Indian Call Center Guys appearing on
"Jimmy Kimmel Live" on Thursday night's show
My underground source, who is hidden away in a curry bar somewhere deep in India, told me today our favorite technical support guys are going to appear on Jimmy Kimmel Live again real soon. The likely air date will be Thursday night’s show, so set your Tivo, DVR and VCR to make sure you get it recorded.
In case you haven’t already discovered the Indian Call Center Guys, they are all the latest rage. We first ‘discovered’ them in the Metro PCS advertisements and they are everyone’s favorite new tech support guys. I actually look for their ads! Well, they weren’t on the air for all that long and Jimmy Kimmel picked them up. They are his new ‘outsourcing to India for jokes’ guys. Holy Shishkabob, they are hysterical.
I wonder what sage tidbit Jimmy will seek from the Call Center this time? Will Roger fail to deliver when he comes out of the back room and they go all “Slum Dog Millionaire” on his ass? Will there be a new expert? Will they do something entirely different and not be asked about jokes? I guess we will find out tomorrow night.
If all your recording devices fail, you will still be able to see it. After it airs, it will suddenly appear on youtube. Now, should I program the satellite dish to change the station for Kimmel or bump Craig Ferguson off my VCR program and replace it with Kimmel? Or can I get both Kimmel and Ferguson on the same night? I’d better get busy, my electronics await…
Could the Kimmel Call Center Guys Have a Spin-off in the Works?
LOS ANGELES – May 14, 2010 – After their debut performance on the ABC talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! was such a hit on April 13th, South Asian actors Anjul Nigam and Pramod Kumar have become a staple on the show, appearing no less than four times in one month. In fact, their skits posted on Youtube’s JimmyKimmelLive Channel, where each episode is segmented into sketches, have generated the most views for every night in which they have appeared on the show.
The ongoing setup is that Kimmel has outsourced a company in India for jokes for his show, and Nigam and Kumar portray two Indian men at the call center communicating via Skype, the online video-conferencing service. Nigam plays the main role, “Sandeep”, who fields the calls from Kimmel with immense enthusiasm and charisma, inevitably having to correct himself when he learns that it’s the talk show host on the line: “Sorry, Mr. Kimmy. Jimmy Kimmel Joke Hotline, how may I help you?” Kumar plays “Roger” who, inaccurately dubbed by Sandeep as the “Number One Joke Teller”, is given the duty of announcing the jokes that Kimmel has requested by reading them from a paper.
On the first episode with Nigam and Kumar, Kimmel mentions that his writers are tired of writing Tiger Woods jokes, so they’ve outsourced to a company in India. Kimmel Skypes the outsourced Indian Call Center to get a status on the jokes.
On the April 15th episode, Kimmel calls the call center seeking assistance with jokes regarding Tax Day and Larry King.
On the April 22nd episode, Kimmel calls the call center in India seeking jokes regarding “American Idol” contestant Tim Urban’s disqualification on the talent show.
On the May 13th episode, Kimmel calls the call center seeking a joke about Chinese astronauts recently reported to eat dog meat in space. The talk show host’s call seems to have interrupted the guys who are in the midst of a birthday celebration.
Could there be an ABC spin-off television series in the works with Nigam and Kumar? “Kimmy’s Angels” or “Skyping India” would be good titles. As of this writing calls to ABC and the talent representatives of Nigam and Kumar seeking comment were not returned.
ABOUT THE ACTORS:
Anjul Nigam (www.imdb.com/name/nm0631413), a veteran character actor of South Asian descent who has appeared in over fifty American prime-time network shows, is best known for his recurring role as “Dr. Raj” the psych doctor on “Grey’s Anatomy” and the very popular MetroPCS’s “Tech and Talk with Ranjit and Chad” commercial campaign.
Pramod Kumar (www.imdb.com/name/nm1040577) is known for his appearances on prime-time shows such as “The Starter Wife”, “ER”, and “My Name Is Earl” in addition to appearing in over forty television commercials.
Emmy-winner Jimmy Kimmel serves as host and executive producer of “Jimmy Kimmel Live”, ABC Television Network’s distinctive late-night talk show. The show features a diverse lineup of guests, including celebrities, athletes, comedians, politicians and human interest subjects. The show originates from Disney’s El Capitan Entertainment Center, located on Hollywood Boulevard in the heart of LA’s star studded Walk of Fame. This illustrious location is featured prominently in the show as Kimmel showcases the unique character of Hollywood. “Jimmy Kimmel Live” airs Weeknights, 12:05-1:05 a.m., ET.
Personally, I think Ranjit and Chad on the Metro PCS ads really should add an evil, jealous call center US competitor who frequently sends them ‘gifts’. Gifts like Chinese lunch delivered … beef almond ding. I’m a huge fan of these actors and their call center appearances. I’ll keep you posted for what they get to do next.
There are very few commercials I like anymore. I usually mute them, if the truth be told. I hate the noise, I hate how lately the stations have been bumping the volume way up to make me jump out of bed when it comes on. And I’m in Vegas. This means there is one pseudo porn ad after another at night. It sucks.
But there is one ad I actually really enjoy. It is Ranjit and Chat, the East Indian Tech Support guys for Metro PCS or whatever its called. I love those guys!
I mentioned them on Twitter tonight and Anjul Nigam of the team tweeted me back and sent me this video of their appearance on Jimmy Kimmel.
Enjoy. I love these guys! You might need to watch it twice to get all the jokes.
