'Anytime someone's like, 'Comedy's changing things' ... that puts an unfair weight on it.' A candid conversation with Ramy Youssef about his hit TV show 'Ramy,' his new stand-up special and more
Youssef was born in Queens to Egyptian immigrants — his dad managed the Plaza Hotel back when Donald Trump owned it — and raised in nearby Rutherford, New Jersey, where he grew up a fan of George Carlin and Allen Iverson’s 76ers. He initially enrolled at Rutgers for political science, with the vaguest of plans to become a lawyer, but dropped out at 20 to pursue a comedy career in Los Angeles. He was first cast in the Scott Baio-led Nickelodeon sitcomalongside fellow Egyptian-American Rami Malek.
Overall, the show’s refusal to go in the most obvious, expected route — Ramy’s extended family are Trump fans, a flashback episode reveals that 9/11 happened while he was trying to masturbate for the first time in his middle school bathroom — ultimately lends it a feeling of deep authenticity. Most importantly, it’s enormously funny, with even the most poignant moments stretching out like a rubber band then suddenly snapping back with a joke.
“My friend Patrisse Cullors, she’s one of the founders of Black Lives Matter,” he continues, “I couldn’t call her and be like, ‘Hey, you guys take a week off, this writers’ room is so hilarious, we’re going to change [things]. Don’t worry, we got it covered.’ Hopefully my work helps set up people to be a little more open-minded to that work that’s being done, but that’s not change.”
After brunch, Youssef is planning to head out to his parents’ house in Jersey, where he’ll sleep over and wake up at 4:00 a.m. to eat suhoor before the first day of fasting. A couple of days later, he’ll fly out to Los Angeles, where thewriters’ room is based, to start up on season two of the show. And then there’s the upcoming premiere ofwhich will introduce his stand-up to a much larger audience.
“Then once something just goes on screen,” Youssef adds, “there’s just a little bit of that humanity that was lost. Not everyone’s going to get your intentions. But hopefully more do than don’t.”
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