Nicole Byer interview: ‘Nailed It’ and ‘Big Beautiful Weirdo’
Nicole Byer is a three-time nominee at the 2022 Emmys, for hosting and producing the competition series “Nailed It” and for writing her variety special “Nicole Byer: BBW (Big Beautiful Weirdo).” She was previously nominated for Emmy Awards in 2020 and 2021, so does this year’s recognition still give her the same thrill? “It’s always really nice when people are saying, ‘Your work is good and we like it and we think it deserves to be recognized,'” the comedian tells me, adding that she’s “very proud” of both Netflix projects. Watch our exclusive video interview above.
As the nominated host of “Nailed It,” Byer gets to choose one episode to submit to Emmy voters and she went with the Season 6 premiere, “Im-Paw-sible Cakes.” Why did she choose this installment, which featured a dog theme and guest host Wayne Brady? “It was one specific joke,” she reveals, referring to when Brady mentioned how “white people don’t like ashy cookies” after a contestant put cocoa butter in her mix. When co-judge French chocolatier Jacques Torres claimed that he didn’t “get it,” Byer laughed “really, really hard” in response.
Byer readily admits that she loves how “Nailed It” attracts an audience of all ages, noting, “It’s a testament to being able to transcend generations. I also like to think that it legitimizes how funny I am ’cause kids tell you the truth.” She then laughs, “A bunch of kids think I’m pretty funny, so any adults who don’t think I’m funny, you’re wrong!”
Behind the scenes, Byer says Torres is “truly a delight” to be around and is “one of the nicest people I’ve ever met.” The host also goes into how the show’s assistant director Weston Bahr originally started appearing on camera. “The first season, we didn’t know who was gonna bring out the trophy,” she recalls, “so our director at the time was like, ‘Wes can just bring it out, so call for Wes,’ and I was like, ‘Okay, Wes!'” And the rest is history.
SEE 2022 Emmy nominations: Complete list of contenders for 74th Primetime Emmys
Switching gears to her “Big Beautiful Weirdo” comedy special, Byer explains how she picked that name. “I was running through titles and … I was stuck on the B’s, and in porn BBW is a Big Beautiful Woman, and I was like, ‘Why not use that but change Woman to Weirdo because I am a little weird?’ I think it describes me really well, where it’s a little salacious but then it’s just an adorable title.”
Byer filmed the program in New York, the city where her comedy background began. “I love New Yorkers,” she proclaims. “They’re the best crowds. They’re willing to go weird with you, take whatever turns you want to take. But it did feel like this beautiful full-circle moment because it’s where I started doing improv and I was living in New York when I started doing stand-up. So it just felt really nice.”
