Jo Koy's funny upbringing as a Filipino American inspires a movie

Comedian Jo Koy played to a sold-out audience at San Francisco's 18,000-seat Chase Center and held them in the palm of his hand throughout his entire set.

During his monologue, he often told stories about growing up in Seattle by a strict single  Filipina mother. The audience, the majority of which were Filipino Americans, guffawed as they recognized their own relatives.

Being raised by a Filipino mother is a major part of his routine. "I really bonded with my mom," says Koy. "That's why I identify with being Asian, with being Filipino. Those stories are true. It’s from my heart. It’s what I lived growing up so that’s all I can talk about."

Now his Filipino American family -- at least the comedic version of his family -- will be the subject of an upcoming movie titled Easter Sunday, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

As the title suggests, the Amblin Partners project centers around a family gathering to celebrate Easter Sunday.

“This is a dream come true for me to work with such a legendary production company like Amblin who have produced some of my all-time favorite movies from Jurassic Park to 1917. I’m so honored to be a part of the Amblin family, and to have them help bring my personal stories to the big screen,” Koy said Tuesday in a statement.

Besides being the subjects of the movie, Asian Americans will be behind the camera as well.  Rick and Morty writer Jessica Gao and Silicon Valley star Jimmy O. Yang are among the executive producers. Dan Lin's Rideback will. be partnering with Amblin for the comedy. Comedian and writer Ken Cheng (Wilfred) will write the screenplay.  

Easter Sunday will be released domestically by Universal Pictures.

Koy, who says he has been doing standup comedy for over 30 years, was named the “Stand-Up Comedian of the Year” at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal in 2018. His Netflix special "Live From Seattle" albun reached No. 1 on the 2019 Billboard comedy album chart.

“Jo is one of the most popular comics working today and I’m delighted to be starting this journey with him. Jo’s comedy is at once unique to his life and his experiences, and at the same time relatable and familiar to us all," added Holly Bario, Amblin Partners’ president of production. "With every performance he shares his comedy, his heart and his family with us. His poor family ... who will now be lovingly made fun of in a whole new medium. To them, I apologize.”

ABC developing a Chinese American family sitcom

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Jessica Gao will help develop a sit-com about a Chinese American family for ABC.

THE IMPACT of Crazy Rich Asians' box office and critical success is having representation repercussions in the entertainment industry. Hollywood decision makers can no longer say that audiences won't accept the old belief that Asian Americans can't be lead actors. 

ABC has given the go-ahead for a script written by Emmy winner Jessica Gao, a Chinese American writer that will have feature a Chinese American family.

According to Deadline, the untitled series is about "Janet Zhao, a first generation Chinese American woman who struggles to set healthy boundaries with her crazy, exhausting family. When her wealthy grandmother dies and names Janet the sole inheritor, she suddenly finds herself the unwilling new matriarch of the family she’s spent her life trying to keep at arm’s length."

The potential series will be part of Kim Falvey’s first broadcast pitch season since joining Imagine as President of Television last October. Falvey, who is of Korean descent, shepherded Fresh Off the Boat, the first series about an Asian American family in over two decades.

It was an episode of the animated series Rick & Marty written by Gao, "Pickle Rick," which landed the show's first Emmy as Best Animated Program this past weekend. Winning the Emmy was the best response to some of the show's fans over the past year who were apparently didn't like that a woman -- a woman! -- was writing for their alpha male hero.

Gao—who also co-hosts the podcast Whiting Wongs with Rick & Morty’s Dan Harmon, which pulls no punches when discussing the problem of race and racism in Hollywood—also has TV credits for Silicon Valley, Robot Chicken, and more. 
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