Freeform and 20th Television’s “AZNBBGRL” has unveiled its main cast. The coming-of-age drama — about three Asian American teenagers in the vibrant Vietnamese community of Little Saigon in Orange County, Calif. — will star Cathy Bui, Lynn Kim Do and Jazelle Villanueva.
The one-hour-long episodes will follow the three teens’ “desire to break free from generational expectations and carve out their own place in the world. Together, these three very different women find escape and form a bond deeper than family when they become entangled with a street gang that offers them a way out.”
Bui will portray Anh, a driven girl focused on getting into an elite college. However, her dream is derailed when she and her best friend Jenny (Do) are forced into a scheme that gets them caught in the crosshairs of a street gang. Villanueva plays Dang-Dang, a fearless young woman who can’t seem to escape her troubled past and is initially at odds with Jenny.
Quentin Nguyen-Duy, Alejandro Akara, Audrey Huynh and Cat Ly round out the ensemble. Nguyen-Duy is Richie, a charismatic rising member of the local street gang and a former classmate of Anh’s with musical dreams. Akara will portray Anh’s pining ex-boyfriend, Gabriel. Huynh is Jenny’s younger, snarky sister, Bella. Lastly, Ly is Anh’s aunt, Ah-Yee, a strong-willed restaurant owner who is “blindsided by an extortionist.”
“AZNBBGRL” is executive produced by Natalie Chaidez (“The Flight Attendant”), Dinh Thai (“Wu-Tang: An American Saga”), Kai Yu Wu (“American Born Chinese”) and Melvin Mar (“Fresh off the Boat”) and Jake Kasdan for The Detective Agency. Wu will serve as showrunner, while Thai will direct.
