Ronny Chieng Doesn’t Want The Daily Show to Be Your Only News Source: ‘I Wouldn’t Like That’

Advice for Ronny Chieng fans-if you meet in person, do not say that you alone get your news from The Daily Show…even if it’s true.

“I wouldn’t like it,” Comedy Central’s longtime satirical former phone-in correspondent told TVNewser when asked how he would feel about being someone’s only source of news. “Sure. I hope you read other things!”

For the record, it’s not that Chieng doesn’t value being part of a late-night comedy institution that holds other institutions to account. Since joining The Daily Show in 2015 under a previous host Trevor Noahthe Malaysian actor and comedian has filed viral reports taking on Fox News, the Metaverseand the Space Force. And when Jon Stewart Returning to the anchor chair on a one-night-a-week basis earlier this year, Chieng has become one of several rotating hosts who come to chime in on the day’s biggest stories from behind the TDS desk.

“My guiding light is that I want to make fun of institutions,” he explains. “I think of comedy as counterpunching; we should be in the back of the room to laugh at people in decision-making positions when they behave stupidly.”

What Chieng expressly wants to avoid, however, is becoming an institution itself — a voice that people look to for wisdom and guidance through an increasingly fragmented news ecosystem. Personality like Joe Rogan and Greg Gutfeld have followed the path from comedy to commentary to great success in recent years, becoming celebrated figures in conservative news spaces in the same way that Al Freken and Stewart were first embraced as progressive champions. (Although Stewart, like Chieng, continues to insist that he is a comedian first).

“I don’t think the goal of a comedian should be to try to lead society,” says Chieng. “Occasionally, you make a good point or you feel very strongly about something and that’s fine. But I don’t think you can try to be a leader or a journalist and still pretend to only do comedy. Speaking for myself, when I’m in the Daily Show try to do comedy”.

And there is success. In addition to The Daily Show, Chieng can currently be seen in the acclaimed Hulu series Interior Chinatown and just dropped his latest comedy special, Love to Hate It, on Netflix. We discussed how he became interested in American politics while growing up in Singapore, how he navigates Asian American stereotypes in Hollywood, and the first time he met Stewart after landing the Daily Show gig.

[This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity]