Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens

• Awkwafina as Nora, a fictionalized version of herself[4]
• Lori Tan Chinn as her grandmother who helps raise her[4]

• Chrissie Fit as Melanie
• Jonathan Park as Doug
• BD Wong as Wally, Nora's father[4]
• Bowen Yang as Edmund, Nora's cousin[4]
• Jennifer Esposito as Brenda

• Ming-Na Wen as Sandra, Nora's aunt
• Laverne Cox as the voice of God
• Jaboukie Young-White as Daniel
• Michelle Buteau as Margaret
• Natasha Lyonne as Woman in hair salon
• Jamie Chung as Young Grandma
• Stephanie Hsu as Young Shu Shu
• Simu Liu as Garbage Boy
• Harry Shum Jr. as Doc Hottie

On April 17, 2018, it was announced that Comedy Central had given the production a pilot order. The episode was written by Awkwafina and Teresa Hsiao. Executive producers were set to include Awkwafina, Karey Dornetto, Peter Principato, and Itay Reiss. Dornetto was also expected to serve as showrunner and Hsiao as a co-executive producer. Production companies involved with the pilot were expected to include Principato-Young Entertainment, later rebranded as Artists First.[5]

On November 29, 2018, it was announced that Comedy Central had given the production a series order for a first season consisting of ten episodes. Awkwafina, Hsiao, and Dornetto were set to write for the series and Lucia Aniello was expected to direct and executive produce.[16] The series is set to premiere on January 22, 2020.[17] Ahead of the series premiere, on January 14, 2020, it was reported that Comedy Central renewed the series for a second season.[2] In August 2020, it was announced that the series will be on HBO Max, with the second series airing on the service after its first run broadcast on Comedy Central.[3]

Alongside the pilot order announcement, it was confirmed that Awkwafina would star in the production.[5] Concurrent with the series order, it was announced that BD Wong and Lori Tan Chinn would star in the series.[16] In July 2019, Chrissie Fit and Jonathan Park joined the cast in recurring roles.[18][19] On August 14, 2019, Jennifer Esposito was cast in a recurring capacity.[20]

Principal photography for the pilot began on July 20, 2018 in Queens, New York City, New York.[21] In the last episode of season one, part of the story's background is set in Beijing, China, but it was actually filming at Taoyuan International Airport and Taipei, Taiwan without the city government's permission.[22]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 80% with an average rating of 6.75/10, based on 30 reviews. The site's consensus states that "Nora From Queens showcases Awkwafina's charming brashness and surrounds her with an equally delightful cast—especially scene stealer Lori Tan Chinn—but it could stand to walk a less familiar comedic beat."[23] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[1] Linda Holmes of NPR states "There's a lot of pressure on creators of color to be groundbreaking — to sell their shows as both good and somehow ethically nutritious. Awkwafina's place in that calculus is complicated by legitimate questions about her own treatment of cultural traditions she's not part of. But it's also fair to evaluate Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens as an entry in a line of single-camera comedy series amplifying one distinctive sensibility (Insecure, Louie, Chewing Gum, Broad City, even Portlandia). And as part of that line, it holds up well."[24]

Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens has been compared to the fellow female-driven Comedy Central hit Broad City, which ran for 5 seasons.[25]

The series premiere obtained 0.49 million viewers, making it the highest rated season one premiere for Comedy Central since 2017.[26]

According to IMDb, "Grandma and Chill" is the highest-rated episode of season one, followed by the season finale, "China".[27]