Is Asian representation in media going beyond supporting roles?

Woman in red puffy red-and-white dress stands in front of a "Toy Story 5" World Premiere backdrop — Greta Lee arrives at the premiere of "Toy Story 5" at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, June 9, 2026.

Andrea Asuaje is the senior radio producer for weekend programming, working with “Under the Radar with Callie Crossley" and "In Common." Prior to her work at GBH, she was a senior producer and showrunner at Rococo Punch; and a reporter, producer and co-host of WBUR’s radio series and podcast, Kind World.

Gabriella Bethoney is the fall 2026 intern with GBH’s podcast and radio show, Under the Radar with Callie Crossley.

October 03, 2026

Asian American and Pacific Islanders — or AAPI — are the fastest-growing major racial and ethnic group in the United States. With more than 25 million Asian Americans living in the U.S. and the tremendous success of movies like “K-Pop Demon Hunters,” streaming shows like “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” the popularity of sports stars like Olympic skater Alyssa Liu and baseball phenom Shohei Ohtani, plus the worldwide fandom of bands like BTS, it’s surprising how little representation for Asian and AAPI stories there is on-screen. In a 2025 study by The Asian American Foundation, 37% of Americans said they couldn’t think of even one film with an Asian American character.

So, what’s the status on Asian representation on the big and little screen? We check in with Under the Radar’s cultural contributors to talk about whether the current wave of new projects showcasing Asian themes and stories goes beyond stereotypes, supporting roles and superficial plot lines.

Guests

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Jenny Korn, research affiliate and founding director of the Race, Tech and Media Working Group at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University.
Elena Creef, professor of women’s and gender studies at Wellesley College, where she teaches courses in Asian American film and popular culture, and the American West. She also has a new multimedia performance lecture titled “Pezi Sla: How I Became an Accidental Historical Reenactor at the Battle of Little Bighorn.”

Media discussed in this roundtable