British Comedian Russell Howard Has Figured Out How to Pack Political Comedy With Positive Vibes

What if I told you there was a way to do political comedy in 2019 and still keep it positive? Hard to believe, I know. But what if I told you that it really already exists and it’s on YouTube for you to see right now? Mind blown, right? The man behind this positive comedy is Russell Howard, the host of The Russell Howard Hour on Sky in the UK since 2017, and before that, a series called Russell Howard’s Good News, which aired on the BBC from 2009-2014. He’s also got a hilarious hour-long stand-up special called Recalibrate on Netflix, and he’s already sold out dates on his world tour in 2020 — yes, over a year before he actually performs them.

Howard stopped by the Decider offices when he was in New York City to perform shows at the end of March and sat down for an in-depth chat about writing and performing comedy in the political climate that is 2019. Relaxed, thoughtful, and much more soft-spoken than most fans of his on-screen work would expect, and also much less bleary than most people who have recently flown in from Australia, Howard was happy to get chatty about everything from politics to Love Island, and really, the politics of Love Island.

“As a comedian, you’re not gonna convince anyone to change their political beliefs,” Howard stated when I asked where all the positive vibes of The Russell Howard Hour come from. “In the UK at the minute, we’re so sick, both on the right and the left, of the state of the nation that for the second series [we said], ‘Right, let’s just try and make Brexit specifically funny. Let’s try and find anything so that there’s a respite.’ Because it’s easy to go on telly and trounce people who voted to leave, and then you’ll get a round of applause and a boo from people that disagree. And ditto the other way.” Because even though it feels like we’re all buried under an avalanche of depressing headlines every day, Howard is up for the challenge of digging himself, and his viewers, out of the pile with a smile. “It’s so much harder to find humor in those topics but it’s so much more rewarding for me. Rather than get depressed about it, I write jokes about it.”

Luckily, people all over the world can watch those jokes as full seasons (as well as clips) of Good News and The Russell Howard Hour all live on Howard’s YouTube page, and are the reason he gets to bring those jokes all over the world. While he’s unsure of the deal that allows the full episodes to be available on YouTube, and fingers crossed bringing this attention to that fact doesn’t get them removed in any way, Howard said, “It’s amazing that it’s on YouTube. It would be awful if it wasn’t, that’s how I get to gig around the world because people have seen clips,” and pointed to the frustration that comes with trying to view Saturday Night Live clips outside of the US.

Howard also tries to catch his pal John Oliver’s HBO show via clips when they become available in the UK, and aspires to have the staff Last Week Tonight boats for his own program. “I write the show with three of my mates and that’s it. And that’s considered a lot in the UK. I think John’s got like, five journalists and loads of writers. We just don’t have that in the UK.” And while there are plenty of entertaining and even silly bits to The Russell Howard Hour, the segments up top are heavy with headlines from the political and pop culture spheres. On Howard’s wish list to bulk those up? “I’d like to have some journalists work on the show. We fact check everything but we have this poor lawyer and she has to go through everything. You want to make sure it’s not a lie. What’s really fascinating is the amount of times you’ll see something in the paper and you go to write off of it and it’s just complete bullshit — and that’s on the right and on the left.”

Mid-show, to keep things light, Howard throws to a clip of Playground Politics, a bit that finds him chatting with elementary school-aged children — yes, about their thoughts on politics and other assorted topics. Go ahead, watch just a few seconds of this and see if you can keep your face from forming into a smile. I dare you. “It’s great isn’t it?,” Howard asks with a smile when I compliment this segment.

“The kids are just beautiful and they spout such warm nonsense, warm gooey madness,” he said. “What I love the most about it is that they laugh as well so there isn’t that sense of making them look foolish.” It’s unequivocally delightful at every turn, with Howard often unable to keep a straight face, but also frequently indulging the kids in their imaginations and intelligence. Though not all of the filming went according to plan.

“We tried to do one in China and that was impossible. It was all set up and we went to the school and it was crazy; somebody came in from the government, we were followed by this car, and they were like, you’re not doing this. So we were like, okay! It was pretty weird. And then people were filming us as we were leaving. It was all signed, sealed and delivered, but when the Chinese government rock up and tell you not to film…”

An equally smile-inducing segment in the show is called Live Forever, where Howard and a fellow funny friend, often a comedian or actor pal, try out the latest wellness trend to…varying results. Though Howard did find one trend he was happy to repeat. “Cryotherapy. I really enjoyed that. The lady that ran it is a really lovely woman and she let me have a discounted rate so I started going. I’ve endorsed it because I love it, but it’s probably the wankiest showbiz thing I could do.” Howard has also brought along buddies to try cupping and acupuncture, goat yoga, and even bungee dancing.

“We had to really cut around crotch shots for both me and Jessica [Knappett],” Howard admitted. “That was so painful but so much fun. We just try and have it all. Do topical comedy at the beginning, do an interview, have a lovely ramble with kids about whatever, and do a weird wellness thing with another comic or celebrity. What’s really interesting is that because everything is consumed in bite-sized chunks, there are people that only know of the show as Playground Politics or Live Forever. It’s cool.”

Howard is great at mixing it up and bringing his signature energy to all his segments — but it’s perhaps when he sits back and gets silent that he makes the biggest impact. “It took me a long time to figure that out that the best way to interview somebody is to be quiet and to go with it,” he offered when I complimented his listening skills. As he sits across from his guest, each in a chair that looks like it’s made out of newspapers, there are no index cards with notes or questions on them to be found. He simply listens, asking proper follow up questions to his guest who is almost always someone interesting, accomplished, and excited to be there. “It helps that we have really great people on so if you’re talking to Stephen Merchant or Richard Curtis or Rukmini Callimach (this one is incredible) or Michelle Wolf, people have interesting stories to tell, you just have to fight that urge as a comic not to [butt in]. Because all you’re gonna do really is say something funny, but it careens them off their point.”

He’s also quick to admit, “It’s an hour show of me, it’s fine to have 12 minutes where someone else does the talking. Being a comedian, you quite literally have the conch and it’s about being in charge and being in control. It isn’t the ideal training to interview somebody but I really enjoy it.”

Howard’s interview with Rob Delaney at the end of 2018 gained a lot of attention, but perhaps not for the reason you might suspect. It wasn’t a joke-off between the two sharp comedians. Instead, Delaney used the platform to address the extremely sensitive topic of his young son’s recent passing as Howard listened on intently. “What was incredible about that was it was his decision, he came on and told a story about his son that died and it was basically his take on grief. It was so interesting and it clearly meant a lot to people watching. That was completely unplanned, you can’t prepare questions because if he talks about his son, you try and react in a way if you were talking to him in a pub. His eloquence on that subject helped a lot of people who are surrounded by grief.”

“That’s what I love about the show,” Howard reflected. “It’s a comedy show but within it there are moments of real heart and soul. Genuinely, I know for a fact that I’ve helped people connect with people that have lost loved ones and for me that’s more important than getting clapter from people about Brexit.”

Not that there isn’t that infamous Brexit clapter in his future too, as Howard continues to perform stand-up dates outside of the UK. “Certainly when I was in Australia everyone wanted to know about Brexit in a way you wouldn’t talk about it in comedy clubs in the UK because people have had enough of it. The story is changing every day and yet never changes. And I would imagine it’s the same here with Trump.” But he’s got that Brexit comedy still packed with those positive vibes, ready to go for US audiences. “Every time I’m here [in the US], it feels like me and the audience, we’re like children talking about our dysfunctional parents. ‘My dad wants to build a wall.’ ‘My mom keeps going to Belgium and they tell her to fuck off.’ The one thing is that it’s exhausting. Brexit is scary and boring.” Which is a statement that’s both true, and also a touch ironic, considering it came from the man who’s figured out how to make this particular topic both funny and exciting.

It should come as no surprise that Howard’s even found comedy in the serious, addressing the epidemic of reality stars committing suicide, especially after stints on massive programs such as Love Island. “The whole point of the bit is that you increasingly see in the UK, TV companies making stars of vulnerable people. You’re suddenly made famous over night. The barrage that you get, the abuse: you might make it and you might not and then you’ve got to go back to your job that you did in the first place. It was about that, and why does everything have to be about the physical?” Howard went on to joke that, “The whole point of Love Island is I like it, but I find it very difficult to root for pretty people. If you see two really pretty people on a beach, I don’t want them to have sex. Whereas if I saw two people that weren’t classically attractive, like if it was full of old people, I would love that.”

“The whole piece was about trying to be funny to the people that would watch it. It would be very easy to make comedy about people that watch Love Island are thick, but that doesn’t do anything. I would be amazed if the producers of Love Island haven’t seen that and certainly the repercussions that have happened. Hopefully reality TV will change in terms of the way they chew people up and spit them out.” For Howard, it’s about taking comfort in the fact that it all comes back to the parachute of stand-up for him. “I’m lucky I’ve had standup and that if all this fleeting fame goes away, I’ll still have standup, I’ll still be able to do a gig in front of 100 people somewhere if I want to.”

Though at the moment, it’s a few more people than that. Howard was happy to be abroad for his stand-up dates which he suspected sold out due to the Netflix special, Recalibrate, which has been available for over a year on the streaming service. It’s likely gained him fans as his non-stop infectious energy is present while he goes through bits that are juvenile, self-deprecating, feminist, and remains hilarious throughout. “Doing stuff in America is so exciting, being a little English bloke and coming here. It keeps you on your toes as well. You’re at ground level and you’re learning about America or you’re going to Europe and chatting with people afterwards. It makes you a bit more global, but in the best sense.”

Howard is introspective enough to know the farther he gets from home, the more he learns about where he’s from. After spending two months in India last year, he said, “You certainly realize how English you are when you travel. Going to different parts of the world, you see your country and your viewpoint a bit clearer. It makes you a better comedian. You can learn from the news and you can also learn from wandering around places. It’s that everyday knowledge alongside book smarts.”

He’ll get the chance to return next year when his tour brings him to Mumbai for the first time, and in reflecting on the thrill of doing a past gig in China, excitedly mentioned, “There were 1000 people there, it was so cool,” a sentiment he’s about to feel in many other countries, both professionally and personally. As Howard nears his wedding day, he even mused about someday bringing his future family along on world tours down the line. He also credits his own family and upbringing with keeping him grounded when he’s racking up world tour dates and millions of views on YouTube and social media followers. “I find real life a lot harder than this make-believe life that I’ve created. That’s why you have to be surrounded by people that have known you all your life and don’t let you get carried away with all your nonsense.”

Plus, Howard’s well aware where his heart is. “I love stand-up so much because I started when I was 18, and as soon as I did, I had this moment like, finally. I found this thing I could do. And I still love it. I still like the thrill of the chase. All the people I know and love, the thing that drives them still is being on stage and coming up with an idea and cracking it and going, ‘Oh, there’s a bit in that.'”And if anyone can find a bit, and with a positive spin at that, he’s the guy that will.

Where to stream The Russell Howard Hour