'Fresh off the Boat' Canceled by ABC After 6 Seasons
ABC has canceled the Constance Wu-starring series Fresh Off the Boat after six seasons. According [...]
ABC has canceled the Constance Wu-starring series Fresh Off the Boat after six seasons. According to a source close to production who spoke with Vulture, the alphabet network chose not to order more episodes of the comedy, which will conclude with the upcoming 15th episode of Season 6, set to air at the beginning of next year. ABC has not yet confirmed the news.
The news comes just months after the series became shrouded in controversy after Wu's Twitter outburst following the Season 6 renewal. Responding to a fan who congratulated her on the continued success of the series, writing that it was "great news," the actress wrote that "No it's not." She followed that tweet with another in which she said she was "so upset right now I'm literally crying. Ugh. F–."
After the outburst, the actress posted a lengthy statement later that day in which she explained she was feeling "conflicted" about the show's pickup saying she was "temporarily upset... not [because] I hate the show, but [because] its renewal meant I had to give up another project that I was really passionate about."
The damage, however, seemed to already be done, and talk that the actress would get the ax from the series was sparked, though ABC Entertainment President Karey Burke later confirmed that the family comedy series would return on Fridays in the fall, "still starring Constance Wu."
"No, there have been no thoughts on recasting Constance. We love what she does on the show and we love the show," Burke said during Upfronts. "We never really considered not bringing back Fresh Off the Boat. The show is just too strong and we love it."
"I'm going to choose to believe Constance's most recent communication about the show -- that she is happy to return," she continued. "The cast and crew is happy to have her back and we're thrilled to keep her with the show."
Loosely based on Eddie Huang's memoir of the same title, Fresh Off the Boat stars Wu and Randall Park as Taiwanese immigrants who move to Orlando in the '90s to open a restaurant and raise their three sons. Huang narrated the first season, but thanks to creative disagreements with ABC, he left the production and was concerned about its authenticity.
Aside from Wu and Park, the series also stars Hudson Yany, Forrest Wheeler, Ian Chen, Lucille Soong, Chelsey Crisp, and Ray Wise.
In August, it was reported that ABC was developing a Fresh Off the Boat spinoff series to be written by flagship series writer-producer Rachna Fruchbom. The series will reportedly follow an Indian family whose daughter goes to school with Eddie, though it is still in the early stages of development and has not yet begun to film.