ABSTRACT
On February 4, 2015, ABC premiered Fresh Off the Boat, a sitcom based on the best-selling memoir of Taiwanese-Chinese American chef Eddie Huang. In general, the Asian American community welcomed the show with open arms. But despite jubilation from the Asian American community and rave reviews, Fresh Off the Boat faced backlash from an unlikely source—Eddie Huang. One of the key components of season one was Huang’s voice-over narration. This narration had not been part of the original concept, but was added after the pilot was tested. Huang’s concerns grew stronger when he read the script and what the scriptwriters wanted his narrator character to say. Huang’s memoir has a darker tone than the sitcom, which the producers apparently did not want to incorporate into the comedy. The show’s oversimplified version of Huang’s immigrant and assimilation experience suggests that the television industry views race from a Black and White binary.
