"I wanted to do a show based on what my life would be like if I had never become a comedian"
About this Quote
Carey’s intent reads as both creative and protective. On the surface, it’s a concept engine for a sitcom - take the recognizable public figure, strip away the fame, and let the audience watch an alternate self muddle through ordinary problems. Underneath, it’s a way to launder autobiography into something safer. If you can explore regret, class anxiety, or the limits of reinvention inside a “what if” premise, you get emotional access without confession. The writer’s room becomes a buffer between the real past and the one you can broadcast.
The subtext is also about control. A comedian’s origin story often gets flattened into a motivational arc: pain becomes punchlines, struggle becomes brand. Carey pushes back by treating comedy as contingency. “If I had never become a comedian” suggests the old life isn’t dead; it’s a parallel track still audible under the laugh track.
Context matters: Carey’s rise came out of late-80s/90s stand-up and sitcom culture, where TV rewarded relatability and self-mythology. The alternate-life premise lets him trade celebrity distance for intimacy, while quietly acknowledging that fame isn’t the only plot twist; survival is.
Quote Details
| Topic | Career |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Carey, Drew. (2026, January 17). I wanted to do a show based on what my life would be like if I had never become a comedian. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-wanted-to-do-a-show-based-on-what-my-life-would-44746/
Chicago Style
Carey, Drew. "I wanted to do a show based on what my life would be like if I had never become a comedian." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-wanted-to-do-a-show-based-on-what-my-life-would-44746/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I wanted to do a show based on what my life would be like if I had never become a comedian." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-wanted-to-do-a-show-based-on-what-my-life-would-44746/. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.






