Instead, Jay, a black lesbian comedian who grew up in and around the projects of Boston, wanted something looser, freer, more reflective of the actual late-night conversations sheâd have with friends over drinks in her New York apartment. She wanted a kickback, the type of freewheeling group hang desperately scarce during the past year of lockdowns. Gregarious, with barreling energy best showcased by her 2020 Netflix special 3 in the Morning, Jay loves to host people, testing new material through good-natured, blunt provocation. Why not let the cameras lurk?
Jay is part of a wave of incoming late-night hosts aiming to rumble one of the firmest, most concretely white institutions in entertainment, after the premieres of That Damn Michael Che, the sketch variety series hosted by SNLâs head writer, and Showtimeâs Ziwe, the cable vehicle for Ziwe Fumudohâs viral Instagram Live series Baited. But whereas Che can be flippant (and vindictive to critics) and Ziwe inhabit
TV CRITIC S CORNER
Coming up: the return of âIn Treatmentâ and âMaster of None,â plus a musical trip back to 1971
By Matthew Gilbert Globe Staff,Updated May 17, 2021, 5:00 a.m.
Email to a Friend
1. One of my favorite series is
âIn Treatment,â the HBO drama whose half-hour episodes were therapy sessions that felt like little one-act plays. So I am both excited and wary that the show is coming back to HBO more than a decade after its third season, with Uzo Aduba instead of Gabriel Byrne as the therapist. Now set in LA instead of on the East Coast, the show returns Sunday at 10 p.m., and I will be sure to write more about it later. The new cast will include John Benjamin Hickey, Joel Kinnaman, Anthony Ramos, Liza Colón-Zayas, and Quintessa Swindell. Look for 24 episodes, with four episodes airing weekly (two on Sundays, two on Mondays).
Sam Jayâs moment of truth
For the Dorchester comedian about to host her own series on HBO, itâs all about being genuine, even if that makes you a little uncomfortable
By Mark Shanahan Globe Staff,Updated May 14, 2021, 6 minutes ago
Email to a Friend
Comedian Sam Jay chooses her words carefully.
Many are profane or too provocative to repeat here, but nothing she says onstage is unplanned. Jay scrupulously engineers her stand-up, revising and arranging the words until they land with maximum impact.
Itâs an approach that has worked astonishingly well. Just a decade ago, Jay was fixing cappuccinos for customers at a Starbucks in Atlanta and wondering what to do with her life. She committed to comedy, surprising some in her family, and on May 21, her new weekly show, âPause With Sam Jay,â will debut on HBO.