On the heels of wrapping up his week of guest-hosting at “The Daily Show,” Hasan Minhaj is set to host the Film Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday, and he’s looking forward to shifting from political humor to entertainment-focused jokes.
“I’m really excited because I’ve spent so many years working in political satire. So whenever people usually see me host these types of events, I’m making fun of the president, the administration, the debt ceiling, some autocrat or dictator or analyzing or giving my take on some sort of geopolitical disaster,” he told TheWrap in a recent interview. “In this gig, the stakes are so much lower and it means that I can just have so much more fun and it can be silly and goofy and irreverent and wacky, which is awesome.”
A major focus of the Spirit Awards is diversity. For this year’s ceremony, nominees were selected from over 15 different countries based on guidelines including “uniqueness of vision, original and provocative subject matter, economy of means.” Approximately 47% of all the 2023 nominees are women and 34% are Black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). About 64% of nominated actors are women and approximately 48% are BIPOC, while 41% of nominated writers and directors are women and 30% are BIPOC.
“I’m so thrilled and honored by not only the diversity of the nominees but the diversity of the breadth of their artistic expression,” Minhaj said. “And not only the types of movies but the filmmakers and the TV writers and producers behind them, which is so exciting. I think it’s great.”
Minhaj is best known for his breakout comedy special “Homecoming King” and the critically acclaimed, political satire show “Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj” on Netflix following his stint as “Daily Show” correspondent. In October, Hasan’s second one-hour comedy special “The King’s Jester” premiered on Netflix. In addition to guest hosting “The Daily Show,” Minhaj previously headlined the White House Correspondent’s dinner in 2017.
Looking ahead, Minhaj told TheWrap he plans to launch a comedy tour focused on the 2024 election cycle.
“I think there’s gonna be a lot of fodder and stuff to talk about and rest assured it will be comedy, it will be storytelling and you’ll get your night takes and stories about the state of the world, and I’m excited to do that,” he said. “So more to come in late 2023 and early 2024.”
The Film Independent Spirit Awards will stream live on IMDb and Film Independent’s YouTube channels.
