Image Credit: Disney/ABC
Get the popcorn ready… the Huangs are back on primetime for season two of Fresh Off the Boat! I had the chance to get a sneak preview of this fall’s first episode last Friday night at CAAMFest in San Jose and also got to hear from executive producer Melvin Mar about what to expect as the show progresses.
Whaddaya know? I’m eating popcorn with my son, too. Celebrities… they’re just like us!
I had a couple of passes to the screening, thanks to CAAM and TaiwaneseAmerican.org, so I took Little Brother, too.
Image Credit: Disney/ABC
The season picks up at the end of the last school year. Feeling the pressure to come back with impressive stories about his summer, Eddie splurges on a pair of Reebok “Pumps” shoes. But a twist of fate forces him to find something else exciting for his summer… which leads to a family business trip –err, vacation– to GatorWorld.
Image Credit: Disney/ABC
But Mom Jessica has different ideas. If you grew up with immigrant (or just cheap) parents, you will definitely laugh out loud.
One of the best parts of seeing this preview at the film festival was the Q&A with executive producer Melvin Mar, whom I also interviewed last March. Melvin addressed some tough questions, such as his reaction to criticism of the show by the real-life Eddie Huang, whom Mar considers a “dear friend”. Melvin explained, “None of us in this room knows what it’s like to have your life turned into a TV show.”
I wondered how the writers would be changing the show this season, based on feedback they received last spring. “Grandma’s going to come up.” Melvin quipped, saying his own mother made him do it.
Image Credit: Disney/ABC
Also to come this year, expect parents Louis and Jessica to become more acculturated, which is actually good news to me. (Remember the 1980s sitcom Perfect Strangers? C’mon Balki, you’ve been in the U.S. for five years? You should have figured things out a little bit by now!) In the process Huangs will celebrate the holidays… including Chinese New Year. And there are hints of little Evan not being mommy’s little baby so much anymore. Helping to make this all possible will be the addition of the show’s first Taiwanese American writer, Bay Area based standup comic Sheng Wang.
Image Credit: Disney/ABC
Fresh Off the Boat starts up again this Tuesday night at 8:30/7:30 Central on ABC. Are you going to watch? Tweet along #FreshOfftheBoat!
Well too bad it’s not readily available in Canada.
I am certain ABC is not correctly reading the Canadian audience viewing potential for Vancouver and Toronto. They ought to do a census research on those big cities. It’s huge…the Asian descent population.
But they might be charging too much money for Canadian airing at this time.
I’m really surprised, Jean! For all the reasons you mentioned above, plus Canada is so close in proximity to the US, and I’ve heard Fresh Off the Boat has aired in many Asian and (I think) Middle Eastern countries. I might have to poke around and see if I can find out why… PS. the episodes usually stream on the ABC website for a while after they air ;)