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Let ‘The Opposition’ commence – Metro US

Let ‘The Opposition’ commence

Jordan Klepper

Jordan Klepper’s desk has a prop vintage microphone, reminiscent of the McCarthy era, and stacks of earmarked printouts that hint at “crazed conspiracy theorist.” The background of the set for his new late night show, The Opposition with Jordan Klepper, which airs September 25, looks very much like the barrel of a gun. Which is decidedly on brand for this show.

The studio, situated between a rundown souvenir shop and a salon called Nail & Stuff, is located on the second floor in the Grand Ballroom, an anachronistic name for a space which now opens up onto a linoleum tiled, security enforced holding room, co​mplete with metal folding chairs.

But through the cattle-herding inspired audience-holding room is a happy surprise  — a sleek, spacious, set with a thoughtful design — a very happy surprise. (According to one Comedy Central representative, the studio was last home to Food Network’s Worst Cooks in America, and Klepper’s team had to work hard to upgrade not only the look of the studio, but also the smell.)

A former Daily Show correspondent, Jordan Klepper, 38, describes how the idea for the show spawned from his work interviewing Trump supporters at rallies during the 2016 election. He became fascinated with where these supporters were getting their information, and what exactly was defining their worldview.

Turns out it wasn’t traditional news.”[There are] other sources like InfoWars, Breitbart, The Blaze, internet sources, Facebook feeds,” he said. “Ways in which they could go into the internet and get the stories that they wanted fed back to them.”

He found that those nontraditional outlets were fueling the alt-right landscape. And naturally, he wanted to shed light on this arena through comedy. The Opposition intends to answer the question, “What if an alt-right, anti-mainstream a was given a late night talk show?”

Before you write off Klepper’s induction into the white-man-hosting-another-late-night-show hall of fame, the series promises  a clear idea of how it will separate itself from the ever-expanding buffet of satirical comedy shows. Its cast of characters will be sure to entertain, subvert, and hopefully enlighten their audiences.

And that’s perhaps the most exciting aspect of the series: the diverse talent represented in the cast of “citizen journalists.” Hailing from improv and sketch comedy backgrounds, Tim Baltz, Kobi Libii and Nicole Thurman (all from Second City) will be joined by Laura Grey, Josh Sharp, and Aaron Jackson (hailing from Upright Citizens Brigade). Each citizen journalist will bring a different archetype from the alt-right to life: from fame-hungry provocateurs to thrill-seekers to beta-alpha males (a term delightfully coined by Baltz).

TL;DR? If you like laughing as the world burns, if you like Klepper’s work on the Daily Show and want to see his character enhanced with an bigger blind spot, “a dash of paranoia, and a lot of over-confidence,” hold onto your guns and/or pride flags and get thee ready for The Opposition. Maybe it’s just what our country needs right now.