Lilly Singh admits that her NBC late-night talk show, *A Little Late With Lilly Singh*, was destined to face an uphill battle—and that it performed admirably before its cancellation in 2022. “I don’t want to say you were set up to fail. That’s too harsh,” Julia Cunningham, host of SiriusXM’s *The Julia Cunningham Show*, remarked to Singh as they reminisced about her late-night tenure during the September 16 broadcast.
“No, I was,” Singh quickly interjected. The YouTube sensation clarified that she didn’t believe anyone had deliberately plotted her downfall, reflecting on her pandemic-era show that aired on NBC for two seasons before its conclusion. Yet, she was adamant: “I don’t think any part of it was set up to really be successful.” Producing 96 episodes in just three months on a shoestring budget was hardly a recipe for late-night success, she explained. “It was really tough. Really, really tough,” Singh recalled, describing the grueling process of filming two or three episodes daily in front of a live audience.
What kept the Canadian entertainer going through such a relentless schedule? “A lot of crying, a lot of therapy,” she admitted. “I just really tried my best. I knew what a big deal it was and how important it was, and I felt so much pressure to not let people down. But yeah, it was definitely, if I reflect, one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done in my life.”
While Singh harbors little desire to return to late-night television, she believes she’d be far better prepared to helm a daily talk show if the opportunity arose. “If any show that’s a daily type of show would come up to me, I would be better equipped to ask better questions: Talk to me about the budget. Talk to me about the schedule. Talk to me about any contingencies, any plans. There were just so many questions I would’ve asked,” she shared on the podcast.
She also stressed that networks need to grant hosts the time and space to discover their brand, audience, and voice. “I feel like another thing I would make sure happens is you’ve got to commit to this for, like, five seasons. If you actually want this to be a thing, you’ve got to give us the space to figure it out a little bit,” Singh emphasized.
Since her departure from NBC’s late-night lineup, Singh has inked a first-look scripted development deal with Blink49 Studios and Bell Media, the Canadian media giant. The agreement also includes a second-look unscripted deal with her production banner, Unicorn Island Productions. Additionally, she secured a first-look producing deal with NBCUniversal’s Universal Television Alternative Studio to develop unscripted projects. Currently, she stars in the new comedy *Doin’ It*, a film she co-wrote and produced.
