Comedy is very much in vogue: Mark McKinney

He has tried his hand at comedy in successful shows like "Saturday Night Live" and is currently starring in the sitcom "Superstore", actor Mark McKinney says the time has never been more right for the light-hearted content.

The 57-year-old actor says thanks to popular show hosts like Jon Stewart, the common man has started to get well- versed with the news around him through comedy.

"People who did not know what was happening in the world started getting a dose in news thanks to Jon Stewart in a funny way. So, I think comedy offers such variety these days with so many channels producing (light) shows all the time. People are attracted and now understand that comedy can tackle world issues. It's very much in vogue," McKinney told PTI over the phone from Los Angeles.
 

The actor plays Glenn Sturgis, the manager of the big-box utility store and a father-figure to his staff on the comedy TV series "Superstore", which airs in India on Comedy Central.

"He's a Christian. He believes he has a view of his store that his colleagues are not his employees but are like his children. He is the father and takes care of them," he says.

McKinney says the USP about the Justin Spitzer-created show is that it deals with various situations in a believable manner.

"It is a fresh and smart comedy. It gets right in the middle of the current social debate in a very funny and realistic way because of American culture, in a way, has to travel through like people do in a superstore.

"What I like (about the show) is that it tackles with the situations and shows them in a way as messy as real life. It never projects the idealistic solution to a problem."

Recounting his almost three-season stint at "SNL", McKinney says it was a "fun experience" where he impersonated actor Jim Carrey in one of the sketches.

"I was in the same sketch with Jim Carrey where I was playing him and he was playing Hollywood icon, James Stewart. I would impersonate him in the rehearsals, where he would first laugh and then glare at me. But, I knew, he was just being funny," says McKinney.