Written by Hype Hair October 26, 2025
When Keke Palmer’s digital network, KeyTV, premiered the new series Southern Fried Rice, the trailer immediately sparked online conversations. The show follows KoKo Johnson (played by Page Yang), a Korean-American woman raised by Southern Black parents, as she begins her freshman year at Wright University, a fictional historically Black college (HBCU) in Atlanta.
The series was created and written by Nakia Stephens, a graduate of Savannah State University, and directed by Shayla Racquel, an alumna of Florida A&M University. The cast includes Kordell Beckham, Love Island Season 6 Winner (in his scripted debut), Choyce Brown, Ashley India, Jada Lewis, and Shaun Rose. The project is streaming on Palmer’s KeyTV, which aims to elevate underrepresented voices and new creative talent within the Black entertainment industry.
Only two episodes of Southern Fried Rice have been released so far, streaming via KeyTV’s YouTube channel.
The HBCU Experience and Why It Matters
For many, the HBCU experience represents far more than a college education. It’s a cultural community. Historically Black Colleges and Universities have long been spaces where Black identity is celebrated, protected, and redefined, creating environments where students can thrive without the additional pressures of racial marginalization.
– ADVERTISEMENT –
That’s why, when a new show sets its story at an HBCU, the expectations run deep. Classic series like A Different World, starring Lisa Bonet, set a high bar for authentic and respectful portrayals of HBCU life. It amazingly captured the look, feel, and cultural significance of HBCUs. A Different World also explored the non-black experience at HBCUs through Marisa Tomei’s character, but her storylines were often secondary to the central narratives focused on the Black students. Audiences continue to seek the same balance between storytelling that honors the aesthetic and the emotional truth of the HBCU experience.
Why People Are Having An Issue
The premise of Southern Fried Rice centers a non-Black character raised in a Black family and attending an HBCU, and has subsequently drawn mixed reactions. Some viewers have voiced discomfort, wondering if such a narrative might unintentionally shift the focus away from the Black experience within a space built to affirm it.
Others wonder if the show will fully explore HBCU life or simply place the story there without reflecting its real meaning and community. The critique isn’t just about the storyline; it reflects the question of representation: when stories depict Black spaces, who gets to tell them, and through what lens?
Why Others Like It
Supporters argue that Southern Fried Rice offers a fresh, layered approach to themes of belonging and cross-cultural identity. By showing a Korean American woman raised in a Black household navigating an HBCU community, the series has the potential to explore universal questions of self-identity and where home is.
Creator Nakia Stephens shared that her goal was to reflect the complexity of existing between cultures:
“I wanted to tell a story that speaks to what it feels like to exist between cultures — to love where you come from while still figuring out where you belong.”
Stephens also responded directly to criticism on X (formerly Twitter) before deleting her account amid backlash. On October 22, she wrote:
– ADVERTISEMENT –
“It’s literally a Black show produced by Black people. You call to ‘cancel’ an indie show that employed hundreds of Black filmmakers, stars 99% Black people, and [is] powered by Black women.”
While the tweet has since been deleted, her message underscored the show’s Black creative foundation and her frustration with calls for cancellation.
Keke Palmer similarly encouraged audiences to approach the project with openness:
“Look, what you like is subjective, but the support of Black creatives is not… So, whether you like it all or some or none, I say give these creators a chance to grow as we continue to grow in supporting them.”
The Creator’s Inspiration
Stephens, who attended Savannah State University, has described Southern Fried Rice as a decade-long vision. The story was inspired by the real-life experiences of non-Black students in navigating both cultural connections and differences.
“Southern Fried Rice is 10-plus years in the making,” she shared. “I saw how hard and challenging and fun and beautiful it was for them to do so, and that sparked my curiosity and honestly planted the seed for the show.”
She emphasized that many of the show’s cast and crew are HBCU alumni who “love and protect Black culture and hold it close to their hearts.
– ADVERTISEMENT –
Moving Forward
The ongoing conversation around Southern Fried Rice shows how storytelling can bridge or hurt cultural lines. HBCUs are not just academic spaces. They symbolize resilience, heritage, and identity. So, when stories unfold within those spaces, audiences are protective.
But that same protectiveness also brings a larger question: can storytelling about identity and belonging make room for multiple experiences without erasing any of them?
Some viewers might see Southern Fried Rice as opening a space to explore connections between Black and Korean American experiences. Historically, the relationship between these communities in the U.S. has been strained, with events like the 1991 killing of Latasha Harlins highlighting that tension. The show’s story surrounding a Korean American woman raised in a Black family offers a connection for cultural overlap, empathy, and belonging across communities with historically strained relations.
As Southern Fried Rice continues its run, viewers are being asked to decide for themselves. Whether they approach it with critique or curiosity, the series has already achieved one of its stated goals: to spark a real, genuine dialogue about culture, belonging, and what it means to honor Black spaces while exploring intersectional identities.
See more of Hype Hair’s News Here