Awkwafina is trading movie sets for sauté pans in Apple TV’s new docuseries “Awkwafina: The Unlikely Cook,” premiering November 6.
The eight-episode series follows Nora Lum, better known as Awkwafina, on a cross-country culinary adventure with a very personal mission: revive her family’s beloved Chinese restaurant, Lum’s, which once served up Cantonese favorites in Flushing, New York.
There’s just one problem.
She can’t cook. Like, at all.
That’s where the fun begins.
With help from acclaimed chefs, restaurateurs and members of her own family, Awkwafina sets out to learn the ropes while exploring Asian American food and figuring out what her family’s restaurant legacy could look like today.
Her culinary crash course takes her everywhere from the Culinary Institute of America to Texas barbecue with Jimmy O. Yang. Along the way, she gets lessons from food legends Roy Choi and Martin Yan, explores the tiki culture that influenced her grandmother’s restaurant in Hawai‘i, and even tackles a restaurant shift in Los Angeles’ Chinatown.
Eventually, all that training leads to one very important night: opening her own restaurant concept.
And there’s only one VIP whose opinion really matters — her grandma.
Produced by Twofour, “Awkwafina: The Unlikely Cook” premieres globally on Apple TV on November 6, 2026.
If nothing else, watching Awkwafina attempt to go from “I can’t cook” to restaurant owner sounds like one entertaining recipe for television.
