Comedy Central has green-lit a scripted comedy from Crazy Rich Asians star Awkwafina. She is set to star in and executive produce the half-hour comedy Awkwafina, about a 20-something in Queens, striving for a larger than life existence while living with her father and grandmother. The 10-episode series also stars Bowen Yang as Awkwafina’s more successful cousin, BD Wong as her father and Lori Tan Chinn as her grandmother.
Awkwafina co-wrote the Lucia Aniello-directed pilot with Karey Dornetto and Teresa Hsiao. Awkwafina, Dornetto, Aniello are executive producers alongside Peter Principato and Itay Reiss of Artists First. Hsiao is co-executive producer, while Monika Zielinska, Adam Londy and Rachel Olson are executives in charge for Comedy Central.
“I’ve been watching Comedy Central since I was old enough to hold a remote, and so many of their shows have defined who I am today,” said Awkwafina. “I am so honored to be given their platform to tell the story of an Asian American girl against the backdrop of the city I was raised in.”
“This is a special project. Inspired by Awkwafina’s formative years in Queens, the show is both a personal look into one of comedy’s brightest stars and also a relatable, funny profile of a young hustler’s struggle,” said Sarah Babineau and Jonas Larsen, co-heads of development for Comedy Central. “We’re happy to be used as a pawn in Awkwafina’s elaborate, EGOT endgame.”
