Lilly Singh is busy being a boss — or as she puts its — “being a Bawse.”

The 30-year-old Scarborough native, YouTube sensation and author was in town for the Corus upfront event — where the media conglomerate touted its fall TV offerings — and it was the first time that hometown media got the chance to speak about A Little Late With Lilly Singh, her upcoming late-night talk show. She takes over Carson Daly’s old time slot at 1:35 a.m. on NBC and Global, becoming the first woman of colour to host a late-night show on a major broadcast network, and she promises it will be a place her Canadian roots will shine.

“I’m a Scarborough native, and I want everyone in Toronto to know that I will make sure that everyone knows that I’m a Canadian host and Toronto is such a big part of who I am, and I will make sure it gets all the love it deserves,” she said Monday. Like many Torontonians, the L.A. transplant is obsessed with her beloved Toronto Raptors; she gave a shout-out to the team at the NBC upfront last week, but got back to T.O. to attend Game 2. “Were you stressed (watching) as I was?” she asks. (Yes, obviously.)

Singh is actually very busy forming the show; it’s in its very early stages, so other than knowing it will be a half-hour, and a mix of interviews and sketches, there is plenty yet to be decided. “I’m really focused on putting together a strong team of people who are not only talented, but also I vibe well with,” she says.

She has noticed the glacial pace network TV moves at, compared to the quick-hit DIY ethos of YouTube.

“There’s a lot more guidelines, a lot more of a process, but I’m excited to elevate my stuff as well. What I have done thus far has been made specifically for YouTube and that’s not to say it’s worse; it’s made for the audience that’s watching YouTube,” she says. “And that’s mostly people watching when they’re commuting, on the bus, on their phones. I want to elevate and go more premium with this. And also do a little more social commentary.”

Since building her incredible YouTube following — 14 million subscribers, leading to reports that she has earned $10.5 million a year on the site — Singh, like many social-media stars, has been reaching out to roles beyond that platform. She had a part in last year’s HBO adaptation of Fahrenheit 451, but the move to a talk show may better showcase her personality and various talents. Her comedy can be very self-referential, with some of her most popular videos showing her doing impressions of her Indian parents and their reactions. Is she concerned about how that humour might relate — or not — to a more mainstream, late-night audience?

“No, because I am who I am and you can’t change who you are. That would be like saying, ‘Are you concerned that who you are could be problematic to people?’ and the answer has to be no, because I’ve gotten to this point by being myself,” she says. “You know, I’m not going to be sitting there saying, ‘As a woman of colour on a late-night show, I feel’ — it’s going to happen naturally.”

It’s that confidence — fitting for the author of How to Be a Bawse: A Guide to Conquering life — that has let Singh make some important decisions about her health and well-being. Late last year, there were many reports about YouTubers taking mental health breaks due to the stress of the hunt for clicks and engagements. Singh took a break last November, in order to come back happier and healthier to the medium. Then this February, she posted on Twitter that she was bisexual and just recently sent best wishes on the start of Pride month. She says she made the announcement because she knew it would help other people.

“I have always had the belief that there are two paths to anything — humans tend to make things complicated, but it always comes down to a decision based on fear or love. The fearful decision is the one that I feel the Indian community really does validate, ‘What will people think, let’s be scared.’ And I’ve always believed there is strength in stories celebrating who you are … I knew it would help people in similar situations. And it has. Since that post, I did a meet-and-greet in India and literally half the people, 50 per cent of my fans came up to me (identified as LGTBQ).”

I jokingly ask if she’s heard any nattering from her aunties or uncles, and she’s blunt: “I don’t know, I haven’t asked them, but I’m not trying to get validation from anyone. to be honest ... I’m doing it for me.”

That’s very different from the honour and responsibility she feels about her show.

“I don’t feel like it’s completely for me. It’s exciting for me. It’s a huge honour for me, but my goal is that I make someone else’s life easier that comes after me,” she says. “And what that means is that I’m going to kill this show. I’m going to make sure it’s amazing; I’m going to do it justice; I’m going to work day and night to make it everything it has to be. What it means to other people is that they get to see someone that looks like them.”

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Singh is also fully aware how many talk shows have ended up on the rocks of television history. She says she has reached out to people like Amy Schumer and Chelsea Handler for suggestions on writers. And while there are plenty of questions as to what her show will look like, there are just as many about how people might consume it. Singh comes to the show with a worldwide audience, many of them youngsters who will likely be in bed when the show actually airs. Good thing we live in a world where, at the very least, the best clips will live online, on YouTube, where they know how to find her.

“Listen, I will send a raven with a USB stick to their house, with my show on it, if that what it takes!” she jokes. “A lot of probably will be (watching on YouTube), especially because my audience is worldwide, but I hope a lot of people tune in when it airs (but) however people want to consume it, they can.”