The Three Questions with Andy Richter - Jimmy O. Yang

Episode Date: November 19, 2024

Actor and comedian Jimmy O. Yang joins Andy Richter to discuss the comedy that inspired him, driving for Uber after the first season of "Silicon Valley," fight training for his new show "Interior Chinatown," finding a new (and more global) audience online, and more.Do you want to talk to Andy live on SiriusXM’s Conan O’Brien Radio? Leave a voicemail at 855-266-2604 or fill out our Google Form at BIT.LY/CALLANDYRICHTER. Listen to "The Andy Richter Call-In Show" every Wednesday at 1pm Pacific on SiriusXM's Conan O'Brien Channel.

Hey everybody, welcome back to The Three Questions. I'm your host Andy Richter, and this week I am talking to Jimmy O-Yang. Jimmy's an actor and comedian, and you've seen him in Silicon Valley, Crazy Rich Asians, and Love Hard. His new TV show, Interior Chinatown, is out now on Hulu and is getting really brave reviews. As always, don't forget to check out my call-in show. We're talking crazy holiday drama this week Give us a call and join the conversation Speaking of conversations. Here's the one I had with Jimmy Oh Yang Hello Jimmy, what's up Andy?

How are you? Good! I haven't seen you in a long time. Yeah. And I don't know if I ever told you this, but I am such a huge fan of yours. Oh thank you! Uh. You did not tell me that.

No, on all your- Because I was against having you here. Oh really? And had I known that you were a fan, I would have been like- I should have told you this early on, but I didn't want to fanboy too hard. No, that's okay. On the times that I was on Conan. But I watched all your shows. Oh, thank you.

Andy Rector PI. Andy Barker PI. Andy Barker PI. And then, what is it? Andy Rector... Controls the universe. Yeah. Controls the universe.

That was my title. I came up with the title for that and no one can get it right, which tells me I'm terrible at titles. I thought it was And Director Rules of the Universe. Controls. Controls. Okay, but same. It was originally called Anything Can Happen, but they wanted to put my name in it, which

like I'm not that type of person. Like I don't want, and also at the time it's like, I know the chances of shows just bombing. So it's like, I don't want my name, you know, like on a ship that could sink. And I'll call it the SS Andy Richter. So, but they're like, we gotta get your name in it. So I wanted it to be something that was kind of like, like you couldn't take seriously.

But that had the idea that like, cause it was like, you know, that we would play with reality a lot. like you couldn't take seriously. But they had the idea that like, cause it was like, you know, that we would play with reality a lot. Like, you know, like it would be like fantasy sequences and stuff. So I wanted to have some of that. Oh, I watched the shows.

I was a big fan. This is when I was in high school. No, I really liked that show too. Very formative years, you know. Oh, thanks. I love both of those shows. Thank you, thank you very much. Yeah, no, they were,

I'm very proud of both of those shows and was, you know, but none of them shows. Yeah. Thank you, thank you very much. Yeah, no, they were, I'm very proud of both of those shows and was, you know, but none of them lasted very long. And you know, they like to, like, when you get three chances at something and it doesn't work, like, that, you know, like it's like strikes. But I mean, a show that lasted two seasons, that is already against the odds.

But honestly. But it must be gutting. Oh, it's awful. It's awful. But when Andy, and I kind be gutting. Oh, it's awful. It's awful. But when Andy, and I kind of thought like that I had bulletproof myself against the disappointment because I had had enough experience and had been in show business long,

still not long enough, but I thought like, oh no, I know, I know the way things are. But I didn't even like like after the first show was canceled and also to it kind of coincided after 9 11, there was like a real lull in production. There was like it was like a combo of different business things. And then 9 11 made it so that it was like a year of nothing happening. So I didn't work for like 10 months and I just, I was bummed. I was really like, because it's, you can tell yourself, you know, there's the, you know, it was a good show. I know

it was a good show. Everybody I respect tells me it was a good show. I feel it was a good show. It got lots of great reviews. It was a good show. All the reasons that it was canceled are things that are beyond my control and some of them are bullshit. Yeah. But you still end up feeling like America rejected me. I know. America said no. And when you create a show, especially when your name attached to it, it's so personal and you put your heart and soul into the development of it. Yeah. It takes years. Yes. And then the testing, the whatever. Every time I try to write any show, if it goes as far as say the pilot,

or like it doesn't go anywhere, or whatever, like it's just a gutting. It's really tough. It's like your baby for years and it's gone. Yeah, and even as much as you can, like I say, you can try and steal yourself against, you can try and guard yourself against being crushed. But you can't make something and, you know, it's like you can't raise a child at

arm's length. You know, you have to love the child in order to give it the best chance at being a good thing. It's an all-consuming thing and if you love it, creatively you are consumed by it. And then when it's gone, it's gone. So now I stopped, I'm like, you know what? Just hire me. Just if you have a show already on air, now hire me. Have you stopped trying to develop? I'm still developing a couple things, but I got a few things in the fire so it's not bad and of course I'm still an actor or comedian for hire, which keeps me employed.

Yes, yes. No, I hear you. Because I'm the same way. I was after the Conan show ended. I mean, and the strikes fucked everything up. But I was pitching and pitching and pitching. And then it just reached a point where I was like, I'm just making myself feel bad. I know.

I'm just going to wait for something to give me a job. And sometimes things just come. Yes. I think after Silicon Valley after Space Force I was like okay. I'm gonna the next show. I'm gonna do I'm gonna develop it myself Yeah, and I did that and it's still like kind of in the process of pitch like like I sold it somewhere And then because of the strike and messed it up site, and I got a resell it yeah Yeah, blah blah this and that and then you know I wasn't looking for any jobs and Interior Chinatown came on my desk.

And I was like, wow, this is a beautifully written script, beautiful story, and I was like, boom. And it just came to me. Like, man. You know? When you got into this, were you, I mean, was that something that you thought about when you started to say, like,

I wanna get into show business. Were you aware of how crushing it can be? Of the rejections? Yeah, yeah. Or was it something that you just kinda like didn't figure out until you were in it can be? Of the rejections? Yeah, yeah. Or was it something that you just kinda like didn't figure out until you ran it too far? I started as a comedian, so, you know, I was just doing like open mics.

And everything was a bonus. My buddy was telling me he was a background actor in a commercial, and then they upgraded him, so he got 50 grand. And I was like, that's what I wanna do. If I just get one line in a commercial every year, I would think I'm a success. Be on my imagination.

So to me, I kind of look at it like everything is a bonus. And I think as a comedian, I started like 15 years ago, the goal was still, you know, get a comedy special that back then in Comedy Central, HBO, and then get your own sitcom. And then get Yong sitcom. That was always the route. And coming up, I was like... And that doesn't even exist anymore.

That's not even a thing. I know it's not even a thing. But I think, like, you know, for me growing up in that era, you know, that was the thing. And I still have that in my mind. Although I've done other stuff now. But I'm still like, no, no, I still need my Seinfeld or like whatever, I still have a little bit of that.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, but I mean, but it is weird, like those shows, like a show centered on a standup that got discovered in Montreal or at Aspen or wherever these comedy festivals. Are they gonna overall deal? Yeah, and they kept paying millions to be held to have the network. There's none of that, there just isn't that anymore.

And there used to be like 4 or 5 a year. You know, and then they just kind of stopped. But I do think, I do find it interesting that every couple of years, every 5 years or so, there's a shifting of guards of how stand-up comedians blow up. You know, for a while it was HBO special, Showtime, Montreal. And then Comedy Central was the big dog. And then YouTube, you got Russell Peters, Sebastian from YouTube.

And you would hear about these people that you never heard about, but they're like, oh no, this guy. This guy. Yeah, sells arenas now. And like, what, who? Russell Peters, Gabriel I think blew up on Facebook and YouTube.

You got MySpace comedians that blew up, I shouldn't call them MySpace comedians, but like Dane Cook I think blew up on Facebook and YouTube. You got MySpace comedians that blew up. I shouldn't call them MySpace comedians, but like Dane Cook I think blew up on MySpace. Yeah, yeah. His college tour. And now... Sebastian Maniscalco was... Yes. Yeah, yeah. Even Bill Burrow with his clip with the heckler in Philly.

Yeah. You know? And now I think, you know, for the past five years or so was Netflix. But it's shifting again. I think Netflix is still the big dog, but a lot of it is now TikTok and social media. That has helped me a lot. Matt Reif, me, many others, Jeff Acuri, all the social media stuff has really helped us.

So it's pretty cool to see what breaks comedians at every couple of years. Yeah, yeah. And is it ultimately about selling tickets to live gigs or is it about getting those specials and getting in that, you know, like having an hour and then working for seven months to get another hour

and then working for 10 months to get another hour? I think it goes hand in hand. For me, it is, I mean, the selling tickets, it's just, you can print your own money, which is super nice. Especially when there's a strike in Hollywood or whatnot. And the live audience has never been better. So if you can create your own TikTok following,

YouTube, whatever, and of course, a Netflix special, Amazon special, it's great, it works. And for me, it's almost like two checks that I would like to get for every tour, right? Like you get all the touring checks, you know, which is great, and then it leads to a special and hopefully the special pays as much as the tour. Or whatever, I always tell them,

I'm like, I'm not gonna do another special unless you pay me this amount of money, otherwise I'll just keep touring. You know, I don't wanna burn that material. So the money has to be right also. And it's a great business. It's the only business in this industry that we can control. Like kind of going back to all the pilots

and developing and everything. Everything else is so out of your control. You don't need to get somebody's permission other than an empty hall to do a show in. Other than your actual audience's love, which is direct to consumer. Which is great and I think for a few years when I was on Silicon Valley, I was like, I'm doing great, you know, this show's getting nominated for Emmys, you know.

I'm killing it as an actor and I just want to focus being an actor, you know. But then when the strike hit and everything, every time, every other year, I'm like, I'm so glad I never quit stand-up. Yeah. And I can still go on the road and I kept building my audience. You know, it's a different way people come up to you and say, you know, I'm a fan of Love Heart, I'm a fan of Silicon Valley, shows that you're on, but it's so much more personal when someone's like, I know you as Jimmy because of your stand-up Right, right

You know and it really touches them in a way and especially like my Asian audiences Yeah, my last special I didn't do it myself, but somebody clipped it and had Chinese captions on it Uh-huh. So that's how a lot of people learn Chinese in Mainland China and of course my hometown in Hong Kong like people like really grew to love it so seeing those people now showing up at my show. Oh they use it as like they read along with what you're saying? Yeah to read along and you know I try to convey things in a fairly simple edited down way you know so it's for everyone and to see see those fans because I think traditionally, like, stand up, there wasn't a lot of Chinese audience coming out.

I don't know if you remember, like, the Ice House Comedy Club in Pasadena? I know of it, yeah, yeah. I've never been, but I know of it. Great club, right? And it's in Pasadena, very Chinese heavy area. I live over there now. You do? St. Gabriel Valley, absolutely. You know? It's like the new Chinatown. San Gabriel Valley is some of the best, it's a huge Chinese diaspora and Asian diaspora.

But the Ice House can never get Chinese audience. Because Chinese people just weren't used to going to stand up live shows. Even my dad, like he doesn't, he didn't quite know what stand up was. He just calls it a talk show. Yeah, yeah. You know? And was that, that's the same in Asia? Like, is there not really a talk? Now there is. Now we're starting to have some. When I was growing up, I didn't see much of it.

But like, I felt like through my stand-up being translated, being captioned, and me sometimes even using Cantonese in some of my acts and talking about my own Chinese family experience, a lot of Chinese audience are showing up, you know, whenever I pop into a place or on my tours. Yeah, yeah. And that's really rewarding for me. Like I'm like, you know, introducing a Chinese audience to this very, in a way, Americanized medium. Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, because there are like, there does seem to be more and more Asian comedians, you know? And it just is like, because I mean, I think about it in terms of like, I'm from the Midwest. And I do think there's a Midwestern sensibility. For sure. There's kind of, you know, like comedically, there's sort of a, you know, don't take yourself too seriously, poking holes in pretense, kind of that kind of thing. And is there sort, do you think there's an Asian identity in comedy, like do you think that there's,

there's like themes that make you feel like, oh that's an Asian comic, you know? In a way, and I think we all grew up with similar experiences, you know, and culturally there's a lot of things that's relatable. But I think every one of us has found our own lane. In a way that Chris Rock and Kevin Hart and Dave Chappelle are very different comics. You might prefer one over the other.

And I think me and Ronnie couldn't be more different. He is angry. He complains. And then mine, I talk about my family experience. I complain too, but it's very different Yeah, yeah, or at school Katsuka who's yeah, please exactly I love her and Taiwanese and she's sort of just her own but we couldn't be more different Yeah, Ali Wong's audience can be more different. Yeah hers is mostly

Women you know a lot of Asians, but Asian women also but for me it's more like You know very Asian Chinese people or like people that relate to my experience and Ronnie's crowd is I think I don't want to Speak for him, but like half of the daily show a little more political crowd You know and then some Asians also and and Bobby Lee has always told me his his audience is barely Asian Yeah, yeah, what is podcast his sensibility is very different. Yeah, I mean Bobby's insane. He's been on this show. Yeah, I don't know if like...

He's completely nuts. I love him. I'm doing their podcast soon. The Tiger Blood? Tiger Belly. I think I'm doing the Bad Friends one with Hemisantino. But I've done Tiger Belly before. And he's a good people's man and I looked up to him like just I looked up to you like when I was in high school you know instead SNL we watched Matt TV every Saturday because Bobby's on there.

Because Bobby's on there. And he's from San Diego too isn't he? Yeah. And that's where you're from down there. Where you from down there? I want to my comedy is from San Diego in a way. Like's where you're from San Diego. I from down there and I wanted my comedies from San Diego Okay, like I want a college in San Diego. Okay, and like but you know, right right cuz you're yes You grew up here. I grew up Hong Kong LA. Yeah, and then college and I started stand-up in San Diego

It's like boxers what they say from from from Los Angeles, but by way of San Diego or something. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah of San Diego or something like that. Yeah. Growing up in Hong Kong, I mean, were you, did you have a funny family? I mean, did you ever, like was it something where from an early age you were like, I want to be funny for a living. My dad, super funny, super charismatic he's always the life of the party and I think I took after that and and being like the younger kid you know that the youngest son I think a lot of

comedians are the other youngest child you know because we're the ones kind of like when the parents are arguing we're the one coming in with a joke to try to solve the you know like like de-escalate everything. Yeah, yeah. And I've always, like, I guess been somewhat of a... How many kids are there? There's only two. Only two.

Just me and my older brother. Okay. Yeah. But he's, I'm not going to say he's not funny, but he's more like a regular dude. No, and I, because I have a younger brother and sister or twins and an older brother So I'm more like the middle and I think and I definitely feel like that was like it was my job For like morale was yes. Yes. Yes. Yeah, I mean like come on everybody lighten up. Yeah, it's okay Yeah, yeah, I know we're all alcoholics Come on. I know mom yelled at you cuz you're drunk, but it's okay guys, it's fine, we're going to Disneyland.

Yeah. Yeah. So at what age did you come over here? When I was 13. 13. Yeah. And what was your feeling about that at the time? Were you just like, oh shit.

I was just trying to like not just assimilate, but just survive. Yeah, yeah. It was middle school, I could barely speak English. Yeah. You know? But I think humor played a big part of that too. Yeah. You know, it was middle school. I could barely speak English. Yeah, you know, but I think humor played a big part of that, too Yeah, you know it was sports and humor. Yeah, I was a very small like kind of very easily could have been bully kid Yeah, but I was always even with my limited English. I could I could kind of talk back a little bit

Yeah, and I was like fairly athletic for like how small I was. So at least I made some friends that way. Oh, that's good Yeah, what do you what do you think your life would have been if you'd stayed in Hong Kong, if your family had stayed there? Do you think you would have gone into comedy or something? That's a great question. I don't think so. I think I would be a lot more satisfied with just everyday life, and I would have just went into what my parents probably expected me to, just some finance, you know, got married when I was, you know, a little younger or something like that, and lived a more normal life. I think the displacement created such a void, you know, that I still need the attention from the audience.

And there's no rules then? Is that kinda it? Like, if you stay in Hong Kong, you gotta play by Hong Kong rules of sort of like, fitting in and doing what you're supposed to do. Yeah, cause I've always fit in. Whereas here, you come over to play by Hong Kong rules of sort of like fitting in and doing what you're supposed to do. Yeah, because I've always fit in. Whereas here, you come over and do whatever the fuck you want.

Yeah, because Hong Kong, I was just another person. I've always felt like I fit in, right? Yeah, yeah. That's my hometown. But here, like I had to fight to fit in and stand up was the thing that kind of made me fit in. Because I never fit in. But stand up, you can be weird, you can be tall, short, you know, black, white, Asian, Asian whatever as long as you're funny you can fit in yeah so I think that was

what attracted me the most is there are there people like your age like who have a different immigrant experience where they didn't try so much to assimilate where they just kind of like stuck to you know an Asian identity and live in kind of that hundred percent you know because I know there's different ethnic communities different you know immigrant communities where it's like I mean in an Asian identity and live in kind of that. 100%. You know, because I know there's different ethnic communities, different immigrant communities where it's like, I mean, Chicago, I don't know how it is now because I haven't lived there, but there was a time,

you know, Chicago had more, higher concentration of Polish people than anywhere in the world except for Warsaw. And if you walked up Milwaukee Avenue and you wanted to ask directions, odds are anybody you stopped spoke Polish. And they didn't speak English and they had lived there for 30 years.

And I just wonder, is that something that happens in the Asian community and the Chinese community? And if I didn't go to, my dad signed me up for Beverly Hills High School by using a fake address And there's only two other Chinese kids very heavy Persian population. Yeah, yeah white Jewish Was he worried about like well, I what happens if they figure it out or I would have gotten kicked out

There's a whole Simpsons episode about oh is there but then by like junior year We actually moved to like the crappiest apartment in Beverly Hills. So at least it was legit Yeah, yeah, but like he used like my grandpa's like old address or something In my junior year, we actually moved to the crappiest apartment in Beverly Hills, so at least it was legit. But he used my grandpa's old address or something. But that's a great question because I think when I came here, if my family was in Monterey Park, San Gabriel Valley, like a very big Chinese diaspora area, I would have fit right in in those schools. I probably wouldn't even need to learn English that much. I would just find my Asian friends, my Chinese friends. But in Beverly High, that wasn't an option.

I had to fit in and be American in order to be somewhat normal, because that wasn't Chinese kids to hang out with. You know? It's funny, because living over there, I live in Pasadena. And I mean, there's Asian people all over the San Gabriel Valley, but the closer you get to the 10, the more Chinese people. Like if you go to a 99 Ranch Market in Alhambra, you know, the one that's in South Pass is like, there's more people. You hear people speaking English, but if you go down to, you know, San Gabriel or to El Hombro or Monterey Park, it's like,

you just hear people speaking Chinese. They look at you funny. Yeah, like what the fuck are you doing here? But I got my wife, when my wife and I got together, I moved in with her and she lived in East LA. And so in her neighborhood, because she's Mexican American, in her neighborhood, I'd go Mexican-American, in her neighborhood,

I'd go to the grocery stores there, which are all Mexican, and I could always see people going like, what the fuck are you doing here? And then it just kind of, you know, it's like now, now I, you know, if I grocery shop down there, or like I say, and you know, we, I eat a lot of, it's such good food over there. And my son, I have a 23-year-old who I cannot say,

you know, it's like, I'll be like, hey, I heard about this new Malaysian frog congee place. And he'll be like, oh yeah, I've been there. He knows all of them. But that's great. My baseline is just Asian food. Like I could eat Chinese food, Asian food every day. Right, right.

But sometimes I have to convince my friends of like, hey, you guys down for some Asian, like Chinese? You know what I mean? Like, because they're not used to that every day. But for me, that's like my meat and potatoes. That's food, yeah, exactly. That's just food, exactly. It's not Chinese food, yeah.

When you started wanting to do comedy, I mean, was there, was it watching comedy on TV? Was it watching stand-ups and then you know? Yeah, I think like part of me learning English and learning American culture was watching stand-up because that was Teaching me about culture right like I watch like BET comic view and then of course You know Chappelle show in high school and watching Chappelle stand-up that was like Incredible. Yeah, like this guy is awesome Chappelle stand-up that was like incredible. Wow. I was like this guy is awesome and something I've never seen and and you had to watch a Chappelle show on

the Wednesday so you have something to talk about in high school on the Thursday or else you're done. Yeah yeah and also then I discovered George Lopez and you know he wasn't an immigrant but he has such a different family. He talked about his Mexican-American family who's so different and painted all these characters, and I could relate to it. I didn't have a Mexican aunt, but my family was very different also, right?

From the quote unquote standard American family. So I really gravitated towards his comedy too. And then of course, like Kings of Comedy, they're just really classic funny things. And I really loved it. I never thought I just really classic things and I really loved it I never thought I'll do it right, but I just loved it Was there something where you were like, you know, you're see because you're seeing all you know what it sounds like, you know You're seeing African American comics and Latino comics. Was there something in your mind of like well, I I'm not seeing

Well, I mean, I guess you had Bobby Lee. Yeah, I saw some Bobby. I saw Ken Jeong I'm not seeing well, I mean I guess you had Bobby Lee. Yeah, I saw some Bobby. I saw Ken Jeong Okay, yeah, yeah night night shows, but yeah, it was far and filled between I mean there's Margaret Cho things like that right, but I think what what that showed me was Anyone can be a comedian. Yeah, you know as long as you're truthful and you talk about your own life and self You know you're at least seeing there's lots of different kinds of people doing this thing. Exactly. Yeah, yeah. And then when I showed up to my first open mic, and look, I wasn't trying to be like,

I'm gonna be the Asian comic that make Asian people feel seen, you know. That's quite a burden to put on yourself. Yeah, I was just like, yo, I'm just gonna talk about me jacking off, and I was watching Sports Center and the other TV, and I accidentally came to a Michael Vick highlight. Like, I was just trying to survive, you know what I mean?

To get any cheap laugh out of the audience, but I really found a community, I thought. Like, you didn't have to be good looking to be at a, or tall to be at a comedy club, or white or black, or whatever, anybody was there. So it was pretty cool. Yeah. I mean, was it an accepting community?

Cause I sometimes find like,-up can be alienating. Like there's a lot of... Yeah, there's a clicky and there's a lot of competition. And it's not like this sort of... I mean, especially because I come from improv and there definitely when I was coming up in Chicago, there was a split between improv and stand-up. And there certainly was competitiveness in improv,

but you had to be on stage with each other. You know what I mean? Like you had to like, you had to get along. You had to pretend to get along. Yeah, you would get, and I mean, and there were people who would, you know, stage hog and like break the rules to get attention and you know, and everyone would talk about them

behind their back, but it all, I always felt like stand-up was much more like who are you? What are you doing? Yeah yeah. I think in the very beginning when you just completely non-threatening as an open mic'er yeah there's not much competition it's just open mic'ers trying to get away from their own shitty lives that's the reason why we started stand Up Anyways. Right, right. And I think through that, I made some friends, and I saw a way out, like, okay, at least there's new audience members every day.

Maybe I can be the girl here. Or there's comics where they're giving each other tags, which is really nice. Yeah, oh, that's nice. Yeah, and then as you progress, I'm sure people talk shit, or you're like, you pick your clubs that you like, or you're at the live shit, or like, you're like, you pick your clubs that you like, you know, you're at the live factory, the improv, or you're at the comedy store guy, you know, or whatever.

But I try to, at this point in my career, in my life, I just try to go there for stage time to like, you know, try new material. You know, and they're all very nice to me. I'm no beef, and I don't really hang out with certain- You don't need friends anymore. I mean, I have my friends. Yeah, but that's what I mean. But I'm no beef. I don't really hang out with certain you don't need friends You don't know to make new friends, yeah, it's like a reality show to you you're not there to make friends. Yeah I think it's also great that being a stand-up. I think you have a lifetime pass in

Any stand-up comedy club especially especially like in LA, New York. You walk in any given night, you see at least five, six of your friends or people you admire or people that are coming up that you're happy to see. And it's really cool. It's like, cheers. You walk in and somebody knows you and you know somebody. And if you're ever feeling lonely, just stop by a comedy club. You have friends there.

You did work, when you got out of college, you did work in finance for a little while. I tried, I had an internship. Yeah, and it was, was it just, you couldn't. Just dreadful. Yeah, yeah. And I'm not saying finance is a bad job, I think that's great for a lot of people.

No, I think it is, it's an awful fucking job. I'll say it, it's fucking gross. I like the stock market, I watch CNBC. But it was the thought of, it wasn't really about finance. It was just the thought of a nine to five for the rest of my life. Yeah, yeah.

Makes me wanna gouge my own eyeballs out. And also it's very depressing. It is the same thing over, I mean, you know, it's like, you are basically kinda doing the same thing over and over and over. And I've always, I think, always been a creative. You know, when I was majoring in econ in college,

I took minor classes in both theater and music. And those are the classes I thrived in, you know. And even in high school, like, the best assignment was when my English teacher made us do like a Shakespeare remix on tape. And, you know, like when I shot it, directed it. And that was the thing a Shakespeare remix on tape and you know like when I shot it, directed it and that was the thing that I thrived at you know anything creative, art classes, whatever. But I just didn't think that was possible to be a career.

Right. Was it hard getting past your folks wanting to do this and like and telling them this finance shit is not for me? Yeah, yeah. I don't think my dad ever came down and be like, no, you don't have a choice, I'm telling you what to do. But he was really gutted, you know, because he hooked me up with the internship,

and I was offered a job from it and everything. He just, almost just couldn't understand, you know, and was truly disappointed, because if he was my age what 22 at that time Yeah, and he got the job at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. That's the lottery ticket Yeah, you know like especially growing up in the old country your cards, right? You're set yeah, like this is somebody hooked your ass up for the rest of your life Yeah, you know but for me I think maybe you know

Growing up an American like live in the American dream or trying to live the American dream I'm like this ain't it for me. Yeah. Yeah Did do you think his disappointment came from like disappointment because he had set this up or was it is he just afraid? For you. It's a lot of worry now I'm looking back at it. I get it if my kid is gonna tell me they want to go do stand-up Yeah, yeah, even though I am a stand I like I'll be worried right right you know and I realized that when Silicon Valley when I finally became a serious regular

You know and there was a contract from HBO a major company Yeah, that he understood so he wasn't against acting he wasn't against stand-up. He was just worried for me Yeah, and now there's a contract, a six year contract, which sounds like a real job now. He was good. Right, right. Did he understand that the contract, that they could cancel it at any time?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That just meant you had to work for them for six years? Exactly, but at least there's an amount of money on paper. Well, how much of a relief was that to you? I mean, was that the point at which you felt like... Because I love too, you took the paycheck from your first appearance because you were just meant to be like a big player.

I was a guest star, like 900 bucks an episode. And you bought a Prius to see you could drive Uber. Yeah, because I don't like... That's how I'm going to pay rent, right? Yeah. I'm going to use this $2,700 that I made, like buy a really crappy Prius so I can sustain myself driving Uber.

So between season one and two of Silicon Valley, I was driving Uber. And then season two, I became a serious regular. I think I was the lowest-paced serious regular in the history of HBO, but that's okay. They made it right at the end. Love HBO. But whatever that was, it was still like,

oh my God, I'm fine now. I don't have to drive Uber. I can pay rent. And I was tearing up, oh my God, I'm fine now. I don't have to drive Uber, I can pay rent. And I was tearing up, I remember, when I got that call. It was a special moment. And does that then translate into the ability to support yourself with standup when the acting isn't happening?

Yes and no, I didn't realize that immediately. It was just like, okay, I can pay this amount every year, so I don't have to worry about rent. My rent was only 1600 bucks. Which was very nice. And then the stand-up stuff kind of came later. I started, okay, now I can do some college shows because people know me from Silicon Valley.

Oh, now the improv is extra nice to me because I'm on this Emmy nominated show. Because they can say from Silicon Valley, as opposed to just here's a guy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It used to be like I would email, and then they were like, we don't have a veil, so like the email.

And then now they're like, okay, we got some spots now. Right, exactly. So all of that stuff started building and building, but it's all a very slow burn, which is nice, because I got used to either people recognizing me or the money or the success or whatever, right?

It wasn't overnight by any means. So through the six years, my roles got bigger and bigger, I started getting paid a little better and better, and that's how I kinda slowly got into my career now. That's a blessing too, because if it happens in an organic kind of way, then you know, it doesn't make you crazy. Yeah, it seemed like a real job.

To go from zero to 60, it makes people nuts. I think so, then you end up at a club every day, you don't know, you're like, fuck, I'm famous now, I better be doing something, you know? And I think also too, like young people, they get on a show, they make a shitload of money and they think like well This is it. This is what it's gonna be and then it stops and then oh fuck That was my worst fear man. Yeah, like when Silicon Valley was done. Oh, it's still my worst fear

It never goes away, right? It never goes like when Silicon Valley was done I was like what if ten years from then I'm still on Cameo and I'm still Jing Yang from Silicon Valley? You know, like that's such a fear of mine. My parents would ask me, I'd be on a show, they'd be like, well, do you have something else lined up after? I'd be like, no.

And they're like, well, what do you, what do you, and I'm like, I don't know. I'm like, yeah, no. Shut up. I agree with you. Leave me alone. Don't remind me of this feeling, cause I know.

Yeah. So, but stand up, I think that was the blessing, cause people will always know you as that, and you can always sell tickets if you really work at it. Yeah, yeah. I think, it's much more of a meritocracy than chance. Yeah. ["Stand-Up"]

What's your writing process like? Or do you do... For stand up? Yeah, yeah. I write down like notes and ideas when I'm napping, you know, or when I'm coming out of my sleep or something. I always have my phone next to me. And sometimes just a big picture.

Are they good? Because every time I've ever... A lot of times they're not. Every time I've ever woken up and thought like, oh, that's great, I'll write it down. And then, you know, when I really wake up, I'm like, that's stupid. Well, but that's the point, right? Yeah, yeah.

So you write when you're like kinda semi out of it. Yeah, yeah. Or I do. The idea comes when you're not overthinking it. Right. So that's when new ideas come. And then you edit, you go back, you're like, this is shit. Yeah.

That's okay, I'll go back to sleep. And I'm like, what are these? And then the good ones are the ones I'm like, okay, this is a joke I want to tell. So with this tour, with this new material I'm doing, it's more about, I have the tools now to make more or less anything pretty funny. So it's about what I want to talk about, what I want to present to my audience. So I write that down like, shit, okay, this is not funny yet in my head, but I'm gonna make it funny because this is an important thing I really want to talk about

that I think my audience can relate to. So and then I edit, I write, and then I try it out on stage. And I used to write a lot more, like rigidly, and then try what I write on stage, but now I try to do bullet points and be a lot more, like rigidly, and then try what I write on stage. But now, I try to do bullet points and be a little more loose, and then record myself on the voice memo,

and then go back home and write down the nuggets, or the things that work. What worked and what's cool. I think that gives you a little more space to come up with stuff on stage. Do you have a regular practice, though? Or are you like, I'm gonna work an hour a day, or two hours a day, or is kind of just when the mood hits you?

I try, I try but I don't. I need something on the calendar. Even if it's a 15 minute set that I told Rita I'm gonna pop into at the improv, having that and my fear of failure, then it forces me to write and I'm kind of procrastinator. If I knew I have two sets that night, even if it's just unannounced pop-in sets, I will start writing two hours that day. Oh, you want to, because you always want to have something fresh.

No, no, but it's just at least I don't want to waste my own time. I see. I'm not going to go up there and only try jokes that works. I see. Right? You know, I need to. Well, that's good to challenge yourself. Yeah, yeah, rather than just phoning it in, you know. But I think that takes a lot, that has taken a lot,

and I'm in a very comfortable place where I could do that. Yeah. Right? Because especially LA, there's agents watching, they're, you know, casting people, whatever. So, whatever level you're at, there's still an uncomfortability of like, what if Paul McCartney's in the crowd tonight?

Oh, what if somebody that could really- Steven Spielberg's in the crowd tonight. Yeah, and I bomb. Yeah Yeah, so I think now that I'm I'm pretty set. I'm fine. Yeah, so that thought has finally gone away Yeah, but that's why I also think younger comics should really really develop whether it's in San Diego or somewhere in the Midwest in a you know Not New York Definitely not LA town. Yeah before they come to LA to try to make it, you know, because LA it's really hard to develop material With that kind of peaceful mindset. Yeah When you started acting because you know for me, you know Like I was I did improv comedy and then I did the Conan show. And then like, because you know, there are so many people

that really studied acting. That like, you know, and they have all this technique. And I don't, I just like, okay, I'm supposed to be angry here. So- Well, but improv is a technique. Yeah, yeah, but I, yeah, exactly. A lot of people don't have. But it isn't, but there's not, it isn't like,

it isn't, you know, it's not method. It's not, you know, it's not not plumbing your emotional depths or anything. It's just kind of like, to me it's sort of like, well I'm supposed to be sad here. My thing is always kind of like, well, if I was trying to fake somebody out, like it makes somebody walk in here and I wanted them to think I was sad, what kind of characteristics would I take on that would represent authentic sadness? And I mean, and is that kind of where you can't,

like, was it intimidating when you started getting acting work? For sure, for sure, because I didn't even know what an audition was, you know? So I spent all my little bit of money I had doing stand-up or whatever on acting classes. Some very bare-bone, just auditioning classes and you slate your name, right? And then some much more serious method acting,

Stella Adler type classes. And I really immersed myself reading the text, practicing and immersed myself in that world and that art because I absolutely loved it. But still at the end of the day, sure, I have a tool back now, right? Like I've been on enough shows, I've done enough drama, whatever, I can cry, I can be funny, I can be sad or whatever, right?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. In a pretty convincing manner. But at the end of the day, it's what you said. Are you convincing? Do you buy it? Yeah. After every take, it's like, yeah, I buy yeah I buy that yeah yeah then we're good yes like one of my early like acting teachers you know I wasn't familiar with a lot of techniques yet you know sense memory

like whatever dissing that right like Meisner dissing that but I remember when I was just like putting up the scene in this acting class and then you know the teacher and some of the other students give you feedback. I had no idea what I was doing but I remember the teacher said okay you're still very raw and there's this there's that give me a bunch of notes but you know what I found it incredibly watchable. I was like that's isn't that all we need? Right exactly. Because you watch it on TV like this guy's watchable. Yeah. We enjoy it end of story. Yeah yeah. You know what I mean? Like some people get, I think, to actually, you know, to make like comics or whatever, if you didn't come from like classic training of acting, feel not so self-conscious.

I took a class called Don't Act. A very famous teacher, I forgot her name now, but she has a whole acting school, and she has a book called Don't Act. And you go in there, it's all these students, drama students from Yale, from Juilliard, whatever. But they put you on a close-up, on a 50 millimeter, just your face, right? And they put you on tape doing the scene work every day. And for me and you, we're comics,

we don't try to overact, we're real people, right? And it looks real, although maybe we, I didn't have the overact, you know, we're real people. Right? And it looks real. Although maybe we didn't have the technique yet, right? But it looked really real and believable and watchable. But then when a lot of the Yale students, Juilliard students, they start getting all stagey. They start getting off the formative. And one girl from Yale literally started crying watching herself.

It's like, all this studying I've been doing did not translate to video and TV and it's a sham. I need to tone down everything. So in that sense I think the more real you are, that's why stand-up I think make really good actors because we observe people very well which is we observe the human condition and we are very real and truthful you know and the magic of stand-up is also making every joke you're telling for the thousandth time seem like the first time which is what acting is. Selling. Yeah. Selling. You're selling a joke is selling a joke is you're selling a joke you're selling an emotion. Yeah and in all the techniques I think even the best

actors in the world you can learn on the techniques but you find the ones that work for you. Yeah. You know what works for you or what works for Marlon Brando doesn't work for me. Yeah. So I think that's what the method is. The method is a tool bag of stuff that you can pull from and after enough experiences you know you can pull from it. Yeah. And sometimes it's just life experiences. Yeah. I don't think I could have cried you know on certain emotional scenes when I was 22 because I didn't have those connections or emotions or whatever. Yeah yeah. You know. Yeah I feel like I've never had to cry well at least not real cry. I've had a comedy cry. Yeah the comedy cry.

I always wonder like like in a comedy script if I have to cry do I go for it or is it do I make fun of it? Yeah, I mean, A, whenever I've had to comedy cry, which is probably like in a sketch or something, then it's like, you don't, like I don't worry about working up the tears. Whereas if I was in sort of like a more dramatic thing and I was supposed to really cry, then I would worry about working up the tears tears and I'm not saying I couldn't do it but I am saying like I'm waiting like I'm not even gonna worry about it until somebody hires me to do it and then I'm gonna shit my pants worrying about whether or not I can

pull it off. But that's also reps I think right? Like I think in the beginning of being a stand up you're not sure if you're gonna kill it every time but now if I get on the stage, I can get some laughs. I know that. So I think it's the same thing with crying. I can't go back to the same tool back then. The environment or the other actors, what they're giving you has to be right. And then the tears come, but I think I've done it now enough times that I'm confident. I'm like, I can give you a very truthful and real performance when I get there on set. And also they get tricks for the tears. Yeah, yeah, I heard about it.

They got drops, they got that. There's this really weird thing that's like a tube of, like a mentholated tube. Oh wow. That they blow it, which is not very hygienic, but they blow it into your eyes. It's like if somebody was blowing through a cough drop tube into your eyes, and it makes your eyes tear up. And I've seen, I haven't seen that in years.

I would like to think I can tell the difference. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, if someone has performative tears versus real tears, you know. Right, right. Yeah, well, you know, anybody out there hire us to cry. We're both sitting here waiting to cry. hire us to cry. We're both sitting here waiting to cry. Yeah and you're right about like I love that that putting the theater students on a close-up because it is it is a totally different thing to work to act on film stuff and I I did a I did a movie that Richard Gere was in years ago this thing called Dr. T and the women I was supposed to be like one of his friends. And we were doing, it was me and four of us,

and we're supposed to be like his friends, and we're in a hunting scene in the woods, sitting on a log, four across, and he was at the other end, and he and I are talking to each other, and I couldn't hear him. Like I was like, we were doing lines, and it was kind of,

supposed to be slightly emotional. And I just kept, I'd just be like, I think he stopped talking. I guess I'll do my line now. And I really felt like he's not doing any, like I can't hear him. Like that can't be good. And then we saw Daley's and it was like, oh yeah, it's Richard Gere, the fucking movie star doing exactly the right thing.

Like it was completely enough. 100% the exact right thing to do. But on the day, on the set, it felt like, Jesus Christ, Richard Gere isn't doing anything. Exactly. But he's doing so much and I think some of the greatest actors, they know what lens you're shooting on. Robert De Niro, John Malkovich, they ask, are you on a 28? Are you on a 50? To give you enough physicality for how wide the frame is. If it's a wider shot, I'm going to give you more physicality.

If it's right here, all I need to give you is your eyes. What are you looking forward to? Like what do you... You obviously say you're developing stuff, I mean, but is there like a family life in your future, you think? You know, I mean, also that question is very invasive. You can tell me to fuck off.

No, it's okay. It's okay. I would like to have a family at some point. But, you know, right now I'm just trying to get through my stand-up tour, get through the press tour for Interior Chinatown. Yesterday I did a junket for like, that's why this is so refreshing. I did it for, like these junkets are insane. It's four minutes with each reporter

and there's 50 reporters and it's eight hours. And after that you just felt like you got gang banged. Like what just happened? Yeah, like through the ears. Yeah, and I truly love the show and I obviously care about the material. So I was like really giving my all to every single reporter and try to even entertain myself with different answers. At the end of the day, with 50 different things, 4 minutes each, how deep can you really get? When I started doing this stuff, especially because my improv training was very macho.

Like you don't say shit twice. Like if you say something funny, don't you can't, you know, you can't rest on that. That's awesome. It's like you always have to be discovering. Yeah. And so when I started doing that shit, I was trying, I was still living by that. And within like five minutes, I'm like, I'm going to kill myself. Yeah.

I'm just going to like, they're going to ask me the same dumb question about this, like, you know, when it's like, what's about your character? And it's like, well, my character's an asshole. Like, you know, like he's a dummy. Like, you know, it's like, it's not that deep. And then so it's just like, you end up having to say the same thing, you know? Why didn't I just say this once?

And then they all just use the tape of me saying that once. Just use AI. Yeah, yeah. You know, I'll give you my talking points and just use the tape of me saying that once. Just use AI. Yeah, yeah. I'll give you my talking points and just use AI. It's fine. But I would say this, I've done a lot of these junkets, and I can tell the reaction from the journalists,

from the reporters, they were genuinely excited because this show is so different. And the role I'm playing is so different than just the comedic roles I've played in a lot. Tell me about the show. I mean, because that's why you're here, aside from your deep love for me. Otherwise, I wouldn't even talk to you. I know, I know, I know.

I get it, I get it. So it's called Tear Chinatown. It's based on an award-winning book by Charlie Yu. And it's basically, I'm the lead of the show, but I'm playing a background actor stuck in a police procedural like a law and order. And he doesn't know he's a background actor yet, but he's stuck in Chinatown and they wouldn't let him out. And by step by step he has to sneak out of the restaurant that he's trapped in and then he has to like level up step by step almost like an actor. So it's a very very meta journey

it's almost like Law and Order meets Twilight Zone. Right right. And it gets completely bonkers. So it has like a inception-y kind of you know layers of reality. Kind of yeah. And Truman Show a little bit. So it's really really cool to get to do that and the book and the show deep down the theme is it's it's it's a metaphor for psychologically how it feels oftentimes to be Asian-American, to be stuck in a background in someone else's story, to be invisible. And in an isolated geographic, dare I say, ghetto-y kind of area, you know? Like stuck in one part of town, that's where you belong. And I think there's two types of Chinatown, two versions of Chinatown we see. You know the Chinatown where you just see the facade, the kitschy restaurant, the

waiter, the specials. Right yeah and then but this one shows that that's how maybe the other world, the outside world, the law and order world sees it. But you also see Willis, my character's life in the SRO like very tough living environments on top of these restaurants Where 10 people have their own rooms and families, you know generations live together and they share one bathroom Yeah, so exploring that life and really any background character Whether in life or in the show they have a full life Yeah, you know and it's it's really an underdog story of that. Someone trying to break out of this background role

that he's been assigned. Yeah, I can't wait to see it. I've seen the clips of it and it looks really good. I get to kick some ass, right? All right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right. It's cool, I get to kick some ass, get my ass kicked.

I get to still be funny. There's a lot of funny parts. Taika Waititi directed the pilot and you know, his sensibility is he's great with drama. He really gets to the human emotions great with directing actors. He's a great actor. But at the same time, he's so funny. It's always fun. Oftentimes reminded me of Silicon Valley where he'll pitch lines from Video Village for us to say and completely improvised. And that was really fun too. So I think it hits, I hope, all the zeitgeist and also it's just entertaining. There's comedy, there's kung fu, there is drama, there is huge themes, there's satire. Did you have to learn fight choreography and all of that?

Like have sessions of that kind of thing? Yeah, I trained like three, four months in Wenchun. Wow. Because I had to at least hit the wooden dummy correctly because my character Right, right. Had been training Kung Fu all his life, but what saved me is he's not supposed to be good at Kung Fu. Right, right. That's his arc, you know, he's not the star. Right. So so that was pretty cool but there's some great fight scenes like in the pilot with this fight scene that was shot for like two days and both Ronnie Chang's on the show with me Yeah, and he gets to kick some ass. I get to kick some ass and I get my ass kicked. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah Was that I mean do you like shooting that? I mean cuz those are those can be

laborious, you know like fight scene. Yeah. Yeah, it was very taxing but in a way it was You have to be alive. Yeah, you have to be present if you zone out for one second Yeah, you miss a step either you twist your own ankle you get hit in the face Or you hit someone in the face by accident. Yeah, you know, so you got to be really alive, which I really enjoyed But it was a very taxing shoot. We shot it for like six months. Yeah, I was in almost every scene. I shot it for like six months. Yeah. I was in almost every scene. I have to you know be funny on Tuesday do Kung Fu Wednesday Thursday and when I'm sore as fuck I have to like do a scene where I cry with my father on Friday and it was really taxing but the same time like this is what I want to do right like

this is what I signed up for. Was it here or where were you? We shot it here in LA. Oh that's great yeah at least you got to sleep in your own bed. Yeah, but it was like, at Fox, and I'm all the way on the east side, and it was like an hour back and forth. I'm like, I have no time to do anything. Did you drive yourself or did you have them drive you? I did, because I think in the beginning of the shoot,

there were still some COVID restrictions, so they couldn't just give me a driver. Right, right. Or maybe they're just cheap, I don't know. But I feel like if we do that again, I'm gonna need to nap in the car. At least, yeah, exactly. At least you could learn your lines on the way to work.

You know? Yeah, yeah. It was a lot. It was probably the hardest job I've ever done, but it also, I feel like the culmination of everything I've done, every skills I've learned from every set that I get to use it here.

So it was pretty cool. Yeah, well I hope it does big big stuff for you. I hope so man. What do you think is the biggest lesson you've learned through this? Through Enter Chinatown? No, through just your life. This journey. Yeah, yeah.

My life journey. Your journey. Wow. Yeah. I think you got to live in the moment and be grateful. Mm-hmm. You know Because you got to celebrate your own success other people's success be happy for people and be grateful for everything because Always the first question people ask you at a party in LA or an award show. It's like oh congrats on this show. What's next? What's next for you? I'm like, how about what's next is me eating this sandwich

and you stop talking to me. And how about what's next is you just, man, let me enjoy this, I'm gonna go play video games. Let me bash. That's what's next. Because back in the day, I used to feel bad. I'm like, what's next? I don't know, I don't have anything next.

Fuck, I should have something next. So we always worry about the next step, climbing the ladder of whatever, which is very capitalistic and corporate in a way. I'm like if I would have done that I would have stayed in finance. So now I'm like trying to just cherish the down times and like really be grateful like for my friends you know for any good thing bad thing that happens and not be so precious about everything not put too much pressure on it. Yeah.

Well, that's good. I just interviewed the standup Stephen Wright, and he, great, great, gratitude was the same, his answer to that question too, was just, he was just, just be grateful, because, you know, in a very random world, here you are, and it, you know, Yeah.

You're enjoying, you know, I mean, and the universal you yeah you're enjoying you know I mean and the universal you you're enjoying stuff pretty good I mean if you are enjoying stuff I'm just saying for the listeners if you're having a really shitty life you should not be listening to this you should be doing something else because this is this is gravy you should be worrying about what's next if you're unemployed yeah you should I just shouldn't be that grateful yes you know you should you should be worried about your job life is shitty you do something else than this yeah well if your life is shitty I mean try to be grateful maybe that's

that's what you lacking right I guess that's right but but but if your life is truly like stuck in a neutral then maybe don't just sit there and play video games or eat that sandwich. Take a class. Go outside. That's actually huge. I think always have progress and always be learning. My worst fear is not having progress in life. Because even back in the day if I went from one background role a year to like a one line part, that's huge progress, right? And even though I was doing one line parts here and there, that's progress.

As long as there's progress, I'm happy. The scariest thing is when you're stuck in neutral or in a loop. And that, I 100% agree with you, and that applies to everything. Like just being better at being alive is like the main thing. As long as there's progress, you're okay.

As long as you're in a better place than you were last year, just sort of like in terms of dealing with the stuff that life throws at you. Yeah, I think you can do both. Be grateful and have progress. I'm not disagreeing with you. I'm always going back to my own point of, because when people ask you what's next, you do want that progress.

You do want something next that's doing better. But at the same time, don't forget to take time to be grateful. Exactly. Well, I'm grateful for you, Jimmy. Thank you. I'm grateful for you. Jimmy O-Yang is in Interior Chinatown November 19th.

Yeah. When is the show coming out? November 19th. It's out today. It's out today. Yeah. Go see it now. On Hulu. You, the listener that has a bad life, your life just turned.

Yeah. Now it's better. Just turn it around. That's progress. You get to see Interior Chinatown on Hulu. And also you're starting your big and tall standup tour. Yeah. And that's a, is there a website for people to go to? Yeah, you can go to jimmycomedy.com, see all the show dates.

I just did my first show. We kicked it off at Carnegie Hall in New York. Sweet. Yeah, we did two sold out shows. It was electric. So got a lot of dates coming up. So check it out. jimmycomedy.com. Well, Jimmy, thanks so much for out shows. It was Electric. So, um, got a lot of dates coming up. So check it out. JimmyComedy.com. Well, Jimmy, thanks so much for coming out and and you know, hopefully you'll get to go home soon and stop talking about the show.

Just get to watch it. Yeah. And thank all of you out there for listening. I'll be back next week. The Three Questions with Andy Richter is a Team Coco production. It is produced by Sean Doherty and engineered by Rich Garcia. Additional engineering support by Eduardo Perez and Joanna Samuel. Executive produced by Nick Leow, Adam Sacks, and Jeff Ross. Talent booking by Paula Davis, Gina Battista, with assistance from Maddie Ogden. Research by Alyssa Grahl. Don't forget to rate and review and subscribe to The Three Questions with Andy Richter wherever you get your podcasts. And do you have a favorite question you always like to ask people? Let us know in the review section.

Can't you tell my love's a-growing? Can't you feel it ain't a-showin'? Oh, you must be a-knowin'. I've got a big, big love This has been a Team Coco production