Comedian and “The Daily Show” correspondent/host Ronny Chieng, who was born in Malaysia, recently became a U.S. citizen. And he knows what you’re thinking: “Granted, it’s a weird time to do it.”
As Chieng jokes to Variety‘s Awards Circuit Podcast, the fact that he’s becoming an American now, right when the country falls out of favor with the rest of the world, proves he’s committed to it: “Anyone can apply for U.S. citizenship under Obama,” he says. “That’s easy, Golden Age. Great. So apply now. If you really wanted it, do it now. And that’s what I did!”
On this edition of the Variety Awards Circuit Podcast, Chieng shares some of his reasoning for becoming a U.S. citizen — as first revealed during a taping of “The Daily Show,” when Bill Murray surprised Chieng on stage to congratulate him. He also talks about the mood in the writers’ room at “The Daily Show” under the Trump administration, and how the show has so far escaped the kind of scrutiny that “60 Minutes” is getting in the crosshairs of the Skydance acquisition of Paramount.
Chieng also talks about his most recent standup special, Netflix’s “Ronny Chieng: Love to Hate It,” and his plans for the next one. And he explains what it means to have a “Ronny Chieng Day” in Honolulu. Listen below!
“It’s kind of 30 years in the making, in the sense that I’ve been trying to come back to America since I left in ’93 when I was was seven years old,” Chieng says. “I’ve been trying to come back to do stand up comedy, and I finally got to come back in 2015, 10 years ago, and then citizenship nine years later… And it’s a weird time to do it. Because the things that attracted me to America were ‘Back to the Future.’ It was ‘Seinfeld,’ it was Michael Jordan. It wasn’t the Iraq War. So it’s weird to join. It’s like you’re joining this evil empire, but that’s not why you joined it. It just so happened, the evil empire had some really nice TV shows, and they do stand up comedy in the in the Death Star.”
Chieng says his citizenship was part of his goal to build a standup career in America. “I turn down offers to tour overseas all the time,” he says. “I’ve got no interest in it, because I came from there. I’ve been trying to come here… so it makes sense for me to get citizenship, because if I do leave the country, I know I can come back in to the stuff that I’ve been building here.”
On “The Daily Show,” Chieng is one of several correspondents who share hosting duties on a Tuesday through Thursday basis (with Jon Stewart helming Mondays). Trump, of course, looms large over the content on “The Daily Show” these days, but as Chieng notes, “I came [to the show] at the end of 2015, so this Trump thing is all I’ve known. This isn’t that new, to be honest. Since I came to America, his shadow has been looming or in charge.”
Of course, the second Trump term has come with a turbo-charged agenda. “But like I said, it’s been a long burn,” Chieng says. “He’s been talking shit for a long time now. We’re used to him talking shit. He’s been throwing chaos in the mix for a long time now. So in that sense, it doesn’t feel like anything new in terms of coverage. Obviously, his efficacy is stronger now, undoubtedly. But in terms of at ‘The Daily Show,’ it’s almost like being a in a emergency room. You kind of get numb to it, because it’s always a car wreck every day. It’s something new coming in, and it’s something you have to comment on. It seems outlandish, but at the same time, it’s been outlandish for nine years. So is it outlandish? That’s the feeling.”
Also on the podcast, Chieng expresses his disappointment that his Hulu series “Interior Chinatown” didn’t move forward (“this might be the best thing I ever do”) and how he’s working on his follow-up standup special to “Love to Hate It.”
“There’s a lot of joy in the journey, a lot of misery as well,” he says of putting together a new hour — which he says takes usually a year to put together. “It gets better as you tour it,” he says. “I’m trying to just say stuff I’ve never said before, which I feel like I hope I’ve done with every special. I’m very proud of the last hour. I put a lot into it, and I think it was well crafted. I think I learned a lot of lessons over the years on how to craft an hour of comedy and how to exhibit it on Netflix, which is a skill unto itself.”
Variety’s “Awards Circuit” podcast, hosted by Clayton Davis, Jazz Tangcay, Emily Longeretta, Jenelle Riley and Michael Schneider, who also produces, is your one-stop source for lively conversations about the best in film and television. Each episode, “Awards Circuit” features interviews with top film and TV talent and creatives, discussions and debates about awards races and industry headlines, and much more. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or anywhere you download podcasts.
From Variety US