From left, JoySauce Chief Creative Officer Narumi Inatsugu, comedian Cat Ce, JoySauce founder Jonathan Sposato and “Jokes with JoySauce” host Ana Tuazon Parsons pose Jan. 21 in El Segundo, Calif. (Allen J. Schaben, Los Angeles Times/TNS)
Before hitting the stage, the comedians of the TV series “Jokes with JoySauce” have an on-camera ritual of exchanging immigrant stories about growing up with their families. There is no audience during these moments, just comics being vulnerable with one another.
The tales give insight into the lives they live offstage and their perspectives as Asian Americans that inspire so much of their material. It lets the audience know more about these up-and-coming comedians without the generic stage introductions.
The series, which premiered in early January, is part of the original programming curated for JoySauce. JoySauce TV, available on Prime Video, the web and various apps, is the first free, ad-supported streaming channel dedicated to highlighting Asian American voices across comedy, film, reality TV and sitcoms.
Director and creator of the series Ana Tuazon Parsons is excited to watch it grow.
“I’m still definitely going for that underground punk rock, like, let’s-find-some-cool-people kind of thing for Season 2,” Parsons said. “Bigger and better venue, and more budget; more budget, please.”
While Parsons focuses on cultivating new comedic voices, JoySauce wants to create its own opportunities for people in the community by broadening its mission of ownership and representation.
“We won’t really get the full spectrum of the representation that I believe that we deserve unless we own the pipeline and the platforms and the carriers and really the gateways,” Jonathan Sposato, creator of Joysauce, said.
He decided to bring the platform to the masses in 2022 after growing sick and tired of how much hate his community was facing and wanting to fill in a gap in the media.
Media representation was low for Asian American actors, with only 6% of all Asian characters in 100 titles on streaming platforms in 2022 in leading roles, according to a study by USC Annenberg Gold House.
“I do think positivity wins,” Sposato said. “Comedy is a very necessary tool, a necessary ingredient in the overall mix of what we’re trying to offer.”
His goal is to broaden the concept of Asian American culture through storytelling that represents U.S. influences while staying rooted in Asia.
“A win for JoySauce is a win for anybody who feels underrepresented, who doesn’t feel like they’re considered the normative mainstream,” he said.
At a time when attention is a currency, creating a space that’s focused on elevating Asian American and Pacific Islander voices will help diversify the media landscape.
“As a comedian, you cannot complain,” said Cat Ce, whose special “Perfect Chinglish” was licensed by JoySauce. “Nowadays, you want it on so many different platforms, you never know which kind of audience you may reach.”
Her work reflects the kind of storytelling JoySauce hopes to amplify. The comedy hour by Ce explores the cultural differences Chinese Americans experience when dealing with family and friends and in romantic relationships.
For Narumi Inatsugu, the chief creative officer of JoySauce, universality is the point.
“For so long, I thought nobody cared about Asian American stories,” he said.
As a curator of the channel, and host of the upcoming “Chopsticks and Chill,” an interview show in which he shares a meal with influential members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, Inatsugu wants to create a platform where the younger generation can see the many opportunities life can offer, regardless of cultural background.
“It’s community building; it’s letting people know they can be whatever they want, do whatever they want,” he said.
Throughout his years in the entertainment industry and in production meetings, Inatsugu felt like he couldn’t pitch certain stories because they were aimed at his Asian community. He hopes an outlet like JoySauce can create a safe space for creative minds to feel like they can be themselves and not feel outnumbered, the way he once did.
Every element of a show is designed to make people feel welcomed, from the people making it to the food that’s made available for the cast and crew.
During production of the first season of “Jokes with JoySauce,” Parsons made sure every aspect of the production used Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Her production team also made sure to fill the craft table with food that can be found at any Asian market.
The sense of belonging is exactly the reason she built “Jokes with JoySauce” and why JoySauce exists.
“When I’d see the comics come up into the greenroom and their faces, it was like, ‘Oh, I feel so like they were just reverted to their childhoods,’” she said. “It was just like they felt like they were at home with their families, and it was so important for me, it made me cry a little bit.”
