Asian American Web Series
In alphabetical order. Annotated descriptions continually added. Updated 1/2
This is a list of scripted web shows (or webisodes), starring, marketed to or produced by people who identify as Asian, Asian American and/or Pacific Islander. It also includes a list of prominent personalities and producers within the web video marketplace.
Please send suggestions and comments — especially if you want your series listed or if there is a mistake on your listing — to my email address (aj(at)ajchristian(dot)org) or in the comments section. This list was co-edited with Lori Kido Lopez, assistant professor of Media and Cultural Studies in the Communication Arts department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Dr. Lopez and I have starred** personal favorites, popular series or ones worth checking out — though I haven’t seen every series in full, so please explore!
Series
Alfie the Office Dog, http://www.youtube.com/playlist
ISAtv presents a brand new web series introducing Alfie, a loveable and hardworking dog, that’s just trying to do his best around the ISA office.
Away We Happened, http://awaywehappened.com/
A web series from Wong Fu made in June 2012 where fans helped to decide the plot. Starring Victor Kim and Jen FrmHeadToToe.
**Awesome Asian Bad Guys, http://www.facebook.com/AwesomeAsianBadGuys
Awesome Asian Bad Guys (AABG) is a 5-episode action comedy web series that’s a cross between The Expendables and Dumb & Dumber. The story follows two filmmakers who rush to assemble a volatile group of Asian bad guy actors to take down LA’s most nefarious mobster. But in order to pull off this deadly mission, this unpredictable batch of misfits must do the one thing they hate most – work together.
The YOMYOMF Network presents a comedy webseries BFF’s about four best friends—Jessica, Courtney, Betsey, and Sam—who live by a simple code: to fight the power of Suck by any means necessary.
Boystown, http://www.youtube.com/boystownshow
Toronto-set series about three friends searching for sex and love.
Chop Socky Boom, http://www.chopsockyboom.com
Seattle independent filmmakers shoot a kung fu web series.
**Flat3, http://www.flat3webseries.com
Three women deal with living with each other and growing up in this New Zealand-based sitcom.
Home Is Where The Hans Are, http://youtube.com/wongfuproductions
Wong Fu Productions made this series about a broke young man who comes home to discover he has Asian American family members.
I Am Asian, How Are You?, http://iamasian.tv/
Scot Su, an all American-Asian, adopted and raised in Kansas, is a byproduct of American culture. Struggling with his cultural identity, he heads to Los Angeles to find his inner Asian roots while pursuing his dream of becoming an Internet talk show host. With the help of his friends, Kelly Nelly & Jax, they help Scot change the world, one guest at a time.
Katana, http://www.strike.tv/show/katana
In the dark recess of the Yakuza underworld, a sibling rivalry erupts into a full-blown civil war for control of a Japanese crime family.
Lumina Wong is beautiful and works far too much; although she lives in a city of millions, she still feels lonely and isolated. Late one night, Lumina has a chance encounter with Ryder Lee, a handsome young man from another world that she can only see in mirrors and darkened window reflections. She revels in the fantasy relationship until mirrorspy Eben Sanchez comes into her life, warning her of the treacheries of the people of the Dark Realm. Soon Lumina must choose between the safety of the world she knows and the deadly allure of the unknown.
Manivore, http://youtube.com/arowanafilms
Annie Chew (Grace Su) loves to cook for men. But she can never find the right guy…until she meets Roger (Taylor Humphries) off the internet. A four-part romantic horror series.
Millions, http://millionstheseries.com/
Millions is a drama about a crew of twentysomethings that embark on a dangerous but ambitious journey to become millionaires.
Mixed Blooms, http://www.mixedblooms.com
Mixed Blooms is a comedy web series that follows florists Kim and Brian Fluge who run Kim N Bloom, a suburban flower shop, while raising their teenage daughter. They are alternately helped and hindered by their family and co-workers, which include Kim’s player brother and a seasoned floral designer who is more interested in men than flowers. Across the parking lot stands Mega Market whose manager is in constant competition with Kim. Watch The Fluge’s as they attempt to keep their shop running (sorta) smoothly.
Model Minority, http://www.modelminorityshow.com/
Model Minority is a dark comedy webseries set in the fictional town of Montreal, Canada. A young lawyer named May gets fired and dumped on the same day. With the help of her little brother and best friend, she must go find out why.
Mother Lover, http://www.youtube.com/playlist
Tim returns home from the Peace Corps to find that his best friend Chaz has married his mother. Now the two friends must live under one roof after one has broken the number one rule in bro code: don’t marry your bro’s mom.
**Mythomania, http://www.youtube.com/user/mythomaniashow
Mythomania is a dark comedy series about the hopes and (often crushed) dreams of a group of fledgling cartoonists. Meet Andy Go, an art school drop-out who has always dreamed of making a living as a professional cartoonist. But just like any aspiring artist, his path is littered with rejection letters and many a lonely night drawing while his friends live eventful lives outside of a comic book page. In the 1st season, Andy finally gets his chance to step out of the photo-copied “mini-comics” scene to the professional world when a famous cartoonist offers him his first published work. But between a new crush, his roommate’s amorous lifestyle, and visits from a peacock (?), it’s a race to the deadline!
Click here for my interview with creator, Derek Kirk Kim.
**My Best Gay Friends (Bộ Ba Đĩ Thõa), YouTube
A gay man kicked out of his parents house on his 20th birthday — so he will learn to be successful — comes of age in Vietnam with his gay and lesbian friends in this popular sitcom. With English subtitles.
**Nice Girls Crew, http://www.facebook.com/ngcseries; http://www.youtube.com/caamchannel
Sheetal Sheth, Michelle Krusiec and Lynn Chen star in this raunchy Bridesmaids-meets-Arrested Development, no-holds-barred comedy series. Assembling an all-star cast of actresses, Nice Girls Crew crosses the line of traditional comedy — and then goes a little further.
**Normal Gays, http://www.youtube.com/tommydelisledo
Tommy Do (Which Way) created this offbeat comedy about “normal gays.”
On the Clock, http://youtube.com/caamchannel
The Center for Asian American Media invites you to their offices.
A dark comedy, One Warm Night is One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest meets 12 Angry Men meets Clue. A near-murder whodunit, involving a beautiful girl who invites her past boyfriends to reveal a life-changing secret. This unwitting group of misfits and oddballs find themselves caught in a game of cat-n-mouse as a plot to murder them all unfolds. But who is trying to kill them? Things heat up as a multitude of mysteries are revealed, leaving even the most aware guessing at what is truly “real” in the crazy twists and turns of One Warm Night.
**Prison Dancer, http://prisondancer.com; http://youtu.be/PgdGbzppqew
Prison Dancer is an interactive web musical that tells the story of 6 Filipino prisoners whose lives are forever changed by the dancing rehabilitation program that eventually became a worldwide viral sensation on YouTube. Through surveillance footage, interviews with inmates inside the prison, and good old fashioned investigative journalism, pop culture journalist Matt Wells uncovers the personal, poignant, hilarious and universal stories of 6 prison dancers whose group dancing turned a maximum security jailhouse into a world stage.
**Riley Rewind, http://www.youtube.com/RayWilliamJohnson
YouTube star Ray William Johnson brings you this teen drama about a girl who can rewind time.
Silent Terror, http://www.youtube.com/playlist
A special anthology of horror short films directed by four of Asia’s top horror directors. It includes eerie tales influenced by urban legends, local ghost stories, and ancient traditions that make the Asian horror genre a prominent staple in modern cinema, yet translate universally through the horror genre. Entitled Silent Terror, this special series has a common thread that creates an interesting obstacle for each director to tell their scary tale: no dialogue.
A webseries developed from Andrea Lwin’s one-woman show. The show revolves around Andrea’s pursuit of an acting career despite her parent’s wishes.
SuperTwins!, http://www.supertwins.tv/
SuperTwins! is a comedic web series about fraternal super heroes. Karin and Kai are just two ordinary, mid-level superheroes getting by in New York. But when they find their Superhero Medallion suddenly revoked, they have to recapture the magic that made them famous in the first place.
**The Switch, Trembling Void
Sü informs her employers she is transgender and is promptly fired. She gets home and her landlord decides to renovate. This trans-produced Vancouver-based series follows Sü as she tries to find happiness while transitioning.
That’s What She Said, http://twssonline.com/
That’s What She Said chronicles the lives of five fictional characters–Leslie, Rae, Shin, Baby, and Nic–within the queer sphere of the greater Los Angeles area.
The Ho’s on 7th Avenue is a comedy web series about a family of adult siblings living together as the family dynamics within the house is changed when the older brother is forced to move back into the house after losing everything including his wife and job.
Urban Wolf, iTunes
Originally released on Sony’s Crackle, this 15-part suspense series won multiple awards, including a Webby.
**Video Game High School, http://www.youtube.com/freddiew
From Freddie Wong, Video Game High School is an action comedy about a fictional high school where students hone their crafts at various video games. In 2013 it became the highest-grossing crowdfunding campaign for a web series ever.
When it Counts, http://www.youtube.com/playlist
When it Counts is a webseries by Wong Fu Productions explores the relationships between 4 friends on a college hip hop team played by Phil Wang of Wong Fu Productions, Mike Song, Yuri Tag, and Aimee Lee Lucas. The interactive series offers the viewer an opportunity to give Tammy (the main character played by Yuri Tag) advice after each episode. Your advice may be featured in the series.
Personalities/Producers
Timothy “Traphik” DeLaGhetto
Christine Gambito (HappySlip)
Ryan Higa (nigahiga)
Nikki Limo
Justin Lin
Jessica Lizama
Michelle Phan
Freddie Wong
Kevin Wu
ABOUT TELEVISUAL
Televisual explores the art, culture and market for television.
Founding Editor: Aymar Jean Christian.
Contributing Editors: Jacob Nelson, Heidi Khaled
For inquiries, email Dr. Christian here.
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