Sandra Oh isn’t the only Asian actress leaving her television series this year
The Asian Canadian has played Christina Yang on Grey’s Anatomy since the show’s beginning 10 seasons ago.
Oh is the most high profile of the Asian actresses leaving her television role this season.
Other departures include Jenna Ushkowitz as Tina Cohen-Chang in Glee and Hettienne Park(pictured) as Dr. Beverly Katz in Hannibal.
As writer Johanna Robinson points out in Vanity Fair , when you have so few to begin with, every departure hurts.
Ushkowitz has been with Glee since the beginning five seasons ago, but won’t join the cast as they transition the series to New York for its final season next year.
Park says her departure and that of Ushkowitz (pictured with Filipino American Darren Criss)and Oh are more significant than just a story line.
“When you feel marginalized by the world at large, there’s great comfort and empowerment in seeing someone you can identify with on the screen who isn’t subject to cliches or stereotypes,” she said. “When that gets taken away, you can feel like you’ve been f***ed over once again. And unless you’ve ever been hurt merely due to the color of your skin, what’s between your legs, or who sleeps next to you at night, you probably don’t understand that kind of pain.”
So what does that leave the Asian American community with on television? You can read about that in Vanity Fair