Lilly Singh’s first episode of her new late-night show ‘A Little Late With Lilly Singh’ has premiered on YouTube a few hours before airing on NBC and OH MY GAGA – it’s good.
Don’t just take my word for it. After monitoring social media for around 4 hours post-show, I couldn’t find a single negative comment besides “it needs to be longer than 30 minutes!” And it’s no surprise really.
From hilariously calling out the male-domination of the late-night circuit to performing a twerk-worthy rap about throwing some “melanin” onto our screens and joking around with special guests Mindy Kaling and Rainn Wilson – in those very quick 30 minutes, Lilly Singh shows us exactly what we’ve been missing in late-night television: a fresh perspective.
Crying like a baby in this hotel in Bangladesh watching #LateWithLilly ‘s first episode. My heart is on clouds and I could not be more proud of @Lilly for what she has accomplished.
Representation matters. Thank you for fighting for it, Lilly. ✊🏽💛
— Nabela Noor (@Nabela) September 17, 2019
The show opens with a pre-recorded sketch of Lilly meeting with executives who happen to be all white and all male. They try to tell her what to wear and control her show, but Lilly quickly takes over, launching into a rap song highlighting all the “Jimmys in the spotlight” and the need for more diversity.
“My writers’ room looks like a mini United Nations,” she sings, “more than 50 percent women and people of all races. And that’s not because I had to, it’s because I could. This is the new standard, so take note Hollywood!”
Her energy and sassiness alone in the first few minutes is already a refreshing change from the usual late-night programming. And she’s not afraid to humorously address all the elephants in the room including whether middle America will like her and what she thinks of the “bisexual woman of colour” label that’s dominating the headlines.
When special guest Mindy Kaling sits down with Lilly, they talk about the importance of representation and the pair come to a realisation that this is the first time two women of Indian background are both on mainstream TV at the same time!
“I can’t wait for my daughter to watch the show, twenty years from now when you’re still doing it and wishing you didn’t have to,” Mindy said.
Lilly takes some time to thank all the successful women of colour who’ve paved the way for her – that being, Mindy Kaling, Michelle Obama and the brown M&M!
She also shows gratitude for her millions of social media fans, who in many ways, made this jump from YouTube to television possible for Lilly – “this is our show and we are on this ride together.”
Although this is Lilly’s first foray into the small screen, her years of creating video content have clearly paid off. She may’ve been nervous on set, but she certainly didn’t show it. She was confident and charismatic. Energetic and fun. And I can’t wait to see where she takes this next.
It’s not until you sit through this first episode of A Little Late With Lilly that you realise, all those late-night shows we’ve been watching until now? Sure, they’re good, but they’re kind of all…the same. Aren’t they?
Have you watched A Little Late With Lilly? Let me know what you think below.
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December 9, 2021 at 1:59 amA big thank you for your blog post. Keep writing.