

By Ed Diokno

It’s been a remarkable year for Asians on American television. The sheer number of Asian actors working is unprecedented.

There’s still that terrible stereotype that lives on in Two Broke Girls, but now Han Lee and the image that character perpetuates is balanced out by scores of other Asian roles. Now we can point to a wide gamut of roles played by Asians: Heroes, villains, lovers, businessmen, superheroes, fathers, mothers , doctors, cops, robbers and even a vampire killer.

The historic 2015 fall TV season listed over 52 roles played by Asian and Asian American actors and we are not even counting the upcoming Marco Polo and the Netflix movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon sequel. The winter season is about to begin in 2016 and we’ll see some new additions beyond what was mentioned in a previous blog.

RELATED: Every role played by Asian/Americans & Pacific Islanders this season

Superstore

NBC, Jan. 4

Sneak peek on Hulu now available.

Superstore will feature two Asian American actors, Filipino American Nico Santos and Nicole Bloom, whose mother is Japanese.

Santos stars as Mateo, a new super-energetic employee at Cloud 9, on the NBC comedy. He’s the co-worker everybody hates because he’s a brown-noser.

Bloom portrays Cheyenne, Cloud 9’s bubbly, young, pregnant employee.

America Ferrera (“Ugly Betty”) and Ben Feldman (“Mad Men,” “A to Z”) are the main stars in a workplace comedy about a unique family of employees at a supersized megastore. From the bright-eyed newbies and the seen-it-all veterans to the clueless summer hires and the in-it-for-life managers, together they tackle the day-to-day grind of rabid bargain hunters, riot-causing sales and nap-worthy training sessions. Did I mention it’s a comedy?

Santos was born and raised in the Philippines and assimilated into American culture rather quickly by living in California by way of Portland, Oregon. He started doing stand-up in San Francisco and, in just a short amount of time, conquered the Bay Area comedy scene with his acute observations and quirky characters.

Charming audiences all across the country with his sharp sarcastic wit and outrageous sensibility, Santos has that rare ability to be crass and snarky while at the same time remaining completely likable.

Santos has written for E! Network’s Fashion Police and appeared on screen on Showtime’s Pride Comedy Jam, as well as Ground Floor, Mulaney and 2 Broke Girls. He was also a regular panelist on Chelsea Lately and made his film debut in Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2.

Bloom was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. As a child, she loved creating characters and making movies at home, which led to her involvement in theater, starting at age eight. At 14, she made the transition to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting.

Bloom has studied at the Upright Citizens Brigade and the Groundlings Theatre and is a graduate of the University of Southern California. Prior to Superstore, she recurred on Showtime’s Shameless and can be seen in such films as Project X and Model Minority.

Rush Hour

CBS, 2016

Rush Hour is the TV version of the hit motion picture franchise that starred Jackie Chan and Chris Rock as an unlikely pair of LAPD detectives. On the small screen, Chan’s Detective Lee, a Hong Kong lawman assigned to the LAPD, is played by Jon Foo.

Det. Lee is described as a reserved, honorable master martial artist with lightning-fast moves who comes to L.A. to avenge his sister’s alleged death and learn more about her connection to a Chinese organized crime ring.

As in the motion picture, much of the comedy stems from the culture clash between the two main characters.

Foo comes from a line of experienced martial artists. His father practices karate and his mother, judo. Foo himself started learning kung fu at eight years old and began seriously training for wushu (traditional Chinese martial arts) at 15.

The CBS production is slated for a 2016 debut, but still doesn’t have a premiere date.

THE VAMPIRE DIARIES



CW Jan 28, 8 p.m. EST

Leslie-Ann (Delfin) Huff will be introduced this season in a recurring role on The Vampire Diaries, where she plays Rayna, a vampire hunter who returns to the world of the living to exact vengeance on her enemies. It’s a role she can bite into.

Portraying Rayna is a breakthrough for Huff. Together with other Filipino American actors, she has been working to improve and increase the number of Filipino artists with significant roles in Hollywood.

In a previous interview, she talked about her work ethic that must have played the part in booking the Vampire Diaries.

“Just be good at what you do and you are who you are. Maybe you are a person of color; maybe you are a woman; but your work is going to speak for yourself and that’s always my attitude going through projects,” she said.

A southern California native, she graduated from UC Berkeley with honors and was deeply involved in the Filipino student organization on campus, co-producing the traditional Pilipino cultural show.

Although her resume says she’s been acting since she was 5 years old, it wasn’t until 2006 when her career really started. She already has a long line of credits. Huff is a versatile actress with a knack for comedy. She’s also a writer-producer who creates her own opportunities as seen in her work in the independent short film Rosie, as well as her award-winning web series, The Lifesavers.

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Let’s hope that the networks are finally getting the message that diverse casts reflecting America is good business. That doesn’t mean that every show featuring Asian cast members will be a success or artistically acclaimed, there are going to be some clunkers along the way, just like all the other shows that have been cancelled prematurely.

That brings the total of 56 TV roles played by Asian actors … and counting.

(Ed Diokno writes a blog : Views From The Edge: news and analysis from an Asian American perspective.)