SEATTLE — In 2022, Jonathan Sposato and his team made history as it launched the brand new entertainment media platform called JoySauce.
The network features scripted and unscripted shows, podcasts, and a late night talk show, hosted by Sposato. It's called "JoySauce Late Night."
"It's the very first 100% American Asian late night talk show where the writers are Asian, the host is Asian, and all the guests are Asian American. Even the musical numbers, the artists are Asian American. We are very proud of that," Sposato explained. "To just show the world that there are so many different kinds of Asian Americans doing so many kinds of different things. We are not just the cliche doctors, accountants, or lawyers."
And they aren't afraid to have fun while doing it! The show feels like a mix between Saturday Night Live and a daily late night show. Episodes are full of music, skits, and some celebrity guests. Sposato drew inspiration from what he wished he could have seen on television as a child.
"A lot of media when they focus on the Asian American experience, it's centered around some kind of trauma or intergenerational trauma and pain, and those stories need to be told," Sposato shared. "But I wanted to create some new space for more celebratory stories."
Stories like his own.
Jonathan came from humble beginnings to become a serial entrepreneur.
He co-founded the tech news site Geekwire, the photo editing and design company PicMonkey, and sold two other companies to Google.
He is the owner and publisher of Seattle Magazine and Seattle Business Magazine.
In speaking about JoySauce, he often uses the phrase American Asian, instead of Asian American.
"To say Asian American means you're sort of changing the center of gravity to the Asian part and what we all have in common is all of us, we call this place — America — home," Sposato explained. "My highest hope is maybe for the first time, people in the broader population might be like, 'Hey here's a group of people — they don't do martial arts, they're not crazy rich, they're not exceptional in some way and all brain surgeons. They're just ordinary Americans doing interesting things.'"