Davis native and comedian Hasan Minhaj joins award-winning show

Davis native and popular comedian Hasan Minhaj has landed a recurring role on the second season of “The Morning Show,” joining A-list stars like Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carell, according to several media reports.

Minhaj will play “Eric,” a charismatic star who joins the “The Morning Show” program, which airs on Apple’s streaming service. The show has won multiple Emmy and Golden Globe awards and portrays a fictional TV news program set in New York.

Apple TV describes the show as an “unapologetically candid drama that looks at the modern workplace through the lens of the people who help wake America up.”

Minhaj most recently hosted his own weekly Netflix show, “Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj.” In that show, the award-winning comedian reflected on life in Sacramento, his alma mater UC Davis, and the Sacramento Kings. The show won a Peabody Award and an Emmy for outstanding motion design, but was canceled in August after it streamed for six seasons.

Minhaj came to fame when he worked as a correspondent on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” and later hosted the 2017 White House Correspondents Dinner, the first year in President Donald Trump’s presidency, which notably Trump did not attend.

Minhaj also released his own award-winning comedy special, “Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King,” which was filmed in Davis and focused on Minhaj’s experience growing up Indian-American and Muslim in a largely white community.