Photo: Comedy Central
Leslie Joneswould be more than thrilled to add Host ofThe Daily Showto her résumé.
But Jones, 55, exclusively tells PEOPLE she “definitely” hopes that her brief time as host could turn into something more permanent.
“It was one of those in-the-pocket fits. You know how when you get fitted for a suit and you’re like, ‘Yeah, this suit looks nice on me. Yo, I don’t mind wearing this style on me.‘The Daily Showwas [that],” she says.
“I would say my writer, Lenny Marcus, said to me we have been trying to find the place that actually is going to be a fun and efficient place to work at. Everybody calls themselves world-renowned, and they’ve done this and done that. But we haven’t ever had totally good experiences on productions a lot of times,” she continues. “A lot of times, people are s— that’s floating, or just not as good as what they think they are, or messy. But [on the]Daily Show, everybody there was good at their job and everybody there was staying in their lane and did their job.”
Jones also described her experience working withThe Daily Showteam as “not chaotic” and “not stressful,” adding that it was “like talking to old friends.”
“Even when we were editing jokes and bits and stuff, they were so respectful, and then they were very good at what they did. There were lines that I was like, ‘OK, how am I trying to say this?’ And I’m telling you, them writers would say it, and I’d be like, ‘God damn. Are you in my head?’ They were good,” she concludes. “And Jen Flanz, the showrunner, a dream. I remember telling Lenny, ‘Holy s—, if Jen Flanz was the showrunner for anything I was on, we would probably still have that show. To me, she was the epitome of someone who can do their job without being an asshole. And that’s real talk. I will say that about Jen Flanz. She was awesome. And her support team, the head writers and stuff, they were just freaking incredible.”
Before hitting the studio, theSaturday Night Livealum for sound advice fromChris Rockon how to approach her time in the role.
“I remember asking Chris Rock, I was like, ‘Yo, is there any advice?’ And he was like, ‘First of all, I’m never worried about you. And second,’ he said, ‘Don’t try to beJon Stewart. Don’t try to be Trevor. Be you. Be who you are,'” she recalled him saying, referencing some of the previous hosts. “I already kind of knew that, but you know how you just need maybe a little permission to do that? So that’s really what it was.”
Grand Central Publishing
Since the show’s 1996 premiere withCraig Kilbornas host,The Daily Showhas not had a woman lead the show. And not only does Jones want that to change, but she would ultimately like to see a Black woman take the reins.
“It definitely should be a Black woman,” she says. “Now, I’m not s—-ing on White women or whatever. I’m just saying it would be great to have a Black woman on late night. It’s time. I think people are ready for that.”
In the meantime, Jones is gearing up forthe launch of her debut memoir,Leslie F*cking Jones, this September. The book features stories about her upbringing and career’s journey, but she also says that “it’s just a lot of moments that equal up to what became Leslie Jones.”
“Everybody’s life is a story. Everybody’s life has had moments and trials and mistakes and things that you go to to make you who you are today,” she explains to PEOPLE. “And I want everybody to read that and go, ‘Holy s—. She didn’t just fall into comedy. She had to work for that s—.’ I want people to learn that if you have an inspiration and a desire to do something, that’s f—ing great, but you got to work.”
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Leslie F*cking Joneswill be released on Sept. 19, andThe Daily Showairs weeknights at 11 p.m. ET on Comedy Central.
source: people.com
