Will 'Fresh Off the Boat' be renewed for another season?

ABC

The cast of Fresh Off the Boat marked the show's 100th episode.

ASAM NEWS

The cast of Fresh Off the Boat celebrated the taping of its 100th episode Wednesday at Fox Studios in Los Angeles, reports Just Jared.

They toasted each other and had a special cake cutting. The show is now in its fifth season, another milestone not often reached in today’s “quick to cancel” TV industry culture.

The Daily Mail reports that joining in the celebration were Randall Park, Constance Wu, Hudson Yang, Ian Chen, Forest Wheeler, Lucille Soong, Chelsey Crisp and Ray Wise.

Even though the show celebrated the important milestone, which ensures profitable syndication, its future is still uncertain.

At the end of season four, star Randall Park taped a plea published by USA Today which urged fans to write the network to save the show. It worked.

Unfortunately, ABC moved FOTB's time slot to  8 p.m. Friday nights, a night traditionally with low viewership. Ratings have continued to drop. 

FOTB follows the travails of a Taiwanese American family as they adapt to life in Florida. It is based on the memoirs of restaurateur, chef and author Eddie Huang. It was the first show featuring Asian American leads in over two decades

Huang left the show after the first season over creative differences. He is the host of Huang's World, a travel and food series which will start its fourth season in June.

Views From the Edge contributed to this report.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Aziz Ansari: the new 'voice of a generation?'

Aziz Ansari

AZIZ ANSARI might be blushing a little bit after being named "the voice of his generation" by Variety magazine. Apologies to Lena Dunham, the previous "voice of a generation."

To be clear, that's Variety's opinion, not the opinion of the Indian/American comedian and actor. 

With the success of his television series Master of None, he has certainly connected with the Asian/American audience with little inside jokes only AAPI would get and issues that we talk about among ourselves but are not well known outside of the AAPI community.

The primes example of the latter was the episode about his immigrant parents and the sacrifices they made to assure a better life for their children.

The entertainment magazine says that Ansari is part of geration that sees the importance of the internet, and the importance of streaming services over traditional TV.

"He talks the language of a generation who lives online," Netflix's Ted Sarandos wrote for Variety.

In the second season, a lot of the dialogue between him and other cast members were over their smart phones by using social media.

"He talks the language of a generation who lives online," Netflix's Ted Sarandos wrote for Variety.

“Master of None is almost nothing like the show that he pitched to us," writes Netflix's chief content officer. "It is better. He is better. 

"Confidence is not the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of the character traits of a comedian, but Aziz is confident in every aspect of his work, and at least on the surface, it would seem in life too. He knows his material, he knows his audience and he knows how to connect his material and his audience with a remarkable hit rate," wrote Sarandos.

"With his track record, there are no ideas from Aziz that I can dismiss without long consideration. Being right and being funny are sometimes in conflict, but not for Aziz. He is right about when to go for the laugh and when to go for heartstrings and does both like a 'master.'”

"Voice of a generation" is a heavy crown to wear, but in one other way, Variety's proclamation may be  about the changing demographics of our country. Ansari's views and words as a person of color reflects what is slowly happening in the U.S., to the consternation of those who would prefer the old status quo.

___________________________________________________________

'Bye Johanna & Chip: Couple picks family over fame

The Gaines family at their ranch in Waco, Texas.

ONE OF the most beloved Asian/Americans on TV is ending her popular show Fixer Upper on HGTV.

Joanna Gaines and her husband Chip are calling it quits after five seasons of showing America how to make your home more efficient, beautiful and comfortable.

The Korean/American designer and her husband announced their intention to end their popular show on her blog At Home on Tuesday. They say that this coming season, their fifth, will be their last.

They intend to "take a breather" from the hectic lifestyle and their empire the show has helped spawn, including their Magnolia Home line, the Magnolia Market at the Silos in Waco (which brings in thousands upon thousands of visitors per week) or their New York Times best-selling book, The Magnolia Story. They also just announced a new line with Target coming this fall, called Hearth & Hand, among other projects.

The couple never wanted their children Drake, 12, Ella, 10, Duke, 9, and Emmie Kay, 7, to grow up in the spotlight.

“They’re so young, and we want to give them the chance to have a normal childhood,” said Joanna, 39. “Family is the most important thing in the world.”

Fixer Upper has been a smash hit for HGTV since it debuted in 2013, earning 3.4 million viewers for the Season 4 premiere last year. This announcement will surely come as a shock to many fans, who have religiously followed Chip and Jo’s design work, marriage and family life with their four children in Waco, Texas.

HGTV

Chip and Joanna Gaines are ended their show 'Fixer Upper' on their own terms.

Below is their announcement:

“Though our ‘Fixer Upper’ chapter is coming to a close, we aren’t done with Waco. We aren’t done renovating homes. We aren’t done designing things to make your home your favorite place on earth. We aren’t done working towards restoration in all things or helping out those who could use a hand. In fact, in all of these of things, we are just getting started,” they added in the statement.

It is with both sadness and expectation that we share the news that season 5 of Fixer Upper will be our last. While we are confident that this is the right choice for us, it has for sure not been an easy one to come to terms with. Our family has grown up alongside yours, and we have felt you rooting us on from the other side of the screen. How bittersweet to say goodbye to the very thing that introduced us all in the first place. 

This has been an amazing adventure! We have poured our blood, sweat and tears into this show. We would be foolish to think we can go and go and fire on all cylinders and never stop to pause. Our family is healthy and our marriage has honestly never been stronger. This has nothing to do with a fraudulent skincare line or anything else you’ll inevitably read. This is just us recognizing that we need to catch our breath for a moment. Our plan is to take this time to shore up and strengthen the spots that are weak, rest the places that are tired and give lots of love and attention to both our family and our businesses. 

We are really, really proud of season 5. We laid it all on the field and didn’t hold anything back. We think it’s the perfect finale to this amazing journey we’ve been on. Season 5 begins in November and Behind the Design will follow shortly after. There’s so much good, new stuff coming your way!

Though our Fixer Upper chapter is coming to a close, we aren’t done with Waco. We aren’t done renovating homes. We aren’t done designing things to make your home your favorite place on earth. We aren’t done working towards restoration in all things or helping out those who could use a hand. In fact, in all of these things, we are just getting started.

Who knows what the future holds, but we’re excited for whatever is around the bend and in the meantime, we will definitely be staying in touch.

We will forever be thankful for HGTV and this opportunity of a lifetime. We are also thankful to our production company, Highnoon Entertainment and our amazing producers and crew on the ground here in Waco. We are grateful for them and for you. Thank you for sharing life with us and for the continued support. Thank you for having our backs! Thank you for caring about these homes and these families and the things that we care so much about. 

Really, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you. 

Chip and Jo

One of the endearing qualities of their show and helped boost its popularity is that viewers saw their home remodeling as a metaphor for marriage. They demonstrated this in the way they tease each other followed by looks of disbelief at the other's decisions or actions. The way they resolve differences and in the end compliment each other's work was a guidebook to having a successful, working marriage with respect and love.

 In a secondary statement, they said they don't want their legions of fans to misconstrue their actions and want to put to rest rumors that their marriage is in trouble. If anything, they say, their marriage "has never been stronger," the couple said.

And if their fame and fortune suddenly came to a halt, well, they’d be OK with that too. “We’ve got everything that our hearts desire,” Chip said. “I don’t see how we could be happier.”
_______________________________________________________________________________