AAPI artists nominated for Emmys

CREATED BY GEMINI

The 2026 Emmy nominations are out, and once again, it is a mixed bag for our community. While we are seeing historic representation on one side of the ledger, the TV Academy still manages to leave some of our finest talent out in the cold.

Let’s break down the wins, the behind-the-scenes power players, and the glaring omissions that have us scratching our heads.

Actors' noted

Our community showed up in major acting categories this year. Leading the pack is Riz Ahmed, who secured a Lead Actor nod for his powerful role in Bait. 

Meanwhile, the second season of Netflix's smash hit Beef brought in major acting love: Oscar-winner Youn Yuh-jung and Charles Melton both scored Supporting Actress and Actor nominations for their respective turns in the anthological dramedy.

Over on the drama side, Sepideh Moafi clinched a Supporting Actress nod for her stellar performance in Max’s medical juggernaut The Pitt. playing Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi, a doctor taking over the ER as Noah Wiley's character prepares for a sabbatical. She is the first Iranian woman and woman from the Middle East to be nominated in the support actress in a drama series category, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"I can’t imagine a more ideal world, show, character to have this sort of recognition with," Moafi said after she heard about her nomination. 

"Playing this woman who carries so many worlds, so many of which I can identify with in my own way, and that I’ve heard over the last several months, so many people identify with, whether it’s with her chronic disease, her chronic illness, people with disability, people who are mixed race, people who are from the Middle East or Africa, women in medicine who are in similar positions and have to deal with certain male counterparts."

FYI: The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards will air live on NBC on Monday, September 14, 2026 at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT

Steven Yeun, who won an Emmy two years ago in the first season of Beef, landed a voice-over nomination for keeping things animated in Invincible.

True representation means having a seat at the table where decisions are made, and our behind-the-scenes creatives are dominating this year's Emmy ballot.

The Beef mastermind Lee Sung Jin, continues his historic streak, earning individual nominations for Outstanding Writing and Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series, alongside a nod for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series as executive producer. He's joined in the executive producers' circle by Steven Yeun, Ali Wong, Kitao Sakurai and Anna Ouyang Moench.

Destin Daniel Cretton, the Japanese American director-producer, is nominated as the driving executive producer behind Marvel’s buzzy Wonder Man.

Hiro Murai & Claudia Shin: The powerhouse duo earned Executive Producer nods for Apple TV+'s freshman comedy hit Widow's Bay.

FYI: For a complete list of the 2026 Emmy nominees, click here.

Chris Nguyen-Gia & Marian Wang: Nguyen-Gia scored a Best Drama Series nomination as a producer for the freshman drama Paradise, while Wang is back in the mix as a producer for the late-night champion Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.

Yulin Kuang: Celebrated writer-director Kuang scored an Outstanding Television Movie screenplay nomination for adapting Netflix's People We Meet on Vacation.

You can't talk about the Emmys without talking about who got left behind, and the Academy dropped the ball on several standout AAPI performances.

Should have been nominated

Isa Briones (The Pitt): In what is arguably the most heartbreaking snub of the morning, Briones was completely shut out for her role as the sharp, headstrong Dr. Trinity Santos. What makes this a bitter pill to swallow is that The Pitt actually led the entire pack with 25 total nominations—including 13 acting nods for her co-stars. How voters completely bypassed Briones's polarizing, fiercely layered performance is beyond us.

Bowen Yang (Saturday Night Live): Despite delivering a highly celebrated final run on the sketch show before his mid-season departure, Yang missed out on a Supporting Actor in a Comedy nod. The Academy chose to shut out the entire regular SNL cast this year.

Industry Cast & Crew: HBO's financial thriller was entirely shut out by the Television Academy. This means no love for Ken Leung, who has consistently turned in a masterclass performance as the complex and shrewd management executive Eric Tao.

Young Mazino & Tati Gabrielle: Both actors missed out on highly predicted guest and supporting drama nominations for their impactful roles in The Last of Us.

View from the edge

We've come a long way from the days of absolute invisibility, but as these snubs show, the fight for the Academy to fully recognize the depth of our talent continues.

What is especially noteworthy, is none of the characters played by AAPI actors, are the stereotypes that pigeonholed generations of Asian actors in Hollywood.

But there is so much more room for improvement. That's why overlooking Briones' role as Dr. Trinity Santos in The Pitt is so disappointing. There were so many moments where we saw glimpses of the life of Santos beyond the ER -- such as a white-passing Filipino American -- makes us crave  for more of her storyline to explore.

In fact, you can say that about all the acting AAPI nominees and the AAPI community as a whole. As two seasons of Beef have shown us, there's more complexity in us than Hollywood has been able to capture so far.  Hollywood's creators and artists are only starting to scratch the surface of the multiple worlds we live in and start delving into those stories.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. If you find this perspective interesting, please repost.

'The Pitt' takes advantage of its Asian American storylines

THE PITT
Kristin Villanueva, left, plays nurse Princess, and Amielynn Abellera portrays Perla, in the HBO Max series "The Pitt," will have expanded roles in upcoming episodes.

 The television series The Pitt, has been praised for the realism of issues, problems and people of an urban emergency room. For Asian Americans, Filipino Americans in particular, the award-winning show is about to get more real. 

As The Pitt winds up its second season the pcoming episodes tackle the problem of ICE and the federal agencies impact on the ER, especially its immigrant staff. 

That could mean trouble for the Filipino staff, Dr. Trinity Santos (played by Isa Briones), RNs Princess (Kristin Villanueva), and Perlah (Amielynn Abellera).

When casting for the show, the producers wanted the show to reflect a real-life ER and if you've ever stayed in a hospital for any length of time, most likely, that would mean Filipino medical personnel.

A win for the ensemble

The industry is finally taking notes. Just this week, the cast took home the Actors Award for Best Ensemble in a Drama Series. For those of us tracking "Views from the Edge," seeing the Filipino trio stand on stage alongside Irene Choi, Supriya Ganesh, and Shabana Azeez felt like a seismic shift.

This win validates what we’ve known all along: when you stop treating Asian characters as "background techs" and start treating them as the emotional heartbeat of the story, you don't just get a better show—you get a winner. For the Filipino community, which has historically been the backbone of the American medical system with none of the glory, seeing three Pinay actresses recognized as the best team on television is a full-circle moment we won't soon forget.

What makes The Pitt head and shoulders above other medical shows is that although the cast is large, each character are given moments within the show to round out the character's backstory. The Filipino trio will get plenty of screen time in the coming episodes of this season.

Already, we've seen the Filipino nurses converse in Tagalog when sharing gossip and discovered that Dr. Santos, who is of mixed racial heritage, is also a kababayan.

The lullaby heard round the world

If you haven't seen the clip of Dr. Santos (Isa Briones) singing to a "Baby Jane Doe" in a quiet corner of the ER, your social media feed is about to get hit with a tidal wave of feels. In a scene that has the FilAm community in a collective sob, Briones leans into her roots with a haunting rendition of "Ili-Ili, Tulog Anay."(roughly translated "Sleep Little One, Sleep.")

This wasn't just another TV moment; it was a cultural earthquake. By choosing a specific Hiligaynon lullaby — a suggestion from Briones actual father, Broadway’s Jon Jon Briones — Briones brought an ethnographic precision to The Pitt that we rarely see on prestige TV. It wasn’t just "representation"; it was a deep dive into the specific regional soul of the Western Visayas.

Seeing the hospital’s most "hard-edged" resident soften into her heritage to comfort an abandoned child is a masterclass in how to bridge the gap between the "model minority" myth and human reality

A new disruptor: Joy Kwon shakes things up

While the Filipino "trio" of Santos, Nurse Princess, and Nurse Perlah has built a fortress of kapwa (shared identity) in the breakroom, a new force has arrived to test those walls. Enter Joy Kwon (played by Irene Choi), a sardonic, hyper-individualistic Korean American first-year student.

Joy is the ultimate "lone wolf." With a photographic memory and zero interest in the hospital's social shorthand, she is the perfect foil to the established AAPI dynamic. We’re hearing whispers that upcoming episodes will see Joy challenge the "Pinay Power" duo, sparking a nuanced debate on workplace gatekeeping vs. cultural safe spaces. It’s a sophisticated look at intra-Asian friction that moves far beyond the monolithic "Asian" label.

Joy Kwon also has run-in with South Asian character, Dr. Victoria Javadi (Shabana Azeez) who navigates the halls of the hospital under the watchful, often critical eye of her mother, Dr. Eileen Shamsi, Joy arrives with a very different kind of baggage.

Irene Choi plays Joy Kwon

For Victoria, the hospital is a family business. Her struggle is about carving out an individual identity while carrying the weight of two generations of South Asian medical excellence. It’s about maintenance of status and the fear of being the "weak link" in a chain of success.

Joy, conversely, is the classic "disruptor." Her family background—whispered to be rooted in a gritty, working-class Korean American experience—doesn't offer the safety net of a senior attending mom. For Joy, her photographic memory isn't just a party trick; it’s her only weapon in a system where she doesn't have a "legacy" to fall back on.

While the Filipino trio provides the show's cultural heartbeat through their shared kapwa, the tension between Kwon and Javadi provides its intellectual friction. It’s a bold look at the fact that "Asian American" isn't a monolith—it’s a spectrum of class, history, and expectation.

ICE visits 'The Pitt'

The Pitt  executive producer John Wells and star Noah Wyle have confirmed that the series will tackle the real-world impact of ICE raids on hospital environments. 

At the request of HBO executives, the production team was asked to ensure the episode presents a "balanced" view that acknowledges multiple perspectives on the issue rather than taking a singular political stance.

Wyle described the show's approach as a "Rorschach test," where the drama aims to depict the "realistic" and "untenable" situations doctors face without making overt value judgments, allowing the audience to draw their own conclusions.

        FYI: You can stream 'The Pitt' on HBO Max. New episodes on Thursdays.

Wells emphasized that ICE raids are a "real issue in emergency rooms" and that the show's priority is depicting how these events affect patient care and the medical team's duties.

The ICE storyline is expected to heavily involve the show's Asian American immigrant and first-generation staff, who have been central to the series' portrayal of the "backbone" of the American healthcare system. That might mean the Filipino staff might be central to the plot.

The ICE storyline is expected to be intertwined with other narrative threads reflecting the fictionalized impacts of President Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill," including significant cuts to Medicaid.

View from the edge: A lesson for Hollywood

A plea to the Hollywood decision-makers, producers and writers:

When you stop treating Asian characters as "background techs" and start treating them as the emotional heartbeat of the story, you don't just get a better show — you get a winner by engaging the viewers. Beyond simple representation, it becomes representation that matters.

For many Filipino American viewers, seeing their reality reflected on screen is long overdue. The show challenges outdated tropes and offers an authentic portrayal—from nurses speaking Tagalog to scenes that capture deep-rooted Filipino values such as utang na loob (debt of gratitude) and kapwa (shared identity).

For the Filipino American community, which has historically been the backbone of the American medical system with none of the glory, seeing three Pinay actresses recognized as part of the best team on television is a full-circle moment and portraying them as three-dimensional human beings is history unto itself.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. 

AAPI casts of 'The Pitt' and 'Sinners' are a win for diversity at Actors Awards

The Pinay power trio on for  'The Pitt' earned Actors Awards for (from left):
Kristin Villanueava, Isa Briones and Amielynn Abellera

Look, we’ve spent years seeing Asians on TV and movies as either the "tech support" or the silent background extra, but at the 32nd Annual Actor Awards on March 1, the cast of the TV drama The Pitt and the Sinners movie officially flipped the script. 

While Asian actors did not win the top four individual acting awards this year at what used to be called the SAG-AFTRA Awards, they were vital to the night's biggest ensemble wins

The night’s biggest headline for the AAPI community was undoubtedly the historic ensemble win for The Pitt, which finally put Filipino American and South Asian actors at the center of the frame.

The medical drama didn't just win; it took home the trophy for Best Ensemble in a Drama Series, proving that when you actually cast us, we deliver. 

For the Filipino community, this wasn't just another award — it was a long-overdue "salute and recognition". In a field where Filipino nurses have been the literal backbone of American healthcare for decades, seeing the Filipino American actors  accept those awardds voted on by their peers felt like a win for every tita and tito in scrubs. 

The power of Filipino representation

Perhaps the most significant achievement of The Pitt is its unapologetic spotlight on the Filipino community. In the real world, Filipino nurses and doctors are the lifeblood of American hospitals, yet they are historically sidelined in TV scripts. With the goal of reflecting real life,The Pitt changes the narrative with a powerful trio:

• Dr. Trinity Santos (Isa Briones): A high-achieving Filipino American resident who navigates the intense pressures of the hospital with a competitive edge that feels earned and real.

• Nurse Perlah Alawi (Amielynn Abellera): A Filipino Muslim nurse whose presence brings a vital, often-ignored intersection of identity to the forefront.

• Nurse Princess Dela Cruz (Kristin Villanueva): Representing the heart of the ER, she embodies the dedication and empathy that Filipino healthcare workers are known for globally.

For decades, Filipino characters were the "background" of medical shows. Seeing three distinct Filipino characters—each with their own faith, personality, and professional standing—is a radical act of visibility. It acknowledges the historical legacy of Filipino labor in US healthcare that dates back over a century.

But The Pitt's representation didn’t end there. The ensemble win also spotlighted a deep bench of South Asian talent that is finally moving past the "nerdy sidekick" trope:

Supriya Ganesh (Dr. Samira Mohan): An American actress of Indian origin who brought nuance to the role of a workaholic resident. She’s been vocal about how South Asian women in medicine finally feel "seen" through her character.

Shabana Azeez (Victoria Javadi): The Australian-born actress plays a med-school prodigy struggling to live up to her surgeon parents’ legacy. Her presence—alongside Ganesh—shatters the "there can only be one" rule that has limited South Asian actors for years.

This wasn't just a win for a show; it was a win for a cast that looks like the actual world we live in. When they all stood on that stage together, it wasn't about diversity as a "checklist"—it was about a family of actors who earned their trophies.

The Pitt wasn't the only ensemble earning the Actors Award. The Studio won the award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.

The Chinese-American actress Chase Sui Wonders took home a trophy as part of the winning ensemble for Apple’s hit comedy. The rest of the cast included Seth Rogen, Kathryn Hahn and Ike Barinholtz,.

'Sinners' cast wins

While the TV wins were a "salute" to the medical community, the film categories proved that AAPI actors were part of the Best Cast in a Motion Picture for the motion picture Sinners, including:

Hailee Steinfeld: The Oscar nominee (who is of Filipino descent) added an Actor Award to her mantle as part of the powerhouse ensemble for Ryan Coogler's vampire drama.

Li Jun Li: The Chinese American actress was a key part of the winning cast, further cementing her status as a top-tier ensemble player.

View from the edge

With these wins coming on the heels of the wild success of Everything, Everywhere All At Once in 2022, Shogun in 2024 (with a second season in the works), and current streaming hits Butterfly with Daniel Dae Kim, Ballard with Maggie Q and The Copenhagen Test with Simu Liu is an indication Hollywood is coming to realize that real diversity and inclusion of a diverse cast doesn't mean token characters here and there but a reflection of the changing demographics of real life fand signifies a major shift in visible representation and the mainstreaming of diverse narratives in Hollywood.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. 

Excuse me for nerding out: Isa Briones dropped from final season of "Star Trek: Picard"

Isa Briones, left and middle, play the twin daughters of android Data in Star Trek: Picard.

More than halfway through the 10-episode season, it is evident that Filipino American actress Isa Briones won't be returning to Star Trek: Picard. Or, are fans being set up?

Trekkers: Stay with me, now. 

The last time we saw Briones' Star Trek character, Soji, in season 2, she was being whisked away to become a Supervisor for the mysterious race of Travelers, who can manipulate time and space. 

Her time on the iconic Star Trek universe came to an end after only two seasons after writers who apparently ran out of ideas how to advance her storyline as an android searching for her identity.

One of the reasons for getting rid of the Soji story was to open up the ultimate storyline of what could possibly the last we see of the steely-eyed Picard played by British thespian Patrick Stewart. Whatever the fate of Star Fleet Admiral Picard, the TV series will end after this so-far deeply satisfying season,  which ties up a lot of loose ends from the characters from Star Trek: Next Generation, which has its own loyal fan base separate from the other Trekkers who follow the whole franchise.

We're sorry to see Soji go. Briones was the only FIlipino American (that we know of) who became part of the Star Trek universe, which from the original Star Trek, was a groundbreaking series featuring a diverse cast of crew, something that creator Gene Roddenberry did intentionally. 

One of the hallmarks of Roddenberry's unwritten casting rules was to always have at least one Asian playing major recurring roles in the subsequent Star Trek iterations. This tradition started with the original Star Trek which featured the iconic helmsman Hikaru Sulu, played by George Takei, to Garrett Wang (Ensign Harry Kim)  in Star Trek: Voyager, Alexander Siddiq (Julian Bashir) in Deep Space Nine, Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh (Captain Philippa Georgiou) in Star Trek: Discovery and Christina Chong (La'an Noonien-Singh) on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. That tradition appears to be missing in Picard's third season.

In an earlier interview, Briones confirmed that she was not resigned for Season 3 and that seems to have been the final word.

But (stay with me, now), is that the last we see of Soji?

SPOILERS AHEAD: Stop here if you haven't seen Episode 6 of Star Trek: Picard.

One of the hallmarks of Season 3, is the introduction of the children of the crew of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Thus far, we have met the two daughters of Geordi La Forge and the son of former chief medical officer Beverly Crusher and Jean Luc-Picard. (Apparentely, we are learning that the Captain is human and might very well have children across the galaxy.) We also know that Captain William Riker (formerly No. 1) and empath Deanna Troi, have a child.

Now we have the return of the android Data (who has met his end twice, already), or at least a new and improved version of Data, who retains all the memories of the original.

Soji and her twin sister, Dahj, were secretly built by Dr. Bruce Maddox (John Ales) in 2396. The synthetic twins were made through a miraculous process called "neuronic fractal cloning" from one of the disassembled Data's salvaged positronic neurons. So in essence, they are Data's daughters.

With the reintroduction of Worf, (Michael Dorn), the Next Generation's crew is all present and accounted for. That also includes Ro Laren, played by Michelle Forbes, who was one of the Federation officers sent to upbraid Jean-Luc and Riker for their antics.

Laren returns in Ep. 5 and apparently has been forgiven by the Federation after she betrayed Picard and the Federation by joining a rebel group way back in the Next Generation storyline. In her return, Picard and Laren confessed that their hearts were broken, hinting that their relationship was deeper than platonic (again, Picard, that rascal, may have broken a few Federation rules).

Laren demonstrates her love/loyalty to Picard by sacrificing herself to save the Next Generation crew.

Season 3 also allows us to see the end of "Q," that mysterious impish character who loved to bedevil Picard and his crew with his powers over time and matter.

Data's return might signal another passing of the torch to the "next generation" which in Data's case, would be his remaining daughter Soji. After introducing the children of La Forge and Picard's son, it sets the stage for a possible spinoff.

The original Data depended on La Forge for any repairs to the android creating a bond between the two. 

It would be a shame if Data doesn't get to share a heartwarming moment by meeting his own offspring and introducing his best friend's daughters to his own daughter, thus continuing the underlying "passing-of-the-torch" theme. 

Soji, who by this time, has gained new powers over time and space as a Supervisor and she might be needed to rescue the old gang.

The "Next Generation" crew seems to be in a heap of trouble by Ep. 6 and it will take a miraculous event (ie. Soji's return) to set the universe right.

Do you think Briones' earlier interviews were a "red herring" so we couldn't guess what the "Final Season" mean for Picard, the series and the iconic character?

WATCH: "Star Trek: Picard" streams on Paramount Plus with new episodes every Thursday.

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

Spoiler Alert! Isa Briones sings on finale of 'Star Trek: Picard

SPOILER ALERT! 
Do not continue if you have not seen the Season One finale of Star Trek: Picard.

The pop song standard "Blue Skies" had special significance in the Star Trek fictional universe and it gained even more importance in the first season of the show Star Trek: Picard.

As one of the most beloved characters in Star Trek, the android Data was dying, the song played in the background in the emotional scene featured in the final episode of Season 1 of CBS' Star Trek: Picard.

CBS released a video showing the recording of “Blue Skies,” which was sung by Picard star Isa Briones (Soji), and is a tribute to Brent Spiner’s “Blue Skies” from Star Trek: Nemesis. 

In the video, composer Jeff Russo talked about how it was always planned to bring the song back for the season, and it was executive producer Alex Kurtzman’s suggestion to have Briones sing the new version.

"This is obviously a bit of a throwback to Star Trek: Nemesis, when Data sang 'Blue Skies,' so it's really cool that Data's daughter kind of gets to sing it as well," Briones says in the behind-the-scenes video.

"My parents are musical theater actors, so I kind of grew up around it and when I was 19, I had moved to New York and my first audition in New York was Hamilton and I got to do Hamilton on tour and so that was kind of my first bigger musical theater experience and right after I left Hamilton jumped right into this," said the Filipino American actress.

The fact that Data's daughter, who inherited many of Data's attributes, sings the special song may open the door for bringing the significant song back in a future episode.

'Star Trek: Picard' debuts today; it's takes place in the future but its really about today

COURTESY ISA BRIONES

Star Trek: Picard stars Patrick Stewart and Isa Briones at ComicCon.

Star Trek: Picard, the newest spinoff of the Star Trek franchise, takes place in the 24th century but it is really about today's world.

Filipina American actress Isa Briones wasn't even born when Star Trek: The Next Generation ended its 7-season run in 1994. Debuting today (Thursday, Jan. 23) the Star Trek: Picard TV series stars Briones as the mysterioius Dahj along side Patrick Stewart, who reprises his role as Jean Luc Picard, who captained the USS Enterprise in The Next Generation.

In the almost two decades between TNG and Picard, the world has changed, particularly in the United States and the United Kingdom, says Stewart, emphasizing that his new show will not be in the same tenor as his original show.

"Our world has undergone such a transformation. There is no reason why that shouldn’t have happened to the world of ‘Star Trek,’ too," says Steward. "The Federation is no longer the Federation that it was—reliable, trustworthy, dedicated to the prime directive. Starfleet is no longer that, too. 

“Then of course, there was the whole massive refugee problem. The world that we’re in in ‘Star Trek: Picard’ is a different world from ‘Next Generation.’ And that ought to say enough.”

"One of the big things for me that's been exciting is seeing the Asian American community coming out, because I'm Filipino and Swedish and Irish," the actress told The Hollywood Reporter at the Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Guild Awards this month.

"Getting to see how me being in Star Trek has connected with them and how they've really appreciated seeing someone who looks like them on screen... that will always be my favorite about the show, especially because it's such a progressive show."

Like the other iterations of creator Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek, Picard has a diverse cast reflecting the real world and adding to the richness of the characters. Like George Takei who played Helmsman Hikaru Sulu in the original Star Trek, and John Chu who played the young Sulu in the Star Trek prequels, Briones is keenly aware of representing Asian Americans.

"We're telling stories about the future and we're saying, 'Hey, in the future, we're still going to be here. What you see now in the world is still going to be here in 2339.' We're all here and we all deserve to be represented. I feel so honored that we get to portray that and... keep pushing that narrative forward."

When asked why "Star Trek" has such staying power after multiple franchises and more than 50 years on the air, Stewart's answer was simple: "Hope. It resonates positive feelings about the future that things can be better."

Briones agreed. "(That's) a sentiment we need more than ever."

"You speak truth," Stewart said to Briones. "We have to be positive about the difficult situations that we find ourselves in."

Star Trek: Picard is now streaming airs on CBS All Access. The network is offering a one week free trial so you can watch the first episode.

Filipina American debuts in 'Star Trek; Picard' in pivotal role

Jean Luc Picard meets the mysterioius Dahj, played by Isa Briones.

The big reveal that Marvel picked Simu Liu to play Shang-Chi, wasn't the only news coming out of ComicCon last week that AAPI fans should be excited about.

Last Spring, when it was announced that Isa Briones would be cast in CBS-All Access' Star Trek: Picard, we didn't know what kind of role she would play. It could have been one of the crew members who always linger in the background or a Red-Shirt but after seeing the trailer for the new show, it turns out that the Filipina American's role is a pretty significant one.

We still don't know what her relationship is with Jean Luc Picard, a role from Star Trek: Next Generation reprised by Sir Patrick Stewart, but it appears she's the McGuffin, the instigator, the one who gets the story going, the reason Picard is going to give up his retirement at Chateau Picard. Her character, Dahj, apparently needs to be protected and she found Picard, someone she's had history with and who she could trust.

So, who is Dahj? A lot of interesting theories have arisen among Trekkers about the identity of Dahj: from being the daughter of Data (the android who gave up his existence to save Picard) to being a reincarnation of the Borg Queen.

In the first trailer debuted at ComicCon, she shows up at Picard's idyllic vineyard 20 years after he retired from Star Fleet.

“Everything inside of me says that I’m safe with you,” she tells him.

Before he can answer her, the camera cuts away leaving fans with questions.

Later on in the trailer, she shows she has some serious (superhuman?) fighting skills as she effortlessly takes out a group of attackers while Picard watches on.

Picard quickly grasps the significance of helping this young woman and is well aware of the dangers she faces if she is captured by the wrong people.

Picard calls on Starfleet for its help but he’s ignored. “If she is who I think she is, she’s in serious danger,” he warns someone.

The mysterious Dahj is a major player. I wonder if she speaks Tagalog?

The director of the upcoming The Eternals, Chloe Zhao, has assembled a powerful and diverse cast to star in the Marvel flick about a race with superhuman powers. The brightest star to join the Marvel universe is Angelina Jolie. The film, set to debut in Nov. of 2020, will also star a buffed up Kumail Nanjiani as one of the 3,500-years -old Eternals.

Unfortunately, Warner Bros, the studio that drew raves in past ComicCons was missing this year! So we didn't get to see anything the new Wonderwoman 1984, Aquaman 2 or The Birds of Prey, the latter of which will introduce Cassandra Cain, AKA Batgirl, played by Filipina American Ella Jay Basco.

Agents of SHIELD included Chloe Bennett, middle and Ming-Na Wen, right,

It was an emotional farewell to Agents of SHIELD which is currently filming the finale for its final season. Chloe Bennett and Ming-Na Wen, who play bad-ass agents, proved you can have more than one Asian American in a cast, a rarity when the show debuted seven years ago. 

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Hollywood Short Takes: Superheroes, space operas and rom-coms

Isa Briones and her father, Jon Jon Briones.

Filipina American cast in the return of Star Trek's Jean Luc- Picard

Isa Briones, daughter of Jon Jon Briones (The Assassination of Gianni Versace), will be The Asian in the upcoming Star Trek series which brings back Patrick Stewart as Star Trek: Next Generation's Jean-Luc Picard.

Starting with the original Star Trek, which included the iconic Mr. Sulul, as portrayed by George Takei, each Star Trek series have tried to have a diverse cast, which included the one Asian character.

There's not much detail about the character that Isa Briones will play but it could be a career-defining role with the immense following the franchise has developed over the last 50 years. Everything about the series is under tight wraps. All we know is that the story will pick up Picard 20 years after the last episode of Star Trek: Next Generation.

Actor and singer Isa Briones just wrapped the First National Touring Company of Hamilton. Her most recent credits include FX’s American Crime Story: Versace and Next to Normal (East West Players), for which she won an L.A. Ovation Award.

The new series will be aired on CBS- All Access, where Star Trek: Discovery is housed.

Marvel seeking gay Asian for 'The Eternals,' Marvel's new set of heroes

Marvel is reportingly wants an openly gay Asian male to be the lead male role in The Eternals," a race of "good" heroes with superpowers saving the universe from their evil counterparts, fittingly called The Despicaples.

The current frontrunner for the role is Conrad Ricamora, who is best known for playing Oliver on ABC’s How to Get Away with Murder. The addition of a queer person of color to the cast is exciting, as is the studio’s interest in casting an out actor for the role.

Train To Busan star Ma Dong-Seok has joined the ranks of the film. The Wrap is reporting that the actor will have his first American role in the Marvel film but no word on exactly who the actor will be playing. He will be joining actress Angelina Jolie—surprised it took her this long to jump on the Marvel train—and Kumail Nanjaini.

Michelle Yeoh in Star Trek: Discovery, the first Asian captain in the franchise.

Michelle Yeoh, the new queen of science fiction?

Michelle Yeoh has been cast in the upcoming James Cameron Avatar 2. She will be playing a scientist, Dr. Karina Mogue, according to The Wrap.

Is it time we dub Yeoh as the new queen of science fiction? The Malaysian actress has been busy since her role in the box office success, Crazy Rich Asians. She toplined CBS’ Star Trek: Discovery and her character Captain Philippa Georgiou will have it’s own yet-untitled spinoff show on CBS All Access. 

Past credits include Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Tomorrow Never Dies, and Memoirs of a Geisha. She also has upcoming roles in Paul Feig’s Last Christmas and Joe Carnahans Boss Level as seen on her IMDB.

Avatar 2 will hit theaters Dec. 18, 2020, the newest addition to the five part franchise.

Power duo  of Mindy Kaling and Priyanka Chopra to star in rom-com

After a bidding war, Universal has won the rights to a currently untitled upcoming comedy starring Mindy Kaling and Priyanka Chopra, Deadline reports.

Not much about the wedding comedy has been released besides it being described as a combination of My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Crazy Rich Asians, Variety reports.

Chopra will produce for Purple Pebble Pictures, Kaling for Kaling International, and Goor will produce with Howard Klein for 3 Arts Entertainment. Nina Anand Aujla and Heather Morris will executive produce.

BD Wong cast as villain in The Flash

AMC's The Flash has cast B.D. Wong as the voice of one of the season’s new villains, Godspeed, Comicbook.com reports. Wong’s voice made its first appearance on Tuesday night’s episode. His name appeared in the opening credits.

According to Comicbook.com, Godspeed has the ability to separate speedsters from their speed force. This makes him a particularly dangerous villain for the show’s protagonist Barry Allen (The Flash). The character was first introduced in 2016 DC comics.

Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding star in Last Christmas.

And lastly ... Last Christmas will premiere Nov. 8 in time for the holidays

Nov. 8 has been announced for the premiere off the much-anticipated movie Last Christmas starring two of the hottest actors today, Mother of Dragons Emlia Clarke and Crazy Rich Asians hunk Henry Golding.

The romantic movie will debut on Nov. 15, just in time for prime-time for movies.

Based on George Michael's hit, one of his last songs before his death on Christmas Day, 2017.

The film will also star Michelle Yeoh and Emma Thompson, who also cowrote the script. 

In the movie, Kate (Clarke) lives in London, a bundle of bad decisions accompanied by the jangle of bells on her shoes, another irritating consequence from her job as an elf in a year-round Christmas shop. Tom (Golding) seems too good to be true when he walks into her life and starts to see through so many of Kate’s barriers. 

In an Instagram post from Malaysian-born Golding, he wrote, "Mark my words, this one is going to be special." Golden, the male romantic lead in Crazy Rich Asians, is also rumored to be the new James Bond.

Clarke is currently starring in the final season of Game of Thrones as Daenerys Targaryen, or better known as the Queen Daenerys Stormborn of the House Targaryen, the First of Her Name, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Lady of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm, Lady of Dragonstone, Queen of Meereen, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, the Unburnt, Breaker of Chains and Mother of Dragons.

AsAm News contributed to these reports.

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