Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens

***Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens*** (or simply ***Nora from Queens***) is an American comedy television series starring Awkwafina that first aired on January 20, 2020, on Comedy Central. The series was renewed for a second season before the series premiere, and received generally favorable reviews from critics. The second season premiered on August 18, 2021. In May 2022, the series was renewed for a third season.

## Premise

*Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens* follows a "20-something woman, named Nora Lin, in Queens who strives for a larger-than-life existence." Raised alongside her cousin by her dad and grandma, Nora leans on her family as she navigates young adulthood in New York City.

## Cast

### Main

* Awkwafina as Nora, a fictionalized version of herself
* Lori Tan Chinn as her Grandmother who helps raise her
* BD Wong as Wally, Nora's father (season 2; recurring season 1)

### Recurring

* Chrissie Fit as Melanie, Nora's best friend.
* Jonathan Park as Doug
* Bowen Yang as Edmund, Nora's cousin
* Jennifer Esposito as Brenda, Wally's girlfriend

### Guest stars

* Jaboukie Young-White as Daniel
* Michelle Buteau as Margaret
* Wai Ching Ho as Le-Wei
* Stephanie Hsu as Shu Shu (Hsu plays a younger version of Shu Shu in season 1)
* Ming-Na Wen as Sandra, Nora's aunt (season 1)
* Laverne Cox as the voice of God (season 1)
* Natasha Lyonne as Woman in hair salon (season 1)
* Jamie Chung as Young Grandma (season 1)
* Simu Liu as Garbage Boy (season 1)
* Harry Shum Jr. as Doc Hottie (season 1)
* Celia Au as Grace (season 1)
* Makeda Declet as Chenise (season 1)
* Bella Heathcote as Joey (season 1)
* Chloe Fineman as Greta (season 2)
* Ross Butler as Chuck (season 2)
* Alan Kim as Young Wally (season 2)
* Lauren Ash as herself (season 2)
* Margaret Cho as Mistress Jupiter (season 2)
* Haley Joel Osment as Amos (season 2)

## Episodes

### Series overview

 20]], 2020 (2020-Template:Pad2digit-Template:Pad2digit) | [[March
 18]], 2021 (2021-Template:Pad2digit-Template:Pad2digit) | [[October

### Season 2 (2021)

Template:No plot
Template:Episode table

## Production

### Development

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. Ahead of the series premiere, on January 14, 2020, it was reported that Comedy Central renewed the series for a second season. On May 12, 2022, Comedy Central renewed the series for a third 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 March 24, 2021, Alan Kim was cast in a guest starring role for the second season.

### Filming

Principal photography for the pilot began on July 20, 2018 in Queens, New York City, New York. In the last episode of season one, part of the story's background is set in Beijing, China, but it was actually filmed at Taoyuan International Airport and in Taipei, Taiwan.

## Release

The series premiered on January 22, 2020 on Comedy Central. In August 2020, it was announced that the series would be available on HBO Max, with the second season airing on the service after its first-run broadcast on Comedy Central. The trailer for the second season was released on July 22, 2021. The second season premiered on August 18, 2021.

## Reception

### Critical reception

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 (*Insecure*, *Louie*, *Chewing Gum*, *Broad City*, even *Portlandia*). 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.

According to IMDb, "Grandma and Chill" is the highest-rated episode of season one, followed by the season finale, "China".

## Notes

A sneak peek at the show's sixth episode aired on January 20, 2020, before the premiere of the pilot in its regular timeslot. The episode later re-aired on February 26, 2020.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens: Season 1". *Metacritic*.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 White, Peter (June 29, 2021). "BD Wong To Make TV Directorial Debut In Season 2 Of 'Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens'; Comedy Central Sets Premiere Date". *Deadline Hollywood*.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 White, Peter (May 12, 2022). "'Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens' Renewed For Season 3 At Comedy Central". *Deadline Hollywood*.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Pedersen, Erik (September 9, 2019). "Awkwafina's Comedy Central Series Gets A Title; Directors Set" (en). *Deadline Hollywood*.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Comedy Central Greenlights Arturo Castro Sketch Show And Comedy Cellar Stand-Up Series, Boosts Development Slate". *Deadline Hollywood* (April 17, 2018).
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Ausiello, Michael (March 24, 2021). "*Minari* Breakout Alan Kim Joining *Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens* in Season 2 as 'Young Wally'". *TVLine*.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "'Awkwafina' & Rory Scovel's 'Robbie' Picked Up To Series At Comedy Central". *Deadline Hollywood* (November 29, 2018).
8. ↑ Petski, Denise (January 14, 2020). "'Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens' Renewed For Season 2 By Comedy Central – TCA". *Deadline Hollywood*.
9. ↑ Petski, Denise (July 19, 2019). "Garcelle Beauvais Cast In 'Merry Happy Whatever'; Chrissie Fit Books 'Awkwafina'". *Deadline Hollywood*.
10. ↑ Ramos, Dino-Ray (July 24, 2019). "Jonathan Park Joins Comedy Central's 'Awkwafina'; Luis Moncada Set For 'Get Shorty' Season 3". *Deadline Hollywood*.
11. ↑ "'Awkwafina': Jennifer Esposito To Recur On Comedy Central Series", *Deadline Hollywood*, August 14, 2019. (in en)
12. ↑ "Friday, July 20 Filming Locations for Chicago PD, Weird City, Bull, John Wick 3, & more! - On Location Vacations". *On Location Vacations* (July 20, 2018).
13. ↑ "台灣取景說「大陸」 奧卡菲娜影集未申請拍攝", TVBS News, July 3, 2020. (in zh-tw)
14. ↑ Haring, Bruce (December 2, 2019). "'Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens', New Comedy Central Sitcom, Sets First Trailer". *Deadline Hollywood*.
15. ↑ Porter, Rick (August 13, 2020). "'The Other Two,' 'South Side' Move to HBO Max From Comedy Central". *The Hollywood Reporter*.
16. ↑ Lee, Cydney (July 22, 2021). "Awkwafina Is Still a Hot Mess in Season 2 of 'Nora From Queens'". *Vulture*.
17. ↑ "Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens: Season 1 (2020)". *Rotten Tomatoes*.
18. ↑ Holmes, Linda. "Review: 'Nora From Queens' Is, And Is Not, Awkwafina", NPR, January 23, 2020.
19. ↑ Petski, Denise (January 23, 2020). "'Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens' Scores Highest-Rated New Series Premiere In Three Years For Comedy Central". *Deadline Hollywood*.
20. ↑ "Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens: Best Episodes From Season 1, According to IMDb". *ScreenRant* (April 16, 2020).

## External links

* Official website
* Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awkwafina\_Is\_Nora\_from\_Queens