the shows featuring Asian/American leading roles, then it could be two-steps backwards as networks rethink any programming featuring Asians.

RELATED: It's Awards season, but not for Asian Americans

"Asian/American actors and those representing them are experiencing a sea change in the number of roles available to them," Deadline noted in a recent article. "The revolution is happening in a segment of the acting population that has been widely underserved for years, ..."

RELATED: Movie industry lacks diversity. So what's new?

Finally, it looks like all of those years of studies, reports and protests, something is being done about increasing the visibility of Asians. More than likely though, it is the growing realization of the changing audience and - it always comes down to this - the bottom line. According to a UCLA study, TV shows with a diverse cast do really well in ratings.

Even with the loss of Selfie's John Cho, Parks and Recreation’s Aziz Ansari, The Good Wife’s Archie Panjabi, Stalker's Maggie Q and Community’s Danni Pudi, television viewers can still catch a number of their favorite Asian/American stars as well as a wave of new up-and-coming stars.

LEAD ROLES

Fresh Off the Boat: The game-changing sitcom, very loosely based on restaurateur Eddie Huang's memoir,  features the 3-generation Taiwanese/American Huang family returns for a second season stars Constance Wu, Randall Park, Hudson Yang, Forrest Wheeler, Ian Chen and Lucille Soong.

Marco Polo: Literally a cast of thousands (of Asians and a few Pacific Islanders, most of them digitalized) since the show is supposed to take place in 11th century China following the adventures of the lone white buy in the country. But despite criticism from the Asian/American media, Polo is used as the "bridge" to the more interesting Chinese characters. The epic offers an opportunity for a whole lot of Asian actors to portray complicated people such as Benedict Wong as Kublai Khan and Joan Chen as his Empress Chabi and a slew of newcomers (to American TV audiences) including Remy Hii as Prince Jingim, Olivia Cheng as Mei Lin, Claudia Kim as Khutulun, Uli Latukefu as Byamba, Chin Han as Jia Sidao, and Tom Wu as Hundred Eyes.

Rumors are circulating that Glenn, Steven Yuen's
character in The Walking Dead, may meet his demise.
Please, no-o-o-o!

The Walking Dead: Steven Yuen as Glenn is apparently the only Asian to have survived the freaking zombie apocalypse. Glenn's future may be in doubt this year in a show known for killing off major characters. So, all you social networkers, start hitting those keyboards and start a campaign to keep Glenn alive. 

Elementary: Lucy Liu is back as the more-than-able assistant Dr. Watson to the defective detective Sherlock Holmes.

Mindy's Project: Mindy Kaling returns as date-seeking Mindy. Maybe she'd have better luck with an Asian boyfriend? Her sitcom has moved to Hulu. 

Scorpion: Elyes Gabel is the main genius. (Either the character, Walter O'Brien, is not Asian or he hasn't come to grips with his ethnic roots.) The show also features co-star Jadyn Wong as another genius, Happy Quinn.

Beauty and the Beast: Kristin Kruek as the beauty.

ALSO RETURNING 

Asian actors playing prominent (but not the lead) roles:

• Hawaii 5-O: Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Pak play detectives in the ensemble cop-and-robbers drama. The show is unique that it features a host of other Asain cast members and extras. The strong presence of Asian/Americans and Pacific Islanders is unavoidable considering the show's locale.
• Grimm: Reggie Lee returns as Sgt. Drew Wu, whose role keeps getting bigger now that he is now officially part of the secret creature-killing team of the Portland PD.
• Big Bang Theory: Kunal Nayyar reprises his role as Raj Koothrappal, the second-worst Asian stereotype on television.
• Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Ming-Na Wen plays agent Melinda May; Chloe Bennet plays Skye in this TV adaptation of Marvel comics. 

UPDATE: An earlier version of this post did not include Blacklist cast members, The Talk's Julie Chen and Viking's surprise casting.

• Two Broke Girls: Unfortunately, Matthew Moy returns as Han Lee, the worst  Asian stereotype currently on TV.
• Red Band Society: Griffin Gluck, the comatose patient around whom the rest of the cast circles, could have been seen as a white boy if not for seeing his mother, Korean/American actress Susan Park.
• The Mysteries of Laura: Janina Gavankar as Detective Meredith Bose.
• Orange Is The New Black: Kimiko Glenn as Brook Soso, Lori Tan Chinn as mysterious don't-mess-with-her Chang.
• Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Ki Hong Lee plays a character with the unfortunate name of Dong Nguyen, a potential love interest of the main character.
• Z Nation: Pisay Pao is back as the mysterious Cassandra in this blood-splattering version of the zombie apocalypse.
• Blacklist: Amir Arison as Aram Mojtabai and Mozhan Marmo as Samar Marno are part of the elite, secret FBI team.
• Grey's Anatomy: The Asian scrub nurse Bokhee, who seems to make all the surgeries in the 11 seasons of this popular medical/hookup drama, is reportedly played by a real-life nurse; no lines, no big scenes, just a dependable Asian. Diversity advocate and producer Shonda Rhimes still needs to replace the huge hole left when Sandra Oh left the series based in a city that has a large Asian/American population. Let's hope Rhimes does something about this.

NEW PROGRAMS

It's not just the increased number of Asians that are going to be on our TV sets this fall and winter, but the number of quality roles they are playing makes 2015 different from previous years. Besides being the stereotypical comedic relief in some shows, in other programs Asians will be playing doctors, martial artists, heroes and love interests. Yes! Love interests! Despite the failure of John Cho's Selfie to break that barrier, we may actually see some Asians who have multi-faceted personalities besides being a buffoon, doctor or martial artist. Asian/Americans can be romantic leads!

THE NEW LEADS

Into the Badlands: Steven Wu as the motorcycle-riding badass warrior Sunny and Aramis Knight portrays his protege M.K. The duo fights outlaws and warlords in a dark future of a  dystopian America where guns are outlawed. Watch for its November premiere.

Dr. Ken: Comedic actor Ken Jeong plays a Dr. Ken Park who yearns to be a standup comedian. His family includes his wife played by Suzy Nakamura, Albert Tsai as son Dave, Krista Marie Yu plays daughter Molly. Margaret Cho, who starred in the ill-fated  Asian/American sitcom All American Girl, will return to primetime TV as Dr. Ken's sister. The Parks join the Huangs as the second Asian/American family on television.

Quantico: Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra will play the lead Alex, an FBI rookie learning the ropes at the FBI's training facility while kicking ass and looking beautiful. 

Heroes Reborn: Masi Oka will reprise the role of Hiro Nakamura from the original Heroes science fiction series and Sendhil Ramamurthy returns as Dr. Mohinder Suresh. They'll be joined by newcomer Kiki Sukezane as the katana-wielding Miko.

Fear The Walking Dead: In this Walking Dead spinoff, Cliff Curtis, a Maori/American, plays the father Travis Manawa of the wonderfully blended lead family trying to survive the zombie apocalypse in diverse southern California. In the third episode, the first Asian zombie in the Walking Dead universe made a brief, but meaningful, appearance.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: Vincent Rodriguez III as Josh Chan in this highly anticipated "girl-meets-(Asian)-boy" musical comedy. Who knows if romance blossoms and if Rodriguez gets to kiss the girl, a historic act that eluded John Cho in Selfie.

Master of None: Aziz Ansari gets his own vehicle to star in. He plays Dev, who doesn't have his act together, a starving actor (is that redundant?) in New York.

Rush Hour: the TV adaptation of the cop-comedy movie will star John Foo as Detective Lee and his younger sister Kim Lee will be played by Jessica Van.

SUPPORTING ROLES

• Truth Be Told: Follow the relationship adventures of two couples, one of which is made up of Indonesian/American Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Mitch and Filipina/American Vanessa Lachey in what may be a breakthrough comedy. I haven't seen any previews yet so I don't know if Gosselaar's roots will be an issue. They might have him playing a white guy, kind of reverse yellow face.
• Chicago Med: Brian Tee stars as Dr. Ethan Amari in this medical drama.
• Childhood's End: Charlotte Nicdao plays Rachel Osaka in this television version of the science fiction classic.
• Code Black: Melanie Chandra portrays Dr. Malaya Pineda and Raza Jaffrey plays Dr. Neal Hudson in another medical drama.
• The Expanse: Florence Faivre has the part of Julie Mao, the girl who needs to be rescued to save the solar system in this space opera.
• Grandfathered: Ravi Patel's character Ravi is the best friend and chef to restaurant owner John Stamos.

• 

  The Truth Be Told cast will tackle any topic
  your parents told you not to talk about.T

• Minority Report: Li Jun Li plays a CSI tech Akeela in this sci-fi production based on the movie of the same name.
• The Man in the High Castle: Another sci-fi classic features Joel de la Fuente as Inspector Kido and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa plays Nobosuke Tagomi. The storyline is based on the premise on what the world would be like if the Axis had won WWII. 
• Vikings: Major surprise! Of all the TV shows, I never thought an Asian would appear on - Vikings, a tale of the 12th century Scandinavian marauders in Europe - is near the top of the list. Dianne Doan will play Yidu, a mysterious slave from a "distant land" in the saga's fourth season.

UNSCRIPTED ASIANS

FABLife: This ABC afternoon talk show features exuberant model Chrissy Tiegen as a foodie extraordinaire and fashionista Joe Zee as part of a diverse team of hosts talking about ... anything that can make your life more enjoyable, fun and Fab, with tips on how to enjoy life or make your life more "fab" ala The View.

The Talk: Julie Chen continues to rein in the hosts in this popular daytime gossipy/confessional talkshow.

This Is Life With Lisa Ling: Journalist Lisa Ling returns with one of the most informative investigative shows on TV on a variety of topics.

Survivor: The first reality/adventure show still attracts viewers. It normally features a diverse cast of ordinary people trying outwit and outsmart the other contestants. This season, two Asians will be in the cast of former cast members: Woo Hwang, the martial arts instructor who valued honor over strategy, and Peih-Gee Law, the abrasive Type-A lawyer from San Francisco.

Amazing Race: Like other reality shows, Amazing Race tries for a diverse cast. This year, the Asian/American team is Cindy and Rick Chac, newlyweds from San Diego.

Dancing With The Stars: Carrie Ann Inaba is the lone Asian in this dancing competition in which she is one of the judges. Professional dancer Cheryl Burke, a Filipina/American, has stepped away to other gigs.

BONUS: TV MOVIE

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend: A much-anticipated sequel to the successful groundbreaking movie will feature Michelle Yeoh reprising her movie role as well as a bunch of other Asian actors, including  Harry Shum, Jr., Jason Scott Lee, Roger Yuan, Eugenia Yuan, JuJu Chan, Chris Pang, and Natasha Liu Bordizzo. This is huge, especially for those of us who enjoyed the original. It will premiere simultaneously in IMAX and on Netflix in 2016.

* * *

As someone who grew up without any significant role models in American media, I know how that significant gap has impacted me. It was an important element in forming who I am became as an adult. I'm somewhat relieved that the younger members of my family won't have to experience that, but as I mentioned at the top of this post, there is still a long way to go.

(NOTE: My count is just for the fall and winter seasons. If summer programs were to be included, it would up the number of Asians considerably.)

RELATED: Summer of Asian watching

In the context of American society, does this year's relative increase of the Asian/American and Pacific Islander presence constitute a revolution? Maybe, but we need to see what happens when some of these shows get shot down because they're just not good enough to garner good ratings. Will the television honchos retreat?

At an individual level, growing up as an Asian kid these days, might be little bit easier because Asians are finally being depicted in a much wider gamut of roles and programs, which translates, hopefully, to a wider acceptance of Asians as an integral part of American culture and society.

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TGIF FEATURE: Summer of Asian-watching: 'Hell on Wheels,' 'Dark Matter,' 'Human,' & 'Strike Back' & Ballers

IT  USED TO BE that summer meant three months of watching summer reruns on TV. Nowadays, it is a season unto itself. It gives networks a chance to be a little more out of the box and try out new ideas that just missed being included in the fall/winter season.

Two of the brightest shows this summer featured Asians playing major roles: Hell On Wheels and Dark Matter.

Actors (from left) Angela Zhou, Byron Mann and Tzi Ma have major roles in "Hell on Wheels."

HELL ON WHEELS, in its fifth and final season, has saved the best for last.

When the western series telling the story of the building of the first transcontinental railroad  began, it was heavily criticized for leaving out the Chinese workers who built the west to east line, from California to Utah. For the first four seasons, it was all about the Union Pacific effort which built the railroad from east to west - cowboys, recently freed African Americans, Native American and Mormons.

While the first four seasons had their moments, the fourth season has surpassed them all with its story of the Central Pacific and the Chinese workers' contributions to building this nation - not just the railroad.

For the first time on television, Chinese characters were depicted as fully fleshed-out human beings. Some were flawed, triumphant, stubborn, loyal, determined, strong, greedy, manipulative, intelligent or brave -- or as real people tend to be, a little bit of all of these characteristics. The characters depicted on Wheels are a far cry from the Ponderosa's Hop Sing, who rarely ventured out of the kitchen other than to announce to the Cartwright family that dinner was ready.

Kudos to the actors Byron Mann, who plays labor contractor "Chang;" Angela  Zhou, who plays "Fong," a woman playing a boy; and Tzi Ma, portraying "Tao," the foreman o the Chinese workers.

After such a tenuous start, Hell on Wheels is finishing strong. A lot of credit should be given to show runner, John Wirth for including the Central Pacific story. To my mind, that is a more compelling story with the additional layer of the culture clash between whites and the Chinese making for more interesting storylines.

It doesn't avoid the racism that pervaded that era because race relations provide the reason for most of the show's story's conflict.

If you have on-demand TV, you can binge-watch the entire season from episode one to catch up and you'll have plenty of time to do that. AMC has decided to break up the final season in half with the first half concluding this fall and concluding seven episodes to be shown in the summer of 2016. So, even though we call this Wheel's last season, next summer is the "real" last season when we find out the fate of all of the show's characters.

We know how it ends with the driving of the golden spike near Promontory Point, Utah and the historic photo that excludes the Chinese workers.

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The cast of Dark Matter

DARK MATTER was a surprise. With a minimum of fanfare, it is establishing itself as a worthy entry in the sic-fi genre.

Melissa O'Neil is Two, the requisite badass

Dark Matter is a space opera following the exploits of six humans who awake from suspended animation and can't remember a thing of their past. Fittingly, they name themselves in the order they awoke aboard the mysterious ship: One, Two, Three and so forth. Oh, and to add more interest, an android, who looks like a woman, is introduced, but her memory doesn't include the ship's mission or who the awaken amnesiacs might be. 

Two is played by Melissa O'Neil, who is making her television debut with Dark Matter. The Chinese/Canadian from Calgary just a high school student when she became the 2012 winner of Canadian Idol. She was on Broadway in Les Mserables when her agent convinced her to audition for the sic-fi series.

Two is another one of those bad-ass Asian women roles that white producers love. O'Neil has had some training in martial arts so the fight scenes come easy to her. The fight coordinators love her.

Perhaps the only other crew member who could challenge Two is Four, played by Alex Mallari, Jr. Four is a quiet guy but when he is a whirl of flashing swords and kicks when he gets into a fight. Born in the Philippines but raised in Scarborough, Canada, the athletic Mallari has appeared in Robocop, Nikita and a number of other roles before landing the role of Four. 

Alex Mallari as Four

The show's strong suit is action but it is the interaction between the main characters that makes the viewer care about them. The playful back-and-forth banter is one of the show's appeals. 

SPOILER ALERT:

The first episode hints what to expect in the rest of the series. The crew learns that they are not the good guys that they thought they were.

Of all the main characters in the show, Four's backstory has been the most extensivly portrayed. Apparently he is a prince on a world that looks an awful like Shogun-era Japan but there is still the mystery of why he was placed on a ship with other dangerous  criminals.

The show has impressive sci-fi DNA. It was created by Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie, who were also behind the Stargate franchise. It is another one of the several sci-fi productions being filmed in Canada. Our northern neighbor - it appears - is not adverse to providing diversity in its television programs.

There're plenty of stories worth mining in this series and I look forward to watching it next summer and learning more about the mysterious crew of the spaceship Raza. Dark Matter has already been renewed for another 13 episodes next summer.

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OTHER SERIES of note that have Asians and/or Pacific Islanders in prominent roles include Ballers, Human and Strike Back.

Dwayne Johnson

Ballers stars Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Mimi=based sports agents who spends his time coddling spoiled but highly paid - athletes.

The Rock is surprisingly quite good in this, showing that his acting range goes beyond the muscle-man hero-typecast that he has been called on to play in the movies. He can portray  contemporary roles in a real-world setting, if you count Miami real. Almost every other setting is in a bar or restaurant filled with beautiful people. I have to admit, its hard to hide his physique even when he's wearing a suit..

Strike Back is a fun, shoot'em-up that has the feel of a video game. It follows a team of highly-trained, secret military unit of British intelligence. There's a video-game feel to the show with the high number of villains who get killed in the course of saving the world.

But the appeal to the show are the characters relationships with each other as drawn up by the writers and actors. The show is not above killing off some of its main characters.

Michelle Yeoh

Strike Back is British-produced and in its fourth and last season. There's only so many villains you can kill and dangerous situations that you can escape from.

I mention this show only because this season is set in Thailand, which gives a great reason to cast a lot of Asian actors, including Michelle Yeoh, who can act the hell out of a character that could easily have become your stereotypical villainess, ala Dragon Lady.

Humans, another British import, is about human-like artificial beings who have human feelings and independent thought. Its a chilling allegorical study of race, sex, gender roles and mankind’s fears of technological advancemen, Humans moves at a slower pace than, say Dark Matter, but it is thoughtful and poses a lot of what-if-it-were-me questions.

Gemma Chan

What makes the series noteworthy is Gemma Chan, who plays one of the "synths," short for "synthetic." It's hard to take your eyes off her when she's onscreen, looking hard to detect any trace of human emotion on her face.

The part-Chinese-Scottish actress, an Oxford graduate, is probably best known in Asian/American circles for her take on Hollywood. "Oh, you are more likely to see an alien in a Hollywood film than an Asian woman," she said.

UPDATE: In earlier versions of this post, I neglected to mention Aasif Mandvi who plays Rafiq Massoud.

All in all, it was a good summer for Asian-watching compared to past years when Asians and Pacific Islanders were relegated to the background at best. In the big picture, though, five shows out of the hundreds being aired, AAPI characters are still barely visible in America's living rooms.

But the summer is only a harbinger of things to come. Hollywood, in its normal practice of copying what's hot, was apparently impressed with the ratings of Fresh Off The Boat so that 2015-2016 TV season looks to be a historic season in terms of shows featuring Asians in prominent roles. Watch for my preview for the upcoming season.

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Mindy Kaling's show picked up by Hulu; Dr. Ken's trailer

AS EXPECTED, The Mindy Project has been picked up by Hulu after being cancelled by Fox as the star, Mindy Kaling, tweeted to her fans late last week.

“Mindy has been a beloved member of the Hulu family, so this deal is a natural extension of our relationship,” said Craig Erwich, Hulu’s SVP and head of content. “With so many of her fans already catching up and tuning in to the series on Hulu, we know her millions of fans will be eager to find out what Mindy has in store for the next chapter.”

“I am thrilled ‘The Mindy Project’ has found a new home on Hulu, where so many of our fans are already watching the show. It’s such an exciting place to be,” Kaling said in a statement.

That will please fans of the show which ended its run after three seasons. So many story threads were left up in the air. Another season on Hulu will at least give closure, if not another season.

The streaming video site Hulu has been trying to become an alternative network ala Netflix by picking up some prestige shows. This last season, the popular Community sitcom was able to close out its storylines and its characters graduate from community college. 

Hulu is developing a high-profile slate of originals, including Stephen King’s “11/22/63″ Kennedy-assassination thriller from J.J. Abrams, to attract more subscriptions.

Other recent Hulu pickups include exclusive deals for Fox’s “Empire,” Viacom’s “South Park” and CBS’s “CSI.” In addition, Hulu cut a deal with AMC Networks under which it obtained exclusive rights to The Walking Dead spinoff Fear the Walking Dead.

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Meanwhile, the upcoming ABC series Dr. Ken released its first trailer. Dr. Ken stars Ken Jeong as a doctor caught in a midlife crisis having to choose between a medical practice and becoming a comedian. Hmm. Does that sound familiar? Jeong was a real-life doctor before becoming a comic actor.

RELATED: 'Bye, Mindy; hello Dr. Ken

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Filipina American actress leaves legacy for actors

SUMI HARU - not exactly a household name in America - is one of those actresses who (behind the scenes) fought long and hard for more roles - substantive roles - for Asian actors and paved the way for a new generation of Asian actors to get better roles.

Sumi Sevilla Haru

Born Mildred Sevilla in New Jersey, she died in Los Angeles Oct. 16 at the age of 75.

It seems she spent more time as an activist than she did in front of the camera. In her leadership role with the Screen Actors Guild or marching in picket lines protesting the stereotypical roles handed out to Asian American actors, she was adamant about not settling for the stereotypical roles Hollywood envisioned for her and other Asian actors.  

Here's the story that appeared in the Los Angeles Times about her passing.

I remember interviewing Sumi Haru for an article for the San Francisco-based Philippine News in the late 1970s. She told me then that she took on the name Sumi Haru to make sure the casting directors and producers knew they were hiring an Asian actress. With the name of Sevilla, it would have been easy to be mistaken for a Latina actress. Besides, she said with a smile letting me in on the joke, there were zero roles for Fililpinas.

Here's a video of her explaining why she changed her name from Mildred (Mimi) Sevilla to the more exotic Sumi Haru. 

Ironically, through the Internet, we have a lot of footage of her. We're fortunate to have her work placed on Youtube for historical purposes, particularly this month which is Filipino American Historical Month. Even after all of her advocacy, it is still difficult for Hollywood to see Asian Americans as fully-fleshed out individuals with interesting, significant, heart-rending or action-pounding stories of their own.

Later in her career, she added back her maiden name so she became Sumi Sevilla Haru.

For all you budding Asian American actors and actresses, you are indebted to her. It would be to your benefit to hear Haru's story - her Filipina American story. 

RIP, Mimi SEVILLA. Thank you!

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