Jo Koy on why Dubai audiences will see his Netflix special before anyone else

The comedian chats exclusively to DSCVR ahead of his Funny Is Funny World Tour show in Dubai on 3 September.

Third time is a charm for Jo Koy, who was meant to kick off his Funny Is Funny world tour in Dubai back in December 2021. Unfortunately, his show was postponed due to “unforeseen circumstances”. As for his rescheduled performance on May 14? Cancelled! This week the American stand-up comic will take to the stage at Dubai’s Coca-Cola Arena, promising that we’ll be the first to see new material from his Netflix special before it even airs. 

Thank you so much for joining DSCVR. How are you?

I am good, aside from my allergies. I’m better. I need some UAE sun in my life.

You are returning to Dubai on 3 September at the Coca-Cola Arena. Are you looking forward to being back in the UAE?

Oh, I can’t wait. I had fun last time. You know what sucks is that there were two times I had to cancel. But here’s a good thing. When I came, I was with my son. So that was good. That made it a lot of fun, to be able to experience Dubai with my son. So now we’re coming back, and I get to perform. And of course, my son’s coming again, because he’s addicted.

It’s third time lucky for you after a couple of cancellations. How does it feel to finally be able to get on the stage?

Oh, I can’t wait, man. I love seeing the arenas now and seeing so many people. Two years ago that was unheard of, and people were like, that may never happen again. I was like, it better happen again! And it’s happening! People are comfortable and people are having fun. And it’s just an experience that we have all missed. Not just me. We all missed being in those types of environments. 

It was a little strange for a while having to go to the concerts where you were sort of sat socially distanced from people, obviously because you had to stay safe.

Yeah. It was kind of depressing to be honest. I’m not going to candy-coat anything. It was very, very depressing and not fun. And now, we all love it that much more. I mean that as a fan too, you know, going to a couple of playoff games with my son, nothing beats that feeling when you have that interaction with people in the audience.

What do Dubai and the UAE itself mean to you?

One thing the UAE does provide is things for the family, things for everybody. You go to Las Vegas and it’s very specific. They try and make it family-friendly and it’s like, all right, let’s get to the nitty gritty. Do you know what I mean? It’s drinking and gambling. But you go to the UAE, and they go out of their way to provide everything for everyone as much as they can. And not only provide it but go above and beyond. I pet my first penguin at a mall with my son. Like what? I didn’t have to go to the North Pole. I just went to Foot Locker, and here I am taking a picture with a penguin. Those are cool things. Some people may never see that in their lifetime. I got to ski in there too.

Let’s talk about your new Netflix movie Easter Sunday. How did it come about and what has been the reaction so far?

I always say this story. My mother has lived in America for 53 years. She pays her taxes, goes to work, comes home, and turns on the TV for entertainment. Yet, for 53 years, she’s never seen a representation of herself on the screen. She’s never seen anybody that looked like her or sounded like her. It’s almost like she doesn’t exist. And that’s what this movie meant to me. To provide that opportunity for other Filipino actresses and actors to share their voices. Some with accents, some without accents, whatever the case may be. It’s like, these are humans that live where I’m from.

You get to go to the movies for the first time and experience that. When it’s all said and done, it’s just a family being a family. It doesn’t matter what ethnicity you are. It doesn’t matter if you’re Filipino, black, Mexican or Korean – it doesn’t matter. A mum is a mum, a son is a son, and a family is a family. And that’s what this movie is all about. We just need more movies like that. And that’s what I took away from that movie.

I think a lot of it stems from how misrepresented Asians were for so many years. When you were a kid, you would watch cartoons of Asians being depicted in cartoons, and they’re buck-toothed and wearing big glasses and oh yeah, there’s the accent. That can’t happen anymore. You know, we have got to take that to the next level and represent our cultures strongly.

I was reading somewhere that you had some struggles getting the movie over the line and for people to invest in it.

The hardest part is selling your story and convincing people that your story is important. But when you get one person with enough clout to make things move, it’s a blessing. We were very blessed to have Steven Spielberg on this project because when you have Hollywood saying, “I wanna make this happen.” It was over with. The minute Steven came onboard, it was smooth sailing. From the minute he said, “I wanna make your movie”, to me talking to you right now. It happened that fast.

Let’s talk a little bit about the show in Dubai. What can people expect?

This is my hour special that I’m dropping for Netflix on 13 September. So, once it drops, it’s done. I’m never ever doing that routine again! That hour is gone. I will never do it.  You watch any of my specials and if you come to see me live. You will go, “oh, he didn’t do any of those jokes.” That’s because comedy is completely different from any other art form. If you’re a musician, you can literally tour your album for ten years and sing it live. And people will keep coming back to hear you sing it live. People like to listen to it live.  You can’t do that with comedy. You need the element of surprise. And not only that, people would be like, “Hey man, I could have watched that for free on Netflix. Why’d you charge me for this?” So yes, the minute this airs, it’s done. Dubai gets to see it before anybody else.

Whilst you’re here in Dubai, what will you be doing?

My son is coming with me again. So, I think there are a couple of things that we didn’t get to do last time that we want to do. We want to go out. I forgot what it’s called, but it’s the world’s deepest swimming pool. And then he’s talking about skydiving. But I’ve reached an age where I’ve made it. I’m good where I’m at, and I don’t think I should risk it.

DSCVR: Jo Koy at the Coca-Cola Arena on Saturday, 3 September. Coca-Cola Arena, City Walk, Al Wasl, Dubai. @jokoy