British comedian Nish Kumar hosts Hello, America on Quibi.
Quibi
This story is part of I’m So Obsessed (subscribe here), our podcast featuring interviews with actors, artists, celebrities and creative types about their work, career and current obsessions.
Any year that there’s a presidential election is a big year. Add to that a pandemic, a financial crisis and a social equity movement and you have 2020. But if you’re British comedian Nish Kumar, all the craziness of 2020 becomes fodder for his comedic morning show Hello, America on Quibi. The series, which launched in July, looks at US Politics through a silly British person’s point-of-view, with an ample helping of wit.
In an episode of CNET’s I’m So Obsessed podcast, Kumar explained the show and its unique take on the US election.
“It’s sort of a British commentary on American news. It’s purpose is to emphasize the things that we have in common within the special relationship that exists between our two countries,” said Kumar. “It’s a news-based topical comedy show. That’s made in Britain, by British people with the help of several Americans.”
Hello, America is streaming on Quibi, with new episodes released every Monday and Friday. As COVID-19 spread across the globe, its original election-centric coverage shifted.
During our conversation, Kumar talks in-depth about just how much the pandemic, Black Lives Matter and the global protests against police brutality have changed Hello, America. He also explains why, as a comedian, it’s worse to have bread thrown at you than to be booed off stage during a charity event.
Kumar’s origin story as a stand-up began when he was racially abused by a guy in a car. Kumar turned the incident into one of his first routines.
“This is drive-by racism!” said Kumar, laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. “He didn’t have an automatic window so he had to manually wind down the window and then wind it back up and drive off.”
I should note that we recorded this interview in mid-July.
Listen to my entire conversation with Kumar on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. You can subscribe to I’m So Obsessed on your favorite podcast app. In each episode, I catch up with an artist, actor or creator to learn about work, career and current obsessions.