Padma Lakshmi pivots to comedy after Top Chef

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https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv...ef-1235879514/

Lakshmi is in a "period of professional uncertainty" following 17 years as host of Top Chef and with the future of her Hulu food docuseries Taste the Nation up in the air. ?So she's embracing comedy, Helen Rosner writes in a wide-ranging The New Yorker profile of Lakshmi. That includes trying to sell a scripted comedy series that she's developing with Freaks and Geeks creator and Bridesmaid director Paul Feig. Lakshmi wouldn’t disclose much about the project, except to say "it's hard comedy.” "Lakshmi’s interest in comedy is not new, nor is her desire to shake up her public perception," writes Rosner, pointing out that she's hosted “Padma Puts on a Comedy Show" in New York City since 2018. Asked if she was good at improv, Lakshmi said: “Yes, because I enjoy it. There’s no failure in improv—there’s comedy even in that tension or that discomfort. At least, that’s my attitude right now.” Lakshmi drew a comparison between doing comedy and hosting. “It’s about facilitating the conversation, and you want to move the scene,” said Lakshmi. Comedian Ali Wong, one of Lakshmi's friends and boosters, says of the former Top Chef host: “She’s smart, she’s cultured, she’s gorgeous. She’s your worst nightmare.” Last fall, Lakshmi played herself in SNL's "Chef's Show" sketch. Her goal is to return as an SNL host. “I got really great feedback,” she said. “And I didn’t get any feedback from Lorne (Michaels), which, from him, is great feedback.” ALSO: Lakshmi went by the less "exotic" name of "Angelique" in high school to the disappointment of her mother.