Shuang Hu is a Chinese-Australian actor, writer and creator whose comedic storytelling and versatile performances have made her a standout voice across digital and traditional platforms. She built her own path, first gaining traction with independent digital comedy before creating, co-writing, co-producing and starring in Baby Shu and Fwends, which recently made the leap from YouTube to an exclusive streaming run on Tubi. The milestone marks a significant moment for Asian-Australian creators in global media. She’s also known for Five Blind Dates (Amazon Prime), The Family Law (SBS/Netflix) and Ronny Chieng: International Student (Comedy Central/Netflix).
How did you get from being a little girl with dreams to this global momentum that won’t quit?
I think it’s determination, self-confidence and complete obliviousness to how hard things really are. You just have to go in thinking you can do it and keep going until you get there. There’s no defining moment when I look back that caused this avalanche. It was a bunch of small steps toward the direction I wanted to go, and then you wake up and you’re there. Or I’m not even there. I’m still climbing that mountain, still getting up there. There are still ways to go, but we’re making little advances.
When did you first realize comedy was your language of storytelling?
It happened when I booked a couple of TV shows back in Australia before I moved to the U.S. and started social media. There was Ronny Chieng: International Student and The Family Law. They were both centered around Asian families and Asian people, and they were both comedy sitcoms. After I booked those two jobs, I realized maybe comedy is my lane. I didn’t really understand what comedy was until I moved to the U.S. and started looking at standup and learning about UCB improv. There are so many different comedy lanes, and sketch writing was definitely one of them. I realized that’s a whole industry, and that’s actually what comedy is. There’s a whole art to it. I don’t even think I’m the funniest person on earth, and my improv is absolutely trash, but sometimes magic does strike and I’m able to capture it. When people see me, they expect a certain thing, but then when I talk and I’m absolutely ridiculous, I think it just shocks them.
You’ve tapped into the business side too. What part of that creative process feels like home?
I’ve always had a very creative imagination. The only A I ever got in English was story writing. I remember for George Orwell’s 1984, we had to write an excerpt of a scene that wasn’t in the book in the voice of George Orwell. I got an A in that project, which shook me to the core. Looking back, I realized these small things happen in your life and you don’t really know it’s a sign until you’re doing it. I realized I am a creative storyteller and I have a big imagination. What I wanted to make was not actually in existence, so I just went out there and tried to make it. I was lucky enough that other people got on board and liked the ideas that were in my mind. I try to always bring a fresh, new perspective to whatever story I’m telling. I try to make something that hasn’t been seen before or, selfishly, what I want to see, and it just happens to resonate with people.
Baby Shu and Fwends started as digital comedy sketches but now lives on Tubi as full episodes. What did leveling up this project teach you about betting on yourself?
Excitement and confidence are infectious. When you believe in yourself and basically say to the world, hey, I’m doing something, and if you want to come on board, great, if not, it’s fine because I’m going to do it anyway, then people are afraid to miss out on whatever you’ve got. Even though I didn’t really have a lot of confidence in myself because I’m Asian and submissive and I’ve been suppressed my whole life, I had people around me who were really confident in me. They vouched for me and pushed for me. Having them speak for me made me see that the other side also really wants to get on board. It’s just a matter of sticking to your gut and knowing what your worth is. We were able to secure this because we were confident in what we have. We have millions of fans on YouTube, and we’re going to put this show on YouTube whether you like it or not. It’s just a matter of if you want to get on board. And they were like, yeah, we want to put the show on Tubi because we believe in this fanbase and this IP you’ve created.
Tell us about Baby Shu, both the character and you as the creator.
This character was created out of a YouTube shorts skit I made three years ago, and she still pops off every time I do a short with her. I play her mom and her dad as well. It was the first time I played all the characters in my skits. Usually I get other people to play characters. It was really interesting to see that people enjoyed watching me play other characters. She’s basically this really unhinged girl who makes fun of her parents, always makes her parents the butt of the joke and tricks her parents into giving her money or food. Surprisingly, she’s really easy to tap into for me. It doesn’t take much effort. Maybe there’s a part of her in me.
How similar or dissimilar are you from Baby Shu?
There’s definitely a part of me that is like Baby Shu. She’s the version of me I never got to let out when I was a kid. She’s pretty rebellious and pretty unfiltered, which I really am, and I wasn’t allowed to be when I was younger. My parents were pretty strict. Whenever I was too loud or too excited, they would tell me to calm down, that it’s not a very ladylike way to act. I would see my friends and hug them, and my mom would say that’s inappropriate, especially if it was a boy. You can’t show excitement, especially toward guys. Be calm and centered. That was never really part of my personality, so being able to play Baby Shu is a very natural way for me to express how I really feel inside.
You’re giving global visibility to Asian-Australian stories in a way we rarely see. What responsibility or freedom comes with being one of the few doing it at this scale?
We’re very conscious about the messaging I’m putting out there. It’s a fine line because when you’re a comedian or trying to be funny, sometimes you have to make light of sensitive topics. I try to make two types of content. One on my YouTube is very wholesome with positive messaging. Baby Shu’s not always positive, but the messaging is very wholesome. It’s about family and as positive as I can make it. The other side is my really unhinged comedy when I play the Red Hoodie Girl, and I’m an Asian making fun of other Asians. I don’t take myself too seriously, and I hope my comedy lets people laugh about situations they’ve maybe been sensitive about in the past. My main thing when I communicate with people is that we’re all just people at the end of the day. I am Chinese-Australian living in America. That’s a really good representation of just a human on this planet. I don’t see color, and I am friends with everyone. I’m just a walking representation of someone who is a human not trying to take themselves too seriously and trying to bring some humor and joy into this world.
What do you hope young creators of the Asian diaspora feel when they watch your work?
I hope they feel inspired that they can do this too. I really didn’t have a lot of representation or icons I could look up to when I was younger. Now there are so many, but when I grew up, I didn’t have that. I hope I’m one of the icons they can look up to when they map out their life.
You’ve proven you can build an audience without waiting for Hollywood’s permission. What do you think traditional Hollywood still misunderstands about digital native talent?
That we are able to make that leap over to traditional media. When this Tubi article came out, there was quite a few outlets that started talking about the story, and there’s a lot of rhetoric about whether this would succeed, whether these content creator shows would succeed in traditional streaming. A lot of people were negative about it because they didn’t think a YouTuber could tell a story or engage people for long enough to succeed. They couldn’t tell a story more than one minute long. These are all long-form content creators you’re talking about. They’re not all shorts creators. It takes a new set of skills to make a short versus a long video. I think it’s actually harder to make a short than a long because people’s attention spans are so much shorter. The competition in short-form media is a lot stiffer, so to be able to stand out is actually a lot harder. They’re all storytellers. Whether you’re short-form, medium-form, long-form, you’re storytellers. Hollywood doesn’t understand what it takes to be a YouTuber, and they think that the content on there won’t live in traditional media. YouTube is its own lane. Film and TV is its own lane. Vertical shorts is its own lane. But the people creating them understand who they’re creating it for. It doesn’t mean they can’t transfer the same skills into another lane. YouTube audiences are not looking for traditional cinema because they watch that in cinemas or on streaming platforms. They go to YouTube for YouTube content. But it doesn’t mean those same creatives cannot jump and make something in another lane.
Five Blind Dates was a milestone as Amazon’s first original rom-com from Australia. What surprised you most about leading a global film?
I was pleasantly surprised with how supportive they were. It was my first movie, but they didn’t try to tell me what to do. They were always championing the movie and trying to make it the best version. Any notes they had were always with the vision of making this the best movie possible. I was very surprised with how supportive they were, especially in keeping with the Asian storyline and the authentic voice we had.
How do you turn everyday chaos into comedy?
I think it’s finding the funniest version of that situation. What would make me laugh? Really, why did it make me laugh? I really only choose situations that would make me laugh or that I think have a comedic element to them. If it makes me giggle, especially when I’m editing it, that’s a good sign.
What’s next for Baby Shu and Fwends and the Shu Hu creative universe?
To make more, to make it bigger and better. I was speaking to an exec when I explained my show, and he was like, oh, you basically made 10 pilots because Baby Shu and Fwends is an anthology. Not every episode is the same. Originally I was going to make it a series where all the characters are the same, the storylines are the same. But this is an anthology, so every episode’s different. Sometimes it’s horror, sometimes it’s thriller, sometimes it’s rom-com, sometimes it’s drama. I wanted to challenge myself to see if it was possible for me to live in all the genres or write for all the genres and film for all the genres. After making the 10, I realized there were some episodes I really enjoyed making that turned out really good, and it made me think I wanted to expand that universe and make a full series out of that particular storyline. There are so many ideas in my head, so I want to put them out there, on paper, and start pitching again to studios. It’s been a while as I’ve been focusing on social media, but I want to be able to do both.
Follow Shuang Hu on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook and Snapchat @TheOneShu. Baby Shu and Fwends is available to stream on Tubi with weekly episodes on YouTube.
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