Michelle Yeoh Jake Kasdan Jo Koy Michael Schneider Melvin Mar Gene Luen Yang China USA county Pacific Philippines film show stars and Michelle Yeoh Jake Kasdan Jo Koy Michael Schneider Melvin Mar Gene Luen Yang China USA county Pacific Philippines

‘Fresh Off the Boat’ Was Just the Start, as Melvin Mar and Jake Kasdan Expand TV’s AAPI Representation

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Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeWhen “Fresh Off the Boat” premiered in 2015, only a handful of shows with a predominantly Asian American cast had ever aired in primetime — and none of them lasted long.

But the success of that ABC sitcom, which spanned six seasons, 116 episodes and made it to syndication, finally inspired a long-overdue boom in series and films featuring Asian American leads — including “Doogie Kamealoha, M.D.,” from “Fresh Off the Boat” producing partners Jake Kasdan and Melvin Mar. “Fresh Off the Boat” may have ended, but Kasdan and Mar — who have been based at 20th TV for more than a dozen years — are continuing to lead TV’s expansion in Asian American and Pacific Islander representation.

As AAPI Heritage Month coincidentally gets underway this May, Kasdan and Mar currently have eight active TV and film projects, all showcasing different elements of the vast AAPI experience. “It’s all part of the fabric of being American,” Mar says of the slate. “Every sort of American story has a specific that needs to be told. ‘Asian American’ is such a big term, with so many people a part of it.

This is an opportunity to narrow down and tell [unique stories].”That roster includes the action series “American Born Chinese,” an adaptation of the graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang, showrun by Kelvin Yu and starring Michelle Yeoh, currently in production for a January debut on Disney+.

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