-It is great to see you, buddy.
We met a few -- a few years ago. -Yes.
-And you also -- you know The Roots, as well.
-I do know The Roots.
Tariq, Amir. What's up, everybody?
-Yeah.
-Black Thought, what's happening? Stro.
Yeah, they worked on my first special.
-That's wild. It's almost like a whole family here.
-It is a family situation. You got a beard now.
You're copying me. It's beautiful.
[ Laughter ]
-I am, yeah, no. -Don't ever get an edge up
like Tariq, though. Like Black Thought.
Don't ever do it. -Don't do that.
-I don't think it's the look for you.
-No. -You should have the patchy --
It's nice. [ Laughter ]
-Thank you. I appreciate that.
Thank you very much. -And it adds all the layers.
Yeah. You, uh -- You said that you're a fan,
obviously, of "The Tonight Show" but also NBC
and "Saturday Night Live."
I didn't know you're a big "SNL" fan.
-I'm a huge "SNL" fan.
Like, when I first started stand-up,
I would imitate Chris Farley in class.
Like, that's where I would wear a little jacket
and just -- yeh yeh -- walk around like this.
[ Laughter ] And I met him.
I met him when I was 13 years old.
They had Planet Hollywood's grand opening.
You remember those? -Yeah.
-Didn't last long, but at least I got to meet Chris.
-That was a big deal. -That was a big deal.
-Stallone and Schwarzenegger. -Yeah, Stallone walks up,
and he's like, "Hey, yo, kid."
I'm like, "Get outta here Rambo."
[ Laughter ] I'm just --
I really was. I could care less.
Schwarzenegger's walkin' up, like, "Hey."
I was like, "Get outta here. You too."
-You just want to see...
-I just wanted to see the chubby guy I relate to so much.
[ Laughter ] -Yeah.
And I see him, and I shake his hands, and I wouldn't let go.
[ Laughter ] And I was like, "I love you!"
And he was like, "I love you, too!"
And I was like, "I love you more!"
And he was like, "Let go of my hand!"
[ Laughter ]
I was like, "Grb-rb-rb-rb-rb!"
And it was, like, the best moment of my life.
-The best thing ever. Look at you now, bud.
I gotta say, I want to talk about your show,
But also you're in the big new hit movie, "Black Adam,"
that's coming out, with The Rock.
Yeah, it's a big deal. [ Cheers and applause ]
-Yeah. -How is Dwayne doing?
We love Dwayne Johnson. -Do we love Dwayne Johnson?
-Yeah. Yeah, we love him. [ Cheers and applause ]
-We do? -We love Dwayne Johnson.
-We do. We love him! He's just so perfect.
-I know. -Just annoyingly perfect.
-He's the best. -Promoting everything
all the time, and we want it 'cause he's so good at it.
-Yeah. -Always just -- he's big --
I saw him. We were doing content days.
And he walks up and, "Mo, how you doing?"
I was like, "I'm doing good.
You're always out here promoting all this stuff.
Like, how good is it?" And he takes out a ZOA,
and he hands it to me, pop it open,
he's like, "Cheers." "Cheers."
And I drank it. I was like, "Man, this is
really delicious, and I don't feel any jitters
or anything like that. This is really outstanding."
And I look up, and there's a three-camera shoot.
I'm like, "I just do a free commercial for The Rock?"
[ Laughter ] -He's that good!
-He's a mad genius! -He's that good!
-Did I see a penny? -No.
-But I did get like nine cases of ZOA, though,
so I appreciate that. [ Laughter ]
-And you're in the movie, yeah. -[ Laughs ]
-Can we talk about "Mo," though? This is a big deal.
Streaming right now on Netflix. Inspired by your own life.
How close is it to your real life?
-It's really grounded in my experience coming to America
as a refugee, asylee, from a Palestinian background.
It's very grounded in that case.
I will say I'm not addicted to lean -- very important.
'Cause it's in the show. It's a big --
It's one of those layers in the show.
It's really important. I want that on blast, Quest.
You know what I'm saying? -You want everybody to know
that that's not you. You're not addicted, no.
-Yeah, Quest, he saw the show,
he's like, "I didn't know Mo was addicted to lean."
I'm not! [ Laughter ]
-I called you. -The show is about a refugee,
you know, trying to assimilate in America,
trying to feel seen and feel equal
to the person next to them.
It's a deeply personal story. It's never been done before.
-I read this today.
This is the first-ever American-made show?
-It's the first-ever show created by, starring
a Palestinian and showing
a Palestinian family on television.
So it's a really big deal. -Yeah, good for you, bud.
[ Cheers and applause ] -Thank you, man.
-Congratulations. That's awesome.
And I will say it's --
On Rotten Tomatoes right now, you're 100%.
Certified Fresh!
Certified Fresh! -Yeah.
-Congratulations. It's a great show.
-And another thing -- it was the first-ever
narrative sitcom to be filmed in Houston.
When we're such a big exporter of music --
Beyoncé, what's up? Hit me up.
-What do you mean hit you up? -And Lizzo --
-I just want to say hi. Jay-Z.
It's like, we're both from Houston.
We should know each other. -Okay, okay, yeah.
Yeah. [ Laughter ]
I want to show everyone a clip.
Here's Mo Amer in "Mo." Take a look at this.
-What you doing over at Lakewood?
-Oh, we're, uh, in a gospel, uh, choir.
-International. -Yeah.
Actually, showcasing the diversity of Houston.
-Yeah, diversity initiative.
I know that's one of those things.
Yeah, I got that e-mail. -Mm-hmm.
-Well, if you're a couple gospel singers,
why don't you, uh, sing a few hymns for me?
-Oh, yeah. Of course.
We can do that. -Yeah, yeah, yeah.
-We can do that. -[ Clears throat ]
Uh...
♪ Oh, precious is the flow... ♪ -♪ ...is the flow ♪
♪ That may seem white as snow ♪ -Yeah.
-♪ No other fount I know ♪
♪ Nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪
-Yeah. [ Laughter ]
-The flow? [ Laughs ]
-We tried. -Here's what --
Here's what's great. 'Cause it's funny,
but that is actually based on something
that happened in your real life. -Maybe. Uh...
[ Laughter ] No, it did.
The story came from -- I was driving this two-lane highway.
It was pitch black, and I was going to a gig.
And I missed the exit, so I make this very illegal U-turn.
And I realize I'm running out of space.
There's, like, a bayou right there.
So I put my car in reverse.
And this other car is screaming, coming at me, I was like,
"Oh, no!" and it just missed me,
and the car crashes into a ditch.
And I pull forward, I was like, "Oh, my God.
I'm such an idiot. I hope this person's okay,"
and they drive out of the ditch, and they park behind me.
I was relieved, and then he turned on his police lights.
[ Laughter ]
And I may or may not have pot in the car, you know?
[ Laughter ]
I'm a comedian. I'm sorry.
And the cop runs up to me,
and he's just irate. Understandable.
He's like, "What the hell's the matter with you?!
You're an idiot!" I'm like, "Yes, sir!
Yes, sir, I'm such a huge idiot!"
He's like, "You're a moron!"
I was like, "Couldn't agree with you any more."
[ Laughter ] "Such a moron!"
And then he knew that he was speeding
and he could've killed me. He was like, "Oh, man,
I don't know how -- I don't know how I didn't kill you."
I was like, "I know how." [ Laughter ]
It's 'cause of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.
That's how." [ Laughter ]
[ Speaking Arabic ] [ Cheers and applause ]
-And there you go. You turn it into a show.
-And I let it go. -Mo Amer, everybody.
His series, "Mo," is streaming now on Netflix.