WEBVTT - Lily Singh Balances Late-Night TV with YouTube Stardom 0:00:06.519 --> 0:00:09.840 Welcome to another episode of Strictly Business, the podcast where 0:00:09.880 --> 0:00:11.920 we talk with some of the brightest minds working in 0:00:12.000 --> 0:00:17.599 media today. I'm Andrew Wallenstein with Variety Intelligence platform. My 0:00:17.640 --> 0:00:20.439 guest today first rose to fame on YouTube, where she's 0:00:20.440 --> 0:00:24.000 still going strong today. But Lily Sing also as a 0:00:24.040 --> 0:00:26.680 second job you might have heard about as host of 0:00:26.680 --> 0:00:30.080 her own late night talk show on NBC. She must 0:00:30.080 --> 0:00:32.720 be doing something right because A Little Late with Lily 0:00:32.840 --> 0:00:35.760 Sing just got renewed for a second season. So it's 0:00:35.760 --> 0:00:37.960 great to talk with her today about how she juggles 0:00:37.960 --> 0:00:43.600 a career in two different mediums. Congratulations Lily, So is 0:00:43.640 --> 0:00:45.560 this the kind of thing where you were sweating? Is 0:00:45.680 --> 0:00:48.959 renewal or you knew you had it in the bag? Well, 0:00:49.000 --> 0:00:50.680 first of all, thank you, I'm so excited to be 0:00:50.720 --> 0:00:53.479 here chatting about this. Um. Definitely, no, I was sweating. 0:00:53.520 --> 0:00:56.040 I think if I could summarize season one in any way, 0:00:56.200 --> 0:00:58.360 or this whole experience in any way, it would be 0:00:58.560 --> 0:01:01.360 all of the emotion. I am constantly in the state 0:01:01.400 --> 0:01:05.880 of nervousness, being excited, being grateful, being honored, feeling like 0:01:05.920 --> 0:01:07.480 I need to puke a little bit, all of the 0:01:07.560 --> 0:01:11.920 about Well, don't puke now, but I'll try. What I'm 0:01:12.040 --> 0:01:15.039 curious about is when when you hear out late night 0:01:15.080 --> 0:01:17.480 talk show host in their first year, no matter how 0:01:17.520 --> 0:01:21.600 successful they are, it's a tough road. You're finding your voice, 0:01:21.640 --> 0:01:24.640 you're learning the ropes. So what was it like for 0:01:24.640 --> 0:01:28.360 you in your one? I mean, that's exactly correct. This 0:01:28.520 --> 0:01:30.880 is the first time I've done anything like you know, 0:01:30.880 --> 0:01:33.280 I come from the digital world where I am the editor, 0:01:33.319 --> 0:01:35.160 and I am the writer, and I am the on 0:01:35.319 --> 0:01:37.480 screen actress, and I do all of the things. I 0:01:37.520 --> 0:01:40.880 am the standards and practices, and so going into this world, 0:01:40.920 --> 0:01:43.320 if I'm just being really honest with you, it was challenging. 0:01:43.440 --> 0:01:47.680 I did have to learn an entirely new world. Um 0:01:47.720 --> 0:01:50.440 And just like my first video on YouTube, you know, 0:01:50.520 --> 0:01:53.280 there were moments and episodes where I was a little uncomfortable, 0:01:53.280 --> 0:01:55.360 when I was super out of my comfort zone and 0:01:55.760 --> 0:01:59.080 making mistakes and learning from the mistakes and just constantly 0:01:59.280 --> 0:02:02.360 trying to level up. UM was my experience. But I think, 0:02:02.400 --> 0:02:05.240 just like with anything else, it takes practice and it 0:02:05.240 --> 0:02:07.360 takes experience. And I'm really proud of what we did 0:02:07.440 --> 0:02:10.560 in season one, but I'm also super pumped to improve 0:02:10.680 --> 0:02:14.280 and do we even better in season two. And how 0:02:14.440 --> 0:02:18.400 hands on are you in terms of producing the show. 0:02:18.480 --> 0:02:20.960 I mean, as you mentioned from your YouTube days, you 0:02:21.000 --> 0:02:24.120 were probably a one woman show doing a bit of everything. 0:02:24.560 --> 0:02:26.720 So is it a big adjustment you have to sort 0:02:26.720 --> 0:02:31.880 of lose control to some degree? Um, I have all 0:02:31.960 --> 0:02:34.000 of the hands. Let me just say I tried. I 0:02:34.120 --> 0:02:36.160 was actually learning her from me, if I'm being honest. 0:02:36.320 --> 0:02:39.200 When I first started, I thought I'm gonna be involved 0:02:39.240 --> 0:02:41.880 in every single script and every monologue. I'm going to 0:02:42.000 --> 0:02:44.720 have review every single episode. There was a lot I 0:02:44.800 --> 0:02:47.119 wanted to do, and I managed to do a lot 0:02:47.160 --> 0:02:50.799 of it, probably admittedly at the cost of sleep and 0:02:50.880 --> 0:02:53.400 a little bit of sanity, because I interview almost every 0:02:53.440 --> 0:02:57.200 single episode, which is not typical. I think of most posts. 0:02:57.240 --> 0:02:59.360 I sat there in the editing room being like cut 0:02:59.400 --> 0:03:01.200 that with each camera A and will do all that. 0:03:01.720 --> 0:03:03.519 It took me a little bit of time to let 0:03:03.639 --> 0:03:06.119 go of some of that control, But I think that's 0:03:06.160 --> 0:03:08.880 what comes with a learning process and learning how to delegate, 0:03:09.120 --> 0:03:12.240 learning that these people are experts at what they do. UM, 0:03:12.280 --> 0:03:14.799 I'm definitely gonna try to delegate more in season two, 0:03:14.880 --> 0:03:16.560 but I still think in Jet by Nature, I'm a 0:03:16.560 --> 0:03:18.880 pretty hands on person. You know, my name is in 0:03:18.919 --> 0:03:22.040 the show title. It's my point of view that I'm sharing, 0:03:22.080 --> 0:03:24.600 which I believe is an extremely valuable and unique point 0:03:24.600 --> 0:03:26.040 of view in the late night space. And so I 0:03:26.080 --> 0:03:29.000 want to make sure that things have my personal question 0:03:29.080 --> 0:03:32.280 that's important to me. And if that means sometimes sleeping 0:03:32.280 --> 0:03:34.880 a little less, I'm gonna find a balance of doing 0:03:34.880 --> 0:03:38.880 that sometimes. So how involved was the network was? That's 0:03:38.960 --> 0:03:41.680 also something that you hear a lot about first year shows. 0:03:41.800 --> 0:03:45.480 Lots and notes, lots of pointers or do they give 0:03:45.480 --> 0:03:51.680 you free rank. I'm gonna say, ultimately, I'm pretty grateful 0:03:51.720 --> 0:03:55.200 and impressed with NBC in this regard. Of course, some 0:03:55.320 --> 0:03:57.920 episodes where I'm getting a little too risky and they're 0:03:57.960 --> 0:03:59.680 gonna be like, all right, write it back a little bit. 0:04:00.000 --> 0:04:02.720 Every year. Of course, they have stands and practices and 0:04:02.840 --> 0:04:05.440 that was a word in curve. But for the most part, 0:04:06.440 --> 0:04:08.240 they let me be who I was. That was my 0:04:08.400 --> 0:04:10.720 number one concern when I got the Late Night show 0:04:10.880 --> 0:04:15.120 was am I gonna be, you know, encouraged to be 0:04:15.320 --> 0:04:18.039 someone else or or fit a mold? And I can 0:04:18.080 --> 0:04:20.880 genuinely say that that was not the case. Of course, 0:04:20.880 --> 0:04:23.800 people shared with me best practices, their point of view, 0:04:23.800 --> 0:04:25.279 what they thought would work and not work. But at 0:04:25.320 --> 0:04:26.839 the end of the day, no one made me ever 0:04:27.480 --> 0:04:31.280 be something I'm not. Was there any particular joke that 0:04:31.360 --> 0:04:34.800 you remember, or any kind of vein of humor where 0:04:35.279 --> 0:04:37.400 you had to learn that there were some sensitivities that 0:04:37.440 --> 0:04:42.320 you might not have otherwise experienced on YouTube? Absolutely, I think, 0:04:42.440 --> 0:04:45.920 just like you know there's there's you gotta make mistakes. 0:04:46.000 --> 0:04:48.200 I mean, the reality is you have to make mistakes 0:04:48.279 --> 0:04:50.279 when you do things like this or you will never grow. 0:04:50.800 --> 0:04:53.839 And if I reflect back on back on some episodes, 0:04:53.920 --> 0:04:56.360 there were things that I didn't work properly or or 0:04:56.400 --> 0:04:59.520 even the thing mores of the case was there were 0:04:59.600 --> 0:05:02.159 certain times where I did feel like this this humor, 0:05:02.200 --> 0:05:04.400 I think, I'm I'm trying to dive into the late 0:05:04.560 --> 0:05:07.640 night world, and so I'm poking fun at celebrities and trends, 0:05:07.680 --> 0:05:10.480 and sometimes I felt, is this a little bit in spirited? 0:05:10.480 --> 0:05:12.560 But no, it can't be. It's late night. And when 0:05:12.600 --> 0:05:15.840 I watched about this episodes, I think, maybe maybe I 0:05:15.880 --> 0:05:17.840 should have phrased that joke a little differently, And I 0:05:17.880 --> 0:05:20.320 think I had to go through that process to learn that. 0:05:20.360 --> 0:05:22.600 But Um, I think going into season two is something 0:05:22.640 --> 0:05:25.680 I really want to prioritize is positivity and love and 0:05:25.760 --> 0:05:27.680 all the things I stand for in real life and 0:05:28.240 --> 0:05:30.800 kind of feel less of the pressure of Late Night 0:05:30.920 --> 0:05:34.279 being jabby in some ways because it can be a 0:05:34.279 --> 0:05:37.279 little bit like that and install thoses that's okay, but 0:05:37.720 --> 0:05:40.040 by nature that's not necessarily who I am. So that's 0:05:40.040 --> 0:05:43.960 something I definitely learned. So we'll season to be in 0:05:44.120 --> 0:05:47.480 any way different than what you were doing in season one. 0:05:47.520 --> 0:05:52.560 Any any significant changes, Well, I absolutely hope so, because 0:05:52.640 --> 0:05:55.400 I feel like, if you know, for our season one, 0:05:55.400 --> 0:05:57.880 we always said we want to mess with the format 0:05:57.920 --> 0:06:00.360 and we want to really break the multiple we've seen 0:06:00.400 --> 0:06:03.000 on Late Night. We did to a certain extent, but 0:06:03.040 --> 0:06:05.359 at the same time I was learning a whole new world. 0:06:05.400 --> 0:06:07.760 Like I said, so, there's only so much breaking and 0:06:07.800 --> 0:06:10.520 redefining you can do when you're learning the ropes, the 0:06:10.680 --> 0:06:12.920 very basic ropes of that thing. And so I think 0:06:13.200 --> 0:06:15.640 now that I have more experience and I know how 0:06:15.680 --> 0:06:18.680 the game goes, I definitely do really want to just 0:06:19.240 --> 0:06:21.680 break the rules of the format of Late Night. I 0:06:21.760 --> 0:06:26.239 want to have people that we otherwise would not see 0:06:26.279 --> 0:06:28.240 on Late Night in terms of guests, and so I 0:06:28.279 --> 0:06:30.880 definitely want to change things. I think if the first 0:06:30.880 --> 0:06:33.120 episode and last episode of season two looks the same, 0:06:33.760 --> 0:06:36.560 I would consider that not growth and not a great thing, 0:06:36.560 --> 0:06:38.720 and I want metually look differently. So what kind of 0:06:38.720 --> 0:06:41.400 guests might Who's on your dream list? Who do you 0:06:41.480 --> 0:06:45.520 want to have in season two? Listen, sir, we have 0:06:45.720 --> 0:06:49.360 the people that I've always want that just the Beyonces. 0:06:49.720 --> 0:06:52.120 I also have just learned from. You know, I had 0:06:52.160 --> 0:06:54.400 the honor of having Lala on my show, and for 0:06:54.440 --> 0:06:57.280 me personally, that was one of my favorite episodes because 0:06:57.760 --> 0:07:00.680 I got to really dive deep into her work and 0:07:00.720 --> 0:07:03.280 just things I've always wanted to ask her about her 0:07:03.279 --> 0:07:08.240 experiences and turned into this really sweet, genuine and powerful moment. 0:07:08.600 --> 0:07:10.640 And I think there's other people like that, from the 0:07:10.720 --> 0:07:14.240 Emma Watsons to the activists that are local to their 0:07:14.240 --> 0:07:16.480 communities that are doing awesome things. I just want to 0:07:16.480 --> 0:07:20.440 have really good conversations with people. I mean, in some instances, yes, 0:07:20.520 --> 0:07:23.400 it's great to have a shiny celebrity, and other instances, 0:07:23.440 --> 0:07:26.960 I think there's so much power and value and just 0:07:27.520 --> 0:07:30.280 amazing this and having people are still a story. I 0:07:30.320 --> 0:07:32.720 don't really care about their celebrity profile. I just want 0:07:32.800 --> 0:07:38.960 good conversation and good stories. Now, from what I understand 0:07:39.400 --> 0:07:42.920 the way you guys produced in season one, you've already 0:07:43.040 --> 0:07:46.720 you've wrapped your season back in December, and you shot 0:07:46.840 --> 0:07:51.200 multiple episodes per day, and those episodes are sometimes months 0:07:51.840 --> 0:07:57.600 into the future. I would imagine it's meal different this time. Yeah, 0:07:58.200 --> 0:08:01.560 there's proms and guns to do that. In season one, 0:08:01.600 --> 0:08:03.920 we shot nine to six episodes in three months. And 0:08:03.920 --> 0:08:05.800 when I tell that to people like you, like you 0:08:05.840 --> 0:08:10.240 just did right now, Yeah, in their face, they're smiling 0:08:10.280 --> 0:08:12.400 with their eyes are saying, you're a crazy person. And 0:08:12.400 --> 0:08:16.760 I see that because, um, yeah, it's there's present con 0:08:16.920 --> 0:08:20.040 It's great because you know, it allows me to fulfill 0:08:20.160 --> 0:08:22.560 from my other ambitions. It allows you to have a 0:08:22.640 --> 0:08:27.640 tight knit crew and and production where everyone is committed 0:08:27.680 --> 0:08:29.160 for a certain amount of times. So there's a lot 0:08:29.240 --> 0:08:32.000 prose to doing that. Now we're at a very unprecedented 0:08:32.040 --> 0:08:36.680 time where I wrapped season one and then unfortunately the 0:08:36.679 --> 0:08:40.160 world was with the pandemic and where everyone else it's 0:08:40.200 --> 0:08:42.640 kind of an ironic joke went back to shooting their 0:08:42.679 --> 0:08:45.920 show at home, something I've done for ten years. I 0:08:45.960 --> 0:08:48.640 was already wrapped and my shows all have a live audience, 0:08:48.679 --> 0:08:52.800 So this really timely conversation around quarantine ing UM is 0:08:52.840 --> 0:08:54.640 so important and everyone else is doing it and I'm 0:08:54.679 --> 0:08:56.960 not able to because my shows are shot and don't 0:08:57.000 --> 0:08:59.400 address the pandemic at all. So it was definitely a 0:08:59.440 --> 0:09:03.079 learning experien It was definitely interesting. UM. We will make 0:09:03.160 --> 0:09:05.320 changes for season two. I don't plan to have that 0:09:05.360 --> 0:09:10.719 schedule for just being topical, my sanity, for sleep, but 0:09:10.840 --> 0:09:13.720 the clearness of my skin, for the grays on my head, 0:09:14.040 --> 0:09:17.000 for all of those reasons. We're gonna extend that schedule. 0:09:17.040 --> 0:09:20.320 But can I just tell you after that, I really 0:09:20.400 --> 0:09:23.640 feel like I can do anything. I truly believe I 0:09:23.679 --> 0:09:26.600 can do it anything. You are battle tested, Yes, I 0:09:26.640 --> 0:09:31.040 am just ready to go here, ready to go. So 0:09:31.760 --> 0:09:35.199 the thing is, I can understand, you know, the appeal 0:09:35.360 --> 0:09:39.480 of actually sort of not having to deal with topicality 0:09:39.520 --> 0:09:43.840 and you know, providing a certain kind of world where 0:09:44.120 --> 0:09:46.480 people don't have to be reminded of the issues that 0:09:46.480 --> 0:09:49.640 are going on. But do you think in this new season, 0:09:49.679 --> 0:09:52.080 with this new schedule, you'll be able to be a 0:09:52.120 --> 0:09:55.000 bit more topical at times? And what kind of topics 0:09:55.040 --> 0:09:58.480 do you think you'll touch on. Well, that's definitely the goal. 0:09:58.960 --> 0:10:01.960 UM as much as we can be topical, that is, 0:10:02.000 --> 0:10:05.160 of course the gole. I don't know if it's gonna 0:10:05.160 --> 0:10:07.880 always be possible, but we're gonna try to make it possible. 0:10:08.040 --> 0:10:12.880 In terms of topics, I have never particularly been someone 0:10:12.920 --> 0:10:16.240 who discusses politics. There's a few reasons for that. I mean, 0:10:16.280 --> 0:10:18.680 of course I understand the importance of voting and the 0:10:18.720 --> 0:10:20.839 importance of being informed, but it's a little bit of 0:10:20.880 --> 0:10:23.880 an interesting situation because I myself cannot vote in the 0:10:23.920 --> 0:10:27.120 country I live in. I'm a Canadian. Whether the Late 0:10:27.280 --> 0:10:31.040 Night show, hav instaid that there are issues I'm very 0:10:31.080 --> 0:10:33.440 passionate about and that I'm very vocal about. Whether it's 0:10:33.880 --> 0:10:37.480 gender equity, whether it's about legislation regarding women's bodies, whether 0:10:37.520 --> 0:10:41.520 it's about um education. There's things that I'm very passionate 0:10:41.520 --> 0:10:44.520 and I will continue to talk about through comedy because 0:10:44.559 --> 0:10:46.319 I think comedy is a great vehicle for doing that. 0:10:46.720 --> 0:10:49.480 But yes, I do think to a certain extent, having 0:10:49.640 --> 0:10:54.000 content that is evergreen and does help people skip is 0:10:54.040 --> 0:10:58.880 also important because if people are like me, they want 0:10:58.920 --> 0:11:02.360 to be informed, but they also sometimes want to escape 0:11:02.400 --> 0:11:04.400 after a long day and I want that option to 0:11:04.440 --> 0:11:07.199 also exist. You know, there's lots of places you can 0:11:07.240 --> 0:11:10.080 go to get informant and here drugs about politics. I 0:11:10.120 --> 0:11:12.280 feel like less and less there are places where you 0:11:12.280 --> 0:11:14.720 can go where you are not reminded of that. So 0:11:14.800 --> 0:11:18.000 I want to find it out. You mentioned being Canadian. 0:11:18.080 --> 0:11:20.360 That's just one of the ways you're different than pretty 0:11:20.440 --> 0:11:24.600 much just about everyone in Late night. For starters, you're 0:11:24.640 --> 0:11:28.439 not a man, Yeah, you're an Indian descent, you're bisexual. 0:11:28.640 --> 0:11:32.160 There's all these different things than what you see from 0:11:32.200 --> 0:11:34.839 the standard host. Do you think that's help you cut 0:11:34.840 --> 0:11:37.920 through the clutter? Um? Yes and no. You know, it's 0:11:37.920 --> 0:11:43.320 a really complex thing because obviously my late night show 0:11:43.440 --> 0:11:46.000 was announced, a lot of headlines said just that, you know, 0:11:46.080 --> 0:11:51.280 it's that Canadian. The hyphen it's were extreme. Headlines were 0:11:51.280 --> 0:11:54.480 this one Canadian Indian person with long hair, it's long 0:11:54.520 --> 0:11:56.840 about it went on and cut and on about who 0:11:56.920 --> 0:11:59.800 I am. And of course I'm proud of that because 0:11:59.800 --> 0:12:02.800 I really truly do believe representation matters. And I think 0:12:02.840 --> 0:12:05.560 when you see an episode with me and Minty Kaling 0:12:05.600 --> 0:12:08.280 and we're making references about things from our upbringing that 0:12:08.280 --> 0:12:11.560 are so unique our culture, that's beautiful and awesome, but 0:12:11.600 --> 0:12:14.480 at the same time, I don't want to be defined 0:12:14.559 --> 0:12:16.920 as that, and I'm kind of, from being honest, I'm 0:12:16.960 --> 0:12:19.600 stuck in a little bit of a loop, right, don't 0:12:19.720 --> 0:12:22.360 quite know how to handle it because when I'm doing 0:12:22.360 --> 0:12:26.320 a monologue and I'm talking about my experience, at one hand, 0:12:26.320 --> 0:12:28.960 I feel like I'm so much more than all those hychmiths. 0:12:29.080 --> 0:12:30.520 But at the other hand, my point of view is 0:12:30.559 --> 0:12:33.520 so influenced by those hype of its. So um, it's 0:12:33.559 --> 0:12:35.719 kind of this weird pattern of being defined by it 0:12:35.720 --> 0:12:37.800 and not being defined it. So I'm honestly still trying 0:12:37.800 --> 0:12:39.360 to figure it out and what it means and how 0:12:39.440 --> 0:12:43.040 to navigate it. My solution is to truly just be myself. 0:12:43.080 --> 0:12:44.959 Everything is from my point of view, and my point 0:12:45.000 --> 0:12:48.120 of view happens to be those hypimiths. So got it? 0:12:48.800 --> 0:12:51.160 And of course, you know, in addition to everything that 0:12:51.200 --> 0:12:54.400 you're doing on NBC, there's that whole YouTube career that 0:12:54.880 --> 0:12:58.480 is going. How do you how do you balance the two? 0:12:58.480 --> 0:13:02.120 If you're doing twelve our shoots, you know, from nineties 0:13:02.160 --> 0:13:04.720 six episodes, how do you have time to keep video 0:13:04.800 --> 0:13:11.600 coming to your channel? Very poorly, very poorly. Um, it's 0:13:12.200 --> 0:13:14.360 you know, before season one started, I remember being like, Oh, 0:13:14.400 --> 0:13:16.880 I'm gonna bank a bunch of YouTube videos. I'm going 0:13:16.920 --> 0:13:19.959 to keep uploading during the season one. Then season what 0:13:20.080 --> 0:13:22.440 happened and I was like, Oh, this is a lot 0:13:22.480 --> 0:13:25.200 of work and I really want this to be good, 0:13:25.240 --> 0:13:27.720 and so this YouTube needs to take a back seat. 0:13:28.280 --> 0:13:30.840 I don't have the answer of how we gonna navigate 0:13:30.920 --> 0:13:33.439 and this in season two. I just know that YouTube 0:13:33.480 --> 0:13:35.920 continues to be a huge priority for me. I mean 0:13:35.960 --> 0:13:38.160 that is where my community is, as what my core 0:13:38.280 --> 0:13:40.920 fan base is. I believe in the digital space so much. 0:13:41.640 --> 0:13:43.560 I'm going to try to figure away. And I think, 0:13:43.640 --> 0:13:46.040 going back to your question about the schedule, I think 0:13:46.080 --> 0:13:48.640 expanding the late night schedule will allow me to insert 0:13:48.679 --> 0:13:51.240 some days where I can do YouTube. But no, definitely, 0:13:51.240 --> 0:13:53.520 I feel like I have three full time jobs all 0:13:53.520 --> 0:13:56.679 the time. Um, it's super stressful and exciting, and when 0:13:56.720 --> 0:13:58.920 I have any other way, absolutely not. I think busy 0:13:59.040 --> 0:14:02.160 is a blessing and I think I recognize this opportunity. 0:14:02.200 --> 0:14:05.360 I recognize what an honor it is. And I think 0:14:05.360 --> 0:14:07.200 the one thing that will change, if I'm being honest 0:14:07.240 --> 0:14:08.760 in season she is I don't think I'll feel guilty 0:14:08.800 --> 0:14:11.160 about it. I think season one I felt really guilty. 0:14:11.160 --> 0:14:12.840 I was like, oh, I didn't post like YouTube video. 0:14:12.840 --> 0:14:16.439 I into this. I really want this show to be great. 0:14:16.720 --> 0:14:19.080 I understand the path that could pay if I understand 0:14:19.120 --> 0:14:21.800 the opportunity I have. I'm gonna try my best to 0:14:21.840 --> 0:14:24.600 balance both. But we need to teeter from backseat to 0:14:24.600 --> 0:14:27.960 baccine and I'm gonna do that. Okay, Well, did you 0:14:28.000 --> 0:14:32.360 ever get counsel or advice from I don't know, an 0:14:32.400 --> 0:14:35.040 agent the network to say like, listen, you gotta just this. 0:14:35.200 --> 0:14:40.040 This whole YouTube thing's gotta go. You're a TV star now. Um, 0:14:40.280 --> 0:14:42.960 No one really says that to me. The thing about 0:14:43.000 --> 0:14:45.960 people counseling, and I'm in such a unique space. You know, 0:14:46.320 --> 0:14:49.560 other late night closts didn't necessarily come from the digital space. 0:14:49.640 --> 0:14:51.920 They were on TV and then they now migrated into 0:14:51.920 --> 0:14:54.520 the digital space. I am in a very unique position 0:14:54.560 --> 0:14:56.800 with There's very few people like you ask for in 0:14:56.880 --> 0:15:00.680 terms of advice, because I have one foot on each ladder. Really, 0:15:00.720 --> 0:15:02.920 to be honest, there were other people that gave me 0:15:03.000 --> 0:15:05.480 other sound advice, you know, Trevor know what. I keep 0:15:05.520 --> 0:15:08.760 referencing this because it was the most beautiful piece of 0:15:08.800 --> 0:15:12.560 blatant and blunt advice. And you know, he said, everyone's 0:15:12.560 --> 0:15:14.920 gonna tell you that you'll be able to do other 0:15:14.960 --> 0:15:18.120 things during the show, and you'll have balanced during the show, 0:15:18.120 --> 0:15:19.640 and you should know that's a lie. You should know 0:15:19.680 --> 0:15:21.800 that you're gonna go to the show and it's going 0:15:21.880 --> 0:15:24.320 to consume your entire life and it will take up 0:15:24.360 --> 0:15:27.280 every moment of your day. And I was like, huh, 0:15:27.600 --> 0:15:29.760 but he was not wrong, and that's exactly what I 0:15:29.800 --> 0:15:33.800 needed to hear. Um. I think anyone that says to 0:15:33.840 --> 0:15:37.480 me that don't worry about YouTube on TV now is night. 0:15:37.840 --> 0:15:43.560 I think digital space is such it can't be more. 0:15:43.640 --> 0:15:45.880 We're not in living in the time anymore where you 0:15:45.880 --> 0:15:49.000 can just say YouTube, YouTube, and it's just no. That's 0:15:49.000 --> 0:15:52.960 how a lot of people consume content. And it's um 0:15:53.160 --> 0:15:56.040 the line between traditional digital and definitely blurring. You know, 0:15:56.120 --> 0:15:59.240 there's been a lot of Internet stars that have tried 0:15:59.280 --> 0:16:02.640 to make this resition transition and have not made it work. 0:16:03.640 --> 0:16:06.840 What do you think has enabled you to dodge something? 0:16:06.920 --> 0:16:09.320 You know, there's been others that have really stumbled with this. 0:16:11.320 --> 0:16:13.760 I mean, listen, I can only speak to my experience. 0:16:13.880 --> 0:16:16.720 I what I can say, and this has just been 0:16:16.800 --> 0:16:20.960 being like looking straight into my webcams super candid. It's 0:16:21.080 --> 0:16:25.120 really hard. It is super super hard to do. There's 0:16:25.160 --> 0:16:29.880 been countless times where I have been pretty close to 0:16:29.920 --> 0:16:32.800 giving up, if I'm being honest, because you come from 0:16:32.800 --> 0:16:35.640 a world where you are your own boss, where you 0:16:35.680 --> 0:16:39.120 have these rigid schedules uploading things, and that's really tiring. 0:16:39.120 --> 0:16:41.080 I know people think about ten minute YouTube video, how 0:16:41.120 --> 0:16:43.520 long can that take? But those are that's just a 0:16:43.560 --> 0:16:46.280 lot of energy and social media seven job, and so 0:16:46.320 --> 0:16:48.480 you already have that, and then to try to transition 0:16:48.960 --> 0:16:52.160 into something else on top of keeping up with their 0:16:52.200 --> 0:16:55.360 socials and doing brand partnerships and doing events and doing 0:16:55.400 --> 0:16:57.880 all of these things. It is a lot. And then 0:16:57.920 --> 0:16:59.880 when you go to late night, especially for me, I 0:17:00.080 --> 0:17:01.960 had all of these ideas that I wanted to do, 0:17:02.120 --> 0:17:04.840 which there's so many reasons you can't do them a 0:17:05.040 --> 0:17:08.320 late night because of because of unions and because of rules, 0:17:08.320 --> 0:17:10.240 because of standard of practice. That's not't a bad thing, 0:17:10.320 --> 0:17:13.120 it's just a different machine. And so I really did 0:17:13.160 --> 0:17:15.119 feel like the dumbest person in the room a lot 0:17:15.200 --> 0:17:18.480 of times where I thought, wow, I have to learn 0:17:18.520 --> 0:17:21.200 a whole new set of everything, and I could see 0:17:21.280 --> 0:17:23.119 in that moment how people would be like, why am 0:17:23.160 --> 0:17:24.960 I doing this? Let me just be my own boss 0:17:24.960 --> 0:17:28.800 again on YouTube? And it's really hard. It's really really hard, 0:17:29.400 --> 0:17:31.600 if I'm being honest. There's some days on season one 0:17:31.600 --> 0:17:35.720 where I left feeling that was a great episode, this 0:17:35.800 --> 0:17:38.360 is amazing, I'm so proud. Is exactly what I wanted 0:17:38.359 --> 0:17:40.600 to do. But just like anything else, there's some days 0:17:40.600 --> 0:17:43.440 where I literally cried for hours in my green room 0:17:43.480 --> 0:17:46.119 being like, I don't know what to do and I 0:17:46.160 --> 0:17:47.959 don't know how to deal with this. I don't know 0:17:48.000 --> 0:17:50.520 how to navigate this, and actually just give up. So 0:17:51.080 --> 0:17:55.240 I have nothing besides positive energy towards anyone who has 0:17:55.280 --> 0:17:58.800 ever stumbled in this process, because it's a doozy for sure. 0:17:59.280 --> 0:18:02.000 Well what did you think it is in terms of 0:18:02.960 --> 0:18:05.879 is there something about the nature of the appeal of 0:18:06.119 --> 0:18:10.639 YouTube stars or stars and other platforms that possibly doesn't 0:18:10.680 --> 0:18:19.240 translate to TV that maybe you figured out how to navigate? Um? Yes, 0:18:19.320 --> 0:18:22.000 and no, I feel like the style and the way 0:18:22.000 --> 0:18:25.120 in which we do things doesn't necessarily translate to TV 0:18:25.400 --> 0:18:29.000 because now you have a crew of so many people, 0:18:29.119 --> 0:18:32.000 and the more people you have, the more complex processes 0:18:32.040 --> 0:18:35.520 get I think it's easier to do a jug kind 0:18:35.600 --> 0:18:37.399 of video and execute something when it's you want a 0:18:37.440 --> 0:18:39.880 smaller prove in some ways, to be honest when it's 0:18:39.920 --> 0:18:42.560 mean my YouTube prow I do feel like we move 0:18:42.640 --> 0:18:45.560 at a different pace, but the quality of our product 0:18:45.680 --> 0:18:48.320 doesn't compare to the quality of a TV show at 0:18:48.320 --> 0:18:50.679 the same time, So there's definitely pros and cons. I 0:18:50.680 --> 0:18:53.800 think what it is is that, more than anything, it's, 0:18:55.200 --> 0:18:56.879 like I said, learning a new set of rules. I 0:18:56.920 --> 0:18:58.960 don't think that the talent doesn't translate. I don't think 0:18:58.960 --> 0:19:01.560 that the energy doesn't Hansley. I think it's learning a 0:19:02.280 --> 0:19:06.679 new world. That is what you know, hurdles people to 0:19:06.680 --> 0:19:10.000 be honest. Well, let me ask you this is is 0:19:10.080 --> 0:19:14.560 YouTube Lily and NBC Lily the same? Because when I 0:19:14.600 --> 0:19:20.119 watch both I see some differences. No, definitely, I wish 0:19:20.280 --> 0:19:22.679 the answer to this question was yes. I want to 0:19:22.680 --> 0:19:24.719 sit here and tell you, yeah, let's same. But I 0:19:24.800 --> 0:19:29.400 know that they are not um or Season one NBC 0:19:29.480 --> 0:19:34.080 Lily and first YouTube video Lily the same. Yes, they're 0:19:34.080 --> 0:19:39.399 both trying their best. There you can see glimpses of like, 0:19:39.440 --> 0:19:40.919 oh that's when we go. It's really funny, but you 0:19:40.960 --> 0:19:44.280 can tell they're still learning being done, which is why 0:19:44.720 --> 0:19:47.080 my main sentiment going into season two is like, again, 0:19:47.119 --> 0:19:49.800 like I said, I'm so proud ninety six episode three months, 0:19:50.040 --> 0:19:53.800 the things we did, I'm really proud. But for people 0:19:53.840 --> 0:19:55.800 that have been like you know, I feel like your 0:19:55.800 --> 0:19:58.200 monologues are not kind of like you on YouTube, You're 0:19:58.280 --> 0:20:01.159 right because I'm sitting there learning in front of three cameras, 0:20:01.160 --> 0:20:03.399 in front of a live audience, with notes from a studio. 0:20:03.400 --> 0:20:06.639 I'm I'm gonna have to learn and make mistakes. And 0:20:06.720 --> 0:20:09.440 so if you ask me this question four seasons from now, 0:20:09.760 --> 0:20:12.399 I'm confident my answer will be yes, that YouTube really 0:20:12.800 --> 0:20:15.960 who is the real Lily? And NBC Lily was also 0:20:16.000 --> 0:20:19.880 the really? But learning, that's my goal. When you say 0:20:19.920 --> 0:20:22.439 something like four seasons from now, I'm curious, are you 0:20:22.520 --> 0:20:25.359 looking that far ahead? And you know, the thing about 0:20:25.440 --> 0:20:28.000 late night TV is it is not uncommon to have 0:20:28.119 --> 0:20:31.159 careers at last decades. Are you in it for the 0:20:31.240 --> 0:20:34.840 long haul? I'm in it to win it, baby, I 0:20:34.920 --> 0:20:40.119 really want. I really believe that I can mold this 0:20:40.160 --> 0:20:43.680 show into something that consistently excites me and other people 0:20:43.760 --> 0:20:46.240