Dave Cunningham
For a time, Hasan Minhaj was one of Netflix’s biggest icons. The former host of what was an unfortunate cancellation of the streaming giant’s talk show, Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj, will be getting a big, recurring role in the second season of Apple TV Plus’ The Morning Show.
According to Deadline, Minhaj will “play Eric, a charismatic, rising star who joins The Morning Show team.”
Minhaj’s role on Apple TV Plus follows the streaming giant’s cancellation of his comedy and news talk show watched worldwide. Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj aired for a whopping two years, boasting six seasons to its name. The thing was, Patriot Act served as an alley for Minhaj to criticize governments, rules, and everything in between––not your typical late-night news and comedy shows, is it?
What a run. @patriotact has come to an end. I got to work with the best writers, producers, researchers, and animators in the game. My 2 babies were born and grew up with the show. TY to @Netflix and everyone who watched. Now it’s time to return these screens to Best Buy 😎 pic.twitter.com/4s4TrsKWe6
— Hasan Minhaj (@hasanminhaj) August 18, 2020
To Netflix’s disadvantage, the streamer never really got to make a lot of their talk shows work with the likes of The Break with Michelle Wolf and The Joel McHale Show with Joel McHale––indeed, both talk shows had tons of potential considering their hosts. It could’ve existed alongside other Netflix talk shows such as Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee and, of course, the recently revived My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman.
Brandon Riegg, Netflix’s Vice President of Nonfiction Series and Comedy Specials said:
“With Hasan (Patriot Act), Dave (My Guest Needs no Introduction), and Jerry (Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee), we have three distinct and original styles that are thoughtful and topical but have longer shelf lives than traditional linear shows.”
So, the Netflix cancellation was definitely out of the blue. Either way, all credit goes to Hasan Minhaj for joining The Morning Show alongside a pretty star-studded cast with Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, and Steve Carell. Unfortunately, Apple is yet to announce a release date for the second season of the series.
