ABC News Studios’ ‘Soul of a Nation’ Presents One-Hour Primetime Special Delving Into the Rise of Asians in Hollywood, in Honor of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

ABC News’ Emmy®-Award winning “Soul of a Nation” returns with a special presentation, “The New Face of Hollywood,” in honor of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. The one-hour primetime special delves into the rise of Asians in Hollywood, following the historic Oscars® sweep of “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” the blockbuster multiverse film about the struggles of a Chinese American immigrant family. “Nightline” co-anchor Juju Chang sits down with trailblazing star Michelle Yeoh, the first Asian woman in history to win an Oscar® for Best Actress, and Ke Huy Quan, the former child star who won Best Supporting Actor after a 20-year hiatus from acting. Chang’s intimate interviews with Yeoh and Quan detail their personal journeys, their experiences through the highs and lows of fame, the setbacks often faced by Asian actors in Hollywood, and how their triumphant Oscar wins reverberated throughout the Asian American community and beyond.

 

The special will also take an unvarnished look at the complex history of Asians in Hollywood, including discrimination, bias and problematic portrayals, featuring interviews with legendary performer James Hong, one of the most prolific Asian American actors of all time; Anna Wong, the niece and namesake of the first Chinese American film star Anna May Wong; and trailblazing actress Nancy Kwan, who catapulted to fame in the ’60s.

 

“The New Face of Hollywood” celebrates visibility and the power of representation with stars and creatives who are currently writing a new chapter in Hollywood, including Jonathan Wang, Oscar-winning producer of “Everything Everywhere All at Once”; Hawaiian Chinese actor Jason Scott Lee, star of the Disney+ series “Doogie Kamealoha, M.D.” and the new Hawaiian-language film “The Wind and The Reckoning”; Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, star of the popular teen comedy series “Never Have I Ever”; Emmy Award-winning writer and producer Kelvin Yu, creator of the new Disney+ series “American Born Chinese”; and Adele Lim, co-screenwriter of “Crazy Rich Asians,” and director of the upcoming film “Joy Ride.” The special will also feature insight on Asian American representation in film from columnist Wajahat Ali, author, “Go Back to Where You Came From”; Rebecca Sun, senior editor, diversity and inclusion at The Hollywood Reporter; and writer Jeff Yang, co-author, “RISE: A Pop History of Asian America from the Nineties to Now”; and sociologist and pop culture expert Nancy Wang Yuen, author of “Reel Inequality: Hollywood Actors and Racism.”

 

“The New Face of Hollywood – A Soul of a Nation Presentation” airs Friday, May 26, at 8:00 p.m. EDT on ABC, next day on Hulu.

 

Melia Patria is the executive producer for “The New Face of Hollywood – A Soul of a Nation Presentation.” Tine is the series director, and Stephanie Wash is executive editorial producer. David Sloan is senior executive producer and creative head of ABC News Studios.

 

ABC News Studios’ “Soul of a Nation” will also present primetime specials for PRIDE Month (June 6) and Juneteenth (June 19) on ABC. Additional details will be announced in the coming weeks.

 

About ABC News Studios
ABC News Studios, inspired by ABC News’ trusted reporting, is a premium, narrative non-fiction original production house and commissioning partner of series and specials. ABC News Studios champions untold and authentic stories driving the cultural zeitgeist spanning true-crime, investigations, pop culture and news-adjacent stories. ABC News Studios’ original titles include critically acclaimed documentaries “Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields,” “The Lady Bird Diaries,” “Aftershock” and “The Murders Before the Marathon” as well as compelling docu-series, including “Killing County,” “Wild Crime,” “Death in the Dorms” and “Mormon No More.”

 

*COPYRIGHT ©2023 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. All photography is copyrighted material and is for editorial use only. Images are not to be archived, altered, duplicated, resold, retransmitted or used for any other purposes without written permission of ABC News. Images are distributed to the press in order to publicize current programming. Any other usage must be licensed.

 

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ABC News Media Relations
Anna Negrón
(860) 256-1757
anna.m.negron@abc.com