Karamo Brown On Fulfilling His “Dream” Of Hosting A Daytime Talk Show And How ‘Karamo’ Serves As An “Extended Version” Of What He Does On ‘Queer Eye’

You likely know Karamo Brown from the Netflix series Queer Eye, but in spite of the Emmy award-winning show putting his name on the map, the culture expert says his daytime talk show Karamo has “always been my dream.”

Taking inspiration from talk show hosts he grew up watching in the ’90s and 2000s — “Montel [Williams], Oprah [Winfrey], and Maury [Povich],” in particular — Brown knew that a show like his, which he considers “an extended version of what he does on Queer Eye,” would have the potential to “really affect change in the world.”

Brown launched the first season of Karamo on Sept. 19, 2022. In March, the show was renewed for Season 2, and when asked about the upcoming season, Brown said viewers can expect even more of what they enjoyed in Season 1, including “Unlock the Phone,” a popular segment that invites people onto the show who feel that trust has been compromised in their relationships.

Despite the similarities to Season 1, he noted that the latest season has a new tagline: “Life is messy.”

“Your life can be messy, but we can help you break through that,” he explained to Decider.

Read on to learn more about Karamo Season 2, his inspiration to launch his own solo venture, and how he translates his experiences on Queer Eye to his syndicated daytime talk show.

First off, the last time you spoke with Decider was around when Season 5 of Queer Eye was released. Since then, you’ve taken part in two seasons of Queer Eye and started your own talk show.

Jesus, wow! When you put it in time like that, like, life is crazy. I didn’t mean to cut you off. Just blew me away.

So, what inspired you to launch your own solo venture?

Well, it’s always been my dream. The first day we all got cast [on Queer Eye], we all talked about what we wanted, and I was like, I wanted my own daytime talk show. I grew up in the ’90s and 2000s where I loved talk shows and I loved watching Oprah, Montel [Williams], Maury [Povich]. I knew that when you can talk to everyday people, you can really affect change in this world.

And so I wanted to do that, where this is an extended version of what I do on Queer Eye. On Queer Eye, I sit down with somebody, they tell me their problems, and then I have an emotional breakthrough with them. And now it’s the same thing, [but] I’m doing a talk show [and] I have to do it with more guests. And I think sometimes people forget that what I’m doing is identical to what I did on Queer Eye. I just don’t have my four other yahoos with me for this.

I wanted to congratulate you on being nominated for an Emmy alongside your fellow Queer Eye Fab Five members! In comparison to the show — where you work with an ensemble — how do you like assuming 100% of the hosting responsibilities on Karamo?

It’s interesting because — I got to make sure I say this right — on Queer Eye, we all have 100% of our own scenes. So it doesn’t feel that different. I do miss when I’ll have a breakthrough with my guests, I’m usually there to go to the other four of them and celebrate and be like, ‘Oh my gosh!’ But that’s a little different.

Now I just celebrate with my studio audience. But we all are fully [in] control. We didn’t have anybody that helped us with our scenes. We come up with what we were going to do for the show. We directed, we talked to each other about what angle we’re doing. Of course we have producers who are amazing that support us. So it feels identical to what I did on Queer Eye to be very honest, because it’s just like here, I sit in front of my guests, and even if they told my producers one thing, the minute they sit in front of me, the story can go a completely different way, and it’s done that many times.

And I just have to be able to navigate it and figure out what’s the best solution, what’s the best thing … What is it that I can do to help them [and] give them a first step to be better?

Definitely. I want to ask about the “Unlock the Phone” segment returning, this iconic segment on your show. After watching these segments and seeing how powerful your discourse is with those involved in unhealthy relationships, how do you select people to come on the show and take part in the segment?

Thank you for acknowledging that the “Unlock the Phone” segment is something that I use to have that discourse, to show them they’re in an unhealthy relationship, or to show they’re in a healthy relationship. You know, like, of course this is entertainment. So when I came up with this, it was like, What can I do that will grab people’s attention that’s brand new? We’re all [in] the same age, we all bring our phones everywhere, and so the phone is such a vital part, that I said, I don’t need anything else but to help people to see what is going on in their partner and their family members’ phone, their child’s phone, so they get that closure.

And once we have the facts — and I use a real FBI agent on my show who actually goes through the phone and finds things that, even if you think it’s deleted, if it’s up to seven years they can find it — and once I have that fact, then I can say, now there’s no guessing. Now there’s no, ‘he say, she say, you say, we say.’ It is, you were not at this location, so you were lying. You did not do this. You did do this, so we can get facts that can help me to guide the person to being their better self and getting in a relationship they deserve.

And so I just love it, because it does allow me to be able to get people to have the breakthroughs I need, so that they can see their relationship [and] where they’re at as a human being clearly.

How do you remain unbiased or detached in these situations?

I don’t always. I get attached to my guests. Sort of like the hero that we have on Queer Eye, I get attached to them because I want them to know that I care. And we do follow-ups with guests about where they’re at. One of the beauties of my show [is], my executive producer told me that a lot of the shows that have been in this conflict space with everyday people haven’t been able to do follow-ups because first of all, there is no resolution, but then secondly, you don’t really keep in touch.

And we did so many follow-ups last year because it was important for me to keep in touch, because I want people to know I care about you. This is more than a television show for me. I actually care and I believe one of the missions that God put me on this Earth for was to be able to give people just a little bit of guidance, a little bit of hope that their lives can be better. And so I don’t mind getting attached and saying to people, ‘I appreciate you,’ ‘I see you.’ I make sure that you know I’m a resource.

What are some general points of advice that you have for those struggling in similar situations to those selected to be on “Unlock the Phone”?

I think the first thing that I always say is, if you’re coming on my show — and I say this not as a way to deter people from my show — but if you’re coming on my show, you already know there’s a problem in your relationship because trust is broken. And the same thing goes in your own personal life.

If you feel like you have to search through someone’s phone, then you have to challenge yourself and say what is it about yourself that’s allowing you to stay in a relationship where you don’t feel like you’re being valued or where you have to search to get your truth.

And then secondly, it’s also like, how is this relationship growing to be in a healthy place if you don’t trust each other? Because trust, communication, and support are paramount to any relationships, and if you had gotten rid of one of those pillars, then you know. And so I say to people, look at my guests.

If you get to that point in your own life and you feel like, I need to go to my partner’s phone and go through it, you’re violating their trust already. And now you’ve already set yourself on a path where it’s not healthy. So you need to evaluate: why are you in it? And I think that’s a great thing for me — I continue the conversation, I give them the proof — but at the same rate, any time someone comes on my show and they unlock their phone, I’m like, you do know you already damaged it. Like, this is now a step where we’re gonna have to fix not only what was going on before, but also the fact that you’re now on the show. And we do that, and so it’s important.

What can fans expect — other than this “Unlock the Phone” segment — in the upcoming season of Karamo? Are there any changes from the first season? Any new exciting guests?

No, we’re just doing a lot more — you know, like “life is messy” is our tag for Season 2, because it just allowed people to express their real, authentic emotions more. We all have family members [or] partners that sometimes show how they’re feeling. They wear their emotions on their sleeves. And we should no longer be afraid of that. We should no longer think of it as something shameful. We should think of it as something beautiful that someone is allowing themselves to express.

But then again, we’re gonna let them go, be messy, share their truth, and then it’s also, ‘Now here’s some tools to help you be better, so that you can actually get through this, because nobody needs to stay a mess.’ And that’s what this Karamo show is about. Your life can be messy, but we can help you break through that.

Awesome. I love that slogan, by the way. Are there any talk show hosts that you admire or take inspiration from while filming the show?

Yeah. Montel, Oprah, and Maury. My three favorite.

Amid the strikes occurring in Hollywood that are impacting upcoming TV programs and films from continuing production, do you think that Karamo will be impacted in any way in the future?

No, my show won’t be impacted because I don’t have any celebrity guests and I also don’t have any writers on my show. So my show is not part of the Union because it’s whatever I come up with off the top of my head. No one’s writing any scripts. There’s not anything written, which is great because a lot of times people say like, ‘Are these shows real?’

Well, guess what? We’re in a strike right now. And I’m still working, because there’s nobody writing any words for anybody to say, there’s nobody producing anything in that manner, and so it’s just nice for me to have this opportunity to still help everyday people while we’re on a strike in Hollywood fighting for [shows] like Queer Eye.

I’m still fighting for that show because that show can’t come back until we resolve this. And even though on that show we help people, that show is more of a scripted reality where you’re seeing a journey, you’re seeing certain things. And so we won’t be impacted, but I will stand in solidarity during the strike because I do have other projects that are affected, I have friends that are affected, I’m affected by it, and we want to make sure things are good.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Karamo Season 2 premieres Sept. 18. Check your local listings on the show’s official website.