Lilly Singh was one of the few online stars popular enough to cross over into Hollywood, attaining the rare goal of her own network talk show. But now that the show fizzled out and she's moved on to other projects, she's making a grand return to YouTube.
This relaunch is marked by her first skit video in almost five years, titled "My First Day Back at YouTube," which posted Thursday, Oct. 15.
"I think being in that system for a while has made me feel restricted creatively," Singh tells USA TODAY, adding, "I feel like we don't prioritize joy enough, and this is something that brings me so much joy. I love dressing up as characters. I love situational comedy. I love just bringing my brain babies to life."
The multi-hyphenate creative built a following
of over 33 million followers across social media with her observational comedy in the 2010s. She made skits with titles like "What Clubbing is Actually Like," "Back to School Shopping with Cheap Parents" and "When Your BF Starts Acting Different Around His Friends."
These videos paved the way for her NBC late-night show in 2019, "A Little Late With Lilly Singh," replacing Carson Daly at 1:30 a.m. It ran for two seasons but suffered from low ratings. As she explained in a 2025 interview on "The Julia Cunningham Show," she felt she was set up to fail because she had to film 96 episodes on a tight budget in just three months.
Singh didn't have much say about her talk show, but since then she has expanded her business to include roles in television and movies, including a 2025 feature film she also produced and co-wrote, "Doin' It."
While she respects Hollywood as a business, she recognizes its limitations, which is one reason she's returning to YouTube.
When she was an online star, "I was just like sitting alone in my room creating, and then [in Hollywood] it would go to all these gatekeepers, and I would get all these notes." That system, she says, is fine, but it only works for her if she can honor her authentic voice and point of view.
The 38-year-old shot her first new video over the weekend, and she snapped right back into her online persona while on set. She is bringing back fan-favorite characters, but the content will be more grown-up. "It's not back-to-school videos anymore," Singh says. "It might not be about my first crush anymore. But it's going to be about like the stuff I'm going through, and me and my friends are going through today."
"The world, for better or for worse, unfortunately, but fortunately for content creators, continues to kind of be a dumpster fire of issues," she says. "So yes, you'll definitely get women's issues … [But also] you'll definitely get thematic videos around holidays, Halloween, Christmas, etc."
Singh isn't putting pressure on herself. "I'm in a really privileged position. When I used to make videos consistently, I was trying to make a name for myself and pay bills. Having moved to L.A., I was trying to build an audience," she explains.
"I'm in a very different place now," she adds. "I feel I don't have to stress as much about like this video hitting this many views or doing this for me because I do have a full career that I'm very confident in, and I actually think that will allow me to be creative in a new way when it's not coming from a place of pressure and anxiety, but it's coming from a place of play."
In addition to her YouTube comeback, her Hollywood ambitions, and continuing to own two sports teams, the WNBA's Toronto Tempo and the women's soccer team Angel City FC, she says her goal in life moving forward is simple: "Everything I do is tied to being a South Asian baddie."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lilly Singh explains what inspired her YouTube comeback | Exclusive
