EXCLUSIVE: Nikki Glaser bares all on how her reality TV show was born

Infectious energy. Two words but encapsulated in one person. E! Entertainment channel’s Daily Pop presenter, comedian, and reality star Nikki Glaser’s passion, affable demeanour and authenticity is contagious.

Glaser’s new reality show Welcome Home Nikki Glaser is all that, too. And that is how she wanted it. It’s a no-makeup, no frills, unscripted look at her life in St Louis, home, where she now spends most of her time. She keeps the bright lights of Hollywood as her ‘weekend job’.

Lockdown was the genesis of the concept.

Glaser said: “I went back to Saint Louis just to hang out with my family because I was scared during coronavirus. And then I just stayed. And then, while I was there, I realised how funny my parents were, how interesting my life was, being like this person who had a pretty good career in television and was still maintaining one, but also living in St Louis, a smaller kind of life that I never thought I would lead.”

But now, she said, she would not trade it in for anything.

The idea of creating her own reality show struck, and stuck. Glaser said that she consumes more reality television than scripted programming and after hosting the reality dating show FBoy Island last year, the idea of her own show became more appealing.

She said: “It got me thinking that I want to be on one. And the truth of the matter is, I have always wanted to be on a reality show because I just like being myself. I do not like acting as much as being myself. That is why I do podcasts. That is why I do stand-up comedy.”

Watch the full interview with Nikki Glaser here:

And Glaser’s comedy credentials are legion, her wit razor sharp.

Over the years she has roasted Alec Baldwin, appeared on Conan O Brien, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and two seasons on the reality contest Last Comic Standing. In 2016 she appeared in her first Comedy Central solo stand-up show Perfect followed by Banging’ on Netflix in 2019.

Glaser still tours comedy, and the narrative is woven into Welcome Home Nikki Glaser. And she is hilariously good at her craft.

Having cameras record almost every moment of your day is not everyone’s cup of tea.

Glaser said that it can be tough, but she loves it. She added: “I am more myself when I am on camera and I am more open, I am more honest, I am more willing to be ridiculous, to look silly, to look stupid. And it really was me trying to make a show and dispel any kind of perfection that public think about people who are successful on TV.”

And Glaser does just that.

” I really wanted to make an example for women that shows you do not have to look perfect all the time.”

She added that when audiences watch someone on television, they assume perfection. But she said, nothing can be further from the truth. It is all fake, she said.

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“I let people know that my legs are not tanned. That I’ve spray tan on my legs to a degree where it looks like I am murdered by Oompa-Loompas in my shower. It is all fake. And I wanted to make a show that really showed what I am really like. I am depressed, I am anxious. I am a little baby brat. Sometimes I am wholesome. I love my family. I sometimes hate my family. I am single. I want a boyfriend. Sometimes I do not want a boyfriend. I just wanted to show a real person because I realized, after a lot of self-work, that I am perfect the way I am.”

The reality television she grew up with was about as real as the fake eyelashes the stars wore. And she did not want to end up in a show like that.

Reality television just keeps on growing in popularity too. And Glaser believes that it is because people can identify with insecurities, chaos and the goings on in the real lives of others.

Glaser gets annoyed at people who call reality television fake.

She offers a reality check: “Breaking Bad is fake. The Wire is fake. Stop talking to me about your shows that you love. Those are actors reading lines written by other people. That is the fakest stuff I have ever heard. You know the Housewives reality shows. It is drama. But let me tell you, those women do not like each other, even though the drama on that show might be a little bit set up.

“It leads bleeds over to real life and it is real. And that is what we are looking for. Reality television is just honesty. And that is why I thought I need to get into the reality game because I cannot be anything but honest.”