The Cho must go on.

Back in 1995, ABC was heralding Cho as a breakthrough, the first Asian-American to lead a network sitcom, in All-American Girl. But behind the scenes, execs criticized her for “not being Asian enough,” she says, and complained about her weight.

“On one of my first screen tests, they gave me a note saying they were concerned about the fullness of my face. I went on these incredibly restrictive diets, went anorexic and nearly killed myself because I didn’t fit a certain image.” 

Cho says she suffered kidney failure after losing 30 pounds in two weeks. It didn’t matter. Her show was canceled after one season.

“Television was really hard on me. I did not have a lot of happiness creatively,” says Cho, now 30, sober and back with her first love, stand-up comedy.

Her one-woman show, which began touring Friday in Washington, D.C., “is really about my rise and demise as a network star. It really is a cross between VH1’s Behind the Music and The Joy Luck Club,” Cho says by phone from her Los Angeles home.

Her newfound self-esteem is evident in the title of her show, I’m the One That I Want, which hit the road after an off-Broadway stint. It’s an autobiographical, candid account of her tumultuous life, covering topics including drugs, homophobia, racism and her ethnicity.

Most of her material can’t be published in a family newspaper.

“That’s maybe why I’m popular and successful: I’ve found a way to be so unapologetically myself,” she says.

She doesn’t mince words. Consequently, her mother, Young Hie, and father, Seung Hoon, have never seen her perform live. “They’re terrified by the reality of what I do. They’re very proud of my career, but in the Korean culture it’s considered selfish to share your pain with other people.”

In her routines, no topic is taboo for Cho.

“With humor, you can change people’s perspective on things. You can take the sting out of your message and make people understand. With humor, you can make people feel really great about who they are. . . .With humor, there’s so much strength.”

She continues focusing on her strength and is happily single. “Relationships to me are boring and annoying. I sleep with my dog (Ralph), and that to me is the best bed partner anyone could have.”

Her whole world now revolves around her audiences. 

“The reason I survived was because of my audiences. I was literally dying at one point, yet I could still go out onstage and perform every night and have them love me. They would see me as a stand-up comedian even though there were times I could barely stand up. I discuss how I survive through my humor, and that to me is very important.”

On Nov. 13, her hometown show in San Francisco will be filmed for a concert movie, similar to those made by her idol, Richard Pryor.

She’s writing a book of her material and experiences. And an E! network profile of Cho premieres Oct. 6. 

She’s due to be on an episode of Sesame Street next year. The word of the day on that show: exit.

Cho doesn’t dwell on her downward spiral and exit from Hollywood. “I don’t blame the networks or sitcoms. What I could do to myself was worse than what anyone could ever do to me.

“I wanted to break free and find peace. Now I have.”