NBC’s Late Night Writers Workshop Graduate Sam O

Entering its eighth year, NBC’s Late Night Writers Workshop is the industry’s longest-running program dedicated to discovering and developing late night and sketch comedy writers of diverse backgrounds. Among this year’s graduating class is Sam O, a writer-comedian born and raised in San Fernando Valley.

Queer, Korean, and a self-identified California girl who likes to throw essential oil parties where only queer people and straight women allies are invited, O’s scripts have been recognized by the Academy Nicholl Fellowship, Austin Film Festival, and Launch Pad. He is part of the Asian-American comedy collective Asian AF, has written on Maude Night at the UBC Theatre in Los Angeles, and has performed several standup comedy routines.

O was chosen out of a pool of 900 candidates to participate in the Late Night Writers Workshop. To ensure the safety of the program’s participants and NBC Universal employees, the five-day course was held virtually

OUT FRONT had the opportunity to chat more with O about his experience, how beneficial the workshop has become to aspiring late-night and sketch comedy writers, and what he hopes to bring to this field of work. Hi, Sam! Thank you for taking some time to chat with me. How are you doing during these unprecedented times?
I’m doing pretty well! I’m surprised at how together I still am [laughs]. I bought a blue light for my face, so I sit and watch TV and shine the blue light in my face.

Congrats on graduating from the NBC Late Night Writers Workshop. How does it feel to achieve such an accomplishment?
I think all the writers that took part in that workshop, during the middle of it, we weren’t really thinking about it as being an achievement, but by the end, we realized how important of an achievement it was. I try not to get my head in the direction of thinking about how big an achievement is, but it is pretty cool after, like, years of trying new things, finally getting something like this.

Can you tell us more about what the workshop was like?
So, the workshop consisted of instruction every day from experienced comedy writer John Reynolds, and we had guest speakers; a lot of them are alumni of the program who are staff now on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon or Last Week Tonight. We had other guest speakers like Katie Hockmeyer, who is the EVP of Late Night NBC. So, half of it was, like, learning and putting into practice writing jokes, working on out packets, knowing what to expect in a writer’s room, and the other half was speakers telling us about their experiences.

Why did you want to participate in the workshop?
I have a comedy background. Before the pandemic hit, I was doing stand-up a lot, and I wanted to be in the comedy space in general. So, I felt like this was such a great opportunity to get in. I mean, late night is really where all of your skills as a comedian kind of come together because it’s so dynamic, and you have to do so many things. I thought this was just a great opportunity and a great networking space where you get to meet like-minded people and people can teach you a lot about comedy. I think I’m a funny person.

You were chosen among a pool of 900 candidates. That is absolutely incredible.
Yeah, I guess so! It was just a class of seven this year, and it was all virtual as well, which was interesting.

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Was it a major challenge having everything be virtual?
I really enjoyed it being virtual because I could just hop on, and I don’t think any of us were, like, wearing pants, which was great. I could say whatever I wanted, and it was like, what are you going to do? Hop through the Zoom and, like, scold me for saying that? So, I felt like I could be myself, and if I just didn’t want to show up one day, I had that option. It totally worked for me.

How beneficial do you believe the Late Night Writers Workshop is?
I didn’t have any expectations going into it, but talking to the guest speakers who say this workshop had such a direct impact on their careers, and it led them to getting a job or meeting an agent or whatever, it’s such a pipeline. I think it has such a direct impact on us writers. Since the workshop has wrapped, I have had the opportunity to submit to different shows and have had representation reach out to me wanting to read my things. It is had a very direct impact.

Have you always had a passion for comedy and writing?
Well, my first dream was to be a pop star, but that quickly did not work out for me [laughs]. So, I was like, what else can I do? I think I have always just relied on humor to get me through life, and later on I realized that it could be a career for me. I have been pursuing comedy for, like, close to 10 years now. I started as a teenager.

Can you tell us more about your style and aesthetic?
Oh my God, do I have one? Sometimes I don’t know what I’m doing, but if it’s working, I guess I’ll keep doing it. I would say irreverent and, sometimes I say a lot of things that don’t make a lot of sense, but it was like a surprise. It’s like the element of surprise and shooting your shot at interesting times. I don’t know what I’m saying right now. I should have prepared for this. You’re doing fine! Is there a late night or sketch comedy show you would absolutely love to work with?
I think everyone’s dream is SNL. Any comedy person will tell you that’s the goal, but other than that, I love sketch comedy on Netflix. There are some great shows like Astronomy Club or I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson. I love any sort of sketch thing, and I love Amber Ruffin, who has her own show coming out on Peacock. She is certainly in the late-night space that I really admire.

Are you currently working with a specific show right now?
Not right now. I am in the process of submitting to different shows. It’s the hustle, Denny. You have to hustle, hustle.

Being queer and Korean, have you encountered any issues within this field of work?
No, it’s been very easy [laughs]. I’m just kidding. Yes! I mean, I try not to think about who I am as, like, a deficit or something that work against me, but I definitely have had many encounters of people having preconceived notions or not getting what I do or not understanding who I am pretty clearly.

If I write a script of Korean characters, people will be like, do they have to be Korean? Can’t they just be normal? Normal is like white or straight. I think it’s just always being up against other people’s perceptions and always having to prove to people why you deserve things when you are not a straight, white man.

So, you would like to bring in more diversity?
I think that I would just like to bring myself. I definitely want to bring my perspective and my life experiences, and I think that’s all anyone can really do. I think it’s just people in power allowing more people in who are not the industry norm. I don’t know that it’s up to me; I think I just have to keep doing what I do and hope that someone lets me do it and pays me money for it.

What’s next? Are there any other upcoming projects we should be on the lookout for?
I mean, I have an Instagram, but I haven’t posted to it in months [laughs]. You can find that, but I am just going to continue to write. I’ve had a script that placed in this screenwriting competition thing called the Academy Nicholl Fellowship, so I hope that script will still be made.

To stay up-to-date with O, follow him on Instagram, or visit samohisdead.com.