Before hitting the stage, the comedians of the TV series Jokes with JoySauce have an on-camera ritual of exchanging immigrant stories about growing up with their families. There is no audience during these moments, just comics being vulnerable with one another.

The tales give insight into the lives they live offstage and their perspectives as Asian-Americans that inspire so much of their material. It lets the audience know more about these up-and-coming comedians without the generic stage introductions.

The series is part of the original programme curated for JoySauce, the first free, ad-supported streaming channel dedicated to highlighting Asian-American voices across comedy, film, reality TV and sitcoms. Available on Amazon Prime, it premiered in early January.

Season 1 of Jokes with JoySauce is currently airing as part of the launch programming for the channel. Ana Tuazon Parsons, the director and creator of the series, is excited to watch it grow.

“I’m still definitely going for that underground punk rock, like, let’s-find-some-cool-people kind of thing for Season 2,” she says. “Bigger and better venue, and more budget, more budget, please.”

While Parsons focuses on cultivating new comedic voices, JoySauce wants to create its own opportunities for people in the community by broadening its mission of ownership and representation.