By Adrianna Finch
Staff Writer
On Sept. 16, Lilly Singh’s talk show, “A Little Late with Lilly Singh” made its debut on NBC.
Unlike many of the current late night talk show hosts, Lilly is a bisexual woman of color. She intendeds on using her platform and perspective to reach a wider audience.
The first episode opens with Singh walking into a boardroom meeting full of white men wearing suits. They tell her to sit down in a chair that is not at the table, to which she ignores and pulls a chair up to sit alongside them. They bombard her with tired suggestions that follow the traditional formula that many late night talk shows already use.
“We want to get crazy,” one of them said. “We want to get loco ― something no one has ever seen before. We are thinking of doing an opening monologue where you cover headlines, news of the week and presidential tweets.”
When Singh disagrees and tells them the way she wants to run her show, they start to make fun of her, mocking her for standing up for what she wants.
In ways unique to Singh’s humor and creativity, she drives her point home with a rap about how she is taking charge of what late night television can be, complete with backup dancers, singers and props.
In addition to her entertainment career, she is the cofounder of #GirlLove in collaboration with Me to We.
#GirlLove is a campaign that promotes acceptance and love between young girls and adult women. It encourages them to raise each other up rather than tear each other down.
Since the start of her YouTube channel, Lilly has had amazing success that had led to her new talk show.
She has received four Streamy awards, a People’s Choice Award, an MTV Fandom Award and two Teen Choice awards for her content and outreach programs.
In between winning these awards, Singh has had two world tours.
In her first world tour, “A Trip to Unicorn Island,” she entertained her audience with dancers and music, but took the time to slow down the show and talk with her fans.
“You do not need anyone to be happy besides yourself,” she said. “Happiness is the only thing worth fighting for in your life.”
The second world tour followed her New York Times bestselling book “How to be a Bawse,” in which Singh wrote about how she struggled to get where she is now and how she is still struggling to stay happy even with all of her success.
Singh has always been very open about her mental health issues. She has suffered from depression and anxiety for many years, an issue close to home for many of her fans.
Since her start on YouTube, Singh has grown accustomed to being on the screen. It is no surprise that she would find success on television, as well.
In one of her many vlogs, Singh told fans what she hopes for this new chapter in her life.
“I want Team Super to promote the eff out of this show,” she said. “It’s not about the money; it’s not about the fame. It’s about the fact that there is now a bisexual woman of color on late night television where there has never been one before. All I want is for everyone to see that.”
“A Little Late” with Lilly Singh airs on NBC at 1:30 a.m. PST on Mondays and Thursdays.