Awkwafina, the rapper, comedian and actress who had a breakout year with Oceans 8 and Crazy Rich Asians, will soon star in her own scripted, self-titled comedy series. Comedy Central announced today that it had ordered 10 half-hour episodes of the series. The show will star the actress-writer-rapper as a young woman living with her father and grandmother in Queens, as she attempted to make a name for herself; its based on her formative years. She wrote the pilot with writers who have worked on SMILF and Family Guy.
Ive 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, Awkwafina said in a statement. 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.
Inspired by Awkwafinas formative years in Queens, the show is both a personal look into one of comedys brightest stars and also a relatable, funny profile of a young hustlers struggle, Comedy Centrals executive vice presidents, Sarah Babineau and Jonas Larsen, said in a joint statement.Were happy to be used as a pawn in Awkwafinas elaborate, EGOT endgame.
The show will also star Bowen Yang as her more successful cousin, BD Wong as her father and Lori Tan Chinn as her grandmother. Awkwafina serves as one of the shows executive producers.
In a Rolling Stone profile earlier this year, Awkwafina explained how she became a breakout success after writing a rap song called My Vag. She had been working as a publicity assistant at a publishing company but it provided a platform to become a singular personality. That is what I did right, in my whole life, she said of posting the My Vag video. I didnt expect anything to happen. There was no game plan. I had nothing to lose, yknow. And to this day, everything that has happened to me my first movie gig, my first non-music gig was all from that.