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Roy Wood Jr’s latest special begins with fewer jokes and more musings, “We’re not going to make it… Overall, as a society, we’ve lost touch. The comedian has been known for nearly a decade for his sharp political views daily shownot talking about Trump or electoral politics at all. instead, lonely flower Explores the ways in which social cues, both big (gun violence) and small (rude customer service interactions) wear down.

That’s not to say he doesn’t repeat the day’s news — he hosts CNN’s Have I Got News for You with panelists Amber Ruffin and Michael Ian Black , an American adaptation of the long-running British series.

"The coolest thing about having this is, they gave us, and by us, I mean myself, Michael Ian Black and Amber Ruffin, they gave us the freedom to speak We want to tell jokes. We are not responsible in any way shape or form for anything that happens within the network," Wood Jr. explained over the phone.

As for where political comedy in the Trump 2.0 era goes, it depends on whether Trump delivers on all the terrible things he promises. “I think Trump’s comedy hinges on how many policies he can actually pass and how outrageous those policies become.

"You know, if we were in the first week, a bunch of people would be deported, which is ugly and terrible. And then I think the idea of ​​calling Trump crazy and stupid, working as a joke premise, I Really don't think there's any value in this because so far it hasn't gotten us anywhere."

but lonely flower more about documenting larger cultural shifts than the nature of the political world. "I just feel like after COVID, not during COVID, but after COVID. But I feel like we're just out of touch as people... I also intentionally didn't talk about politics in the special. I wanted to talk about society and The condition of people, and where we are as humans right now.”

Little Wood is a daily show After the departure of Trevor Noah, he served as a reporter for eight years and was a fan-favorite host of the show, even before his acclaimed White House Correspondents' Dinner host. But with uncertainty over Noah's successor, Wood Jr. decided to leave the show in 2023.

He had no plans at the time. This uncertainty, he explains, is exactly what comes with the realm of comedians. "I hosted a radio show on Twitter and got fired. It happened. I watched a sitcom on TBS. The network head shook our hands and said we were about to get a fourth season. Two weeks later , found out we were cancelled.

"So you know, fear or the idea of ​​not knowing what I'm going to do next, that's what I have to do with daily show Leaving and other moments in my career where I felt uncertain was that at least I had to choose this one. "

lonely flower It was released on January 17 and is streaming on Hulu. You can also stream Have I Got News for You the day after it airs on Max via the Disney+/Hulu/Max bundle.