Wave of Asian/American roles on TV continues into new season

NOW THAT the Emmys have been handed out and Master of None deservedly won a golden statuette for the writing of Aziz Ansari and Alan Wang, its time to look at this year's crop of new television shows in another round of "Find the AAPI actor."

It would be difficult to top the 2015-16 television season in terms of the unprecedented boom  growth of the AAPI presence. With the return of Agents of Shield and the renewal of Fresh Off the Board, that show was joined by Dr. Ken, Master of None, Quantico, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Badlands, the surprise Netflix hit The Man In The High Castle and the hard-to-ignore spectacle of Marco Polo with its cast of hundreds. 

RELATED:

• Asian/American TV revolution is happening
• The AAPI revolution on television continues into the new year

Last year was really a historic year in the annals of AAPI entertainment with over 60 AAPI actors appearing in prominent reoccurring speaking roles among the fall shows. As the year went on, mid-season premieres brought us more additions: Superstore with Nico Santos and Nicole Bloom and Conrad Ricamora became a regular cast member in How to Get Away With Murder.

Half-dozen or so shows featuring AAPI actors that debuted in 2016 didn't make the cut for a second season, but we have 22 new shows either starring Asian/Americans or at least giving them roles of substance.

So it is no surprise that the 2016-17 TV season may not as precedent-setting as last year, but with the new shows and roles, the wave of diversity that made last year so notable will continue. 

Keanu Reeves tries out television in 'Swedish Dicks,' but also eyes a mini-series perhaps in 2017

Swedish Dicks, Viaplay
This story about a pair of Swedish detectives takes place in Los Angeles. It will feature A-lister Keanu Reeves' first live recurring role on television where he is signed to play the TV stuntman/buddy of one of the detectives. Also in the cast is Vivian Bang in the role of Sun as one of the regular cast members. Unfortunately, the debut of the show is unknown at this point and we only have the assurances of the producers who say it will air later this year.
“I love how progressive the whole show is," says Reeves, part Chinese and part Hawaiian. "The scripts are amazing and it was great to have the opportunity to work with Peter Stormare again.”

Danny Pudi with Vanessa Hudgens in NBC's 'Powerless.'

Powerless, NBC
Vanessa Hudgens, like Reeves, has been able to play cross-over roles with ease, most notably in the High School Musical franchise, and recently, in the live TV production of Grease, in which she drew rave reviews. She'll play Emily Locke, the lead role, in Powerless, about a team that cleans up after super heroes who leave behind a mess while trying to save the world. Danny Pudi will play Teddy, Emily's best friend.

Will Yun Kee

Falling Water, USA
Will Yun Kee will play one of the three dreamers whose subconsciousness holds clues to their fate and the fate of the world. Cindy Cheung joins Kee in the USA channel's show.

Designated Survivor, ABC
Maggie Q never seems to have a problem finding a job. She's back along with Kal Penn in a thriller tale when the President, most of his cabinet and Congress are killed in a terrorist bombing. Keifer Sutherland plays the Cabinet member squirreled away just in the event this scenario actually happens.

Gilmore Girls, Netflix

Brenda Song

Keiko Agena will reprise her role as Lane Kim, young Rory's best friend in the long-anticipated return of this popular show on Netflix. The show also stars Lauren Graham and Alexis Biedel in the title roles of this cult classic

Pure Genius, CBS
Brenda Song as Angie Cheng and Reshma Shetty as Dr. Talaikha Channarayapatra will be part of the ensemble cast in the Silicon Valley drama.

Berlin Station, EPIX
Tamlyn Tomita stars as Sandra Abe, in this espionage drama. Abe is a quiet presence leading the efficient operation of Berlin Station while having an affair with her boss, a CIA operative.

Jesse Rath

No Tomorrow, CW
Jesse Rath, an Indian/Canadian, is the boyfriend (at least for a while) of the lead character Evie in this dramedy about the pending end of the world. Sarayu Blue plays Kareema, Evie's sarcastic co-worker, who is a droll nihilist.

Chance, Hulu
“Chance” is described as a provocative psychological thriller that focuses on a forensic neuropsychiatrist played by the popular Hugh Laurie. Playing his loyal assistant will be Greta Lee.

The Great Indoors, CBS

Christine Ko plays Emma, one of those annoying millennials who is an expert on social media (is that redundant?) in this sitcom about millennial vs. anyone over 30 in a magazine setting.

Anthony Ruivivar

Frequency, CW
Filipino/Chinese/American Anthony Ruivivar portrays Stan Marano, deputy chief of police in the show based on the movie in which a detective is able to  contact her late father via an old ham radio.

The Good Place, NBC
Jameela Jamil plays Tahani Al-Jamil, a fellow deceased wealthy philanthropist who traveled extensively around the world. Jacinto plays Jianyu, a phone "Buddhist monk" who’s actually an aspiring Filipino EDM DJ from northeastern Florida

Pitch, Fox

Mark-Paul Gosalaar, who is part Indonesian, plays catcher Mike Lawson and Tim Jo as Eliot, the San Diego Padre's publicist in this story about baseball's first female pitcher. Comparisons to Friday Night Live make this one of the shows to check out.

Sandrine Holt (Ho)

McGyver, CBS

Oh, those Canadians! They're taking over! Sandrine Holt, another Chinese/Canadian is making waves in Hollywood. Her latest role as Patricia Thornton, an ex-field agent of a mysterious intelligence agency who doesn't hesitate getting in on the McGyver action.

Mary + Jane, MTV

Kosha Patel plays Jenee on MTV's Mary + Jane, a comedy about two 20-something best friends who run an all-female weed delivery service in Los Angeles.

Van Helsing, SyFy

Terry Chen plays a leader of a group of  humans in the dystopian adventures of the granddaughter of vampire killer Vanessa Van Helsing played by Kelly Overton.

Katrina Law

Training Day, CBS

Taiwanese/American Katrina Law left Arrow to take on the role of Detective Rebecca Lee, an LAPD officer with the LAPD’s Special Investigation Section (S.I.S.). who looks up to Bill Paxton's character, the morally ambiguous Frank Rourke.

The MIck, Fox
The Mick follows Mackenzie a brash, two-bit hustler from Rhode Island who must assume guardianship of her sister’s three high-maintenance children. Susan Park plays Liz.

Timeless, NBC
Sakina Jaffrey, an Indian/American, plays the leader of the scientists in this time-traveling adventure show.

Gotham, CW
Jaime Chung joins the regular cast the returning Gotham,which tells the story of the city that spurred Bruce Wayne to don his cape and hood. As journalist Valerie Vale, she joins a cast that already has B.D. Wong as a regularly occurring character 

Lilan Bowden and Peyton Elizabeth Lee play sisters in 'Andi Mack.'

Andi Mack, Disney
We look forward to the third television show featuring an Asian/American family in Andi Mack. It stars a trio of Asian/American actresses including 12-year old Peyton Elizabeth Lee in the title role, veteran Lauren Tom as the mother and Lilan Bowden will play her troubled sister. The series has started filming in Utah and will have a winter debut in 2017. With the Huangs of Fresh Off the Boat and the Parks of Dr. Ken, the Macks will be the third show centering on an AAPI family.

Sometime later this season ...

Rain
Keanu Reeves as a half-Japanese detective in the mini-series Rain may ease the pain of what may be the loss of Steven Yeun of The Walking Dead. (This has not been confirmed, but if the TV show follows the comics, it's bye-bye to everyone's favorite pizza delivery guy.) In Rain, Reeves plays a war-veteran-turned-assassin in this thriller. He is also the producer.

TGIF FEATURE: Premiering Sunday, 'Into The Badlands' starring an Asian/American badass

Stephen Fung and Daniel Wu provides insight into their action-packed show' Into the Badlands.'

FINALLY, Into The Badlands, is here, premiering Sunday (Nov. 15) starring California-raised Daniel Wu, who may become the next big Asian/American action hero.

No yellow-face here. No eyes taped into a squint. No accents or speaking broken English. No mysterious sayings open to all kinds of misinterpretation. 

Anticipation for this AMC production has been building for a year and reached a crescendo with the previews at ComicCon in San Diego. Wu, who after years of starring in over 60 movies in Hong Kong, has come back home to see if a the tastes of the American television audience is ready for a heroic Asian badass.

Well ... OK, he's skilled in the martial arts. Some stereotypes are tough to kill. But he's a good guy. Or, at least he wants to be a good guy. A bad guy wanting to be a good guy. Something like that.

Be thankful for what he's not. Wu's Sunny is not: a sex-starved buffoon, a second banana (no pun intended), a nerd, a white guy's best friend or the anonymous Asian guy lurking in the background.

Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Wu looked up to some of martial arts’ biggest stars. “As a Chinese-American kid growing up here, there was not many role models I could look up to on the big screen,” he said. “The ones that appeared were Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li. Those were the guys that inspired me to want to learn martial arts.”

Wu, along with fellow executive producer Stephen Fung, serves as fight director for the series.

Although best known for his action films - and Badlands does nothing to dispel that - it may be a recently released romantic comedy that will bring him the to the attention of Hollywood producers and writers. Go Away Mr. Tumour, is a gigantic box-office hit in China, and it is also China's entry in the foreign-language Oscar category.

"It's not at all my objective to become an Asian-American star," says Wu. He says it only occurred to him recently that he's now become that rare animal on American television: an Asian lead. "This will only be significant in proving that American tastes are evolving if (Into the Badlands) succeeds," he says.

The six-episode martial-arts series is set in a post-apocalyptic world where the last traces of civilization reside in territories controlled by power-mad feudal barons. Working for one of these is cold-blooded assassin Sunny (Wu), who embarks on a spiritual journey with a teenager, M.K. (Aramis Knight), in tow. (Although the role of M.K. was not intentionally written for an Asian actor, it turns out that Aramis is half-Pakistani.)

We will have to wait and see if Sunny gets the girl. Any white hero eventually ends up with the girl, right? Asian characters don't follow that path in U.S. productions. The danger of martial arts-based characters - especially those played by Asian actors - is that they are one-dimensional fighters and nothing else; essentially emotionally and physically neutered.

Let's hope that Wu, who is the show's executive producer, has enough moxie and pull with the AMC to allow Sunny evolve into a more complex, multifaceted character. That would help the push the show beyond the kung fu genre.

“It can’t be just a martial arts show,” says Wu. “That’s a very narrow niche. 

"Just like what ‘The Walking Dead’ did for the zombie genre, you have to elevate it to another level so an audience can get into it. It’s not zombies chomping on people. We’ve seen that since the ‘60s. It’s the same thing with us. We’re trying to create a really compelling story, around the martial arts.”

###

Asians on TV: Updates galore on survivors Glenn, Josh, Amy and Tim

Wait until next week to find out about Glenn
WELL, that was a disappointment. After building up the cliffhanger on the fate of Glenn in The Walking Dead, we instead were treated to a 90-minute backstory on how another character, Morgan Jones, attained his bo-fighting skills. 

The last show we had of Glenn was gut-wrenching.

Don't get me wrong, Sunday's episode was fascinating and the actors in the "Here's Not Here" episode reminds us how high-calibre the talent is in this show.

If you remember the ending of last week's episode, the character Glenn Rhee, apparently the only Asian to survive in th zombie apocalypse, appeared to be the lunch of a herd of zombies. 

Fandom was aghast that one of their favorite characters was meeting an untimely demise contrary to the comic book storyline.

Hints and clues from the production team seem to point to other possible scenarios in which our hero, Glenn, miraculously survives. 

RELATED: Did Glenn just die?

Now we apparently have to tune next week to see what happened to good-guy Glenn. However, I wouldn't be surprised if the creators still don't answer the question, "Did Glenn survive?" There's so much time-jumping this season, we might have to wait until the end of the season before we get an answer.

***

Two Filipino/Americans in The Voice's Top 20

Tony Atlas

SURVIVAL, seems to be the theme this week.

Amy Vachal, whom we have written about earlier,  and Filipino/American Tim Atlas, a native of San Jose, California lost their Knockout rounds last week on the reality singing contest The Voice. 

However, both were picked up by other coaches. 

Amy, who hails from New Jersey by way of Brooklyn, N.Y., was stolen by coach Adam Levine and Pharrell jumped at the chance to have Tim  join his team.

While Amy has received comparisons to the soothing sound of Nora Jones, its hard to pinpoint the indie-rocker Tim Atlas. He has a sound that is uniquely his own ... and a growing fan base because of his smoldering good looks, which could serve him well if he continues into next week's competition.

Amy Vachal

The competition gets more intense and more competitive in the Top 20. The two will compete Monday or Tuesday and the coaches will decide who will continue. The following week will start the Live Rounds during which viewers get to vote for their favorites.

RELATED: Amy survives Knockout

Neither of the singers have thus far demonstrated any of the high notes or emotion-generating styles that audiences seem to favor in these competitions. Both are low-key easy-on-the-ears performers favoring ballads.

Tune in 8 tonight and 9 tomorrow on NBC to see if either of these Asian/American singers survive.

If either, or both, of the competitors make it into next week's live rounds, we'll have to call on the demonstrated power of the Asian/American community's social networkers to generate votes to support them.

***

Will Josh survive the antics of his 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend'?

Continuing our survival theme: Josh Chan (Vincent Rodriguez), the Filipino/American character in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend - the best new television show nobody is watching - is the recipient of the unwanted affection of the title character, Rebecca Bunch played to perfection by Rachel Bloom. 

It's a musical comedy in which the performers break out into song and dance. Rodriguez has not been able to show his musical talents until this number in which he plays all four members of a boy band.

Rodriguez is from Daly City, California, a city noted for its high percentage of Filipino residents. He majored in theater arts and was in the cast of Here Lies Love, the smash Broadway musical about Imelda Marcos, the wife of the Philippines dictator.

Watch Crazy Ex-Girlfriend on Monday nights on the CW.

###

Asians on TV: Why you should be watching 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend;' Asian male stereotype gets beat down

ONE OF THE best new shows on television is kind of funny ... kind of interesting ... kind of unusual ... kind of crazy, but wholly entertaining.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend enters the season as one of themes talked about hits in the industry. The question is, will industry buzz translate into audience viewership?

Crazy ex-Girlfriend (on CW)  is so different in so many ways, that may be its downfall, but it is also that same quality that made me record it on my DVR every Monday night.

For me, the biggest draw factor is that its leading man is a Filipino/American: Josh Chan played by Daly City-raised Vincent Rodriguez III. Josh is the object of obsession for the ex-girlfriend Rebecca Bunch played by break-out star Rachel Bloom.

Bloom, who is also the show's producer, is the vortex of the musical comedy which centers around her pursuit of Josh. She sings, she dances, she's a comedic actress whose career is certain to blossom even if this show doesn't take off.

Yes, it is a musical comedy and the audience might have difficulty suspending belief when  performers break into song and dance.That might explain the show's slow start.

However, like all good musicals, the musical numbers are interwoven into the storyline so they're essential to understand the characters' motives.

Vincent Rodriguez, romantic lead

There was much ado last year when we all hoped that John Cho would be the first Asian/American romantic leading man on television and we were all disappointed when his show, Selfie, was cancelled prematurely. Unlike Selfie, wherein the lead characters are equals and each struggles with the budding relationship and we had hoped, ending in love; Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, as the title suggests pursues the Asian dude, the object of her love/obsession.

RELATED: Bruce Lee & Manny Pacquiao knock out the Asian male stereotype

Almost without fanfare, (the CW must have a low budget for fanfare) along comes the Crazy Ex-Girlfriend introducing us to Josh Chan as played by Rodriguez.

“There’s such a crazy parallel between my character, Josh Chan, and who I am as a person,” he told the Inquirer, a Philippine newspaper. “From Josh’s personality, his family and friends, and how he grew up–it’s kind of scary.”

Josh Chan is basically “a SoCal Asian bro,” said Rodriguez. Coming from a family of mixed parents (Filipino, Chinese, and Spanish, just like Rodriguez), Josh–the one that got away–is also finding his place in reality and romance. 

“You’re going to meet Josh Chan, find out that he’s Filipino, and see his family values,” Rodriguez shared. “The Chan family dynamic is very true to form–it feels very real to my own family.”

Therein is my excitement. In a roundabout way, you can say the Filipino/American Chans will be the third Asian/American family portrayed on American television this season, joining  the Taiwanese/American family of Fresh Off The Boat and the Chinese/American family of Dr. Ken. 

RELATED: Asians on TV - A revolution is happening

Rodriguez' role is more than just being "the Asian guy" on a television show. It was not a color-blind casting where the best talent gets the role. From the start, the love-interest was always intended to be an Asian boyfriend.

“We always wanted the male lead to be Asian because I grew up with Asian bros, and I hadn’t seen that represented on TV,” said Bloom, who is also one of the show's creators.

YES! ... bro.'

The 26-year old Rodriguez, who has extensive stage experience in Here Lies Love and pre-Broadway show Hunchback of Notre Dame, will get a chance to exhibit his considerable talents in the third episode of the season this Monday, Oct. 26 when he'll be featured in a musical number.

It is so unique, clever, entertaining, and really funny in a cutting-edge sort of way. For us Asian/Americans, it is also historic. If you haven't seen Crazy Ex-Girlfriend yet, you owe it to yourself to watch it, bro.'

Spoiler Alert: Vincent Rodriguez character gets to make up a boy-band all by himself this Monday
 in episode 3 of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

  

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.

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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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An Open Letter to Asian Americans

Emma Stone. Asian? 

Ed's Notes: The following is an open letter to Asian Americans from Singapore-born Beverly Murray, who now writes out of Miami. For more on her edgy insights, check out her website at http://www.backthatsassup.com. Photos and captions are my additions.

DEAR Asian-Americans:

You already know the drill.

We live in a country where every time we turn on the TV, hardly anyone looks like us. No one in the movies has looked like us since we were kids. Onscreen, the ones who do look like us are either math nerds, asexual corporate drones, or prostitutes. We were stoked in the mid-90’s that finally, finally we were going to get a TV family that physically resembled ours. Of course, that show was abruptly cancelled, and we’ve had to wait another 21 years for a comparable Asian TV family.

Twenty. One. Fucking. Years. Welcome to our reality.

In a world that is becoming more interconnected by the day, where movie blockbusters and hit TV sitcoms export American soft power to the world, where diplomacy is carried out – not just within embassies – but vis-à-vis pop cultural icons and entertainers – Asian-Americans are invisible.

This phenomenon is especially disturbing when you look at the statistics: Asians are the fastest growing ethnic group in the US. Our households outspend the average American family by 19% annually, and are more likely than the average American to spend more money on name brands – by a whopping 29%. We’re avid internet shoppers, spending almost double of what the average US population spends annually.

We need writers of all kinds such as 
Pulitzer Prize winning journalist
Alex Tizon, author of Big, Little Man

In short, we’re the perfect consumers. You’d think it’d make sense for TV networks and media companies to devote more time to Asian perspectives – but no. Year after year, we faithfully flock to opening nights of movies that reflect someone else’s narrative. Not ours. Not even close.

Which brings me to my next point. Unless you’ve been hiding a rock for the past week, you’ve probably heard about the Emma Stone kerfuffle.

You know, Emma Stone? Blonde hair, blue eyes, pale skin, freckles. She’s playing the lead role in Aloha, a Cameron Crowe movie. As a half-Asian woman. Named Allison Ng. Who lives in Hawaii. A state which, despite being 60% ethnically Asian/Pacific Islander, has somehow been personified in an all-white cast. The fact that my mom’s maiden name is “Ng” is just icing on this giant ironic shitcake.

(To recap: Emma Stone, half-Asian woman, movie “all about Hawaiian cultural heritage”, all-white cast.)

So who’s to blame for this? Our first instinct is point fingers at Hollywood, and sure, the outrage is entirely warranted. Hollywood bears the brunt of culpability, because their entrenched myopia and inability to embrace our narratives – as rich and diverse as they are – has directly resulted in our pathetic representation in the media. To be fair, Asian-American groups have raised a huge stink about Aloha. And box offices around the country are hearing it, loud and clear. Heading into its second week of release, Aloha has raked in a paltry $10 million – Crowe’s worst movie to date. On the other hand, Rotten Tomatoes currently ranks Aloha at an abysmal 18%, so there is a good chance that this movie has managed to royally suck all by itself.

But is that the full story? Is Big, Bad Hollywood solely responsible for this void? Does that really explain why we aren’t better represented in the media?

My Asian brothers and sisters – you diverse, multi-colored, heterogeneous, polyglot group of sexy bitches. I need you to listen up. Part of this shit is our fault.

We're not saying wear your race on your sleeve,
but it would help a lot if major stars are more upfront about their mixed
Asian heritage. Yes, I'm talking about you Keanu Reeves. 

I’m talking to you, Asian parents. I see you with your flash cards, violin lessons, piano recitals, math drills, Kumon-everything. Quite frankly, it makes me want to scream. Not because I don’t believe in a rigorous education, or in setting high academic standards for kids. But because I’ve seen this dog-and-pony-show with my own eyes, way too many times. I know where it all leads. So many of you pay lip service to “encouraging creativity”, and sure, you’re proud of the odd watercolor painting here and there. And you’d probably come around if your child wanted to become a professional musician. But it’d better one of the traditionally prestigious orchestral positions (read: a cellist, and not, say a drummer in a punk band). You and I both know that within our communities, if little Kimmie wanted to study sculpture at a small, Midwestern, liberal arts college – 3/4 of you would freak the fuck out. We may not talk about this in public, but behind closed doors, away from “the other” Americans, many of us have acknowledged that this is an old, old record that we’ve heard in various iterations.

Justin Lin boldly went where few have gone. He is one of the few 
Asian Americans to break into the directorial ranks of Hollywood. He's 
currently helming the next movie installment of the Star Trek franchise.

I’m looking at you too, Asian kids. I’m stoked that you’re flocking to pre-med, engineering, and computer science programs. If this is truly what excites you – go for the gold. (And expect a call from me later – I hate dealing with the Apple Genius Bar). But for the rest of you who are secret artists, actors, writers, creatives. The weird ones. The black sheep of your families. The freaks who have always marched to the beat of their own drum. We need you. We need you now, more than ever. We need your names in lights, your stories on bookshelves, your art on display for all to see. Believe me, I know what kind of pressure you’re under. Most of us are from immigrant families. Some of us have known crushing poverty in our home countries. And if we haven’t, there is always that Asian perspective which holds that the needs of the group collective outweigh the desires of any one individual. We buy into the notion that the only acceptable route to the American Dream is via one of five career options. It’s a lie. And if you don’t reach back to yank out that apparatus that connects you to the Asian-American Matrix, you’ll live in crushing spiritual imprisonment, even as you peer out from your gilded cage.

Do it. Share your art. Do your thang, even if your parents tell you that entertainers have no future in States, that the safer option is to become a CPA. Do it even if you think you’ll fail spectacularly, because you don’t have the right look, the right build, the right whatfuckingever for audiences. Do it especially if it makes your soul sing, because you do the world no favors by hiding your light. It took me decades to realize this. And none too soon, because as we speak, even the publishing world is studiously whitewashing minority narratives.

Ruthie Anne Miles, Korean American actress/singer, joined a small club
of Asian American performers when she won a Tony award

 last week for her role in The King & I.

And if you’re not an artist? You sure as fuck are still a consumer, my Asian friend, and a discerning Grade A one at that. We don’t have to continue settling for movies and sitcoms with people who look nothing like us, whose experiences and voices are not our own. We can’t just politely ask and wait – we have to demand a seat at the table – call out networks and studios when they deploy another Tired Asian Caricature, and reward the progressive ones with our support, financial or otherwise. Support homegrown artists. It’s time for male Asian characters reclaim their swagger, lest we’re subject to another Hangover sequel with Ken Jeong’s naked ass and his inability to get laid; time for Asian women to be something other than modern day Suzy Wongs, auxiliary to whichever white heros they’re simpering over at present. Time for us to be an integral part of the zeitgeist.

Is this too much to ask? Don’t we have bigger fish to fry? Fuck that. All we have in the end are stories, stories that are ours, stories that deserve to be told in our own unique voices.

It’s what our forefathers would have wanted for us.

Originally posted at BACK THAT SASS UP on Sunday, June 07, 2015 AT 11:53 AM PDT.

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RELATED: Why Aloha means 'forget it!'

It's awards show season, but not for Asian Americans

Why all the Oscar's acting nominees are all white 

 And we close with Bruno Mars, who isn't afraid to represent.

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