Why Eddie Huang losing control of ‘Fresh Off The Boat’ turned out for the best: Column

- OPINION -

A few weeks before ABC’s “Fresh Off The Boat” debuted in February, Eddie Huang, whose life and memoir provide the premise for the show, came out swinging and his punches were aimed at the show itself.

“The network tried to turn my memoir into a cornstarch sitcom and me into a mascot for America. I hated that,” Huang wrote in a column for Vulture magazine.

It sent audiences a mixed message to say the least and although his arguments made sense, the timing certainly did not.

He felt his legitimacy as a hard-nosed artist being threatened by ABC’s interpretation of his book. In the heat of the moment he chose to value his ego over the success of a show that could mean so much to a disappointingly underrepresented minority in network television and even Hollywood as a whole.

It’s difficult to disagree that compared to the book, the series is considerably watered down. We’re not seeing the makings of a celebrity chef as he deals drugs or decides to dabble in the adult entertainment industry before finding his true calling.

Sure, there might be a market for that, but the issue at hand is so much bigger than Huang and his story. The show isn’t even really about him, it’s about a family taking risks and beginning a new life.

Where Huang’s memoir is raw and gritty, the show is funny and heart warming. Both are entirely different products at their core and are aimed at different audiences.

When he lost most of his creative control to ABC it was honestly for the best. Maybe not in his eyes, but for many Asian Americans who have struggled to find a positive voice in American pop culture, it felt like a step in the right direction.

The show debuted with almost eight million viewers with a little help from a “Modern Family” lead-in, but even after being relegated to prime time on Tuesdays — where comedies historically go to perish — it stood its ground and brought in six million viewers on a consistent basis ever since.

Established critics, including an editor for Vulture who published Huang’s essay, have predicted that the show will be renewed for a second season.

There’s something about the sitcom that is resonating with the masses.

It’s not just the sentimental 90s references or the novelty of Asian-themed subplots in prime time network television. Those are just secondary to the driving forces of familial bonds and the desperate desire to belong. The show is universal at it’s very core.

When the mother Jessica (Constance Wu) peaks through a window to see her husband Louis (Randall Park) playing basketball with the kids, when they should be studying by her normally strict rules, audiences get to see a softness and a new dimension to the “Tiger Mom” stereotype.

When Eddie (Hudson Yang) has a hard time fitting in at school because the traditional Taiwanese food his mother packs alienates him from others, she makes the cultural compromise of buying him Lunchables because she can relate to her son’s difficulties fitting into a new environment.

Is the show realistic? Not always, but neither are the majority of other successful sitcoms.

Sometimes the accents are distracting (or somehow manage to completely vanish) and sometimes the writing is a bit contrived, but after many weeks of solid ratings and promising reviews, the scrutiny starts to feel a little heavy handed.

Most of the people who are watching the show are learning to brush off the imperfections because the characters are worth following.

“Fresh Off The Boat” entertains, brings audiences back each week and allows the general public to feel comfortable watching a good story led by Asian American faces.

There is no doubt that there were compromises made along the way, but if the show continues to succeed and gets renewed for another season it’s not only a victory for the show and the network, but it would also set a precedent for mainstream media to take more chances on diverse casts.

If Huang wanted his story to stay true to its roots in moving to a visual medium, he should have sold the rights to an independent filmmaker he trusted, not to a media conglomerate that’s bent on drawing in as many viewers on an outdated platform.

Who knows? If he had taken the former route, he might have had a hit on his hands that he could hold up proudly, but that’s not the case here.

Instead, he’s the producer of a network television sitcom and whether or not he likes it the formula is working.