Yeo Yann Yann talks American Born Chinese's success and her dreams for season 2
New York, New York - American Born Chinese has thrilled viewers with its humor, imagination, and heart – qualities that Yeo Yann Yann's character Christine Wang has in spades. The star sat down with TAG24 NEWS to discuss the show's representation of Asian culture, its staggering break into the mainstream, and what makes her role so influential.
American Born Chinese, the Disney+ TV Show based on Gene Luen Yang's graphic novel of the same name, first premiered on May 24. Since then, the genre-bending series has found massive success, even scoring a screening at the White House in celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
The International Emmy Award nominee stars as Christine Wang, the stern yet hilarious mother of protagonist Jin, played by Ben Wang. As Jin navigates the challenges of high school while also discovering his connections to ancient Chinese legends, Christine provides a vital sense of grounding amid the high-stakes adventure.
The relationship between the characters plays a central role in the series. The very first scene shows the mother-son duo shopping for school clothing in a sequence that displays Christine's wicked sense of humor, trademark stubbornness, and the non-stereotypical parenting style that drew Yeo to the role.
"From that short scene, I already loved Christine because she's not the usual 'tiger mom' you see on screen. She could be a little too stingy, but from that scene, you can see the differences in upbringing with her and Jin," Yeo said.
"She's trying very hard to understand her son, and her son is also trying very hard to communicate with her. But somehow, there's a breakdown in the two ways of thinking because of the different upbringings, but she never gives up."
This central coming-of-age storyline, largely carried out through Christine and Jin, is part of what Yeo believes makes American Born Chinese so appealing.
Yeo Yann Yann on how American Born Chinese broke into the mainstream
"All of the characters are universally felt," Yeo told TAG24. "When the show started, I got messages from people all over the world saying that they felt for the family and enjoyed the fight scenes and the mythological stories."
She recalled an emotional fan interaction where she and Ben Wang were stopped by a woman who told them how much the show meant to her 11-year-old son. The woman, who was a Romanian immigrant, told Yeo that American Born Chinese had given the boy "inspiration" amid struggles with vicious bullies at school.
"The theme is really about a 15-year-old trying to find himself. I think this is a very universal theme. Who hasn't been through that 15-year-old awkward time – wherever you grew up?"
Also boosting the show's success were several of Yeo's co-stars, as American Born Chinese saw the reunion of Everything Everywhere All at Once stars Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu, and James Hong.
While the movie had been filmed a good while before, its historic success during the 2023 awards season would come shortly before the show's release. "They were incredible in the show, and I have to thank them for working so hard to make their work visible to a white audience," Yeo said.
She also fondly recalled the "incredible" moments of learning of the Academy Award nominations for the film as well as acting nods for Quan, Yeoh, and Hsu. Yeoh later became the first Asian woman to win Best Actress, while Quan became the first Asian actor to win Best Supporting Actor. The movie took home seven awards in total that night, including Best Picture.
"During the Oscars, I was in Hong Kong, and we were gathered in a friend's hotel room watching it, and we screamed when Ke won, when Michelle won... it was a really incredible moment," Yeo said.
"I'm sure it helped it with our publicity for American Born Chinese, and I'm truly honored to be called their co-star in the show."
Will there be second season of American Born Chinese?
While there hasn't been any official word on a second season of American Born Chinese, the cast and crew have been open about their desire to expand the story and explore the many possibilities left open by season one's conclusion.
Yeo certainly sees these opportunities, saying that the trials of growing up, as evidently experienced by Jin and his family, never truly end.
"For Christine, she will continue to go through her trials to find her place in the world and, more importantly, to find home in your heart, so I look forward to that," she said.
In the meantime, Yeo hopes viewers learn an important lesson of empathy and warmth from her character's journey in season one.
"The quality I loved the most in Christine was her cheerfulness," she told TAG24. "She's not a perfect human, she's flawed, but she never gives up, and she keeps her cheerfulness."
"That encourages me, and I hope the audience is affected by how she's so positive."
Fans can catch Yeo in her next project, Havoc, when it hits Netflix later this year. The action thriller flick also stars Tom Hardy, Jessie Mei Li, and Forest Whitaker. While she couldn't tell TAG24 too much about the project just yet, she praised the "passionate" team behind the movie.
American Born Chinese is now streaming on Disney+.
Cover photo: Collage: TAG24