On the new CBC interview series The Assembly, somebody has just brought up Howie Mandel’s obsessive compulsive disorder and asked about his body-shaving habits (wink, wink). There are nervous giggles and gasps in the audience, and Mandel is taking a moment to figure out how to answer.

Someone who works on the show comes to the rescue, telling Mandel that he doesn’t have to respond. But will he anyway? Or is it one line too far?

To be fair, on The Assembly there are three rules: no questions are off the table, no subjects are out of bounds, and all might happen. I won’t spoil what happens next, but the exchange is one of many moments that makes the show such an entertaining watch.

The Assembly is a celebrity interview series in which autistic and neurodivergent people ask the questions.

See Full Page