Awkwafina’s Comedy Central Series Gets Title and Directors

Awkwafina’s show coming to Comedy Central has its directors and title.

Comedy Central has announced the 10-episode series will be titled Awkwafina is Nora From Queens. There’s truth in the title and the plot: Nora Lum is Awkwafina’s real name and the story is loosely based on her own life growing up in Flushing. Raised by her Dad (BD Wong) and Grandma (Lori Tan Chinn) alongside her cousin (Bowen Yang), 20-something Nora navigates everyday life in Queens and the desire to elevate it into an artistic adulthood. Awkwafina co-wrote the pilot with Karey Dornetto and Teresa Hsiao, while Lucia Aniello directed.

Aniello is the first in line of a list of predominately female directors for the series. The lineup includes Emmy Award-nominated actress/director Natasha Lyonne (Russian Doll), Aniello (Broad City), Jamie Babbit (But I’m a Cheerleader), The Daniels (Swiss Army Man), Steven Tsuchida (Younger) and Anu Valia (The Other Two). The series is currently in production in New York and slated to premiere on Comedy Central in January 2020.

Lum, Dornetto, Aniello, Hsiao, Peter Principato and Itay Reiss of Artists First are executive producers. Sarah Babineau and Rachel Olson are the Executives in Charge of Production for Comedy Central.

Awkwafina’s career is on the rise in many different avenues. She raps, acts, writes, and now produces, and once took Paste around town for a photoshoot that would make any America’s Next Top Model contestant quake. She recently delivered a poignant and intricate performance in Lulu Wang’s real-life story in The Farewell. It’s exciting to see her follow up a story about goodbyes with a comic introduction to her own life.

The show’s Instagram page (@norafromqueens) isn’t offering any footage yet, but this promo video by Awkwafina is still well worth your time: