Google TV: Watch With Me - Hasan Minhaj

Panoptica director Samuel Miron recently directed Google TV’s 'Watch With Me.' Google TV is an entertainment experience that brings together movies & TV from across your streaming services making it easy to find and discover new entertainment to watch. 'Watch With Me' is an ongoing series that spotlights entertainers, artists, and cultural icons, sharing the shows and movies that have influenced them and their careers. Working with agency Cashmere, the series gives a behind-the-scenes look into these celebrities' stories inspiring viewers with a curated watchlist of shows and movies that can be accessed on Google TV. The celebrities who were tapped to contribute to 'Watch With Me' were asked to reveal not just their personal favourites, Samuel notes, but also influential titles they feel everyone should watch, “either because they’re important and carry an impactful message or because they’re simply so entertaining we’d be fools not to. And it was interesting, as our interviews unfolded, to see how often these categories overlapped, how the best of the best films and shows affect us personally, have an impactful message, and are undeniably fun to watch.” In one episode, actress and LGBTQ advocate Laverne Cox gives us an inside look at the passions and inspirations that have fuelled not only her career as an actor but also her own personal voyage as a transgender Black woman. In the five-minute film, Laverne ponders and shares just what her Watchlist says about her, as she recounts her favourite Whoopi Goldberg role and other hit features and TV series that have each impacted her in different ways. Acclaimed comedian Hasan Minhaj’s Watchlist selections reflect his own experiences growing up as a first-generation American-Muslim, pointing to TV shows and movies that influenced his life and career, as well as a Chris Rock stand up special, which inspired him to become a comedian. In another episode, actor Simu Liu (Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings) shares his love for musicals, and their power to transport viewers into a different world. He also shares his acting inspirations and expresses his desire to push the Asian American lived experience in more meaningful ways.