The first thing you see in Netflix’s new show “Patriot Act” is a silhouette of Hasan Minhaj’s face.
The 33-year-old comedian is the latest Jon Stewart acolyte to make the jump from “The Daily Show” duties to hosting his own news-comedy hybrid.
And the biggest difference between Minhaj’s “Patriot Act” and its predecessors is Minhaj himself.
Minhaj calls himself an “Indian American Muslim” — the first-generation son of immigrants, born and raised in Southern California. And he does not try to hide that fact.
“Asians, just so you know, we are only 5.8 percent of the population but last year we were 22.2 percent of Harvard’s admitted class,” he says on a recent episode. “We are straight dunking on every other minority group, but in classic Asian parent fashion we’re like, ‘22 percent? Why not 100 percent?’”
“Patriot Act” debuted late last month, but it’s been in the works for two years – two very tumultuous years in America. The show has earned positive reviews so far. But, if it doesn’t work out, he says his dad has reminded him that he can still save up for law school.
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Copyright 2018 WAMU 88.5