The series premiered its first two episodes on ABC in February 2015 to positive critical reception, becoming the first network television sitcom in the U.S. to feature a family of Asian Americans as main characters in over 20 years.

[2][3][4] Season two chronicles the burgeoning success of the family-owned restaurant, named Cattleman's Ranch, Jessica's partnership with the Huangs' neighbor Honey on a business venture, and Eddie's troublemaking tendencies as well as his relationship with his mother.

[14] The final season follows Jessica becoming an educator, Louis becoming a business consultant, Evan undergoing puberty, Emery taking up acting, and Eddie contemplating his future as he approaches the end of his high school years.

[48] After Fresh Off the Boat's first season, Eddie Huang reduced his involvement with the series, including no longer being the narrator, due to creative differences with ABC, as well as time constraints with other projects.

[50] The series also experienced a change regarding its character focus, which was broadened to encompass the entire Huang family, namely Louis and Jessica, rather than on Eddie only.

[63] Following the tweets, Karey Burke, President of ABC Entertainment Group, stated that there were no plans to recast the role of Jessica.

[64] Wu publicly apologized, stating that the series' renewal forced her to decline a role in a project she was passionate about, as scheduling would not permit her to do both.

[1][70] Fresh Off the Boat premiered on FOX8 in Australia on May 10, 2015;[71] It was also picked up by Network Ten, and started airing on March 7, 2016, on its sister channel, Eleven until October 2017.

[78] The DVD contains two discs with all 13 episodes of season-one and special features such as a gag reel, as well a "Fresh Facts Trivia Track".

[86] In a positive review, Lenika Cruz of The Atlantic praised the series' ability to "deliver consistent chuckles and cleverly subvert stereotypes of Asian American experience—even if they come wrapped in a fairly standard family-sitcom package",[87] while TheWrap's Mekeisha Madden Toby remarked that the series "has soul, flavor and an incredible cast.

"[88] In concurrence, Robert Lloyd of The Los Angeles Times commended the series as "a consistently funny and even important one, with some lovely, nuanced performances".

[93][94] Antonia Chan of the Harvard Political Review commented that "Fresh Off the Boat captures the essence of why diversity in media matters",[95] while Ester Suh, writing for the Huffington Post, stated that the sitcom had caused "real conversations being had about Asian American identity in addition to acknowledging the lack of inclusivity Asian Americans have had in the nation's cultural and entertainment dialogue".

[96] Brian Moylan of The Guardian further opined that the series "offers an Asian perspective on race relations – something we rarely see in pop culture.

[97][87] Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter complimented Wu's portrayal of "hysterically harsh strictness" and how it was "delivered with an impressive range that covers the blatantly angry, the dubiously befuddled, the disapproving but supportive and the flat-out odd";[98] moreover, Entertainment Weekly's Ray Rahman stated: "Every line, every expression, every under-her-breath swipe [Wu] delivers hits its mark.

[101][102] In terms of how the series fares in comparison to Huang's memoir, Sam Adams of IndieWire positively stated that the former was "sharp enough about race and culture to be daring, yet safe enough that no one is likely to feel excluded".

[103] David Hinckley of the New York Daily News felt that the series "takes the edges off some of Huang's more somber reflections on America and assimilation.

"[104] Conversely, in her review for The New Yorker, television critic Emily Nussbaum negatively compared the portrayal of Eddie Huang's relationship with his father to that in the memoir, stating: "Without a cruel bully for a father, Eddie's taste for hip-hop feels more superficial—in the book, it's an abused kid's catharsis and an identification with black history.

[107][108] He also tweeted in April 2015, "I understand this is a comedy but the great comics speak from pain: Pryor, Rock, Louis...This show had that opportunity but it fails.