Many
stand-up comedians -
Jerry Seinfeld,
Tim Allen,
Ray Romano - have made a successful transition from
onstage performances to
television. Unfortunately
Margaret Cho's attempt at a half-hour
sitcom failed miserably.
"All-American Girl" appeared for a few seasons on ABC, premiering on Wednesdays at 9:30pm in September 1994. The show was quickly moved back an hour, and ran in that time slot until its demise in March 1995. Only 19 episodes were produced.
Cho starred as Margaret Kim, an assimilated Korean-American teenager who was constantly at odds with her traditional mother Katherine (played by Jodi Long). The culture clash was the theme of the entire show, taking notes from Flower Drum Song and similar stories, as Margaret fought with her mother over boys while her older brother Stuart (B.D. Wong) played the deferential good son.
Although Quentin Tarantino directed an episode, "All-American Girl" didn't last beyond its first season. It was the first sitcom focused on Asian-American issues, but failed to garner high ratings and was quickly cancelled.