Fresh off the boat

‘Fresh off the boat” is a new comedy TV show that is set to premiere later this year on ABC. The show follows an Asian family that moves from Washington D.C.’s Chinatown to suburban Orlando. The main character is Eddie (Hudson Yang), a young Asian-American kid with a traditional Asian family as they attempt to adjust to life in a new environment. Changes and culture shock are in order for the whole family, but Eddie has the most difficult time trying to adapt. How will the Yang family fare in Orlando? You will have to watch the show to find out.
Being an Asian-American, I found this show to be hilarious and filed with a lot of common themes I lived through myself. The jokes were spot on, but they were a bit heavy on the generalizations and stereotypes. On the bright side, everyone is mocked in this show and no one is safe. I found the first episode to be cleverly written and felt it will appeal to the growing Asian-American population, but will leave other audiences scratching their heads. There are other shows that have tried to go down this path before, but none have been so open and comical about the issues facing Asian families trying to adjust to life in America.
I would watch future episodes and hope they can elaborate on the individual storylines of the other family members. The issues of school and starting school are playfully addressed in the first episode and a great set-up for the rest of the season. This is a good-hearted show that will surely appeal to audiences and make you laugh along the way. For those reasons, I am giving the pilot episode of “Fresh off the boat” an “A.”