As you may have heard, ABC recently ordered Dr. Ken, starring and executive produced by Ken Jeong, for its 2015-16 lineup. That means between this sitcom and Fresh Off the Boat, which has been renewed for a second season, there will be no less that two Asian American families on network television. How about that?
Inspired by his own experiences as a real-life doctor, Jeong stars as a brilliant but frustrated HMO doctor juggling, medicine, marriage and parenting -- and succeeding at none of them. The multi-camera comedy also stars Suzy Nakamura as Allison, Tisha Campbell-Martin as Damona, Dave Foley as Pat, Jonathan Slavin as Clark, Albert Tsai as Dave and Krista Marie Yu as Molly.
Here's ABC's trailer for the pilot:
All things considered, this looks pretty good, if the traditional multicam comedy format is your thing. You can probably expect consistent setup-punchline pacing, the studio audience laugh track, and the endaring hug-it-out resolution. It's a reliable, time-tested package. Not to mention this casting looks great.
Honestly, at this point, my favorite thing about Dr. Ken is that the whole thing looks so normal. These Asian American characters are so freaking normal -- workplace conflict, being overprotective of the teenage daughter, the school talent show... it's all really tried-and-true sitcom stuff. And I mean that in a good way.
I'm looking forward to seeing this show find an audience and grow.
Dr. Ken will air Fridays this fall on ABC.