Not only is tonight’s Hollywood Game Night on NBC at 10p the show’s best episode yet, it is also the closest one in the show’s run so far. How close, you will just have to watch to find out.
Now when it comes to why I loved this episode best. First the celebrity guests Tom Arnold, Stacy Keibler, Patricia Heaton, Rose Byrne, Anthony Anderson and Jamie Lynn Sigler have a great chemistry together. Anderson will surprise you by how good he is at almost every game. There is one he sucked at, but then again so did I when I played it so I am giving him some slack. Tom Arnold is also good at this game and really has a blast playing with everyone. When it comes to Keibler, us Stacys have something in common, we like to cheat and there is nothing wrong with that. Is there? Heaton really let’s her hair down tonight and proves she has a wild side.
When it comes to games we get two new ones tonight. The first one is called Picture Purr-fect where they have to guess the title of a movie, where the actors have been replaced by cats in a picture. The other one is a spin on the game Memory where you have to match TV hosts together (like Matt Lauer and Ann Curry) on a Memory touchscreen board. Them they play How Do You Doo, TV ID and Timeline, and there will be some surprises by how well some do at these games and how badly some others one do at them.
Now I might be biased when it comes to tonight’s episodes because tonight for the first time, I got almost every answer right. So if I can do well at it, so can you! Why not watch Jane Lynch nail it as a host on Hollywood Game Night and also to check out some actors make huge fools of themselves as they down the bubbly. What more do you need to end your Thursday night?
And NBC what are you waiting for, please pick up this show for another season already?!?
Today at 10p Hollywood Game Night is back for another round on NBC and you don’t want to miss Sean Hayes, Dax Shepard, Jason Sudeikis, Fred Armisen, Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph play the games. Some of them are drinking, some of them don’t understand the games and two of them will surprise you by how good they are at a game. Hint it’s not the show’s creator, Sean Hayes, who will surprise us!
Dax Shepard really knows his candy bars better than everyone else, while Jason Sudeikis is beyond amazing at Celebrity Fusion. Something that is pretty incredible because he had a few drinks by the time game started. When we asked Jane Lynch at a recent set visit, if they drink at Sean’s house when he hosts game night. She said that they did, then she explained “The thing that I love about game nights that I wanted to replicate and I know Sean did too, is the fun that we have at his house. Where everyone has had a drink, everyone has had something to eat, so you get a little crazy.” And they get more than that tonight, especially when you consider four of them were all regulars on Saturday Night Live.
Then she added another thing that the show and Sean’s parties have in common. She said, “It’s always a mix of people, you’d have celebrities, friends that are plastic surgeons or an optometrist, a bunch of different kinds of people. It’s the great equalizer, Game Night, isn’t it?” Something you get to see as the one civilian plays with the three celebrities. It’s like they have all known each other for ages and not just minutes.
One thing that Jane wanted to let us is that even though Sean P Hayes created the game, he was not part of the planning process leading up to the show’s taping. So what is the Sean Saves the World star like during the game nights at his real home? The Glee star said, “An absolute crazy person! He’s like Harpo Marx. He’s running around, knocking things over. He’s great!” So is he like that tonight when he is on the show? I am not going to tell you, you will just have to tune in to find out.
That and to see the players sing some very famous songs with just the word “Do”. Who is the best do do doing, you will you watch to find out on NBC tonight at 10p.
Are you ready for another round of Hollywood Game Night tonight on NBC at 10p? Well you better be because Valerie Bertinelli, Cheryl Hines, Sarah Chalke, Yvette Nicole Brown, Rob Riggle and Matthew Morrison are all trying their luck at the game that tests your pop culture knowledge in fun ways that you can play at home with your friends and family.
Now when it comes to the celebrities that are competing tonight on the show, the host Jane Lynch told us that Hot in Cleveland’s Bertinelli really gets into the game. So how is Lynch as competitor when she plays during her personal games nights off-camera? On a conference call she told us, “I love Game Night, you know, I’m a pretty competitive person at it. You want me on your team. You do not want to play against me.” Then she explained, “I think that Sean (Hayes) knew that I was very familiar with all the games and although we did create all of our own games for this but we used Sean’s night as the template.” You see the show creator Sean Hayes has been having game nights at his house for some time now and Lynch was one of the players. So one night when he was over at her house for dinner, he mentioned the show to her. As soon as he told her about it, she asked if she could host the show and the rest is Hollywood history.
So that was a memorable moment for her, what moments does she remember about filming the primetime game show? She responded generally by saying, “There were great moments. There are wonderful funny, crazy moments in every episode. Everybody’s always jumping up and down and high fiving and shaming each other and it’s a lot of fun.” Then she got more specific with, “Dax Shepard calling on the judges as if they exist. Well we do have judges, I guess, going judge you have to look at this. Martin Short falling off the couch every time the band starts to play as if it was a shock to him. Amy Poehler and Jason Sudeikis getting a little bit drunk.”
So those are some of her favorite moments, but which Hollywooder surprised her the most. She told us, “Well, Fred Armisen is very low key and that’s deceptive because everybody’s jumping up and down around him that perhaps you think he’s not very game and he was one So of the smartest of them all and he was fast. Maybe not a lot of volume but he was fast and to the point and did very, very well.” Things we are going to have to look for tonight and during the upcoming weeks, so make sure to tune in to see that and to learn some new games you can add to your own list.
Hollywood Game Night is not only about the celebrities, there is one non-celeb on each team. Was it tough for them to play with people who could be answers to the questions they are being asked? She revealed, “Well the thing that happened again game nights and this happens at every game I go, to including Sean Hayes’ at his house, is that it’s such a great equalizer. You forget who’s the celebrity and you forget who’s the civilian because you just want to win that point and it’s everybody playing together.”
Something you see as soon as it is time to play the game. So tune in tonight and every Thursday at 10p for the funnest hour of summer television that continues even after the credits roll.
Tonight at 10p Hollywood Game Night is coming to NBC and you will want to keep the kids up late so you all can watch this show together. Now if you don’t have kids, then just you and a few friends will want to stay up to watch the show together so that you can play the games from it afterwards. With the help of some alcohol because that is what makes game nights so much better.
So what is Hollywood Game Night? Jane Lynch takes on the role of party host, something that comes very naturally for her. There are two teams of three celebrities and one civilian playing against each other and only one of the non-celebs has the chance of leaving the show $25,000 richer. They play games that you can play with your friends and family over and over again and never get bored. There is a game where you have to name a snack food in a bowl from a picture. Then there is another game where one person has to guess what their teammates are describing and they can only give one word to describe said clue. A fun one is Little Picasso where elementary school kids draw their favorite stars, and the teams have to guess who it is? Fun fact tonight one of the celebrities will see how kids see them. The funnest game for Lynch and can be for you too (but not for me), is where a contestant has to get their teammates to guess the song that they are singing using only the word Do. These are just a few of the exciting games that they will be playing and you will be enjoying later on your own.
But the show is more than that like any game night. There is also the interaction between Lynch and the stars, and the celebrities with each other. For example tonight Lisa Kudrow and Matthew Perry are on the show and they are on opposite teams. Let’s just say they might not be Friends after tonight. Then there is Martin Short being Martin Short. Kristen Bell being cute, just as cute as her competitor Alyson Hannigan. Finally there is Daniel Day Kim, who is surprisingly the best person on his team. You will see your favorite celebrities like you have never seen them before. Having fun, being goofy and doing anything to win. Kind of what they are like when they are not working on the shows we love and the movies we adore them in.
A few weeks ago, I drove to a secret location in the Hollywood Hills to visit the set and play the games with Jane Lynch hosting our mock rounds. The first game I played was where they mashed up a picture of two celebrities faces, who share a same name as one like George Michael Cera. I did good in the round. The next round was the Do game and I don’t want to talk about that round. Finally we played a game where we would have to get our team to guess a show with the least amount of words as possible like “chair” for The Voice. It all sounds easy when I describe it, but when you play it it is a lot harder. And even though I sucked at two of the rounds, I had the most fun I have ever had a set visit. Jane Lynch was warm, entertaining and didn’t make me feel bad for being an idiot. Even though I made it easy for her.
When I left that house that day, I started telling everyone I knew to watch this show. People who don’t watch game shows, people who do and even people who don’t watch TV. I knew right then and there that show was going to be a big summer hit, just like American Idol and Dancing with the Stars were their first season during the summer. That’s because they were family shows just like Hollywood Game Night. And unlike those other two shows, after you watch HGN, you can play the games with them. I am sure Do will become a family favorite in no time. You can play it in the car during long trips and at home for fun. When was the last time you could do that after watching any show on television. That is why folks, I can’t tell you enough how much I love love love Hollywood Game Night and I know you will feel the same way too. I got even more excited for the show after I watched the tonight’s premiere episode because it is even better than I could have dreamed. The games, the interaction and Jane’s hosting make it so much fun and that is what we have been craving from our television shows.
Seriously Hazy Mills Production has yet another hit on their hands. People talk about the success of Shonda Rimes and J.J. Abrams shows, but Hazy Mills has yet to have a show cancelled. In fact Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner have 5 shows either on the air or about to air. Hot In Cleveland is going strong as is it’s spinoff The Soul Man on TV Land, Grimm is one of NBC’s most successful shows, you know how I feel about HGN and Sean Saves the World is a throwback to the NBC comedies from the Must See Thursday days. Seriously they are the production company to watch, since afterall we have been watching their shows and will continue to do so!
So make sure to watch Hollywood Game Night tonight and every Thursday at 10p!
Last night Jane Lynch wowed us when she sang Little Girls from Annie at the Tonys and I spoke to her about starring in the Broadway show at a set visit for her upcoming NBC game show Hollywood Game Show right before she left to do it.
Lynch will be hosting Hollywood Game Night starting on July 11th at 10p and I asked what was left on her bucket list because she has done TV, movies, hosted the Emmys, won one and now can add hosting a game show to the list. She told me, “I don’t have a bucket list.” She then explained, “It was Broadway, it was the last thing on it. I thought a Broadway musical was preposterous, in terms of fantasy.”
Well that fantasy is now a reality until July 14th. So how did it happen? She told us, “I didn’t seek out Annie. It kind of just feel into my lap. Things happened perfectly, it just showed up one day.”
And another thing that happened perfectly was before she sang Little Girls on the Great White Way and on The Tonys, she sang it on Glee. Here’s a little tidbit about how that happened, creator Ryan Murphy did that on purpose for her to cross promote her Broadway musical debut. And she admitted, “It’s a perfect song for Sue Sylvester too.” There is a lot of Miss Hannigan in Sue Sylvester if you think about it.
As you might remember in 1982 Carol Burnett played Miss Hannigan in the movie version of the musical; and the lendary comedian also played Lynch’s mom on Glee. So I wanted to know if the former head of the oprhanage had any words on how to run the place now. Lynch said, “She was the first person to text me and say, ‘Congratulations, enjoy it.'” Then she added that Burnett, “is the best.”
And Jane Lynch is up there with Carol Burnett when it comes to be being the best out there in the comedic world. Something you will really see her shine at when Hollywood Game Night makes it debut next month. I honestly think that the NBC game show will be the biggest hit of the summer. Everyone in the family will enjoy it and then after the credits roll, they will want to play the games with their friends and family. I know I have played a few with my friends already, and I will be honest I sucked just as bad them. But that is the fun about Hollywood Game Night. So mark your calendars to watch the show on July 11th, I promise it will be the latest addiction of your TV viewing and you are not going to want to miss celebrities and non-celebs go all out in the spirit of competition as they play games we can all play at home. The best part is we get to see them make fools of themselves. Who doesn’t love that? And who won’t love this show?
What more do you need from great television? Nothing, so make sure to watch it. And tell your friends and family to too, so that you can play these fun embarrassing games with them when the episodes end.
