Jonathan Sposato

streaming TV, podcasts, radio, and other media… We’re certainly about and around American Asians. This will be done via web, but we also change for the better the national conversation

THE top AANHPI platform in the country, where we not only uplift and amplify the work of so many storytellers out there,

Projecting ahead in five years, I see JoySauce Network as say that getting acknowledgment like this means we’re working

Projecting ahead, where do you see the JoySauce Network in five years? What about in ten years?

TOGETHER to row in the same direction. Often times I feel like we work in isolation too much and we need to change that.

Again THANK YOU! Yes, it does. The Silver Telly, being nominated for best of web by GLAAD.org, and being named ‘Our Favorite Things’ by the Center for Asian American Media are all things we are humbled by, but also deeply inspired by as it does mean that we are on to something. We don’t think we are perfect and I as a CEO/founder will always see my own mistakes and failures very clearly, but getting these kinds of kudo’s on occasion fuels us to make more! I will take a moment to also this distinguished award feel like a sort of validation for all of your efforts in recognizing a usually overlooked community in Hollywood?

Award which you just took home for JoySauce Late Night! Does

Congratulations are also very much in order for the Silver Telly

Janice Min, and many others!

TV Nancy Yoon, former People and Us Magazine Editor in Chief

David Henry Hwang, the most visible Asian American on nightly up we will have America’s premier playwright and film producer

Creative Director Kiki Wolfkill… among many others. Coming

Ed Lu, Founder of #VeryAsian movement Michelle Li, XBox

Kwok, NASA Shuttle astronaut and 3 time Space Station member

Ware) as well as hit Fox TV Show Producer/Writer Miranda

We’ve had amazing musical artists like Hollis (or Hollis Wong far and, looking ahead, which guests do you have lined up for future episodes?

Who have you had on as guests on JoySauce Late Night so universe’ of talented, funny, beautiful, and strong American Asians, what would happen if we took this format and refactored it with ALL AANHPI faces?? Sounds super simple but the IMPACT of it on those watching is quite emotional and uplifting. created by, hosted by, and targeted to a majority white audience and it’s worked really well. I thought if JoySauce was a ‘parallel

Second, my own career as Chairman and co-founder of GeekWire has normalized me to being on stage often, asking provocative questions of various CEO’s, celebrities, etc. I have always wanted to try a more variety show format where we let our hair down a bit and in doing so, inspire others to show their full selves to the world. Let’s not always hide behind our professional masks. What’s more interesting and ultimately humanizing is to bring the full beautiful spectrum of our humanity to the forefront!

We’ve had many viewers tell us they feel like they’ve finally arrived!

Late Night. One is that the late night talk show is arguably the last bastion of traditional white media. It has always been

THANK YOU! I would say 2 distinct things inspired JoySauce

JoySauce Late Night! What sort of things and people inspired this new and fun talk show?

And speaking of programming, major kudos on the talk show

I think famous AAHHPI writer and sex advice expert Anna Lee said it best; “JoySauce breaks all molds of Asian American media. They focus on celebrating the parts of Asian American narratives that we don’t shine the light on nearly enough: the silliness, quirkiness, and most importantly, the joy in our stories… something that is so near and dear to my heart as some who grew up in a culture where we weren’t allowed to see ourselves in that light. I really believe JoySauce is changing how we and the future generations of Asian Americans see ourselves in media. I’m so grateful to be a part of it!”

For anyone tuning in to the JoySauce Network for the very first time, what can they expect as far as programming goes?

I have an answer that sounds like I am trying to be flip but there is a lot of truth to it, which is; “it’s because we’re all too busy being doctors and lawyers!” I think when you are underrepresenting yourself as media execs or writers or film directors, the consequences are that our stories are not told. There have been some amazing noble efforts in the past, but critical mass requires a consistent and sustainable quorum of like minded folks all working TOGETHER to make it happen, and that is what JoySauce stands for as a platform. Let’s make it both an ethos and a foci for people to congregate around.

With the welcome advent of JoySauce Network, why do you feel it has taken as long as it has prior to your launch to shine a good and proper spotlight on the AAPI community?

Growing up I felt like I always needed to, on occasion, see faces that looked like mine. There was a huge vacuum of AANHPI faces post death of Bruce Lee and before the current awareness where there really was nobody, besides one or two isolated examples. Often these examples were not flattering and a source of pain. It sounds silly but I would sometimes see more mainstream actors like Johnny Depp on the original 21 Jump Street, or Keanu Reeves in Bill & Ted, or Dean Cain in Superman & Lois, and remark; “hey, is that guy…Asian?” I guess things were so bad that I would take any form of it. In more recent times I still felt the same, and while there are more stories about AAPI experiences, I still felt there was an opportunity to focus on what I call an “American Asian” experience like the one that I and my friends grew up with. It’s hard to explain but for those of us born and raised here (perhaps second or third generation), we identify a little differently than folks who are more recent immigrants. And while inter-generational trauma is a real thing, we tend to be more drawn to uplifting, inspiring, and more lighthearted fare and that is what JoySauce is more centered on.

Major congratulations on the freshly-minted launch of your brilliant new media platform JoySauce Network and the talk show JoySauce Late Night! Starting from the top, what inspired you to launch the JoySauce Network?

The African people are inspiring in the way they live and take care of family.

I’ve had the best summer ever! JoySauce is doing just phenomenal and we’re on the cusp of some even bigger things that impact our ability to reach millions of households every night. On a more personal side I went to Africa for the first time and there is something amazing about being right in the midst of the cradle of mankind, that is both humbling and super inspiring.

Q&A rabbit hole, how has the summer of ‘23 been treating you?

Before we dive down the proverbial ‘Larry Sanders’

TV Show host Jonathan Sposato; greetings and salutations, Jonathan!

We’re excited to be speaking today with acclaimed Late Night

In addition, let’s not as a group always take ourselves so seriously. Yes narratives about intergenerational trauma need to be told, but let’s see if we can create more space and move forward, and have a hell of a lot of fun doing it!

Asian ‘Tom Hanks’ or ‘Amy Schumer’, reasonably ‘average’ folks who are allowed to enter into ANY space (action, standup, drama, rom-com, etc..), then we’ve truly arrived.

I would love to see more AANHPI stories that are NOT requiring exceptionalism, where either someone is a martial arts expert, imbued with ancient mystical powers, or is ineffably exotic… I would love to see our real true and beautiful selves reflected more. When there is an American

Haha, I would love to see more ‘mediocrity.’ More accurately ours to not follow the prevailing trending topic of the day, or to accommodate the ‘calling out’ that often happens in editorial spaces for underrepresented communities.

Outside of JoySauce Network and independent of your own efforts, what else would you like to see in regards to proper representation for the AAPI Community?

The more I know the more I realize I am not that good! I think the one singular thing that has persisted throughout my entrepreneurial journey is knowing when to stretch far beyond your comfort zone. It would have been very easy to just create a news site for AANHPI’s, or a single show about our history, or any derivation of things I’ve done before. But we have been clear eye-ed and committed to our level of ambition and I honestly feel nothing great happens until you do that. So that’s what has helped.

You’re counted as being a visionary entrepreneur. Has that talent and skill given you a leg up when it comes to successfully launching the JoySauce Network?

That work IS very important but there are plenty of other folks doing a great job of that, so we strive to differentiate by creating new conversations and more importantly, be solution oriented.

Second, we lead the conversations, not follow. It’s a goal of universe where portrayals of American Asians are always flattering, strong, beautiful, surprising, funny, and nuanced. not interesting to focus on conventional success. I almost consider that “V1 Asian.” It’s important for us to get a leg up and get established. What JoySauce is more interested in is what happens after that, how are we growing, expanding, experimenting, and challenging ourselves and others? So JoySauce Network will always focus on creating a parallel

Great question. Several key things here; I think our unique editorial POV is one. We are always finding the more delightful and fun angle on the AANHPI experience. It’s the myriad of other networks out there? What’s the one thing that you feel will keep people coming back for more?

What do you feel distinguishes the JoySauce Network from not a monolithic entity and even the diversity within us is beautiful and amazing. We hope to continue to shine the light on previously marginalized groups within us and tell their inspiring stories as well. We will also do so in our own uniquely delightful and fun ways. Humor, love, and joy always win. You build bridges with positivity, not the opposite.

Mob Land is a brutal southern neo-noir that follows a desperate small town drag racer (Shiloh Fernandez) who robs a pill mill. Things turn violent, setting off a chain reaction that leads to a New Orleans mob-enforcer (Stephen Dorff) coming to town to clean up. All while the town’s

Major congratulations on the freshly-minted new film Mob Land which just premiered on VOD August 25! For anyone not yet in the know, can you describe what Mob Land is all about?

Thanks for all your kind words! Right before the summer, I wrapped SAW X and jumped onto another movie–LD Entertainment’s Bone Lake–in Georgia with my good friend and director Mercedes Bryce Morgan. This was our second collaboration together and a genuine joy to expand our visual language and friendship with a larger production. Since then, the summer’s been a chance to reconnect with the people I love and missed while I was away from home, and it’s afforded me the opportunity to hike up in the Redwoods and some of the great peaks of Southern California.

We’re excited to be speaking today with acclaimed cinematographer and all around nice guy, Nick Matthews; greetings and salutations, Nick! Before we dive into the celluloid Q&A rabbit hole, how has the pretty tumultuous summer of ‘23 been treating you?