All American Girl

::This article is about the situation comedy; for the book, see All American Girl (book), for other meanings see American Girl.

Related Topics:
All American Girl (book) - American Girl

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

All American Girl was a 1994 ABC sitcom starring Margaret Cho and Ashley Johnson. It was the first U.S. sitcom centered around a person of Asian descent, namely Cho.

Related Topics:
1994 - ABC - Sitcom - Margaret Cho - Ashley Johnson

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The program was based loosely around Cho's stand-up comedy. However, its format was continually being changed by producers and the network in an attempt to boost ratings, and the result was a poorly written mish-mash show that was quickly cancelled.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Cho has gone on to comment on the tortures of making the show. She has explained that she was asked to lose a large amount of weight in order to play a character based on herself. She was then told she was not "acting Asian enough"; an "Asian Consultant" was hired to teach her to be "more Asian". When this angle was not successful, the Asian members of the cast (except Cho herself) were dropped and replaced with a group of multi-cultural "friends" for the main character to interact with. Cho was then told she was "too Asian" for this new format.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Cho's desperation to make the show a success led to decisions that affected her health negatively. Her rapid weight loss in order to complete the pilot episode caused serious kidney failure. When the show was cancelled she spiralled into drug and alcohol addiction, on which she has since based much material in her live stage shows.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~