Whenever I did sitcoms, that always happened on your show. Once the show was on the air, it takes on a life of its own. It develops, and it becomes something else.

You have to stay alert. You've got to keep raising your game.

I'm not trying to prove anything for the right or the left. Which gives me freedom to make jokes about either side, too.

I'm too tired most of the time. Why do I have to take a stand on everything? Sometimes, I'm just not mad at it.

I just believe what I believe.

My father was in law enforcement growing up. He was a probation officer. And I've always understood the point of view of the peace officer, you know, because of my dad.

I'm not a homosexual, but if I can be an ally for that issue, I think it's fantastic.

'The Daily Show,' at its core, is the answer to the nightly news.

I always compartmentalized so many different things.

I was an athlete, so I hung out with the jocks. I was smart, so I hung out with the nerdy kids. I was also into theater, so I hung out with the misfits... So I was always in different groups, and those groups never quite overlapped. The racial part of it was just another one of those groups, in one sense.

I don't have that kind of Southern experience of the fire-and-brimstone preacher type of thing. Certainly not in my comedy.

It used to be that the black comic figure had to have this bravado and always showed strength.

The fact that we live in a world where black people have to strategize so they're not brutalized by police is insane.

It was the Cosby issue that made me realize how much I really cared about women's issues and how much I realize it's important for me to be an advocate for issues that aren't necessarily my own, to be an ally for issues.

I'm not going to grouse and complain when there's nothing I can do about it. Once you've broken up with somebody, arguing with them is not going to bring them back. You may want to stop their Twitter account or call them up late at night, but they made the decision to leave.

People aren't autonomous creatures. They're under a lot of pressure themselves.

It's really not my thing to go after what comedians are doing. Because I always feel like we're jesters at the end of the day.

I'd rather go after the people who are the guardians or what we're doing - the news people and the politicians and that sort of thing. I always feel like those should be my targets, not really entertainers. That's just my personal opinion.

You are always, always overwhelmed by positive response because you know it can go either way.

'Westworld' is bizarre. I don't know what to think of 'Westworld.'

We will see about Obama's legacy. I still think the historical nature of his candidacy will be the biggest part of his legacy.

My joke is that three black people watch 'The Daily Show' at any given time. So if I'm watching it, that counts, and there's only two left. It's a silly joke, but you know, different types of comedy reach different cultures.

I like 'The Nightly Show.' People ask me what it is, and I say, 'If you're watching 'The Daily Show,' and it feels like it's getting a little darker, you're probably watching 'The Nightly Show.''

Maybe I'll write an episode of 'Black-ish' about a guy being fired in late-night.

I have this rule. It's called 'Top Dog-Underdog:' Underdog gets to make fun of Top Dog, but Top Dog can't make fun of Underdog. But you know what? You get Top Dog, you get to be Top Dog. Congratulations! And that dynamic happens not just in race but in many different ways. It's like the male-female dynamic.

I didn't get into comedy to talk about violent death all the time.

The thing that's worked for me is having as much of a connection to the material as possible. And sometimes the material requires a more straightforward approach, and sometimes it requires a little more silliness, you know?

I set out to have a diverse staff on the 'Bernie Mac Show.'

I've always watched the political shows.

All writers have a love-hate relationship with writing. Performing is fun, too, but I wouldn't say it's my favorite. But the most fulfilling is producing.

I'd love to set up shop somewhere and develop projects - film, TV, digital would be a fun thing to do.

I really love storytelling.

I'm actually a big fan of having all the different types of voices on television. I think it gives people a nice little buffet that they can just pick and choose how they want to get their news and entertainment, I guess.

I love the word 'dearth,' by the way. It's one of my favorite words.

When you work in television, you're in the writer's room all the time.

Not everybody's gonna get your vision.

You never know in TV - sometimes you're on at the wrong time at the wrong place. Sometimes you don't get a chance to catch on.

I do not look to Hollywood to give me character clues.

As long as you say I'm the guy who's real about it, I have no problem being the person who people look to to talk about race.

Richard Pryor was my hero. Richard Pryor was keeping it 100.

I always said I'm not disappointed with Obama because I voted for him because he was black, and as long as he kept being black, I was a happy man.

Any voting group has an interest that they want from politicians. That's why politicians have to talk to different people. But to reduce the black interest to free stuff is so insulting. It just makes me apoplectic.

My white counterparts are always pushing the line, and they are fearless, so why can't I do that, too?

I don't think I ever intend to provoke outrage, but I don't mind being provocative in content.

You never want to defend a joke. People get to choose whether or not to laugh and whether or not they think something is funny.

When most people become president, even if you disagree with their ideology, you can still agree that they would have the competence to run something... With Trump, I do not have the confidence of that at all.

I really don't have a need to be on TV all that much, to be honest with you.

I'm understated in my approach.