The Indian American’s role on Connecting . . . was a breakthrough moment that is still few and far between: a South Asian American leading a major primetime TV show. Currently on hiatus, the show takes viewers to a world we have known all too well in the last year, where a group of friends connect via video calls and share the challenges of the pandemic together.
One of Cheena’s closest friends, Chicago native Danny Pudi, is well known for playing Abed Nadir on NBC’s Community. The two go back more than 15 years to their time in Chicago. “We talk about everything,” Pudi says. “We can have as much fun discussing a character’s backstory as we do talking about his dog’s puzzle bowl.”
As the pandemic has halted some Hollywood productions and shifted protocols for others, Cheena’s voiceover career continues from the comforts of his Los Angeles townhome. “I sing at home—the engineers literally take control of your screen and they work Logic Pro and your microphone settings and everything. You literally right now can write, film stuff, create anywhere. So it’s just been such an eye-opening experience that we’re doing projects without meeting.”
Kwapis, who also launched the popular American version of The Office on the same network, says Outsourced provided an opportunity to tap into a South Asian talent pool that he previously wasn’t as familiar with in Los Angeles. “We are all proud of the fact that we put a show on primetime television with more actors of South Asian descent than ever in the history of [American] television.”
“It’s not about checking a box with him. It’s about getting the funniest guy for the role. And he is that,” says director and producer Pamela Fryman, who has directed shows like How I Met Your Mother and Frasier, and worked with Cheena on Friend Me. “There are so many elements that have to come together in the right way to make [a show] successful. He gives me the gift of not having to be concerned about him, because I know he’s going to come through.”
