It was over before it even began.
On Wed, Sep 28, Deadline.com reported NBC’s plans of a new sitcom entitled Mail Order Family, which features “a widowed single father who orders a mail-order bride from the Philippines to help raise his two preteen daughters,” as described by producer-writer Jackie Clarke.
Concerned organizations and individuals immediately expressed their disapproval of the show, citing terrible repercussions if a major TV networks pushes through with the project.
Some members of the Asian-American community said the show makes light of the tragic realities of human trafficking and even racism.
To appease the understandably overwhelming online rage the network got after the announcement, Clarke tweeted that she was “hoping to make the stepmom a fully realized strong activated character.”
Just days after the news came out, NBC Entertainment decided to “not move forward with the project.”
NBC Entertainment released a statement saying, “We purchased the pitch with the understanding that it would tell the creator’s (Clarke) real-life experience of being raised by a strong Filipina stepmother after the loss of her own mother… The writer and producers have taken the sensitivity to the initial concept to heart and have chosen not to move forward with the project at this time.”
Keywords: At this time.
Perhaps this is a temporary triumph for breaking Asian stereotypes and a push towards the right direction in terms of Asian representation in Hollywood.
