I guess this is as good a time as any to do some word vomit regarding the visibility of female comedians in American media, especially in regards to how the landscape of TV has changed in the last few decades. This is something I have some passing knowledge of, but know is a treasure trove of still undiscovered facts.

Mindy Kaling was something of a breakout star. Her appearance on “The Office” as bubbly but perpetually childish worker Kelly Kapoor was always the highlight of the show to me and my sister – she nailed the role and seemed so effortlessly perfect for it. More than any other character, it was her moments that would make me laugh. After The Office she scored her own show, “The Mindy Project”, that is currently wrapping up it’s sixth and final season.

Then there was Aziz Ansari, who appeared as lovable but chronically shallow city worker Tom Haverford on Parks and Recreation, and similarly, was one of the best figures to grace the screen. Despite his fairly unsympathetic and cocky attitude, he still managed to make us cheer for him in the end. After Parks and Rec, Aziz appeared in his self produced show, “Master of None”, and gained a significant audience through his own stand up routines.

But years before either of these stars were even old enough to vote, Margaret Cho actually scored her own television show on ABC – the short lived “All American Girl“. This was significant because it was the first network sitcom that featured an all-Asian cast. It wouldn’t be until 2014’s “Fresh Off The Boat” that we would see that again. Speaking of which…

Constance at a 2015 Press Tour

That was the show that gave us Constance Wu, who plays the lovable and completely GIF-able mother, Jessica Huang. While I haven’t seen much of this show (that will be remedied soon) it’s significant to note that Constance is one of the most prominent Asian female actresses on TV today…not that she has much competition.

Randall Park Talking About Lack of Asian Americans on TV

Going back to All American Girl for a moment. At the time it aired in 1994, white America knew little about the Asian American experience. This was a time when Roseanne was dominating Nielsen ratings, and you don’t get much whiter than Roseanne (love you Roro!). The show actually suffered more from it’s reception by Asian American audiences, who criticized the fact that nearly everything about the show was birthed from antiquated stereotypes about Asians, and it was cancelled as a result.

So what really happened? How did we get from this mess to the success of Fresh of the Boat; from Margaret Cho being forced into losing 30 pounds in two weeks, causing her kidneys to collapse just to appeal to viewers, to Mindy Kaling jumping directly from successful show to successful book deal to successful show?

This is only the beginning, folks. We’re in for a wild ride.