'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Zarna Garg, a stand-up comedian, award-winning screenwriter, and former lawyer, is bringing her comedy chops to Amazon Prime Video. The streaming service is launching her inaugural comedy special, Zarna Garg: One in a Billion, globally on Tuesday, May 16.
The one-hour special was filmed last September at the Gramercy Theatre in New York City and features Garg's tough-love Indian-immigrant mom in full flight. The comedian spent years honing her act in her living room in front of family and has amassed over 100 million views on TikTok in the past few years.
With over a half-million followers on both Instagram and TikTok, she is currently on tour performing stand-up from coast to coast over the next two months. Garg was featured in last year's Apple TV+ series Gutsy, hosted by Hillary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton. She also won the 2021 Ladies of Laughter Award.
Off stage, her screenplay Rearranged was an Academy Nicholl semifinalist and won the Best Comedy Prize at the Austin Film Festival. The coming-of-age romantic comedy was picked up by Marginal Mediaworks CEO and founder Sanjay Sharma in early 2020, who is collaborating with Attic Light Films' Milan Chakraborty to bring it to the big screen.
Who is Zarna Garg?
Born in Mumbai and raised in a traditional Gujarati family, Garg eventually managed to immigrate to the US at the age of 16, where she joined her sister and sister's family.
She went to college and law school in the US and eventually became a lawyer. She left her legal career after the birth of her first child and tried stand-up comedy at the urging of her daughter, who thought she had a humorous side. The comedian explained to SEEMA two years back:
"I couldn't think of a smart, romantic comedy written by an Indian woman and thought I may be able to fill that space."
Garg's success in writing comedy led her to test her jokes on live audiences. In her early days as a stand-up comedian, she took jokes from her hit screenplay and weaved them into her act. She began with open mics but soon evolved to producing her own shows. Garg performs for sold-out audiences at top clubs across the US, with "Sari, Not Sorry" being one of her celebrated shows. It was featured in Broadway and several other venues and platforms. My American Dream is her debut show at Amazon Prime Video.
Many of Garg's jokes are aimed at presenting the South Asian immigrant experience, and it seems that this is her niche. She also displays the courage to publicly take on her mother-in-law. She began with shows targeting an Indian audience at parks and subways but soon became an online sensation during the pandemic.
With her experience and popularity, Garg is among the minuscule number of female Indian comedians across the globe. Zarna Garg: One in a Billion is produced by Amazon Studios and Comedy Dynamics. Garg, Brian Volk-Weiss, and Cisco Henson serve as executive producers along with Christina Shams, Cameron S. Mitchell, and Brinda Bhatt.
Zarna Garg: One in a Billion premiers on Prime Video on May 16, 2023.
