I was enthusiastically watching The Brothers Sun series when after getting through part of episode 5, I got distracted and didn’t finish it and the rest of the episodes. Later I read that The Brothers Sun has been cancelled! It was reportedly canceled despite good reviews because middling viewership.
Given the cancellation of future seasons of American Born Chinese, you might ask is this some sort of backlash against Asian-themed shows. I don’t think that is the case, given that Netflix’s live action Avatar: The Last Airbender was recently greenlit for more seasons. It is more likely a result of the end of “Peak TV” as streaming services like American Born Chinese‘s Disney+ and The Brothers Sun‘s Netflix cut back on production in the pursuit of being profitable (or more profitable).
In any case, I feel guilty having made a small contribution to the show’s demise. This situation with The Brothers Sun reiterates the case made by Gold House that the entire lifecycle of a show needs to be encouraged – not just at creation and publication of great content but to make sure that shows are financially successful. The lesson here is that if we want our favorite Asian American shows to continue to air, we have to make sure that they are watched.
