Lilly Singh’s new talk show: Repetitive and mediocre
As the lines between internet celebrity and mainstream media continue to be blurred, this may a step in the right direction. For so long, internet-famous creators have not been acknowledged as “real celebrities”, but it may be worth considering that recognition is recognition no matter what platform. Around two weeks ago, YouTuber Lilly Singh premiered her late night TV debut show, A Little Late With Lilly Singh. However, while I’m supportive of internet stars receiving the recognition they deserve, the quality of this show was subpar.
Lilly Singh delivering her monologue Photo courtesy of Scott Angelheart NBC
Little snippets of A Little Late With Lilly Singh can be found across YouTube, showcasing highlights of the show. For instance, this is her monologue from the first episode: “Lilly Singh? #NotMyCarsonDaly”. She begins by saying the media has been calling her the first TV show host who is a “bisexual woman of color” so often, but insists she is much more than that label. Diversity politics aside, the general consensus should be that a talk show host should have distinct aspects (comedic value, creativity, stage presence, character to name a few) which makes them appealing, apart from their race or sexual orientation; Lilly Singh is trying to emphasize this point. However, she contradicts this statement with a slew of racial jokes. For example, she stated that if one were to put all the late night show hosts in the same room, her and Hassan Minaj would look like the IT department, poking fun at the lack of diversity. Furthermore she jokes that white people are terrified to see a person of color host a show, which is strange because there are women like Oprah Winfrey and Wendy Williams who have had successful shows before her. Finally, she goes on to make a bold claim about how she could be the beginning for future representation of minorities in media. She wanted to be seen as someone apart from her race, but the rest of the segment is centered around her being a “woman of color.” A couple jokes about the lack of diversity and representation is fine, but repetitiveness leads to a dry, stale brand of comedy. Needless to say, that segment was poorly received by the audience with a 40k to 33k like to dislike ratio.
Here are the YouTube comments:
“As a brown woman, I’m not looking for a brown woman talk show host. I’m looking for someone that makes me laugh.”- Alias Alias
“Summary: ‘I’m a bisexual woman of color.’ *audience screeches in fake laughter*”-WOAHH BRO
Despite the negative reception, there should definitely be a few redeemable qualities, for example, her interviewing style. Singh interviewed Indian-American actress Mindy Kaling, which seemed to nothing out of the ordinary. Furthermore, she allowed Kaling to explain what was going on in her career, showing she was respectful, while making a few fun comments here and there. For example, this exchange:
Mindy Kaling: “We had 15,000 submissions [for the movie]”
Lilly Singh: “I was 13,000 of those!”
Lilly Singh and Malinda Kaling Photo Courtesy of Scott Angelheart NBC
However, most of the YouTube comments were negative:
“It’s a little awkward, forced laughing, cutting each other off, and Lilly doing that voice”- Jane McDonald
“This is not very good. Mindy looks like she’s doing a favor for someone”- Brand M
This is harsh criticism for something fairly standard, but compared to an interview with her and Stephen Colbert from back in June, it was not hard to see why the audience was dissatisfied. Indeed, the chemistry was so much stronger between the two than her and Lilly Singh, and what added even more to the comedic value was when Colbert’s Apple Watch accidentally picked up a call from the Marriot Hotel rewards system, interrupting her story, and she lightheartedly teased him about being rich, and still cared about saving money. Based on the comments, his interview was met with positive YouTube comments:
“I was DYING laughing about the roasting Mindy gave Stephen over his watch-phone and Marriott Rewards. It was absolutely hilarious while retaining its genuine sweetness. Love that comedy chemistry!”- plyric
“This was genuinely funny. Mindy is great. I wish I could have heard the rest of her story though.”- Gdicf, Seriously
Compared to another one of her interview snippets which were of similar comedic value to the previous, the YouTube comments were not completely flooded with negative feedback. For example, Kaling explained why she did not want to swim with sharks in the Caribbean,
“No wait, I can’t do that I have a kid and if I get killed by a shark, I can’t be like, “Oh your mom just thought it would be fun””-Mindy Kalling
“If you got killed by a shark, I imagine she’d be like ‘Baby Shark…’”-Lilly Singh (She fake-cries as she sings the Baby Shark theme song)
This was an enjoyable, mildly dark joke, and showed she was an average-at-best interviewer.
Here are what the people had to say:
“Lilly is a good interviewer. She let Mindy talk without inter[r]upting and she said a few funny quips. I like it” – blu unicorn
“The show was funny and I loved the desi lingo! If the interview could sound a tad bit less than an interrogation it’d have been even greater because it felt like Lilly was rushing to say the next thing without properly letting Mindy speak. That’s understandable, but I hope it gets rectified. Good luck Lilly!”- Lettisha .LS.
Therefore, while Lilly Singh appears to be a mundane interviewer, she received highly polarizing responses the audience.
It’s important to give credit where credit is due and commend Lilly Singh on her achievement to break into mainstream media. However, her repetitious comedy does not resonate well to the majority of the audience and she comes off as stale. While she may have been a decent and respectful interviewer having made funny comments from time to time, she cannot compare to other experienced interviewers such as Stephen Colbert.
Featured Image- Lilly Singh with her legs on the table Photo Courtesy of Tubefilter
By Wesly Wong