The Good Place’s Jacksonville Jaguars megafan Jason Mendoza. Wealthy hotel heiress London Tipton from The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. Struggling single father Miggy Park in Single Parents. The oblivious yet charming Josh Chan of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. At first glance, they might not have that much in common, but under closer inspection, it’s clear that these characters are not exactly geniuses. However, characters like these three are helping pave a brighter future for Asian representation thanks to their dimwitted tendencies.

For far too long, there’s been a certain predictable expectation for Asian characters onscreen. They’re often nerdy, like that of Hiro Nakamura on NBC’s Heroes, or the youngest sibling on Fresh Off the Boat. Or maybe they’re good at computers and exceptionally intelligent, like Conrad Ricamora, who plays the hacking expert on How to Get Away With Murder, or Suraj Partha as Alex Dunphy’s academic rival on Modern Family.

But Asian characters onscreen should show the breadth of the Asian experience. Portraying Asian characters that don’t always have it together or ones that are more brawn than brains helps better reflect the real world, one where these sorts of people also exist. Unintelligent Asians are smart for television, shattering tired stereotypes and showing that there are plenty of ways to be Asian.

The Anti-Model Minority

Nancy Wang Yuen, a sociologist who wrote the book Reel Inequality: Hollywood Actors and Racism about minority representation, tells Teen Vogue that the model minority is among the most problematic and rampant stereotypes of Asians on television. The model minority label began in the 1960s as the notion that East Asians as a whole were financially and professionally well off, and it gradually came to include South Asians and Southeast Asians as well.

It is true that some Asian people will see themselves as studious or perfectionistic, and there is nothing wrong with being a high-powered Asian doctor or lawyer. However, the model minority stereotype is harmful because it reduces an entire race to one quality, ignores the diversity of their struggles, and puts undue pressure to achieve on Asians who don’t fit into or don’t want to be defined by that box.

By relying on longstanding stereotypes of Asians as the model minority or the “other,” depictions of Asians as geniuses or IT whizzes are limiting and unoriginal. But two recent shows contradict traditional tropes, interestingly enough, by going the other direction and bringing new life to another Asian archetype: the unintelligent Asian.