American Born Chinese needs to return!

Less than 24 hours ago, various news outlets announced that Disney+ decided to suddenly cancel American Born Chinese (2023) after one--ONE SEASON! It has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 94% since it first aired on May 24th, 2023! I know I am not the only one baffled at this decision. According Variety (linked here and available below), "viewership did not justify greenlighting a second season. [sic]" While in Deadline (linked here and available below), the cast members' options expired yesterday and Disney+ announced the cancellation soon after. 20th Television, owned by The Walt Disney Company, is shopping around for other networks to take up the show, but the future of American Born Chinese is uncertain and still up-in-the-air.

American Born Chinese show provides insight in being different and living multi-culturally while navigating the troubles of growing up and self-assurance. The show is revamped from its source material and graphic novel of the same name by Gene Luen Yang. There is some but not much in accessible, mainstream media of Asian American representation and accurate sociocultural depictions for the current generation. In the past media, Asian Americans are traditionally stereotyped as either smart but physically weak, academically-driven parents who want their children to have the top grades of their classes, or token martial artists hired by the antagonists. 

American Born Chinese depicts its characters as multifaceted people who break these decades-long stereotypes Asian Americans are still painted with today. Here are only a few examples (the order is by how many episodes the characters appear in):

1. Jin Weng (played by Ben Wang) has difficulty with bullies and is into comics, manga, and action figures, and later joins the school soccer team. 
2. Sun Wei-Chen (played by Taiwanese actor Jimmy Liu) is both an excellent martial artist and very, very skilled in mathematics.
3. Guanyin Pusa (played by multi-award-winning actress Michelle Yeoh, first Asian to win the Academy Award for Best Actress and made history for her win!) is calm goddess, a skilled martial artist, and not the best at set-up IKEA furniture.
4. Jamie Wang (played by multi-award-winning actor Ke Huy Quan, known for his role in Goonies (1985), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), Finding ʻOhana (2021), Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022), & season 2 of Loki (2021)) is down-to-Earth, hopeful, and uplifting actor despite walking away from Hollywood.
5. Sun Wukong (played by Daniel Wu) is a mature, stern father who loves his son and can see his younger, more rebellious self in Wei-Chen.
6. Anuj (played by Bengali-American actor Mahi Alam) is a male who openly loves cosplay and deft with makeup and creating costumes; he breaks the toxic masculinity stereotype of sewing and makeup as feminine pursuits!
7. Amelia Taylor (played by Sydney Taylor) is kind, stands-up for friends, and illustrates an inter-racial friendship and later (Spoilers if you haven't watched the Season One finale!) romance.
8. Suzy Nakamura (played by Rosalie Chiang with Taiwanese-Singaporean roots) is firm but not overbearing, comes to the defense of others, and observant and caring.

Children will not have to view themselves in a box created by perpetuating, societal norms. As the saying goes, "Seeing is believing" and children and adults regardless of backgrounds and races and ages can see themselves in the relatable characters of American Born Chinese. From the mom raising her child and wanting a better life for her family, the dad having trouble getting noticed at work in hopes of getting a promotion despite his fear of getting the wrong attention and the possibility of instead getting fired, to the kid who doesn't want to be bullied for things outside of his control.

It is important for the American Born Chinese to continue in order to showcase differences in being a different type of American and normalizing these Asian-American differences from food to cultural behaviors to language barriers. I wish I had American Born Chinese air when I was growing up for the way the show depicts the challenges of growing in a country that stigmatizes Asian perspectives, differing sociocultural norms of identity and filial piety, and the feeling of having to hide one's heritage in order to have some sense of belonging outside of the security of home. 

American Born Chinese integrates a classical, Chinese tale titled, Journey to the West, seamlessly with the current day. Not so near equivalents of Journey to the West is Americans reading Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) by Mark Twain, The Invisible Man (1952) by Ralph Ellison, and To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) by Harper Lee. However, Journey to the West is a staple of Chinese culture, printed in 1592, and its tale known for beyond five generations (if you count 25 years for one generation).

Television has been and continues to be large source of exposure people--not just children--have into the lives of various people. Similar to black-ish (2014) and mixed-ish (2019) and Fresh Off the Boat (2015) and One Day at a Time (2017) and Kung Fu (2021), American Born Chinese provides a window into lives of people who are sidelined by mainstream, American media. 

The sheer diversity and inclusion of various Asian communities is visible from the cast and crew, culture, stunts and fight scenes, costuming, and interpersonal relationships among the characters! Sans beings from Buddhist and Taoist pantheons injecting in daily life, the show is a wonderful depiction of real life!

Despite my dislike of The Walt Disney Company's decision to cancel the show, I will and do respect said decision. Thank you The Walt Disney Company for having Season One produced and for airing it on Disney+ for so many, many to enjoy and see themselves on the big screen and represented.

My hope is for Netflix, with their sheer Reach and variety of content, to pick up American Born Chinese for Season 2 and beyond. My second hope is if Season 2 is green-lit, Season 1 will also migrate over to Netflix.

American Born Chinese has only begun its story and its impact!

So, Please Sign and Share.

Thank you for reading my lengthy petition for American Born Chinese, and wishing you, your family and friends, and loved ones and supporters a Good 2024!

LINKS BELOW:

American Born Chinese Title Logo from American Born Chinese Wiki (https://american-born-chinese.fandom.com/ with image titled "What Guy Are You Watch for Free Announcement 01" :
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/project-abc/images/0/00/What_Guy_Are_You_Watch_for_Free_Announcement_01.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20230622041905

Rotten Tomatoes page:
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/american_born_chinese

Variety Article:
https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/american-born-chinese-canceled-disney-plus-1235862458/

Deadline Article: 
"‘American Born Chinese’ Canceled By Disney+ After One Season"
https://deadline.com/2024/01/american-born-chinese-canceled-disney-plus-1235695536/

Journey to the West Wikipedia Page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_to_the_West

Publication years for Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) by Mark Twain, The Invisible Man (1952) by Ralph Ellison, and To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) by Harper Lee were found on Wikipedia.org

AMERICAN BORN CHINESE (2023) Behind-the-Scenes Culture by FilmIsNow Movie Bloopers & Extras:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hRu_Lup4bw

AMERICAN BORN CHINESE (2023) Behind-the-Scenes Stunts by FilmIsNow Movie Bloopers & Extras:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pe1rO7dYKv0

AMERICAN BORN CHINESE (2023) Behind-the-Scenes Costumes by FilmIsNow Movie Bloopers & Extras:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C15WU0XKOjc

American Born Chinese IMDB  Cast & Crew Page:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15552018/fullcredits/?ref_=tt_ql_1

American Born Chinese Wiki Page (used for detailed reference):
https://american-born-chinese.fandom.com/wiki/American_Born_Chinese_Wiki