Comedian Jim Jefferies will take on politics -- and the world -- in new late night show
Late-night TV has become the go-to forum for political humor.
But comedian, actor and writer Jim Jefferies is promising to shake up the genre with a convention-busting new series for Comedy Central where he'll hunt out hypocrisy in this country and around the world, reports CBS News correspondent Jamie Wax.
Edgy, brash and always political, Jefferies doesn't shy away from controversy.
When asked whether the current political environment is a gold mine, or more difficult to navigate, Jefferies said, "It's a gold mine in the sense that -- it's easy, you know. But that easy isn't always good, because easy means everyone's doing it. It's harder when you got, like, a guy -- like Obama who, in speeches, didn't stuff up that much, you know."
With the current president, it's a little different.
"With Trump, every man and his dog can do a, 'Ah, he said grab her by the p***y.' You know what I mean? Like, it's just easy just to say, 'Oh, that's a funny thing. Who would say that?'" Jefferies said.
The Australian comedian is known for taking hard stances. An anti-gun control routine of his went viral a few years ago.
Now, with his new late night show on Comedy Central, Jefferies plans to tackle more touchy subjects in a different way.
"We're doing international field pieces, which I'm doing all myself. I've been traveling around the world doing them," Jefferies said.
"I'm gonna do this more as -- my personal opinion piece, you know. I'm gonna say what I think rather than just this, that and the other. But I've got a skill of simplifying very complex subjects and making 'em more palatable," Jefferies explained.
Last month, CBS News caught up with him filming at the Azerbaijan Embassy.
Jefferies was born Geoffrey James Nugent in Sydney, Australia where he began performing on a very different stage.
"I had a small career as an opera singer before I was a comedian," Jefferies said. "I was in two operas for the Australian opera. I went up on stage the first time, and the guy introduced me as 'Godfrey Nugget' and I was like, 'All right, Godfrey Nugget.' And I thought, 'This name's not gonna play.'"
On whether he's made peace with his opera singer past, he said, "Yeah, people always ask me to sing, just to prove if I can do it, and I really can't. I got vocal nodules. And they, they scraped 'em off and I remember I just couldn't talk, and I just sat there watching stand-up special after stand-up special after stand-up special. I think, maybe, the first thing I said when I could talk again was, 'I'm gonna be a stand-up comedian.'"
Since then, there have been pivotal moments that could have damaged his career, but instead helped shape it.
Jefferies' first viral video was of him getting punched on stage in 2007.
"I guess I do have -- a sense of -- opportunity about me, because the police asked me, when they caught him, they said, 'Do you want to press any charges?' And I said, 'Do we have it on tape?' and they said, 'Yes.' And I said, 'I will do just fine outta this, let him go.' Some people would be embarrassed by the idea of being punched in the face. For me, it felt like it would make you more notorious."
He took another hit, when his first TV show, "Legit," was dropped by FX after just two seasons.
"It was a huge blow to me when it got canceled, 'cause I believe it got canceled for the wrong reasons. I knew the show was gaining momentum," Jefferies said.
The show broke barriers with its portrayal of disabled characters and again Jefferies' fan base grew
"It was a very cute, heartfelt show that had some real laugh-out-loud moments," he said, "I'm still very proud of everything I did on it."
As the 40-year-old comic continues to evolve, his tone keeps changing.
"I don't feel challenge keeping the edge. If I've softened, that hasn't been because of any level of fame, or anything. That's just with age, you know. You get to a stage where if it all ends now, I've done everything that I really wanted to achieve. Everything from now on is sort of icing on the cake."
"The Jim Jefferies Show" premieres this Tuesday at 10:30 p.m. on Comedy Central.
