Its star might be on the verge of becoming a true household name, but the Comedy Central series Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens is still all about what it's like to be an ordinary millennial. Season 2 of the show continues the adventures of Nora (Awkwafina) as she tries to find her own version of happiness while contending with her oddball family, including her father Wally (BD Wong), grandmother (Lori Tan Chinn), and cousin Edmund (Bowen Yang).

Nora From Queens is an unconventional look at an unconventional time in a person's life, and in a two-on-one interview with Collider, co-creator Teresa Hsiao and executive producer Karey Dornetto explained how they approached the idea of making a comedy show with an emphasis on being funny, making Nora's journey relatable, and how much they have to explain some of the show's more specific touches to executives.

Collider: To start off, I'd love to know how you came onto the show originally.

TERESA HSIAO: Yeah, I met Nora back, I think in 2016 and we just kind of immediately clicked. The show kind of went through a couple of different iterations. In the beginning, it was going to be more of just a show about millennials and her friends. And then we really leaned into the fact that we wanted to show her family. We wanted to show the closest relationships in her life. And we're lucky enough that Comedy Central gave us the green light to go ahead and make it, which was really exciting.

KAREY DORNETTO: Yeah. I came on after that as they were already working on this script and it was more like... I'll just say I'm a little older. So I've had a little more experience. I met Teresa and Nora and it was just, I was like, yes, please let me work on this. So yeah, that was my involvement.

When you guys were having those early conversations, what were you talking about in terms of tone and influence?

HSIAO: We just wanted to make something funny. That was at the time where there were a lot of shows that were, they were comedies, but they were actually a little bit sad and really serious. And I think both Nora and I really liked wacky, irreverent, fun comedies, or the ones that actually make you laugh. And so we always had that intention, really wanting to be funny and showcase her family, because again, it's not a family that you normally ever see on screen.

DORNETTO: Yeah. I liked that about the show too, just talking about how we want a hard comedy, we really want jokes. I think from Season 1 to Season 2, it's evolved even more, but yeah, it's to me, it was like, yeah, this is a funny show. We want to make a funny show.

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Image via Comedy Central

After watching the show, especially what's to come in Season 2 in terms of playing around with reality, do you have in your head a rule book for what you can and can't do with the show?

HSIAO: Not necessarily. I think we always go to Nora and kind of see where she's at, what she's thinking. A lot of the stories are generated from us all working together and kind of figuring out what we want to do. We always know that when there are some crazy ideas, we can do those crazy ideas, but obviously, we still want to make it kind of grounded in reality. And so what we want is that everything is sort of rounded and with the same kind of heart that we have in all the episodes. I feel like with the show, as long as it has an emotion attached to it like of what's happening, we can kind of do anything, I think. And so I would say, yeah, that we do, there aren't super firm rules. We've done a lot of different stuff I think this season.

DORNETTO: I feel like all the stories that we're telling are grounded in an emotional way, and there are different ways that we've been able to tell those stories. For instance, I think the sort of more fantastical episode that you might've seen in Season 2, it's really kind of coming from the core of Nora feeling like she could have had a different life and wondering what that different life might've been. And that's kind of how we always approach these stories. Of course, people aren't going to necessarily travel back to 2003 and be able to talk to their younger selves, but if you could, what would that look like? And I think that that's something that's kind of a thing that people think about and it is universal.

So when Season 1 came out, did anything surprise you about the reaction?

DORNETTO: I think it was really nice to see the reaction. I think that the nice thing also just seeing it was kind of a universal show for everyone — people within the Asian-American community, but also people outside the Asian American community, which was really great to see, just so much support from, from all sides.

HSIAO: Yeah. I think we were excited how, yeah just out how many people resonated with it and I think that we're hoping for the same for Season 2.

There are so many great specific details here that you wouldn't necessarily see on a show that's featuring an all-white cast, like for example, the K-dramas. When you were working with Comedy Central executives, did you have to take a moment to explain why this is important to incorporate?

DORNETTO: Yeah. I mean, I think, yes and no, but I think they were really supportive of what we wanted to do. Of course, there are moments of kind of asking, oh, what is that, what's, what's going on here and kind of being like, okay, this is going to be very stylized in a specific way that maybe people aren't necessarily as familiar with. So there's maybe a little bit more explaining that has to be done on the front end. But the nice thing about our executives was that they really kind of just said, okay, we believe in you, we trust you, and go ahead and run with it.

So that was the nice element of that, because I think there are so many elements of Asian-American culture that no one's ever seen before. And having to explain all that all the time, we didn't want to do that. We just want to show it as it is and have people enjoy it as it is. Because I think any other show, you don't have to explain everything that everyone is doing at all times.

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This is kind of a general question about the nature of how we watch TV these days: The show originally premiered on Comedy Central, Season 2's going to air on Comedy Central, but I was really excited to see Season 1 recently appear on HBO Max, just because I wasn't sure how many people were from the non-cable-subscribing world were aware of it. Did you notice a bump in attention or people reaching out to you on Twitter or elsewhere after it launched on HBO Max?

HSIAO: Yeah, I think it just got so many more people to see it. We're excited for it to be airing on Comedy Central and we want people to be able to watch it every week, but yes, it just brings a whole new life to the show again. So I think that's important to us too. And it's great. However you can see it, it's great.

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Image via Comedy Central

Are people confused when they ask where they can see it and you're like, oh, well it's on HBO Max now but it aired on Comedy Central?

HSIAO: I think in general, everyone's confused. No, I'm just kidding. I think people expect things to come out and be online and I think wherever it is, they're excited. I don't know if they're that confused, but I know they're excited about it.

In Season 2, Nora's changed from hopping between jobs to being somewhat steadily employed. What was important about making that shift for you?

DORNETTO: I think in kind of the same ways of speaking about millennial culture and how everyone's shifting and different things. We wanted her to kind of level up a little bit in Season 2. From Season 1, it was really about finding that job. And in Season 2, she does have that job. So that at least that part of her life is stable, whereas everything else she's still trying to figure out.

And so that was one thing again, speaking to what we're talking about with millennials, it's just not necessarily knowing exactly what you want to do. It's okay to just take that job just because you're trying to get by. In the case of Nora and the show, it's like, she's able to do that because she really has a loving family who will support her no matter what. And even though she knows she's not going to work at a CBD store forever, this is something that's just there that just pays the bills.

Sure. I mean, how in general, do you feel about the conversation around millennials?

DORNETTO: I'm not a millennial so I'll kick that one to Teresa.

HSIAO: I don't even know if I classify as a millennial. I think with the show and telling Nora's story, she is kind of that classic millennial in Season 1, she's really all over the place. She doesn't really have a direction and she's puttering around. And I think in Season 2, she's realized, okay, I don't necessarily have to have that dream job that I always wanted, but I have something that's okay. And I'll figure it out. And I think that that's the messaging of our show is it's okay to not know, it's okay to not necessarily have everything figured out, not have that direction necessarily, but again, she's lucky, because she has that family that supports her, even though at times they will kind of nag on her. She's able to get through it without having angry parents kind of always riding her. So that's nice for her at least.

DORNETTO: Yeah. I mean, it's interesting too because that's the kind of journey that's not just unique to millennials necessarily. It's pretty much everyone on some level.

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Image via Comedy Central

HSIAO: Yeah. I mean, I think everybody can relate to figuring out what they want to do with their life and maybe thinking it's one thing and then realizing it's something else. I think, I don't know. Yeah. I think everyone can relate to that for sure.

Looking forward, knock on wood, let's say you get a third season. Presuming that Nora continues to level up, what's the next level? Is it moving out of the house, or is it getting a serious partner?

DORNETTO: Yeah. I think we sort of run around these sort of questions of what's next for Nora. And I think the one thing that we want to really strive for is that it's not necessarily like, I think especially in TV world, it's just like, okay, well, they're going to have a partner. They're going to get a new job. They're going to get the thing that defines them for who they want to be. And I think the nice thing about the show, at least, and our characters, is that she doesn't necessarily have to have the job. That's not exactly what defines her. She doesn't necessarily have to have the partner because that's not who she is. As long as she's got her core family, they can kind of go through these things together. So we'll kind of figure out what maybe we are leaning towards. But those aren't necessarily maybe the things that are, I guess, on the docket.

New episodes of Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens air Wednesdays on Comedy Central. Season 1 is streaming now on HBO Max.

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