This is very much a light, fun game show. But on some level, does it allow for a genuine study of the generational divide that exists in our society?
I think so. Of course, at the end of the day, it’s entertainment. We want people to have an easy watch, play along with their family. But I often get asked, “When you meet the contestants, isn’t it so obvious who’s gonna win? Of course, like, a Gen Z would win; they have TikTok and social media and all these things.” But actually, what the show has taught me is that you can’t judge someone by their generation. Every episode, I go out there and I make a guess about who’s going to win — and I’m usually wrong. So I would say that it has taught me to not put Boomers in a box or Gen Z in a box. Really, each individual is super-unique.
You got your start as a YouTuber, on the cutting edge of youth culture. But now, in your 30s, do you ever look out and think, “I’m drifting away from that culture?”
Umm . . . absolutely every day of my life [laughs]. Thank you so much for reminding me! Especially coming up on social media, yeah, of course. Gen Z — I was fully offended when they made fun of our skinny jeans and our side parts, you know what I mean? But now, a nice silver lining is Gen Z too is starting to feel old, because of the generation below them. What goes around comes around. I actually really like being in my mid-30s. I feel like I know myself better than I’ve ever known myself before . . . I don’t know if that’s just something “old people” say, but I feel pretty good about where I’m at.
Coming from free-wheeling, anything-goes internet platforms, what was it like transitioning into more conventional, rigid broadcast media?
On YouTube, I was the ultimate decision-maker. I was the legal team. I was the writer. I was kind of everything. And then you step into a set with 100 people that each have very specific jobs and you’re like, “Oh, this is a whole new world” . . . In this format in particular, though, I feel like I can tap into more of what I was on social media — in the sense of being authentically myself. I truly get to banter with these contestants. And that’s why I was so adamant on having a live audience in season two, because I feel like it more so allows me to be myself. That’s the unfiltered version of myself. Out of everything I’ve done in my career, Battle of the Generations ranks pretty high in terms of me being able to be who I am and be me without a million filters — because other jobs, sometimes there’s a little bit of a guideline around what to do and how to be.
We’re seeing a lot more big movie stars like Elizabeth Banks and Alec Baldwin hosting game shows. In the past, that would’ve been a sign their career was tanking. Why has that faux pas changed?
I think it’s just that the entertainment industry has been forced into evolution. That’s in part by social media and streaming — those have uprooted the ways we think about content creation and distribution. It’s the same thing as, like, “Oh, if you’re a movie star, you can’t do TV shows.” None of those rules apply anymore, because streamers have changed the game, social media has changed the game. There are just less rigid rules in general — which is great. I think people should be allowed to explore and experiment and not be put inside a box . . .
Battle of the Generations airs Wednesday, July 2, on CTV
MEMORABLE ROLES:
The pride of Scarborough, Ontario, Lilly Singh has achieved global renown — while also maintaining ample ties to her home and native land. From humble roots as a YouTuber, in 2019 she took over for Carson Daly at NBC’s 1:30 a.m. post with A Little Late, which ran for two seasons. She’s also voiced characters in the Ice Age and Bad Guys animated franchises, starred in Disney+’s The Muppets Mayhem and judged Canada’s Got Talent.
CURRENT GIG:
These days, Singh emcees CTV’s Battle of the Generations, a quirky quiz show that finds Baby Boomers, Gen X-ers, Millennials and Gen Z-ers squaring off in a pop-culture free-for-all — the results of which often defy our expectations for who’s truly tapped into the zeitgeist.