Fresh Off the Boat

I came into Fresh Off the Boat with low expectations, as there are seemingly endless ways to make a bad network show, especially by making it dull and mediocre by dumbing down the characters and their experiences. Add in the topic of race and immigration, where I'm certain network producers are terrified of offending anyone, and you're almost certain to brew up a giant batch of watered-down, "family friendly" weak tea.

But, amazingly, the show is good. And funny. Maybe most importantly, all of the characters are human, and they are full people while simultaneously showing different sides of the immigrant experience. I have a feeling you're not going to know who are the "good guys" and who are the "bad guys," and this really won't be a show about Eddie but about a family. As the first few episodes show, each family member has different, and even contradictory, skills for managing their lives together, and they complement each other. I also bet people outside of the family will soon be part of this equation.

Speaking of which, it's ironic that some reviewers are saying the show is anti-white, as a big critique of white people is how they tend to dominate any experience (like, for instance, a show about an Asian American immigrant family) and make it all about them.

It's the 1990's. Eddie Huang moves from Washington D.C. to Orlando, Florida with his Taiwanese family. His father (Randall Park) opens a western style steakhouse. His mother (Constance Wu) is the Asian tiger mom. Honey (Chelsey Crisp) and Marvin (Ray Wise) are their next door neighbor.

This starts with a potential for an edgy sitcom of an Asian family moving into an all-white neighborhood. In the end, it is a very standard network sitcom. This should be Eddie's story but the breakout star is Constance Wu. The kids are fine but more could have been done. Marvin's daughter Nicole could have been a great side character but she gets ghosted over time. The brothers don't get to expand their roles. The show is good network fare but it doesn't stand out other than having the Asian cast.

I've been watching this every week since it started in 2015. Great funny show. Just sit back and laugh and don't think too much. Easy going with a good cast. It just works. It has a final ending and not just stop airing without a closure. Have fun with this little fun comedy show!

9/10

These TV series are very watchable, rewatchable and perfect as a background watch when you do something else. Many characters have undeniable charisma, relatable and the story line is rather lighthearted instilling the right values. It's also, in a way, generation X's nostalgic porn.

What didn't work for me:

• the family cast is rather mismatched visually, they didn't look as of the same ethnicity to me
• Louis's character is very cardboard like and lacks depth.

• They often forgot to balance Jessica's character, sacrificing showcasing the traits her family loves her for -all for the sake of comedy relief attached to her pushiness and other rather negative traits.

• I lived as a foreigner in a southern US town and it's already difficult to integrate even if you are a crowd pleaser. And though I am white and my town was mostly very lovely, I still experienced xenophobia, at least, once per month. With Jessica's character forget about it...I think the whole integration issue was super sugarcoated.

Living in today's world we see more and more Asian people all in our communities I like living around them too, they are intelligent attractive and mostly friendly. This new ABC series set in 1990's Orlando about a Taiwanses family who moved from Washington D.C. to start a new life is a big winner! It centers around the young man and oldest child in the family named Eddie Huang(Hudson Yang)who is learning more and more American culture in the 90's from the style, music, TV, movies and one liners as this series captures the 90's culture well with it's slang and one liners! A real sugar and spice treat is the performance of the mom Jessica(Constance Wu)she's a sexy and sassy outspoken loving matriarch who guides the ship for the whole Huang clan as her husband(Randall Park)runs his steakhouse. Overall great show that learns us about Asian culture all the while being funny, educated and capturing 90's culture without taking things to serious! A thumbs up winner.