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Houston family being featured in new reality show
FOX 26's Natalie Hee has more on a Houston family that is being featured in a new reality show.
HOUSTON - Inspired by the movie ‘Crazy Rich Asians,’ a new reality show featuring a Vietnamese-American family from Houston will make its grand debut this Thursday.
'House of Ho' centers around Washington Ho and his family in River Oaks. The show's unique characters include the strong, powerful patriarch of the family, the fabulous daughter, and the quintessential tiger mom.
Most of the family sports regal names inspired by past presidents. like his 4-year-old son Roosevelt and 2-year-old daughter Lincoln.
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The show was filmed last year, but its premiere was delayed because of the pandemic.
'House of Ho' emulates a combination of Crazy Rich Asians and Keeping Up With the Kardashians.
In the preview trailer, Washington can be heard saying, "My mom said if you marry Lesley – you don’t owe me and dad nothing for the rest of your life. Look at what I have now. But I've grown to love her over time." Washington's cousin then responds with, "Should that be on tv?"
Washington's parents were Vietnamese refugees who moved to the U.S. in 1975 in pursuit of the American dream.
The Ho's lived in Acres Homes and worked several odd jobs before starting the family's now successful business in banking and investments.
But the true-life rags to riches story isn’t just about petty drama, the show will also tackle issues of addiction, divorce, and the family dynamics in Houston’s large Vietnamese community.
"We got to see the show last week. We had no editorial control. The only thing we could control was ourselves. And as you can tell, I’m not good at controlling my mouthpiece," said Washington.
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Washington says ‘House of Ho’ will make audiences laugh, cry and maybe even cringe a little. Ultimately, he hopes the show will help shatter stereotypes and normalize exposing vulnerabilities in a culture where “saving face” typically takes precedence.
"It's an Asian cultural and tradition thing to worry about what other people think. And I would say – my family, we don’t represent all Asians. We’re Vietnamese. As filming went on, you cannot not be yourself. The more you try to not be yourself, the more uncomfortable it would get and the purpose of the show was to share our story. To share our story was to be real. It wasn’t easy, it’s one of the most difficult things I've ever done," Washington said.
'House of Ho' premieres this Thursday on HBO Max.