Entertainment
Fresh Off the Boat’s Showrunner Talks Joking About Race (Without Being Racist)
(Entertainment Weekly) – ABC’s newest quirky family sitcom, which premieres Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. ET, follows the Huang clan as they move from D.C.’s Chinatown to the lily-white Orlando suburbs. As the title (an epithet for recent immigrants) implies, Fresh isn’t afraid to court controversy—without making its characters into targets. EW spoke to creator Nahnatchka Khan about how she and her writers walk that line.
Let’s start at the beginning: How did you become the executive producer of this show?
I’d just done this show, Don’t Trust the Bitch in Apt. 23, that had been canceled. I drank for like two months straight. I was like, “I can’t handle this.” So after I came out of my drunken stupor, I read the book [Eddie Huang’s memoir Fresh Off the Boat], and I thought it was great. I really related to the first generation American/immigrant idea, because that’s my story as well. I’m not Chinese, but both of my parents were born in Iran; my brother and I were the first ones born here. First in our family to go to college, that whole thing. It just really resonated with me, [being] that sort of bridge generation between where you’ve come from and where you’re going.
The memoir Eddie Huang wrote literally takes it all the way up to adulthood, but there was a section based in Orlando in the mid-’90s, when his dad moved their whole family to start this Old West-themed steakhouse. I was like, “That’s where I would set the show.” ABC really got it—I pitched it to [ABC president] Paul Lee directly. He likes to say that he’s also an immigrant, but he comes from England, so I don’t know if that really counts. That’s like bringing in whiter people, you know? But they totally got it.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of March 5 – 11, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 5 – 11, 2025

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of February 26 – March 4, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of February 26 – March 4, 2025

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of February 19 – 25, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of February 19 – 25, 2025

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.
-
#NNPA BlackPress2 weeks ago
Target Takes a Hit: $12.4 Billion Wiped Out as Boycotts Grow
-
Activism4 weeks ago
U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Rep. Lateefah Simon to Speak at Elihu Harris Lecture Series
-
Alameda County4 weeks ago
After Years of Working Remotely, Oakland Requires All City Employees to Return to Office by April 7
-
Activism4 weeks ago
Actor, Philanthropist Blair Underwood Visits Bay Area, Kicks Off Literacy Program in ‘New Oakland’ Initiative
-
Activism4 weeks ago
Lawsuit Accuses UC Schools of Giving Preference to Black and Hispanic Students
-
Alameda County4 weeks ago
Lee Releases Strong Statement on Integrity and Ethics in Government
-
Activism4 weeks ago
Retired Bay Area Journalist Finds Success in Paris with Black History Tours
-
Activism2 weeks ago
Undocumented Workers Are Struggling to Feed Themselves. Slashed Budgets and New Immigration Policies Bring Fresh Challenges