Plot Synopsis

Narrated by Daniel Dae Kim and Tamlyn Tomita, ASIAN AMERICANS is a five-hour documentary series that explores the impact of Asian Americans, the fastest-growing racial/ethnic group in the United States, on the country's past, present and future, told through individual lives and personal histories. Led by a team of Asian American filmmakers, including Renee Tajima-Pena, this series examines the significant role of Asian Americans in shaping American history and identity, from the first wave of Asian immigrants in the 1850s and identity politics during the social and cultural turmoil of the twentieth century to modern refugee crises in a globally connected world. Episodes include:

"Breaking Ground" (Monday, May 11, 2020 at 9pm): In an era of exclusion and U.S. empire, new immigrants arrive from China, India, Japan, the Philippines and beyond. Barred by anti-Asian laws they become America's first "undocumented immigrants," yet they build railroads, dazzle on the silver screen, and take their fight for equality to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"A Question of Loyalty" (Monday, May 11, 2020 at 10pm): An American-born generation straddles their country of birth and their parents' homelands in Asia. Those loyalties are tested during World War II, when families are imprisoned in detention camps, and brothers find themselves on opposite sides of the battle lines.

"Good Americans" (Tuesday, May 12, 2020 at 8pm): During the Cold War years, Asian Americans are simultaneously heralded as a Model Minority, and targeted as the perpetual foreigner. It is also a time of bold ambition, as Asian Americans aspire for the first time to national political office and a coming culture-quake simmers beneath the surface.

"Generation Rising" (Tuesday, May 12, 2020 at 9pm): During a time of war and social tumult, a young generation fights for equality in the fields, on campuses and in the culture, and claim a new identity: Asian Americans. The war's aftermath brings new immigrants and refugees who expand the population and the definition of Asian America.

"Breaking Through" (Tuesday, May 12, 2020 at 10pm): At the turn of the new millennium, the country tackles conflicts over immigration, race, economic disparity, and a shifting world order. A new generation of Asian Americans are empowered by growing numbers and rising influence but face a reckoning of what it means to be an American in an increasingly polarized society.