Will Disney+ purge American Born Chinese from its library after canceling the star-studded series?

Last Updated on January 12, 2024

This is why we can’t have nice things. Disney+ announced today that it will not move forward with a second season of the action-fantasy series American Born Chinese. The decision to cancel the series comes seven months after Disney debuted the eight-episode series on its streaming service, Disney+. The cancelation is raising a red flag for fans of the series, as Disney tends to purge content from Disney+ to save money and digital real estate. We’ve seen the mouse-eared streamer purge content before, with shows like Willow, Turner & Hooch, The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, The Mysterious Benedict Society, and more. According to Deadline, options on the cast expired yesterday. However, there could be a silver lining to this disappointing news. 20th Television still plans to shop the series to other outlets, giving the show a chance to live again through another platform.

Per Disney+, here’s the official synopsis for American Born Chinese:

The official plot, as per Disney: “Based on the graphic novel of the same name by Gene Luen Yang, American Born Chinese tells the story of Jin Wang, an average teenager juggling his high school social life with his home life. When he meets a new foreign student on the first day of the school year, even more worlds collide as Jin is unwittingly entangled in a battle of Chinese mythological gods.”

American Born Chinese reunites four stars from the Daniels’ Oscar-winning film Everything Everywhere All At Once, including Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu, and James Hong! Ben Wang, Yeo Yann Yann, Chin Han, Daniel Wu, Jimmy Liu, and Sydney Taylor also star as primary cast members. Kelvin Yu, who served as executive producer on the animated series Central Park (Apple TV+) and Bob’s Burgers (Fox), created the series with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton directing.

Based on the graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang, American Born Chinese is the winner of the 2007 Michael L. Printz Award, a 2006 National Book Award Finalist for Young People’s Literature, the winner of the 2007 Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album: New, an Eisner Award nominee for Best Coloring, a 2007 Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year, and a New York Times bestseller.

In addition to being a powerful story about lineage, fitting in, and stereotypes that have left a negative and lasting impact on society, American Born Chinese has become a touchstone release for many of its fans. It’s a shame to hear Disney is canceling American Born Chinese before the story reaches its powerful conclusion. I hope another outlet picks up the show, as I was looking forward to its continuation.