Fresh Off the Boat is a rarity for a television show. It focuses on a Chinese family, and was picked up and renewed by a major network: ABC. It is also based off of Chef Eddie Huang’s memoir of the same title.
The show is centred on a Chinese family who move from the Chinatown area of Washington D.C. to suburban Orlando, Florida. The Huang family consists of father Louis, mother Jessica, son Eddie, his two little brothers Evan and Emery, and their wheelchair-bound grandmother. Since this is the only show of its kind on cable television, I wondered what kind of light it portrayed Chinese families in, and how heavily it played on stereotypes.
Overall, the show portrays a pretty stereotypical family. Louis moves his family to a different city to follow his idea of the American dream. Jessica puts great emphasis on academics and always wants her children to be the best of the best. Eddie is the slacker child who tries to be cool and sometimes succeeds at it, while his younger brothers are child prodigies who can make a lightbulb work using nothing more than a can of soda and a glass contraption. The honorary old Chinese relative is the grandmother, who sits in front of the television all day, and leads a secret off-camera life that escapes the family’s attention.
What prevents Fresh Off the Boat from being another forgettable cookie-cutter race sitcom are the refreshing quirks of each character. Ask yourselves: when was the last time a TV show starred an eleven year-old Chinese boy who loves hip-hop? The answer is never.
Contrary to stereotypes, the mom Jessica cares about things other than grades. She is probably a three on the tiger-mom scale. She is completely okay with Eddie experimenting in the love department and tries but fails to give him emotional and relationship advice.
I love that the writers didn’t introduce a token Chinese best friend for Jessica; that would have been boring and predictable. Her BFF is her exact opposite: a blonde woman named Honey who likes to jog and married an older man who has a teenage daughter who despises her step-mom.
Evan is the youngest child in the Huang family, and although he is only eight, he manages to charm the neighbourhood ladies and conducts neighbourhood meetings. Meanwhile, Emery is a ladykiller and a genius. It’s hilarious to see a ten-year-old boy getting 150 percent on a quiz and having a girl on each arm.
My personal favourite character, however, is Louis. He positively portrayed and is so perfectly westernised that it’s magical. He opens a steakhouse called “Cattleman’s Ranch,” hires all white people, and speaks fluent English. He usually plays the “good cop” and is the chill parent who lets his kids go to sleepovers and play ball, instead of forcing them to do homework 24/7. He encourages them to do their own thing. His laid-back attitude perfectly checks his wife’s paranoia, overprotectiveness, and her constant need to micromanage.
If I have yet to convince you to check out Fresh Off the Boat and follow the lives of a family of loveable misfits, then I haven’t done this show justice. I strongly urge you to watch this fantastic show, streaming on Shomi and airing on ABC.
