My friend Harris Wittels passed away this year. He was a brilliant writer who worked with us on Master of None and Parks and Rec. I miss him dearly. I wrote a piece in the NYTimes magazine about him. Read it here: https://t.co/ii43Dh7iIf
If you haven’t seen Master of None yet, watch it all this weekend. It’s good. Promise.
Aziz Ansari on Acting, Race and Hollywood
Read this article I wrote for the New York Times. We are all more sophisticated, compelling, and interesting than our ethnicities, accents, and stereotypical jobs. Let’s see that on TV and film. This is kind of a companion piece to INDIANS ON TV from Master of None.
Also I called Fisher Stevens for this article (he went brown face in Short Circuit 1 and 2). I intentionally did this because I hate the current internet culture of just looking for blood and trying to attack like sharks. We are thoughtful human beings, not sharks, I wish we all would look for less blood and more for dialogue and understanding. Internet, we can do better!
My dad took off most of his vacation time for the year to act in Master of None. So I’m really relieved this all worked out. Tonight after we did Colbert together he said: “This is all fun and I liked acting in the show, but I really just did it so I could spend more time with you.” I almost instantly collapsed into tears at the thought of how much this person cares about me and took care of me and gave me everything to give me the amazing life I have. I felt like a total piece of garbage for all the times I haven’t visited my parents and told them I wanted to stay in New York cause I’d get bored in SC. I’m an incredibly lucky person and many of you are as well. Not to beat a dead horse here and sorry if this is cheesy or too sentimental but if your parents are good to you too, just go do something nice for them. I bet they care and love you more than you realize.
I’ve been overwhelmed by the response to the Parents episode of our show. What’s strange is doing that episode and working with my parents has increased the quality of my relationship to my parents IN MY REAL LIFE. In reality, I haven’t always had the best, most open relationship with my parents because we are weirdly closed off emotionally sometimes. But we are getting better. And if you have something like that with your family - I urge you to work at it and get better because these are special people in your life and I get terrified when my dad tells me about friends of his, people close to his age, that are having serious health issues, etc. Enjoy and love these people while you can.
Anyway, this show and my experiences with my parents while working on it have been very important in many ways and I thank for you the part you all have played in it.
It was awesome when you guys did this stuff with Parks, but seeing this with my parents is something else! Amazing. Thanks Internet.
Tonight on Fallon.
Master of None premieres Nov 6th on Netflix. Watch it.
Here are some reviews:
“One of the best shows of 2015″ - Entertainment Weekly
“Not only one of Netflix’s best series, but one of the best shows on TV” - Alan Sepinwall, HitFix
“It’s as if an earnest op-ed piece came to vivid life in an effort to make the viewer laugh out loud — and succeeded in the attempt.” - Maureen Ryan, Variety
“The stand-up comic and former co-star of “Parks & Recreation” titles his new Netflix sitcom “Master of None,” but in fact, he’s a comic master who, with co-creator Alan Yang, has crafted a sly, smart and, most of all, really funny comedy you won’t want to miss.“ - David Weigand, SF Chronicle
“A fresh vision of a TV show.” - Tim Goodman, The Hollywood Reporter
“A comedy tour de force” - Dominic Patten, Deadline
“By the end of the season, Master of None is so confident in its tone and execution that it almost feels like a show in its fourth or fifth year…. Yes, this year of Peak TV continues. And this is one of its best shows.” - Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com
MASTER OF NONE Trailer
My new Netflix series Master of None premieres November 6th. Here’s the trailer. Hope you like it!
I did Fallon, The Daily Show, Charlie Rose, GMA, and The View. Is that enough press to get you to buy the damn book America? Enjoy this hug with Raven from The View. Get the book: book.azizansari.com
BOOK TOUR: Come see me on my book tour! Hear me talk. Get a FREE copy of the book with each ticket. Boom: http://book.azizansari.com/tour