The Fresh Prince (Off the Boat)
In 2023, I went on a sitcom-bingeing spree. I found a sense of comfort in having a show to put on that didn’t require a ton of focus and allowed me to tune in at my own pace. Generally, I define a sitcom in the following terms: entertaining, usually comedy-centric, but with an underlying sense of community or some other such “feel good” tone; a recognizable main cast with strong recurring characters; and, interestingly, a contribution to or a read on the present “real-world” status of (usually) American society and culture. In this series, for each sitcom, I’ll be highlighting a “key episode” I feel encapsulates the spirit of the show, a personal favorite episode, and, lastly, the show’s “key character”—the show’s moral anchor, the character who sheds light on the larger societal implications of the story, and/or the person who joins the rest of the characters together. Bingeing sitcoms hasn’t been empty entertainment; it’s also taught me a lot about character and story.
I’m switching gears from raunchy comedy to family friendly new-age classic in this next post. ABC original series Fresh Off the Boat ran from 2015-2020, spanning a total of 6 seasons and 116 episodes. It features a family of Taiwanese-American immigrants, the Huangs, who, as the series opens, are relocating from Washington, DC to Orlando, Florida so that Louis Huang can open a Western-themed restaurant (“Cattleman’s Ranch”) in the new city. Many episodes focus on Eddie Huang, the family’s eldest child and a huge hip-hop and pop culture fan, who is learning to navigate school and maintain a social life. As the series moves on, the show also spotlights his parents, Louis and Jessica; his brothers, Emery and Evan; and his grandmother, Jenny.
Fresh Off the Boat
Runtime: 2015-2020
Key episode: “Ride the Tiger”
The immediate key episode that comes to mind is episode 16 of season 4, “Ride the Tiger”. Many episodes of Fresh Off the Boat confront the culture shock that assaults the Huang family after they move, and there’s an ongoing tension between tradition and the contemporary U.S. culture of the 90’s with which Eddie is so infatuated. A previous episode, for example, highlighted Eddie’s desire to eat Lunchables at school instead of the traditional meals his mother prepares. In this episode, the Lunar New Year is front and center. The principal characters here are Jessica Huang and her youngest son, Evan. For Chinese New Year, the family decides to play a game: they must speak only in Mandarin. Some characters, like Eddie, quickly bow out of the competition, but Jessica and Evan hang in strong, and their competition is prolonged for several days. Meanwhile, Jessica has an upcoming interview to discuss the book she’s recently published—as the interview draws closer, she realizes that she will lose the competition with Evan if she decides to give the interview in English. Meanwhile, Emery, the Huangs’ middle child, is recovering from a year of bad luck. A Chinese superstition states that in the year of your birth sign, you will suffer from bad luck, and this has been extremely accurate for Emery. At the same time, Eddie is puzzled that he has not received a lucky red envelope from family member Big Auntie and must ask his grandmother Jenny for help understanding why she’s angry with him.
Again, there are many episodes of Fresh Off the Boat that deal with cultural difference. This one particularly stands out for the extensive use of Mandarin, which is usually only spoken by Jenny. The children speak Mandarin at different levels of fluency, and the tension between Jessica and Evan in this episode gives rise to questions about belonging and social acceptance of languages other than English, particularly as Jessica wonders if the bet is worth being incomprehensible to most of her television interview’s vast audience, which may in turn affect her financial success as an author. At the same time, Emery is trying to come into himself, battling between the superstition’s imposed bad luck and the newfound tumultuous social sphere that comes with being a teenager. Eddie’s language and cultural barriers with Big Auntie, meanwhile, demonstrate several degrees of distance between the branches of their family. In this episode, we really get to see cultural struggle, a glimpse into the sacred traditions surrounding the Lunar New Year, and the importance of remaining true to oneself.
My Personal Favorite Episode: “Jessica Town”
It was hard for me to pick a favorite episode of Fresh Off the Boat—the earlier seasons were all charming, and there’s a lot of variety in central characters. I’m landing on “Jessica Town” to highlight the person who I believe (spoiler) is the key character in this series. As it turns out, Jessica Huang gets very excited about Christmas. From the day after Thanksgiving, she’s obsessed with having the “perfect” Christmas, down to the calligraphy on her Christmas cards. She develops a fantasy world, Jessica Town, that she daydreams about as she makes preparations for the holiday. A recurring character in the series is Lao Ban Santa, a Chinese Santa Claus character who Jessica dresses up as to visit her children, but Lao Ban Santa takes a back seat to Jessica Town, a very Western traditional Christmas town straight out of a Dickens novel. Predictably, her family’s shenanigans do not set them up for a perfect Christmas, and Jessica becomes frustrated that the real world is not as smooth and perfect as her fantasy world. However, she’s comforted by her love for Louis and the rest of her family, eventually learning that perfection is not the true spirit of the holiday. Holiday episodes hold a special place in my heart—and this one is unique, fun, and filled with amazing costumes.
Key Character: Jessica Huang
Constance Wu shines at everything she does, so it’s no surprise that her character, Jessica Huang, serves as the essential centerpiece of the series. Though the show started off focusing on Eddie, over time, concentration shifted to other characters in the family. Jessica is concerned with image, power, and success; she’s highly critical and incredibly stubborn. She rules over her household, the quintessential iron-handed mother. She also cares very deeply about her children, working to ensure their success at every turn, even if her strict parenting style ends up agitating them or skewing their favor towards Louis. As we see Jessica make contact with the world of white women in suburbia, struggle to fit in, and find solace in her friend Honey, the young outcast wife of her elderly neighbor, we’re left to consider the utility of such social structures and what’s important in a true friendship. Over time, we get to see Jessica progress her career, pursue more creative endeavors, and broaden her horizons in her community. No matter who the episode focuses on, Jessica remains the voice of reason, the character “in charge”. She holds the family together, and she’s great at it.
Final Thoughts
“Fresh Off the Boat” is an underrated classic that I don’t see mentioned as often or as fondly as shows like Modern Family that aired at the same time (though I love that one, too; look out for it in a future post). I admire its careful encapsulation of the era, rich exploration of blending cultures, and experimental storytelling. Constance Wu and Randall Park are an acting power couple, and it’s a pleasure to see their careers continue to thrive.