The alphabet network has had mixed luck launching new sitcoms this season. Manhattan Love Story and Selfie have already been cancelled due to low ratings while Black-ish is on track to be renewed for a second season. How’s Fresh Off the Boat been doing? Does it have a chance at returning next fall?
On Fresh Off the Boat, a Taiwanese family moves from Chinatown in Washington, DC to Orlando, Florida. They open a steak restaurant and experience serious culture shock while pursuing the American Dream. The family members are played by Randall Park, Constance Wu, Hudson Yang, Forrest Wheeler, and Ian Chen.
The new ABC series debuted with a pair of episodes on February 4th, surrounding a new episode of the network’s highest-rated sitcom, Modern Family. It performed very well with the two episodes averaging a 2.4 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 7.71 million viewers.
The following week, Fresh Off the Boat moved to its regular Tuesday night timeslot. While the ratings came down quite a bit in week two, the sitcom did well — especially considering it didn’t have any lead-in support or big name actors in its cast. In week three, the show’s audience grew slighty to a 1.9 demo rating and 6.17 million viewers.
Last week saw the numbers inch downward but they could have dropped a lot more considering The Voice, NBC’s biggest series, started airing on Tuesdays.
Fresh Off the Boat is currently averaging a 2.0 rating in the coveted demo with 6.54 million viewers. It’s not a ratings hit but it is doing well for ABC on a night that’s been a real challenge for the network in the past couple years.
Unless the ratings take a big tumble all of a sudden, this series looks like a shoo-in to be renewed for the 2015-16 season.
But, what do you think? Do you like the Fresh Off the Boat TV show on ABC? Do you think it should be cancelled or renewed for a second season?
I think it’s great! It’s well done and has a lot of smart humor. I really hope it keeps running.
Personally I like the show and hope it stays around!
This is tough but I’ll say KEEP IT even though I’m Vietnamese-American.
they cancelled Selfie for this horrible show! please pull the plug on this show!
This is a great show, better than Selfie, though I did like Selfie. FotB will be around forever.
I very much enjoy the show. Love the interactions of the children with the adults. As long as it doesn’t get too silly, I will continue watching.
Keep it!!!! It’s funny to 6M+ Asian and non-Asian Americans in this country. I really wonder about the people who think its racist – are they offended that the lead character stood up to someone who called him a chink? Are they offended that Asian Americans are shown with and without accents, or reality for 70% of Asian American families. Are they offended that Asian Americans have stories that can relate to every American? Or that the mother is assertive, and not some weak, submissive, push over dragon lady? Or maybe they hate change and feel comfortable in continuing to… Read more »
@ ANTHONY Actually thats the point. You’re supposed to see this family like any other American family. That’s what we want. The show is showing how despite not being white (or black), Asian American families had similar experiences growing up that many of us can relate to. There are enough TV shows and movies that do ethnic”jokes. Frankly I’m tired of seeing the white establishment pointing out my Asianness. Those jokes are old and tired.
I think the show is entertaining. We spend so much time being offended. Laugh with someone, not at them. The show offers light hearted laughter. Sad that everything offends. Season two please, how long was neighbors on????
That was me back in the 90s!! I was 12 and was the only Asian in my small private school! I had great friends though. But the mom is totally like my mom!! Love Constance Wu.
Love the show. It reminds me of Everybody Hates Chris. I hope it stays!
Love the program. Halarious. Watch it bc it makes me laugh. Please keep it
Bottom line for us is that it makes us laugh, so we’ll keep watching.
Cancel it. I am of Chinese-descent and this show is insultingly racist
I am Taiwanese and I don’t find the show racist in any way. If you find this show racist, you need to re-evaluate what racism means. Making jokes about your differences is not racist. The audience is laughing with you, not at you.
This show is unfunny to its core. The writing is by committee none of whom are Chinese. How are you suppose to portray for a Chinese experience yourself without having experience it? This is ethnic family sitcom afraid of the doing ethnic jokes. Bring back the Jeffersons please! The portrayal of Chinese Americans is what middle America is comfortable with. You can tell ABC used focus group surveys before releasing the show. In fact your replace the Chinese family in the show with any other ethnic group and not know the difference
Totally untrue. I find so many of the experiences on the show were similar to mine growing up as a Taiwanese immigrant in America. The tiger mom, the over achieving brothers, even the grandmother that didn’t speak English. There were so many things I had in common with Eddie that I wondered if they were writing about my life. (except I was into grunge/punk/metal instead of hip-hop). Incidentally, I think Eddie’s Grandparents lived down the street from me in Taiwan when I was there.
Great show. Halarious. Keep it for sure. Great laughs