TJ Manotoc

How The Cleaning Lady made room for Filipino immigrant realities in America 

THE CLEANING LADY: L-R: Khalen Roman Sanchez and Élodie Yung in the “Wrecking Ball” episode of THE CLEANING LADY airing Tuesday, April 22 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. ©2025 Fox Media LLC. CR: Jeff Neumann/FOX

Article (news)

ABS-CBN News North America

<p>The latest season of The Cleaning Lady deepens its exploration of the American dream, identity, and sacrifice—but it also does something more quietly radical. In its fourth season, the show brings three Filipino performers to the center of its narrative gravity: Alain Uy, Martha Millan, and newcomer Khalen Roman Sanchez. Their portrayals, rooted in lived experience, elevate the show’s emotional core beyond crime-drama conventions, giving it cultural resonance that feels both intentional and earned.</p><div><br/></div><p>Alain Uy, who joined the cast this season as Feng, understands what it means to arrive late to a party that’s already in full swing. “It’s always difficult to sort of parachute into a show when the rhythm is already established,” he admits. “You feel like the new kid in school.” Still, Uy quickly found his footing in the role of Feng, a character whose motives are as layered as the circumstances surrounding him.</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:900px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1748971259935TCL_S4_405_6_JN_00727f_f.jpg" style="width:900px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left"><em>Khalen Roman Sanchez and Élodie Yung in a scene in The Cleaning Lady | Courtesy Fox &quot;The Cleaning Lady&quot;</em></span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>“What’s really interesting about Feng is that he’s got this want to protect everything around him. But also there’s this want to get further ahead with his dream,” says Uy, who was born in Dagupan City, Pangasinan. “This whole season is about the American dream and figuring out what you need to do to achieve those dreams.”</p><div><br/></div><p>For Uy, that dream isn’t abstract—it’s deeply personal. Recalling his own father’s immigrant sacrifices, Uy’s voice catches with emotion. “He was so busy, really just being a father, just trying to provide for us,” he says. “There’s a lot of sacrifices he’s made for us as a family.” That lived memory informs his performance, a quiet tribute to the countless Asian talents who, for a long time, weren’t seen on American primetime TV.</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:900px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1748971461041TCL-S4_409_46-JN00178f_f.jpg" style="width:900px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left"><em>Martha Millan in a scene in The Cleaning Lady | Courtesy: Fox &quot;The Cleaning Lady&quot;</em></span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>For Martha Millan, who has portrayed Fiona across all four seasons, the work has always been personal. “It wasn’t even just about being undocumented. It’s just the immigrant experience of wanting a better life for your family,” she reflects. “You also want to keep your heritage, but without ostracizing yourself.”</p><div><br/></div><p>Fiona’s narrative arc as loyal sister to main character Thony (played by Élodie Yung) may be grounded in high-stakes plotlines, but Millan brings to it an authenticity born of her own family’s journey from the Philippines to Australia. She channels the Filipino mother energy—a blend of fire, warmth, and rhythm. Even Fiona’s signature lightness amid crisis feels drawn from something deeply cultural. “I think just seeing, especially Filipino women, we all have this musical, vibrant energy… there’s always some kind of laughter that’s involved,” she says. It’s part of the immigrant resilience kit.</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:900px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1748971518439TCL-S4_412-59_JN_00332f_f.jpg" style="width:900px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left"><em>Alain Uy in a scene in The Cleaning Lady | Courtesy: Fox &quot;The Cleaning Lady&quot;</em></span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>And then there’s Khalen Roman Sanchez, the youngest of the trio and arguably the most composed. At just eight years old, the second-grader plays Luca with a candor and poise that belies his age. “I didn’t expect to get into this show,” he says with the kind of wide-eyed sincerity that makes his presence on set—and in interviews—irresistible. When asked how he prepares, he beams: “My mom or my dad and I rehearse my lines multiple times, like how I rehearsed the questions for this interview.”</p><div><br/></div><p>Sanchez brings the kind of unfiltered energy that quietly lifts The Cleaning Lady from procedural grit into something more human. His Luca isn’t just a plot device; he’s the emotional heartbeat of a family under siege, and his performance stands as a reminder that the stakes of immigration stories are generational.</p><div><br/></div><p>At a time when Filipino American narratives remain scarce in mainstream media, The Cleaning Lady does something rare: it not only includes them, it centers them with respect. It’s the kind of grounded storytelling that resonates because it’s drawn from truth—a feat also achieved by having Filipino creatives behind the scenes, including writer Joelle Luman.</p>

<p>In its fourth season, <i>The Cleaning Lady</i> highlights the American dream and immigrant struggles through three Filipino actors—Alain Uy, Martha Millan, and Khalen Roman Sanchez—adding cultural depth and authentic resonance to its emotional core.</p>

In its fourth season, The Cleaning Lady highlights the American dream and immigrant struggles through three Filipino actors—Alain Uy, Martha Millan, and Khalen Roman Sanchez—adding cultural depth and authentic resonance to its emotional core.

How The Cleaning Lady made room for Filipino immigrant realities in America

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How The Cleaning Lady made room for Filipino immigrant realities in America

ABS-CBN News North America,

Yong Chavez

Published Jun 04, 2025 01:28 AM PHT

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The Cleaning Lady

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Alain Uy

Martha Millan

Khalen Roman Sanchez

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