Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens is an American comedy television series starring Awkwafina that premiered on January 22, 2020, on Comedy Central, with a sneak peek episode airing on January 20, 2020. Ahead of the series premiere, Comedy Central renewed the series for a second season.
Premise
Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens follows a "20-something woman in Queens who strives for a larger than life existence."
Cast
Main
Awkwafina as Nora, a fictionalized version of herself
Lori Tan Chinn as her grandmother who helps raise her
On April 17, 2018, it was announced that Comedy Central had given the production a pilot order. The episode was written by Awkwafina and Teresa Hsiao. Executive producers were set to include Awkwafina, Karey Dornetto, Peter Principato, and Itay Reiss. Dornetto was also expected to serve as showrunner and Hsiao as a co-executive producer. Production companies involved with the pilot were expected to include Principato-Young Entertainment, later rebranded as Artists First. On November 29, 2018, it was announced that Comedy Central had given the production a series order for a first season consisting of ten episodes. Awkwafina, Hsiao, and Dornetto were set to write for the series and Lucia Aniello was expected to direct and executive produce. The series is set to premiere on January 22, 2020. Ahead of the series premiere, on January 14, 2020, it was reported that Comedy Central renewed the series for a second season.
Casting
Alongside the pilot order announcement, it was confirmed that Awkwafina would star in the production. Concurrent with the series order, it was announced that BD Wong and Lori Tan Chinn would star in the series. In July 2019, Chrissie Fit and Jonathan Park joined the cast in recurring roles. On August 14, 2019, Jennifer Esposito was cast in a recurring capacity.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 80% with an average rating of 6.75/10, based on 30 reviews. The site's consensus states that "Nora From Queens showcases Awkwafina's charming brashness and surrounds her with an equally delightful cast—especially scene stealer Lori Tan Chinn—but it could stand to walk a less familiar comedic beat." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Linda Holmes of NPR states "There's a lot of pressure on creators of color to be groundbreaking — to sell their shows as both good and somehow ethically nutritious. Awkwafina's place in that calculus is complicated by legitimate questions about her own treatment of cultural traditions she's not part of. But it's also fair to evaluate Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens as an entry in a line of single-camera comedy series amplifying one distinctive sensibility. And as part of that line, it holds up well."
Ratings
The series premiere obtained 0.49 million viewers, making it the highest rated season one premiere for Comedy Central since 2017.
