As I scrolled through social media recently, looking for topics to cover on HBCU Pulse and ClutchPoints, I noticed a firestorm erupting around a new web series from Keke Palmer's Key TV Network called Southern Fried Rice.

The show centers on KoKo Johnson, an Asian American young woman who was adopted and raised by a Southern Black family in the small town of Oaksville, Georgia. With no connection to her birth family, she has fully embraced the traditions and cultural customs of Black America—a premise that is the foundation of the series. Coco goes on to attend Wright University, a fictional HBCU and her late father’s alma mater.

The show's creation had been announced for months, with news of actors like Love Island season six winner Kordell Beckham
joining the cast. However, the official release of the trailer via Keke Palmer and Key TV’s social media platforms caused massive and immediate criticism, especially given the current political climate.

The Critics' Concerns

Many critics labeled the concept as “tone-deaf,” arguing that centering a story about cultural disconnect at an HBCU around an Asian American woman, rather than a Black main character, was the wrong decision.

“A story about an Asian woman cosplaying Black culture attending an HBCU and the show revolving around her being raised by black people and her experience at a Black college and the show is called Southern Fried RICE,” posted @@glynderella_ on X.

@mychericeamour_ posted, “So yall really put your brains together and said you know what we need right now (ever) an HBCU show that focuses on an Asian woman (with a Blaccent)’s experience?? I’m sorry but ??????”

“I’m not watching no show about an Asian girl raised by a Black family attending an HBCU. You should’ve released tht bullsh*t when Dear White People and Mixed-ish came out. We not on that right now. Read the room,” @DeeLaSheeArt boldly proclaimed to viral acclaim.

Critics also felt the trailer framed the Black students at Wright University as antagonists who were unfairly rejecting Koko, despite their reservations about what they believe could be cultural appropriation. They questioned why Palmer green-lit the series, arguing there were “better ways to showcase HBCU life and our culture.”

“Out of allllll of the stories you could tell about attending an HBCU… you chose THIS? An Asian girl rocking bamboo earrings & a nameplate tryna “find herself” & then… naming it “Southern Fried Rice”?? What in the name of Debbie Allen are you doing, girl,” posted @_Ahreeahnah.

The Creators' Defense

The show was written by Nakia Stephens, a Savannah State University alumna well-known for her Damn Write Originals production hub, which centers African American voices and often tells untold narratives. It was directed by Shayla Raquel, a Florida A&M University alumna.

Both Stephens and Raquel quickly responded to the criticism, which largely stemmed from people who had only watched the trailer. They stressed that they are HBCU alumni themselves and wouldn't create a harmful or “bad depiction” of HBCU life.

Their goal, they explained, was to use the narrative to explore broader topics like cultural assimilation, the transfer of culture within families, and microaggressions—all baked into what is essentially a dramedy.

Keke Palmer also released a video affirming her support for Stephens, Raquel, and Key TV's mission.

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“As a professional tap dancer and court jester for most of my life 🙂 NOT COMPLAINING! I can tell you that it’s imperative people of color have jobs outside of just being the talent or the player on the team. It’s my mission with KeyTV to help fund and support the creators of color behind the scenes, giving them a chance to tell their own story,” Palmer said in a social media post, which included a video responding to the outrage.

Why I believe people are doing too much

I’ll admit that when I first heard the premise, I was skeptical. I questioned how they would manage to “thread the needle” and authentically showcase the HBCU experience while centering this narrative. The trailer left me with many questions.

But after watching the first two episodes, I must say I don't understand why people are so upset.

“Southern Fried Rice” is not meant to be the definitive show about HBCU life. It is a small, specific story that Stephens sought to tell, with an HBCU simply as the backdrop. It is neither offensive nor derogatory toward HBCUs. It’s virtually harmless when it comes to higher-minded discourse about the image of our institutions in the media.

Unlike shows like A Different World or BET’s former series The Quad, which promoted themselves as definitive narratives about Black college life, this web series feels like a throwback to the mid-2010s era that gave us Issa Rae’s Awkward Black Girl. That pioneering web series, and others it inspired, showcased distinct elements of the Black experience, often with unconventional characters. If Southern Fried Rice had premiered in 2013, it would have fit right in, and no one would have blinked.

I understand that the times we live in cause us to raise antennas about depictions of black life, but this show does not deserve the level of scrutiny it has received.

This isn't to say the show is flawless. For example, while it is beautifully shot, I believe the pacing is too quick. I would've like more time in the first two episodes to get to know the main characters and their motivations, and I feel the show jumps from event to event without fully building out the world surrounding Wright University. Those are valid criticisms.

However, this ultimately falls into the bucket of: if you don't like it, you don't watch it. It is not a salacious depiction of HBCU life, nor is it a warrant for getting Keke Palmer to pull the plug or questioning the HBCU credentials of Stephens, Raquel, and the rest of the HBCU alumnae who worked on the project. It’s just a show.

As a creative with published fictional works, I’m sensitive to the challenges Black creators face when telling their unique stories. We must be protective of our image and the image of our institutions. But at some point, we have to let creators be creatives and let them play out their vision before we rush to judgment.

While the critiques based on the trailer and description were valid, watching the episodes reveals that the show is not what many people made it out to be. The level of public castigation directed at Keke Palmer and the entire creative team is overblown.

We should allow the creators to develop their project the way they see fit. “Southern Fried Rice” is a new narrative, and it deserves a chance to see what it becomes. Southern Fried Rice is available on Key TV Network's YouTube and Facebook pages.