Advertisement

How Fresh Off the Boat Ended Its Series Finale After 6 Seasons

After six seasons, Fresh Off the Boat has said goodbye.

On Friday night, the ABC comedy wrapped with two back-to-back episodes — “Family Van” and “Commencement,” which served as the series finale — and one final hour following the Huang family.

In “Commencement,” the episode opened with Jessica (Constance Wu) and Louis Huang (Randall Park) at a Harvard graduation ceremony in the future.

“Jessica, our son is valedictorian of Harvard. Crazy,” said Louis as they sat in chairs on a Harvard lawn, awaiting the ceremony to begin.

“It’s not crazy he’s up there. He’s always shown signs of greatness,” said Jessica.

The episode then cut to FOTB present-day high school Eddie (Hudson Yang), who presented a “literal food pyramid made from all 10 food groups” to his brothers, Emery (Forrest Wheeler) and Evan (Ian Chen), who were shocked he scored a 1500 on his SAT.

Though Eddie, a high school junior, was hoping to save the reveal of his impressive SAT score to when he really needed a “get out of jail free card” from his mom, he blurted it out when Jessica walked into the living room and told him to clean up the mess in the kitchen.

Fresh Off the Boat cast | Christopher Willard/ABC
Fresh Off the Boat cast | Christopher Willard/ABC

Needless to say, Jessica was elated with Eddie’s score — and took her son out to celebrate for the day.

RELATED: Constance Wu Made $600 While ‘Undercover’ as a Stripper Before Filming Hustlers

But although Eddie earned high marks on the standardized test, he revealed to his father, Louis, that he wanted to go to culinary school.

Later, Eddie received a letter in the mail from Harvard stating that the prestigious university wanted to schedule an interview with him and one of their alumni. Unsurprisingly, Jessica set out to prepare the house — and Eddie — for the interview at their home, during which she attempted to impress the interviewer (Andy Richter) with her eldest son’s talents and interests. She also proceeded to join the interview, explaining that she drives “my boys to be the best. Jessica don’t raise mediocre.”

To Jessica’s disappointment, the meeting didn’t go as she had hoped it would: the interviewer admitted before leaving that “Harvard is not going to be a fit” for Eddie.

“It’s not so much Eddie as it is you. You’re a bit of a helicopter mom, and Harvard’s found that when a parent is so invested, that the kid tends to fizzle out once they’re finally on their own,” he told Jessica.

So which Huang son did graduate from Harvard?

Fast-forward to the end of the episode, where viewers found Jessica and Louis sitting alongside Eddie and Emery at the 2008 commencement ceremony, supporting Evan as he graduated.

Fresh Off the Boat | Kelsey McNeal/ABC via Getty
Fresh Off the Boat | Kelsey McNeal/ABC via Getty

“I’m so proud of him,” said Jessica, looking up at the podium.

“Our little Evan,” said Louis.

In his speech, Evan thanked “my brother Emery, who taught me to be true to myself. And now he’s starring in cell phone commercials.”

As for Eddie, he opened his own restaurant.

“When does this thing wrap up?” he asked. “I got Trent running my restaurant and his narcolepsy’s flaring up.”

And grandma Huang (Lucille Soong)? She was alive and well too — enjoying a cocktail at the ceremony. “I’m going to be a big ole’ mess later,” she said as Louis poured her a martini.

“I don’t know how, but we did it,” Louis told Jessica in the show’s final moments.

“Yep, I did,” Jessica said with a smile.

“No, I said —” Louis said as the crowd began to applaud at the conclusion of the Harvard ceremony.

RELATED: Constance Wu Admits to Being ‘Dramatic’ About Fresh Off the Boat Tweets

In November, ABC announced that the series would be coming to an end.

Loosely based on Eddie Huang’s memoir of the same title, the show followed the family of Taiwanese immigrants who moved to Orlando, Florida, in the ’90s to open a restaurant and raise their three sons.

“We couldn’t be prouder of this game-changing show and the impact it has had on our cultural landscape. The success of Fresh Off the Boat has helped pave the way for inclusion throughout the industry. Nahnatchka Khan and her brilliant creative team have created an unforgettable series with an Asian-American family front and center, something that hadn’t been done in two decades,” said Karey Burke, president, ABC Entertainment, in a statement.

“The cast, led by Randall Park and Constance Wu, is one of the finest and funniest on television. We’ll miss the Huang family and are eternally grateful for the incredibly heartfelt stories they have told these past six seasons,” Burke added.

Fresh Off the Boat cast
Fresh Off the Boat cast

When Fresh Off the Boat premiered in 2015, it made history as the first network sitcom about an Asian-American family to air in 20 years.

The cancelation came less than a year after Wu, 37, made headlines when she publicly shared her disappointment over the show’s renewal in May. In a series of tweets, Wu had made it clear that she wasn’t celebrating.

“So upset right now that I’m literally crying,” she wrote in one tweet. “Ugh. F—.”

Within the hour, she posted a second tweet: “F— hell.”

She eventually clarified her comments and explained that she was “temporarily upset” because she “had to give up another project that I was really passionate about,” but admitted that she understood her previous comments following the renewal were “insensitive.”

RELATED: Constance Wu Was ‘So Scared’ to Return to Fresh Off the Boat After Twitter Controversy

In August, she told the Los Angeles Times that the cast and crew of Fresh Off the Boat were supportive of her at the time.

“I had this moment of heat where I got upset because I had to give up a job I had been looking forward to and had been chasing for a while,” she said. “It was moving to me how many people from the show reached out to me, and even on set … to say, ‘Just so you know, we love you and we know who you are, and you didn’t deserve any of that stuff.’ Because they also know that I’m an actress — I can be dramatic.”

She continued, “I mean, that’s our toolkit, right? I’m dramatic. I’m emotional. But they also know that that doesn’t represent me because they have a hundred episodes of behavior that proves otherwise.”

Constance Wu
Constance Wu

Despite her apology, the actress later opened up to The Guardian and said she did not regret being open about her feelings.

“I don’t regret being messy and imperfect in public,” she told the outlet, “but I do regret not taking into account how it might have affected people I care about, like the kids on the show. I love them. I had a talk with each kid. I wanted to make sure they knew I acted out of a moment of passion that was not reflective of how I feel about them.”

“They’re like. ‘I’m sorry you went through that, and that people think that, but we know who you are,’” Wu added. “Because here’s the thing: We’ve had the same crew for six years. That never happens if you have a diva on set.”

After Wu’s comments and clarifying follow-up remarks, Burke said, “The cast and crew is happy to have her back and we’re thrilled to keep her on the show.”