Fil-Am Executive Producer Brandon Panaligan of the Netflix hit show took a moment to explain what the show is about, how the show was casted and the pride his Filipino father from Pampanga had for his son producing a show featuring an all Asian cast.

Watch the interview with Pacific Rim Video producer Peter Gonzaga below:

Brandon said in Variety, “Say you grew up in the ‘80s. The narrow cast vision of what was acceptable as an Asian character back when I grew up is something that was very painful. Growing up, you saw the people who looked like my dad and looked like my dad’s family — there wasn’t the space for fully human Asian characters on television or in film. And that’s something that I carried with me.” His father is originally from Barrio Batang in Pampanga, Philippines. “This ones for you, Dad!” he writes from @brandonpanaligan.

Filmed in 2019 for 3 months prior to the pandemic, the show focuses not only on billionaire heirs & their extravagant lives, but also includes self-made entrepreneurs & others who didn’t come from wealth. The first season of 8 episodes includes real life Asian American stories of trying to find their identity, connection with others, getting over insecurities/abandonment, finding their past/their family, and finding their place in the world.