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Premiering tonight at 10:30 PM on Comedy Central is the show Awkwafina is Nora from Queens. Awkwafina, the Chinese-Korean-American actress, comedian and rapper recently won a Golden Globe for her performance in The Farewell and has been guest announcing the 7 train for the last week.
The scripted comedy show is semi-autobiographical, with Awkwafina as Nora Lin (her real name is Nora Lum). She plays her young adult self growing up in Queens with her grandmother (played by Lori Tann Chinn from Orange is the New Black) and father (played by BD Wong). As an Asian-American myself (Awkwafina was born in Stony Brook, where I grew up), I identified with the comedy that centers around what it’s like to grow up as a second generation Asian in America. But you don’t have to be Asian American to appreciate the show — much of the it is just the common experience of being in your ’20s in New York and not really sure what you’re doing with your life — themes seen in other comedy hits like Broad City and Master of None.
Without further ado, here are the film locations so far in Nora from Queens!
Photo by Zach Dilgard courtesy Comedy Central
Nora’s house is set in the northern section of Forest Hills, closer to Flushing. The illustrated opening credits of Nora from Queens shows the intersection of Northern Boulevard and 67th Ave, likely an important spot from Awkwafina’s own past growing up here. She’s also chosen to show an image and the address of her family’s former restaurant, Lum’s located at 138-28 Northern Boulevard.
The house Nora is sharing with her grandma and father is a typical detached single-family Queens house, identical to the one next door. There’s a young neighbor who gives her some shade for still living at home (while bragging that he’s about to take his SATs…).
Nora goes to meet a good friend at Union Pool in Williamsburg, a long-standing hangout for live music and drinks just off the Brooklyn Queens Expressway at 48 Union Street.
There’s no pool here but in the summer you’ll find food trucks and barbeque-ing and live fish inside what is a fire pit in the winter.
Awkwafina, her dad, grandma, and her cousin (played by comedian Bowen Yang) go to New Kim Tuong Restaurant (formerly 83 Kien Tuong Restaurant) in Chinatown at 83 Chrystie Street. This stretch of restaurants is slightly off the tourist path, just south of Grand Avenue. One of our favorite cheap dumpling joints, C&L Dumpling House, is just down the street along with Bite of Hong Kong, which is also great.
There are a few Chinatown bus pickup along this stretch between Grand and the Manhattan Bridge, a prelude to what is coming in a future episode…
Photo by Zach Dilgard courtesy Comedy Central
Nora has an incident while being a driver on the ride share app while on the Upper East Side…we’ll reveal more when the show premieres!
Next, check out the NYC Filming Locations for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
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