Toronto YouTuber Lilly Singh scores her own NBC late night show
Bye bye Carson Daly, hello Lilly Singh!
Scarborough's very own IISuperwomanII has been tapped by NBC to take over its 1:35 a.m. late night talk show slot this September, making her the first woman ever to host such a program on one of America's Big 4 networks and the first woman of colour with her own late night show.
Singh, who's gone from hilarious YouTuber to legitimate (and wildly successful) global pop culture icon over the past decade, announced the news last night on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon."
"An Indian-Canadian woman with her own late night show? Now that is a dream come true," said Singh. "I'm thrilled to bring it to life on NBC, and I hope my parents consider this to be as exciting as a grandchild."
All hail our new Late Night comedy queen, @IISuperwomanII! 👑 https://t.co/orv1WPAPEJ
— NBC Entertainment (@nbc) March 15, 2019
Called "A Little Late with Lilly Singh," the show will feature in-studio interviews, pre-taped comedy sketches and other "signature elements," according to NBC.
It's a huge deal for Toronto, for Canada, for India, for the LGBTQ community, for the digital entertainment industry and for women in comedy everywhere.
"Lilly is truly a star and we’re thrilled to welcome her to our NBC family," said NBC Executive Doug Vaughan in a release announcing the news. "She is a multi-talented performer who will surely have a great rapport with not only all her guests but also with our devoted late-night audience. We can't wait to get started."
MY SWEET BOY 😭😭❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/LLybShyhPT
— Lilly Singh (@IISuperwomanII) March 15, 2019
Singh, who (and I'm going to keep saying it) was raised in Scarborough and went to Toronto's York University, is far more than a successful YouTube star (though she is that, with more than 14.5 million subscribers and an estimated net worth of $16 million).
She's also an actual comedic genius, a New York Times bestselling author, a motivational speaker, an entrepreneur and an actress with credits in films such as Bad Moms, Farenheight 451 and Ice Age: Collision Course.
The self-described "Toronto tomboy" and basketball nut, who now lives in LA, will co-executive produce her new show along with Polly Auritt, who heads up her Unicorn Island Productions company.
Thank you so much! I have enormous shoes to fill. An honour ❤️ https://t.co/awVzeQ94iw
— Lilly Singh (@IISuperwomanII) March 15, 2019
"My heart is so incredibly full," wrote Singh on Twitter early Friday morning amidst a flurry of congratulatory messages from friends such as Nick Jonas and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
"Thank you so much for all the love and positive energy. I'm speechless. I'm overwhelmed. I need to sleep to process all this. More thank yous to come tomorrow."
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