It's no secret that 2023 was a rough year for cancellations, as it seemed like no show was safe. Some that had been on for a while were even axed, but what was worse was the one-season shows that got the boot. Sadly, it seems like this trend has not changed as the 2024 TV schedule kicks into high gear because Disney+ has just handed out its first cancellation of the year despite the show getting high praise.
According to Deadline, the streamer has canceled fantasy action comedy American Born Chinese after only one season. Based on the graphic novel of the same name by Gene Luen Yang, the series centered on tenth grader Jin Wang who is tasked with showing a new exchange student around, then he is unexpectedly thrust into a battle between mythical Chinese gods. Ben Wang, Yeo Yann Yann, Chin Han, Ke Huy Quan, Jimmy Liu, Sydney Taylor, Daniel Wu, and Michelle Yeoh starred in the series, which was created by Kelvin Yu.
News of the cancellation comes over six months after the first season dropped, as options on the cast recently expired. On top of its Disney+ premiere, American Born Chinese also streamed on Hulu, The Roku Channel, and YouTube TV, and was broadcast on ABC over the summer. The series received positive reviews from critics, and it has a 94% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, making it Certified Fresh. Even despite the strong praise and talented cast starring Asian actors, Deadline reports that the series was unable to bring in enough viewers, even with the multiple ways to watch.
American Born Chinese's studio 20th Television is reportedly planning to shop the series around in the hopes of it getting another life. As with any canceled series, there’s always the chance it could come back. The fact that it has positive reviews does give it a bit of an edge, but nothing is ever guaranteed.
Even though the series only premiered in 2023, it had actually been in the works for a while. Author Gene Luen Yang told CinemaBlend that it took him a decade to agree to a TV adaptation. He shared he was worried that some of the issues he talked about in the book “would actually get undermined by the adaptation.” Once he met Fresh Off the Boat producer Melvin Mar, who introduced him to Kelvin Yu, he felt that they understood what he wanted to do with the book, and he “felt safe with them.”
American Born Chinese and its all-star Asian American cast can be streamed with a Disney+ subscription. It’s possible that if enough fans tune in, the streamer could reverse its decision, or it may at least help get other platforms interested. You never know what could happen.
