‘Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj’ Speaks Directly to America’s Minorities

I’ve seen Hasan Minhaj live three times now, twice from the front row; it’s safe to say that I like him. And something that becomes apparent when you’re this big of a fan — and arguably, what keeps bringing you back — is the intimacy with which he presents his material.

Minhaj’s signature move is direct eye contact, whether with the first row or the people all the way in the back. When he stands on stage, he commands the room. He has swagger, he has confidence, and he’s certainly got the jokes. And yet everyone within the four walls feels like family — like an Olive Garden without the unlimited breadsticks.

His storytelling style is almost always accompanied by emblazoned screens behind him — a presentation that “looks like Michael Bay directed a PowerPoint,” as Minhaj himself describes it. He used this format in the ultra-successful Homecoming King special, his drop-ins at the storied Comedy Cellar in New York where he was workshopping new content, and on tour in his pre-Netflix show act Before the Storm.

This style is the basis for his new, now-streaming Netflix talk show Patriot Act, which takes the political aspects of his stint as a Daily Show correspondent and marries them to his eye for hard-hitting graphics. Like Samantha Bee, Minhaj stands on a stage instead of behind a desk, but he chooses to focus on topics that aren’t widely covered. Like John Oliver, Minhaj goes deep on a given topic each week, but steers clear of easy targets (like the president). Patriot Act pays homage to those who’ve been here before, but takes a decidedly different turn on the entire talk show format.

In his far-and-wide press tour, Minhaj spoke about wanting to revitalize Netflix’s talk show library, and Patriot Act does just that. The two episodes released in its premiere weekend already employ the signature Netflix formula that gives creators freedom to color outside the lines.

The first episode hunkers down on the state of Affirmative Action as the law heads back into court, while the second episode splits its time between a timely piece on Saudi Arabia’s problematic crowned prince Mohammad bin Salman and an evergreen segment I like to refer to as “Brown People That Other Brown People are Embarrassed Of,” which called out public figures like Bobby Jindal and Dinesh D’Souza. With the promise of variation from episode-to-episode Patriot Act is already breaking the boundaries that traditional late-night and talk shows have long been held to.

But what really wins the show is Hasan Minhaj himself, the most charismatic man on TV. I could listen to him read my boring work emails out loud or watch him gesticulate an IKEA manual; I have already spent many hours watching this video of him making a perfect turkey sandwich.

Patriot Act speaks directly to America’s minorities, as Minhaj is the first Indian-American to helm such a show. Peppered with inside jokes about SAT scores and coconut oil, the show feels different — like it was made for people like me — without alienating those who wouldn’t get it. Minhaj is the type of comedian who can make an in-joke but follow it up with an explanation that isn’t “us vs. them.”

Netflix’s smartest strategy in the marketing rollout of Patriot Act has been to focus on the man himself; pairing Minhaj with the equally magnetic Tan France from Queer Eye didn’t just break the Minternet (the Muslim Internet), it was the talk of all of Brown Town. Leaning into Minhaj’s personality is a selling point that guarantees success.

With a 32-episode order and two wildly different episodes out, it’s impossible to know what the show will transform into throughout its run. But if it’s anything like the taste we’ve gotten, I’ll be in it for the long haul.

Radhika Menon (@menonrad) is a TV-obsessed writer living in New York City. Her work has appeared on The TV Addict, Brown Girl Magazine, Breadcrumbs Mag and Syndicated Magazine. At any given moment, she can ruminate at length over Friday Night Lights, the University of Michigan, and the perfect slice of pizza. You may call her Rad.

Watch Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj on Netflix