Maybe Happy Ending Cast Perform NPR Tiny Desk Concert

And Other Items of Note From Angry Asian America.



Maybe Happy Ending: Tiny Desk Concert

What can robots teach us about humanity and about love? Maybe Happy Ending, the 2025 Tony Award winner for best musical, tells the unlikely story of two humanoid robots, as they fall in love while on a road trip. The show, including stars Darren Criss, Helen J. Shen, Marcus Choi, Dez Duron -- and Hwaboon -- recently paid a visit to NPR's Tiny Desk for a delightfully tiny performance.

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BEEF: Season 2 | Official Teaser

Netflix has released the first teaser trailer for the highly anticipated second season of Beef from showrunner Lee Sung Jin. Trading the parking lot for the country club, the new season begins when a young couple witnesses an alarming fight between their boss and his wife -- setting off a high-stakes game of favors and coercion within an elitist world ruled by a Korean billionaire. Season two premieres April 16.

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Chinatown Street to Be Named for Rescuer of Trafficked Girls

A stretch of street in San Francisco's Chinatown will be named to publicly honor one of the neighborhood’s fiercest heroes. Tien Fuh Wu spent half a century rescuing trafficked women and girls and taking care of them at the Occidental Mission Home, which was later renamed Cameron House. "Tien Fuh Wu Way" will cover the portion of Joice Street that runs alongside Cameron House, which continues to be a safe haven for children, as well as women dealing with domestic violence.

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The Many Lives of Michelle Yeoh

Michelle Yeoh talks about playing five different characters in Sean Baker's new film Sandiwara, how Quentin Tarantino convinced her not to retire, that viral "Wicked Witch" meme, and the highs and lows of her storied career. "If there's no up and down," she says, "you've flatlined."

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Hoppers Is the Craziest Pixar Movie Yet, and It Could Have Been Even Crazier

The new Pixar animated feature Hoppers involves body-swapping and flying sharks, both of which are absolute insanity from start to finish. But director Daniel Chong reveals that while the movie as it stands is admittedly crazy, it could have been a whole lot crazier.

Suspect Identified in Hate Crime Attack on 92-Year-Old Man

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.



Suspect Identified in Hate Crimes Assault of Elderly Man in Vancouver
Police say they have identified a suspect, based on numerous tips from the public, in the hate-crime assault of a 92-year-old Asian man in Vancouver. No word if an arrest has been made yet. On March 13, the elderly victim, who suffers from severe dementia, wandered into a convenience store and the suspect began yelling racist remarks at him, including comments about COVID-19. Once outside the store, the suspect shoved the man, which caused him to fall and hit his head. The suspect then fled before police arrived. Here's hoping they catch this piece of garbage and nail his ass.

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Surprise, Surprise. Trump's New HHS Spokesman Tweeted Racist Shit
And literally nobody is shocked to learn that Michael Caputo, the new spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, made racist and derogatory comments about Chinese people, among other things, in a series of now-deleted tweets. Caputo, a longtime New York Republican political operative who worked on Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, remarked that "millions of Chinese suck the blood out of rabid bats as an appetizer and eat the ass out of anteaters." He followed up at another user, "Don't you have a bat to eat?" and tweeted at another user, "You're very convincing, Wang." Seems like he'll fit in quite well with this administration.

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The Loh Down on Science: Special Pandemic Edition
=Hosted by Sandra Tsing Loh, The Loh Down on Science is a daily radio “minute” (90 seconds) of humorous yet informative current science. In light of recent events -- you know, the deadly global pandemic thing -- they're launching a limited radio/podcast series called The Loh Down on Science: Special Pandemic Edition, featuring three-minute family friendly radio/podcast/audio modules covering a range of pandemic science. Topics will include: The science of herd immunity. The wonders of soap. The curious story of Lady Montagu, English aristocrat and early vaccine adopter. Could a mad scientist create a virus in a lab? (Well, not a very good one.) Why are our house cats going nuts? The surprising healing powers of copper. Can you harness your home computer, when you're sleeping, to join an army of computers crunching data to find COVID-19’s Achilles Heel? Hint: Yes! It's been done to solve Ebola!

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Hollywood
What if you could rewrite the story? The new Netflix limited series Hollywood follows a group of aspiring actors and filmmakers in post-World War II Hollywood as they try to make it in Tinseltown -- no matter the cost. Each character offers a unique glimpse behind the gilded curtain of Hollywood's Golden Age, spotlighting the unfair systems and biases across race, gender and sexuality that continue to this day. Darren Criss stars as a white-passing biracial Filipino American director, while Michelle Krusiec guest stars as real-life Chinese American screen icon Anna May Wong. The series premieres May 1 on Netflix.

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Family Meal: A Virtual Dinner Party and Conversation
On May 1, I'll be participating in a fun little live event with some cool folks to help kick off AAPI Heritage Month. Seed & Spark presents Family Meal: A Virtual Dinner Party and Conversation. We've brought together a group of Asian American podcasters to have a frank conversation on anti-Asian racism in the time of COVID, while we eat our favorite dish. Participants will include Jeff Yang, Dino-Ray Ramos, Rebecca Sun, Taz Ahmed and myself. It's happening Friday, May 1 at 8pm PT/11pm ET. For more details, go here.

Darren Criss wins Golden Globe for 'American Crime Story'

"Son of a firecracker Filipino woman from Cebu" is the first Filipino American to win a Golden Globe.



In another historic moment at the 76th Golden Globe Awards, Darren Criss took home the trophy for Best Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie for his chilling portrayal of spree killer Andrew Cunanan in the FX anthology series American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace.

Criss, whose mother is from the Philippines, is the first Filipino American actor to win a Golden Globe. In a heartfelt acceptance speech, he acknowledged his heritage and dedicated the honor to his mother.

"As we’ve seen, this has been a marvelous year for representation in Hollywood, and I am so enormously proud to be a teeny, tiny part of that as the son of a firecracker Filipino woman from Cebu that dreamed of coming to this country and getting to be invited to cool parties like this," Criss said. "Mom, I know you're watching this. You are hugely responsible for most of the good things in my life. I love you dearly. I dedicate this to you."

Hey! Look at all these Asians nominated for Golden Globes

Crazy Rich Asians, Killing Eve and American Crime Story score multiple nominations.



At this year's Emmy Awards, Sandra Oh declared "It's an honor just to be Asian." True that, but hey, winning some actual awards ain't too shabby either. Nominations for the 76th annual Golden Globe Awards were announced on Thursday morning, and this time, it looks like some Asian folks are invited to the party.

This summer's runaway rom-com hit Crazy Rich Asians scored two nominations, including Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, and Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy for Constance Wu.

Wu's nomination marks the first time in nearly half a century that an Asian woman has earned a Best Actress nod in either of the Golden Globe film categories. Previous lead actress contenders include Machiko Kyō for The Teahouse of the August Moon (1956), Nancy Kwan for The World of Suzie Wong (1960), Miyoshi Umeki for Flower Drum Song (1961) and Yvonne Elliman for Jesus Christ Superstar (1973).

Darren Criss wins Emmy for 'American Crime Story'

'Assassination of Gianni Versace' star wins Best Actor in a Limited Series.



Darren Criss made history at 70th Emmy Awards, winning Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for his portrayal of Andrew Cunanan in FX's The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.

By our calculations, Criss is the first Asian American actor to win in this category, only the second actor of Asian descent to win in any acting cateogry, and the first Filipino American actor to win an Emmy. Ever.

Criss received wide acclaim for his haunting star turn as real-life killer Andrew Cunanan (who was Filipino American, like Criss). Season two of the FX true crime anthology series chronicled Cunanan's notorious 1997 murder spree, in which he killed four men before shooting famed fashion designer Gianni Versace in Miami.

"Oh, my God, you guys are witnessing the most extraordinary moment of my life thus far," Criss exclaimed as he took the stage to accept the award.

Darren Criss makes history with Emmy nomination

'American Crime Story' star is the first Filipino American to receive a lead actor Emmy nomination.



Well, hey. Alongside Sandra Oh's historic lead actress Emmy nomination, Darren Criss scored himself a nod for best lead actor in a limited series or TV movie for American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace., making him only the second actor of Asian descent to be nominated in the category, and the first ever Filipino American to receive a lead actor Emmy nomination. Heck, is he first Filipino American actor to receive an Emmy nomination, ever? Somebody please confirm.

Criss received wide acclaim for his haunting star turn as real-life killer Andrew Cunanan (who was Filipino American, like Criss). Season two of the FX true crime anthology series chronicled Cunanan's notorious 1997 murder spree, in which he killed four men before shooting famed fashion designer Gianni Versace in Miami.

Overall, the series garnered a total of 18 nominations, including nods for co-stars Edgar Ramirez, Finn Witrock and Ricky Martin(!). Criss is considered a front-runner in the limited series lead actor category, which includes Antonio Banderas (Genius), Benedict Cumberbatch (Patrick Melrose), Jeff Daniels (The Looming Tower), Jesse Plemons (USS Callister) and John Legend (Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert).

Darren Criss and Lea Salonga lead a sing-along

Listen to the crowd shush for "A Whole New World"



New York City. Imagine you're chillin' with friends in West Village piano bar. Drinks are flowing, the vibe is boisterous. Then Darren Criss, star of Glee, hops on the piano to lead a spirited sing-along of "A Whole New World," the theme from Disney's Aladdin. Then the crowd shushes to let Broadway darling Lea Salonga -- the singing voice of Princess Jasmine herself -- sing her part of the duet. No, this is not your nerdy musical fantasy. This moment actually happened, and someone got it on video: