Aziz Ansari, the co-creator of “Master of None,” is scheduled to make his “Saturday Night Live” hosting debut on Jan. 21, becoming the comedy sketch show’s first host of South Asian descent in a move towards more cultural diversity, given the history of “SNL” mainly monopolized by white hosts.
The show’s most recent diversity-related controversy unfolded just three years ago, when a groundswell of criticism prompted the show to initiate a frantic search for non-white cast members and writers midway through Season 39.
“Saturday Night Live” is scheduled to resume its 42nd season after returning from its winter break on Jan. 14.
According to Mark Lieberman, The incentives to diversifying the hosting ranks are both creative and commercial for the show and the network. Adding racial perspectives in any corner of the show broadens the comedic potential and audience appeal.
Recent breakout sketches like “Black Jeopardy” wouldn’t be possible without a racially diverse ensemble. Increasing the number of non-white SNL hosts won’t absolve the show of a responsibility to address race issues going forward. But such a move would send a message that “SNL,” which seeks to represent a wide variety of American comedy perspectives for a nationwide audience, thinks racial diversity will help achieve that goal.
Other “Saturday Night Live” hosts of Asian descent include Lucy Liu and Jackie Chan, who both hosted the show in 2000, according to an IndieWire examination of all 826 hosts in “Saturday Night Live” history. Bruno Mars and Fred Armisen, who are multiracial, have also hosted.
Ansari expressed his desire to appear on “Saturday Night Live” when he brought his Bobby Jindal impression to “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” in November 2015. “I finally look like a guy!” Ansari joked, adding that he had hoped the Louisiana governor’s presidential candidacy would lead to his big “Saturday Night Live” break.
Aziz Ansari is an American actor and comedian born February 23, 1983, in Columbia, South Carolina, to a Tamil Muslim family from India. He is known for his roles as Tom Haverford on the NBC series Parks and Recreation (2009–2015) and as Dev Shah on the Netflix series Master of None, which debuted in 2015. The New York Times called the latter show “the year’s best comedy straight out of the gate”.
Ansari began his career performing stand-up comedy in New York City during mid-2000 while attending New York University. In 2007, he created and starred in the MTV sketch comedy show Human Giant, which ran for two seasons. This led to acting roles in feature films, including Funny People; I Love You, Man; Observe and Report; and 30 Minutes or Less.
His first book, Modern Romance: An Investigation, was released in June 2015.