D.L. Hughley insisted on one perk when he negotiated the contract for the new NBC television show, “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.”
No weekends. He needed that time to perform stand-up comedy.
“Stand-up is my first love,” Hughley said via cellphone, while taking publicity photos for his new series. “I see something happen in my life, I get to go on stage and talk about it right then. It’s so much more immediate than anything else.”
Hughley, 43, performs five stand-up shows this weekend at Comedy Works. The Los Angeles native started stand-up after a rough childhood – Hughley was a member of the Bloods, the notorious L.A. gang. But his stage presence came naturally, and he rose through the comedy ranks, eventually netting a sitcom, “The Hughleys.” In 2000, Hughley was featured in the documentary film “The Original Kings of Comedy.”
“This is certainly the most challenging thing I’ve ever done in my life,” Hughley said of “Studio 60.” “It’s a drama in that it’s a realistic view at what life is like behind a sketch-comedy show.
“But it’s more of a hybrid to me because it has the weight of a drama but the cadence of a sitcom,” he said. “It’s the best thing I’ve ever read.”
Still, Hughley reserves time for stand-up.
Much of Hughley’s routine centers on current events, and many times that means politics. He occasionally appears on HBO’s “Real Time With Bill Maher” and generally offers a left-leaning perspective.
Some topics on Hughley’s mind – immigration, English as an official language and the World Cup.
“A nation full of immigrants wants to keep other immigrants out,” Hughley said. “I don’t think people are worried about terrorists; the country’s just getting too brown. To many ‘cans’ – Africans, Jamaicans, Mexicans. We need more ‘ish’ – British, Irish, Jewish.”
His take on an official language: “If English was the official language of the country, would your life change tomorrow? No. Gas would still be $4 a gallon. And when it gets to $5 a gallon, we’re all going to be using the same language, anyway.” (Insert your expletive of choice.)
On the World Cup: “When people of this country watch the World Cup, we see the entire world engaging in one thing. But we’re (bad) at it, so we don’t care. I mean, we have a World Series, and we’re the only country in it. It’s the team from L.A. versus the team from Colorado. That’s our World Series.”
Hughley denies being politically invested and insists he just lampoons the ironies of current events.
“Not since the Vietnam War has the country been so torn,” Hughley says. “And at that time, comedians used a lot of material from that because the backdrop was the political turmoil. That’s what I see. I don’t know that I really care about politics. I see them as ironic and a great source of material.”
Staff writer Scott Lieber can be reached at 303-820-1694 or at slieber@denverpost.com
D.L. Hughley
STAND-UP COMIC|Comedy Works, 1226 15th St.; 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., Friday; 6:30 p.m., 8:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Saturday|$35|through Comedy Works at comedyworks.com
