First Fox AAPI-led series “The Cleaning Lady” gets a season 4

by Erin Chew

The Cleaning Lady has it all: a thrilling series which spotlights, highlights and showcases the perils, tribulations and the perseverance of Southeast Asian migrant women in America. It is now heading into its fourth season.

French Cambodian actress Elodie Yung (Daredevil, Gods of Egypt) stars as Thony, a Cambodian-Filipino doctor who comes to America seeking medical treatment for her son. When the system fails her, she uses cunning and in many ways deceitful means to ensure her son gets saved.

The show’s fourth season makes it the first and longest-running primetime drama series led by Southeast Asian women – what a feat! Yung celebrated this moment, and in a recent interview with AsAmNews discussed what this means for her and the series.

“I think this is a major thing for the series. Sometimes I wake up thinking how awesome it is that a series lead by Southeast Asian women can go so far like The Cleaning Lady. This means so much and it shows how our faces and our stories of perseverance and survival is entertaining for the masses.”

Yung’s co-star Filipino Australian actress Martha Millan (The Gentlemen, OA) plays Fiona/Fi (Thony’s sister in law), Thony’s biggest supporter in all of her endeavors. Fi has lost a lot in her life, so in many ways she lives for Thony and for her own family, ensuring they all thrive in America.

Millan celebrated her character and stated that it is Fi’s life story of survival for the pursuit of the American dream which makes her real and reflective of all the immigrants from Asia having the same dream.

“Fi comes across as indifferent, but it’s not that she doesn’t care- it is actually the opposite. Through all her pursuits of the American dream, she has lost a lot and experienced a lot. However, her strength is supporting and uplifting others makes Fi a character worth celebrating,” Millan expressed.

“Fi wants to be more than just a cleaner, so you will see her being more entrepreneurial in this fourth season. For someone who almost got deported ( which reflects what is going on in America right now), Fi exudes a lightness in how she sees things but at the end of the day she is a doer and will try her best for everyone she loves.”

Both Fi and Thony share a strong bond- a relationship which has lasted up to the fourth season of the series. They are each other’s rock, and they demonstrate the strength and determination that brews inside awesome Southeast Asian women. Both these women defy stereotypical conventions of what Asian women should be, a key component to the success of the show.

For Yung, it is the strong chemistry and the bond Fi and Thony share that glues this series so well. They are a true duo.

“Fi is like the bright side, always pursuing her American dream. When Thony falls more, Fi is there to help her up, and when Thony evolves, Fi evolves together with her- even if it is with the more darker side of things. So really there is a balance and that is what makes this a great relationship,” Yung said.

The idea of smashing negative stereotypes about Southeast Asian women is extremely significant. In addition to entertainment, turning these stereotypes on their head authentically represents how Southeast and all Asian women are. No longer the subservient and obedient type, it provides a more nuanced and layered representation of reality and changes this negative narrative.

With the addition of a season four guest star, singer and actress Lea Salonga (Mulan (animated), Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin) who plays Rose in this new season, the ever changing dynamics of friendship and enemies is introduced.

“Well, Rose and Fi are what you call frenemies. Their relationship is the total opposite of what Thony has with Fi. Rose is ruthless ands heinous, and that is what makes her character so much fun to play. Rose really defies all the negative stereotypes Filipino and Southeast women get subjected to in America,” Salonga said.

“It is so special for me to have the opportunity to play such a character and that to me is so important,” Salonga added. “It is not common that one gets to be part of a project where the stories and journey of women like me gets centered in this way. It totally blows my mind.”

The show’s celebration of Southeast Asian women is relevant to the current political climate plaguing America today. With deportations happening all over the place and policies trashed that helped embrace cultural diversity, The Cleaning Lady is really a breath of fresh air.

For Millan, her strong belief is that the show allows anyone to walk in the shoes of those who live in a more precarious situation – and that is how negative narratives can change.

“This series I feel provides everyone a glimpse of what a day to day life is for a Filipino, Southeast Asian and women who face unstable circumstances. It shows what the life of someone undocumented in America is like and I hope that will create empathy for those who are facing this in real life. This is an entertaining and accessible way for the series to change negative narratives and show how being racist and discriminatory will never achieve anything.”

The Cleaning Lady is currently airing on the Fox network and can also be viewed on streaming platforms like Hulu.