Silverman’s ‘America’ embraces common ground
Hulu show takes her on field trips outside the political echo chamber
Sarah Silverman’s new weekly Hulu show, premiering Thursday, is titled I Love You, America. She’s not being ironic.
The acclaimed stand-up comedian, a lightning rod in the past for veering into such seemingly taboo subjects as race, rape and abortion, is seeking common ground with people of different backgrounds and viewpoints at a time when so many hide in likeminded bubbles.
“The big exposé should be: ‘Oh, we’re the same. We love our families. We care about people,’ ” Silverman tells USA TODAY.
Perhaps surprisingly, Donald Trump’s election made Silverman relate to those who hold opposing views.
“I understood what it’s like to be a survivalist, because one of my first thoughts was, ‘I need to buy a gun. I need to be able to protect myself when we go to war with the government,’ ” she says. “There was that tinge and I went, ‘Oh my God, right! That’s how a lot of people felt during Obama’s administration, where I felt totally safe.’ ”
To prove her point, the New Hampshire native, known for her progressive politics, will take field trips on the show: She has dinner with a Louisana family (“They’ve never met a Jew before, and I’ve never met a family from Slidell, La.”) and visits Mineola, Texas, where more than 80% of votes were cast for Trump.
Silverman doesn’t classify America as a talk show, but it shares traits with the genre, including a monologue that will address anything from politics to comedy to a personal story, and connect to the rest of the episode.
After the monologue, America, taped in Los Angeles on Tuesdays and streamed two days later, typically will include a field segment featuring Silverman or a comedian friend, such as Tig Notaro, that addresses cultural and political topics.
Each show will feature a guest
— not necessarily a celebrity — who has had a transformative experience, and Silverman will close with another monologue, bringing the episode full circle.
When asked about political echo chambers, Silverman looks inward. “I’ve never been so aware of the truth of the concept of ‘liberal bubble.’ I’m taking it to heart, and I want to get outside of it.”
Although she’s known for po-
larizing humor, the comedian also tries to unify, as she did at the 2016 Democratic convention, where she pledged to vote for Hillary Clinton after supporting Bernie Sanders in the primary. She said Bernie-or-bust delegates were acting “ridiculous.”
Silverman doesn’t concern herself with perceptions.
“I can’t worry about my audience. I’m not everyone’s cup of tea,” says Silverman, who uses metal detectors at stand-up performances because of threatening responses to her humor. “I always feel I’d probably be safer if I kept my mouth shut, but I can’t.”
At the same time, she says she has evolved.
“If I was the same arrogant, ignorant character I was in 2004, that’s not any growth. I hope anyone changes fundamentally in lots of different ways between the ages of 17 and 46.”
Silverman says President Trump’s dominance of culture is unavoidable.
“To not have him influence what anyone is making, in at least some indirect way, is to ignore the drama of this moment …” she says, taking a long pause. “… or joy, depending on who you talk to.”
Reaching out to people who disagree is high-minded, but don’t expect Silverman to be too serious.
“It’s also going to be aggressively silly,” she says. “Anything heady will be served in a big dumb sandwich.”