Aziz Ansari rumored to return with 3rd season of 'Master of None'

 

Restaurants and food play key roles in Master of None featuring Aziz Ansari and Rachel Wood
in the first season of the Netflix comedy.

It has been four years since the Emmy-winning Master of None ended its second season with the third season uncertain.

Now there are strong rumors that the Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang Netflix comedy might be in the works.

Chortle, a entertainment publication in Great Britain, reported that production on the next season of Master of None began in London last Spring but the coronavirus pandemic put all work on the series on hold.

When the series debuted in 2015, it was hailed for its sensitive and realistic depiction of Asians and Asian Americans. The "Parents" episode surrounding the lead characters' relationships with their families won a writing Emmy for Ansari and Yang.

The series told the travails of a single Asian man, a struggling actor, and his ethnically diverse group of friends.

After the second season, Ansari said he needed to take a break and that it might take a while for the third season to appear. 

“I don’t know if we’re going to do a season three. I wouldn’t be surprised if I needed a long break before I could come back to it,” he told Vulture.

“I’ve got to become a different guy before I write a third season, is my personal thought, I’ve got to get married or have a kid or something. I don’t have anything else to say about being a young guy being single in New York eating food around town all the time.”

In 2018, in the midst of the Me Too movement, Ansari was accused of sexual misconduct after which he basically disappeared from the social scene in Los Angeles and New York.

He did a Netflix special last year in which he addressed the accusations and started doing standup gigs around the country.

Ansari now lives in London with his girl friend and the third season is supposedly set in that city, according to Eater-London, which speculates which restaurants the Asian American comedian will feature in the series.

Chortle also adds that Naomi Ackie, a British actress who featured in Star Wars: Episode 9 as Jannah and on Netflix’s The End of the F***ing World as Boonie will have a starring role. They don’t reveal her exact role but predicts it will be as a love interest with Lena Waithe from the previous two seasons returning.

The fly in the ointment -- is that Netflix hasn't officially confirmed the series' return.

Will Aziz Ansari's character Dev Shah's delightful parents make an appearance? Will Dev find a real acting gig? Will Dev find true love? Will Master of None have a 3rd season? Let's hope the rumors are true.

Let's hope that the rumors are true. We could use a little levity.

Alan Yang's partners with Ad Council to create powerful PSA: 'Fight the Virus. Fight the Bias'

ASAM NEWS

Fed up with anti-Asian harassment, Master of None co-creator and Tigertail director Alan Yang and the Ad Council have teamed up to release the video, "Fight the Virus, Fight the Bias."

The public service announcement features Asian Americans from all walks of life talking about how they’ve personally experienced anti-Asian hate during the pandemic.

“I’m honored to be part of this campaign and to help tell real stories of API experiences in America, especially during a time that’s difficult for so many people across the country,” said Yang. “I hope to do my best to represent our community and show that we’re stronger when we support each other and share our experiences honestly and compassionately with others.”

AsAmNews has documented the surge in hateful and racist incidents faced by Asian Americans during the surge in coronavirus. References by the White House to the virus as the kung flu, the Wuhan virus and the China virus have only added fuel to the fire, according to many Asian American community leaders.

The current pandemic has triggered an increase in racism, scapegoating and bigotry, particularly towards AAPI populations, perpetuating the harmful stereotypes that the community has fought for so long to dismantle. According to a new survey conducted by Pew Research Center, Asian Americans are among one of the marginalized groups who are more likely to face racial bias and discrimination during the pandemic. 

Close to one-in-three Asian adults (31%) report being victim to slurs or jokes because of their race or ethnicity since the outbreak began and a majority of Asian Americans (58%) admit it is happening more frequently now than before the pandemic.
“At a time when hateful rhetoric and racially-fueled discrimination are plaguing the API community, it’s critical that we all play a role in dispelling the racist misconceptions and actions pervading our country,” said Ad Council President and CEO Lisa Sherman. 

“Amid this pandemic and the stresses associated, nobody should have to also endure the added layer of fear that comes from this surge in racial violence and harassment. We hope this film will inspire Americans to rethink their biases and help put an end to the wave of racism facing the API community."

TGIF Feature: 'Tigertail' saga launches today on Netflix

 Kunjue Li, left, and Hong-Chi Lee play a reluctant couple in the immigrant story 'Tigertail.'

Most Hollywood movies about immigrants coming to the United States have newcomers cming from the East, whether it be Sweden, Ireland, Italy or Africa. Tigertail is tone of the few to tell about the journey across the Pacific Ocean of immigrants coming from the West -- specifically Taiwan.

Written by Alan Yang, who is better known for his work on comedies like Parks & Recreation, The Good Place and Master of None, tells a tale loosely based on his own family. The film, which takes place over the timespan of generations, is streaming on Netflix starting today, Friday, April 10.

Yang conceived the project before the 2018 success of Crazy Rich Asians that opened the doors for more Asian-themed subjects. But like that groundbreaking movie, it has an all-Asian cast and much of the movie is spoken in Taiwanese and Mandarin.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Yang expounds on the personal nature of his movie that means so much to him:

The movie really is focused on a character [Pin-Jui] inspired by my dad who grew up in Taiwan, and grew up in pretty extreme poverty, and then worked in a factory and had to make a lot of hard choices before deciding to come to America in search for a better life. And it examines his relationship with a series of women in his life, from a girlfriend to the woman who ends up becoming his wife to his daughter, and it speaks to the regret that immigrants experience when they come to a new country. And it speaks to the difficulty all of us have at being honest and communicating and expressing our vulnerabilities, and in this specific case, his relationship with his daughter.

So it really is, in some ways, also the capsulation of my grappling with my own heritage and coming to terms with it in my personal life. Because I grew up in an area of California without a lot of other Asian people, and I never felt particularly Asian and I wanted to fit in and hang out with the other kids and do anything I could to be the same as opposed to different. But as I became a writer and director and producer and all these things, and had the opportunity to make my own shows and movies, I realized that the most powerful thing you have as a filmmaker is your point of view. And so denying that part of yourself is almost like chopping off one of your arms. It really became integral to my point of view and such a huge part of making this movie.

'Tigertail' trailer hints at an epic tale of an immigrant's journey, acculturation & regret.

Hollywood stalwart Tzi Ma plays the central character, the older Pin-Jui ,looking back on his life.

ASAM NEWS

Fans may be familiar with Alan Yang’s work on the hit TV series Parks and Recreation or Master of None, the latter of which won him an Emmy. But for his latest project, Tigertail, Yang ventured back into the world of film.

On Thursday, Netflix dropped the official trailer for the Tigertail, which is written, produced and directed by Yang. The film is set to debut on the streaming service on April 10.

An epic drama that spans continents and decades from 1950s Taiwan to present-day New York City, Tigertail follows the life of an impoverished Taiwanese factory worker who leaves his homeland seeking new opportunities. 

According to an official synopsis, the young Pin-Jui (Hong-Chi Lee) decides to leave his homeland and the woman he loves to go to America. But years of monotonous work and a loveless arranged marriage leave an older Pin-Jui (Tzi Ma) a shadow of his former free-spirited self.

Unable to sympathize with his daughter Angela (Christine Ko) and at risk of living out his retirement in solitude, he must reconnect with his past in order to finally build the life he once dreamed of having.

According to Vulture, Tigertail began as a 250-page script with multiple points of view before its focus was narrowed down to the central character, Pin-Jui. 

In the course of editing, Yang said the movie told him what it wanted to be. And he went with it – even cutting out scenes of John Cho, who is an executive producer for the film. 

Yang described the final product to Vulture as his “fever dream” of how he imagines his own father’s immigration story, fictionalized and “emphatically not” his father’s story in some ways. Still, Yang said working on the film affected their relationship, in addition to his own understanding of what it meant to be Taiwanese and Asian. 

“Where I grew up, being an Asian person was something that was almost seen as an impediment when I was a kid,” Yang said. “When you’re a little kid, being set apart is not necessarily the thing you want. It’s not necessarily a strength. But when you get older, and especially when you’re lucky enough like I have been to be able to start creating your own movies and shows, the stuff that sets you apart is the stuff that’s gold.”

Tigertail also stars actors Hayden Szeto, James Saito and. Supporting cast members in the multi-generational story include Joan Chen, Yo-Hsing Fang, Kue-Mei Yang, Kunjue Li, and Fiona Fu.

Netflix slates drama on Asian American immigrant family multi-generational journey

Alan Yang is one of Hollywood's busier producers.

JOHN CHO, who stars in the just-released Searching, will have a lead role in Tigertail, an upcoming Netflix feature from screenwriter and director Alan Yang that starts shooting next week.

Tigertail “focuses on two people’s poor life choices and the consequences of those decisions, exploring themes of regret, longing, passion and repression while spanning continents and generations, from 1950s Taiwan to present-day New York City.” 

The cast for the movie includes Arrival’s Tzi Ma and The Great Indoors’ Christine Ko. 

Although the movie that starts shooting next week was already in pre-produciton before Crazy Rich Asians opened, the latter's box office and critical success should help the project's marketability.

Tigertail should also beat Crazy Rich Asians' sequel to the screen; Warner Bros. is moving ahead with a sequel, but hasn’t officially greenlit it yet.

Yang won an Emmy for writing for Netflix’s hit comedy Master of None, which he co-created with Aziz Ansari. 

Tigertail, which is partially based on events in Yang's own family’s history, is just one of the projects being prduced by the busy Yang.

Yang is also executive producing an anthology series, Little America with Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon, who co-wrote the Oscar-nominated The Big Sick.

Little America, which will be aired on Apple's new service, is inspired by the true stories featured in Epic Magazine and described on the site as “a small, collective portrait of America’s immigrants — and thereby a portrait of America itself.” The TV series will go beyond the headlines to look at the funny, romantic, heartfelt, inspiring and unexpected lives of immigrants in America, at a time when their stories are more relevant than ever.

Yang also has a high-profile new comedy series for Amazon via Uni TV starring Maya Rudolph and Fred Armisen.
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Big Sick team joins with Master of None's Yang to develop stories about America's immigrants

THE HUSBAND-WIFE team that wrote the script for The Big Sick motion picture and Alan Yang, who helped create the TV series Master of None, have joined forces to develop a series telling immigrants' stories.
Comedian Kumail Nanjiani and his wife, scriptwriter Emily Gordon, along with Lee Eisenberg will be the writers for Little America. Yang, will executive produce the series.

Little America, which is based on the true stories featured Epic Magazine and described as "a small, collective portrait of America's immigrants -- and thereby a portrait of America itself."

Deadline says Nanjiani and Yang will tap into their families’ immigrant experiences for the project, which was picked up by Apple. Little America was ordered as a "Straight to series" as part of the computer company's foray into TV production.

The TV series will go beyond the headlines to look at the funny, romantic, heartfelt, inspiring and unexpected lives of immigrants in America, at a time when their stories are more relevant than ever.

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Golden Globe's Asian American nominees react to their nominations and representation

Hong Chau and her "Downsizing" costar Matt Damon.

AMONG THE GOLDEN GLOBE nominees were a few Asian/Americans -- not as many as anticipated -- but some.

Although the Golden Globes don't have the prestige of the Academy Awards, the recognition by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association is often seen as precursor for the Oscars.

Among the nominees were sprinkling of Asian/Americans, including the surprise nominee of Hong Chau as Best Supporting Actress for her work in Downsizing.

Since 1970, there have only been two other actress of East Asian descent who have been nominated for supporting actress: Tina Chen for The Hawaiians and Rinko Kikuchi in Babel.

But Chau's bold interpretation of a Vietnamese immigrant including a heavy accent (to the point approaching a stereotype) was hard to ignore in the Matt Damon science fiction starrer in which she nearly stole the scenes she was in.

Chau told Entertainment Weekly she is especially grateful for what this means for her parents who immigrated to the U.S. from Vietnam in the late 1970s.

“They know everything about the story because, like most parents, they don’t like to be surprised, so I walked them through the entire plot of the story in every single detail,” Chau explained. “This is one of those rare occasions where I’m actually able to talk to them about a job and they’re excited about it because it’s a Vietnamese character that’s so closely related to their journey, so I’m excited to share this experience with them.”

“This is the type of character who’s always in the background,” Chau added. “I hope filmmakers will go back and take a look at people whom they thought they couldn’t mine drama or entertainment from. There are a lot of characters that have been underdeveloped because people aren’t interested or are afraid of attempting to tell their stories. Take another look at them: that’s what I hope for.”

Alan Yang and Aziz have been here before. The show previously won two Primetime Emmys for writing. The Golden Globe nomination is for Best Television Series - Comedy. 

RELATED: The Anna Awards for Asian/American entertainers

"It’s really great,," said Yang to Entertainment Weekly. "it’s really wonderful and I’m really proud of what we did in season 2 because one of our goals for this season was to make it different from season 1, and not in a trivial way. You know, we wanted to go deeper, we wanted to be more ambitious, more experimental, and I think the season was more aggressive and more ambitious. I’m glad that it totally didn’t turn people off. We took some big swings and I’m happy with how it turned out."

Aziz also was nominated as Best Actor in a Television Series - Comedy.

Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez were nominated for Best Song "Remember Me."

Awards are also nothing new for Robert Lopez and his wife and song-writing partner Kristen Anderson-Lopez. Their song "Remember Me" from the animated feature Coco.

The song-writing pair issued this statement:

“We are so grateful to our collaborators at Pixar for asking us to write a song that is so personally meaningful — about family, music, and saying goodbye to those you love. We couldn’t be prouder of what these filmmakers have achieved in ‘Coco’, a film that has always strived to faithfully portray and celebrate Mexican culture. Thank you to the Hollywood Foreign Press — we are humbled by your recognition.”

The Filipino/American and his wife previously won an Oscar for "Let It Go" from the 2013 Disney pic Frozen. The husband-wife team also co-wrote the Tony award-winning stage musical The Book of Mormon.

Angelina Jolie's film, First They Killed My Father, entered as a foreign language film from Cambodia, was among the nominees for Best Foreign Film. The movie tells the story of 

author and human rights activist Loung Ung's life under the rule of the deadly Khmer Rouge.

The foreign press snubbed any recognition for The Big Sick starring Kumail Nanjiani and written by the comedian and his wife. Critics loved the movie and predicted a nod for Best Original Screenplay or a Best Supporting Actor nominations for Holly Hunter and Ray Romano. 

The oversight prompted this tweet from Nanjiani’s page, purported written by Stephen Spielberg: “Hey gang. This is Steven Spielberg tweeting from Kumail’s phone. My fave movie this yr was The Big Sick. It’s avail on Amazon Prime & iTunes & all that. Great movie to watch w the fam. I watched it w my family (the Spielbergs) & we all loved it. Handing phone back to Kumail now.”

None of the media fell for the hoax, but it was a clever retort because The Big Sick, on several critics' "best-movies-of-the-year" list, was deserving of a nomination in those categories.

Also missing was the understated performance of John Cho in Columbus directed by Korea-born Kogonada. A film without special effects, violence or nudity (well, there's one scene featuring Cho) and about what's important in life and how we relate to others deserves some notice in the super-hero world we live i today.

Cho's restrained performance de[octed real person struggling with his past and wondering what the future held for him.

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Riz Ahmed, Aziz Ansari garner multiple Emmy nominations

In a scene in 'Master of None,' Aziz Ansari is lectured by his real-life father.

THE EMMY'S, television's equivalent to the Oscars, has always shown more diversity in its nominations and winners than the motion pictures awards. This year is no exception.

Master of None, the acclaimed TV series created by Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang, received three Emmy nominations. 

The Netflix product was nominated for an Emmy in the Best Comedy Series category and Writing for a Comedy Series. Ansari also was nominated for Best Comedy Actor.

Riz Ahmed received two Emmy nominations: Best Actor in a Limited Series for HBO's The Night Of and as a guest actor in a comedy series for an episode of Girls. His costar, John Turturro was also nominated in the same category.

Riz Ahmed in 'The Night Of.'

BD Wong was nominated as a guest actor in a drama series for his role in Mr. Robot.

The Night Of, which depicted a Pakistani/American family and communitiy, also received a nomination Outstanding Limited Series category. 

Silicon Valley, which features two Asian/American actors in its ensemble: Kumail Najiani and Jimmy O. Yang, was also nominated in the Best Comedy Series.

Westworld's writing team of Lisa Joy and Lena Waithe was nominated for Writing for a Drama Series.

Nominated for Writing for a Nonfiction Program was Prashanth Venkataramanujam, who was part of the writing team including CeCe Pleasants, Sanden Totten, Mike Drucker & Flora Lichtman for Bill Nye Saves the World. 

Johanna Gaines and her spouse Chip were nominated for Best Structured Reality Program for their HGTV show, Fixer Upper. Johanna Gaines is half Korean. Although not considered one of the major categories, we need to bring attention to the casting teams for Master of None (Cody Beke & Teresa Razzauti) and Silicon Valley (Jeanne McCarthy, Nicole Abellera Hallman & Leslie Woo). Both shows are noted for their diverse casts. 

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TGIF FEATURE: Hit series, 'Master of None,' returning, May 12

'MASTER OF NONE,' the award-winning TV series that peeked  into the lives of young Asian/American adults surviving in New York released its official trailer for the second season this week.

The brilliant Netflix series, which we described as Friends with people of color, inspired by the experiences of executive producers Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang will be returning for its second season next month after an 18 month hiatus.

Why so long?

"This show isn't the type of show where we're going to be able to just turn around and turn it in right away," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "We covered so much stuff in season one and wanted to make sure the ideas we had in season two were equally interesting and the episodes were just as ambitious. So we took a long break, and that's why season two hasn't come out yet.

"The show was so personalized, we dumped our heads into this, we just needed to be people and live our actual life," Ansari said.

The first season, which garnered Yang and Ansari writing awards, was most noteworthy when it explored the relationship the main characters had with their immigrant parents, something that struck a sensitive nerve with the AAPI viewers and hopefully, opened the eyes of none immigrants. Thankfully, Ansari's real parents who played his TV parents will be returning.

Based on the trailer, after traveling abroad, Dev (Ansari) returns to New York to take on challenges in his personal and family life, a new career opportunity, and a complex, developing relationship with someone very meaningful to him.

It looks as though Dev is living La Dolce Vita in Italy (an apparent tribute to Frederico Fellini?)  before returning to New York. We also don't see Rachel, played by Noel Wells, who was living with Dev before leaving for adventures in Japan. So it appears Dev is single again and he'll be going through the dating scene again. Most likely, he will be drawing from his book, Modern Romance, which explored the topic in detail from a comedian's perspective. 

Circle it on your calendar, Master of None's second season will start May 12 on Netflix.

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Some Italian/Americans aren't laughing at writer's Emmy remarks

Alan Yang, left, and Aziz Ansara celebrate their Emmy win.

ALAN YANG, who with his co-writer Aziz Ansara, won an Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy last Sunday, is under fire from some Italian/Americans.

While trying to make a point about the lack of representation of AAPI in the entertainment industry, while receiving his Emmy, Yang used stereotypes that angered Italian/Americans. 

“The National Italian American Foundation is disturbed by the very public degradation of Italian American history that was part of the 2016 Emmy Awards that aired last Sunday night,” said NIAF President John M. Viola in a statement released today, “where Mr. Alan Yang — in accepting his award for best writing in a comedy series — compared Italian American representations in film and television to portrayals of Asian Americans, pointing out that our populations are similar in size and yet we have much more representation in film and television.

“Mr. Yang then listed what he considered to be notable representations of Italian Americans in the entertainment industry citing Goodfellas, The Godfather, and The Sopranos.

“Mr. Yang’s comments, while meant to point out the under-representation of Asian Americans in film, ended up including a reckless disregard for Italian Americans by citing films that portray Italian Americans as violent, dim-witted, and involved with organized crime — all three — and insensitive stereotypes that in no way reflect the lives of everyday Italian Americans.”

RELATED:

• 'Master of None' writers win Emmys
• More AAPI stars at the Emmy Awards
• Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Quest Crew win Emmys
• Giving thanks for our immigrant parents
• 'Master of None' debuts with Aziz Ansari

"If I had time on Sunday," Yang responded with an Instagram post "I would've mentioned films like Titanic, Pulp Fiction, Raging Bull, Inception, Meet the Parents, Leaving Las Vegas, and Midnight Run, all of which star amazing Italian/American actors."

"But the point isn't to pit groups of people against each other. I was praising what I consider to be four masterpieces of film and TV. I hope someday Asian/Americans can achieve a fraction of what Italian-Americans have in the world of pop culture. We're not there yet. I love Harold and Kumar. It's one of the only times I've ever seen a dude who looks like me star in a movie and even speak English fluently. But Harold and Kumar ain't The Revenant," said Yang. "P.S. Let's get some more Italian/American and Asian/American actresses in leading roles, too." 

I agree with the NIAF statement. You shouldn't use one group's stereotype to argue against another group's stereotypes.

However, what Italian/Americans don't realize, while they may decry the gangster stereotype, there have been scores of movies depicting and celebrating Italian/Americans representing the wide breadth of people of Italian descent, from the examples cited by Yang in his defense to Coming to America  and Moonstruck to My Cousin Vinny, Rockie and Marty to the recent Oscar nominee Brooklyn. There are perhaps hundreds of non-stereotypical portrayals in the movies and television from which people can gather a deeper understanding and appreciation of Italian/Americans and their culture.

As Yang correctly pointed out in his Emmy acceptance speech, Asians have Long Duk Dong from Sixteen Candles and - oh, yeah - Mickey Rooney's character in Breakfast at Tiffany's.

As if to underscore the point about the lack Asians in American pop culture feeding the lack of exposure to AAPI people in general, Associated Press released a bunch of photos of the  cast of Masters of None and its writers at the Emmy awards show, in which they mixed up Yang with the actor Kelvin Yu. 

Yup! As Yang said in his acceptance speech, we still have a long way to go.