PEN15 is telling an Asian-American story rarely shown on screen

The Hollywood Reporter

Co-creator and co-star Maya Erskine has a lot in common with pop-culture stars like Chrissy Teigen and Olivia Munn -- they're all the product of an Asian immigrant mom and a white American dad. "As an Asian-American it felt like I never in a million years would have been able to play this role,” Erskine told The Hollywood Reporter. “I had never seen my specific story told of an immigrant mother and a white American dad and seeing that played out is really — I'm so grateful that we get to share that." As Gretchen Small adds: "PEN15 marks just one of several newer sitcoms that portrays the everyday Asian-American and Asian diaspora experience. Shows like Superstore, Kim’s Convenience, The Good Place and Fresh Off the Boat all delve into what it means to live as a first- or second-generation immigrant, where class and race intersect to create unique, sometimes painful, struggles. Not as blue-collar as Roseanne but more aware of social and economic hurdles than Modern Family, PEN15 and the rest are helping to refine the portrait of what it means to be American (or Canadian, in Kim’s Convenience’s case)."