SHOW’S A WINNER,
Lynch hosts celeb ‘Game Night’ for good cause
Humorous though she is, Jane Lynch rarely sports a red nose, but she's now doing it for a good cause.
The multipleEmmy-winning “Glee” alum hosts a special edition of “Hollywood Game Night” during an NBC evening tied to the Red Nose Day fundraising campaign Thursday at 9 p.m.
Eight celebrities — Sean
Hayes (“Will & Grace”), Kelly Clarkson, Jack
Black, Chelsea Handler, actress
Isla Fisher (“Wedding Crashers”),
Sarah Silverman, “Saturday
Night
Live” veteran Sasheer Zamata and Cedric the Entertainer — are divided into two teams competing for winnings for Red Nose Day-related charities. “They're all there to raise money to help kids all over the world,” the friendly Lynch said, since Red Nose Day (which has raised more than $100 million) was originated in England by “Love Actually” writerdirector Richard Curtis to benefit children in need.
Lynch has been familiar with it since the U.S. version began in 2015, and she said that with so many comedy stars involved, the “Hollywood Game Night” taping “did go a little longer than usual, but it was all in fun.”
Lynch's show is the centerpiece of a Red Nose Day night that begins with the second annual celebrity edition of “American Ninja Warrior,” as host Matt Iseman puts his usual co-host Akbar Gbajabiamila and other personalities — including “World of Dance” judges Derek Hough and Ne-Yo, “Superstore” co-star Colton Dunn and the WWE's Nikki Bella — through that series' obstacle course. Then, Chris Hardwick wraps up the evening by again hosting the starstudded “Red Nose Day Special.”
“We have almost a year between shooting the show,” Lynch said of the annual “Hollywood Game Night” schedule, “so by the time I get to another season, I'm really excited to be back on the set. That's how it was with this special.”
With season six of “Hollywood Game Night” to be recorded this fall, Lynch is glad Hayes is among the players for the Red Nose Day edition. He and production partner Todd Milliner created the show as a group of party games they conducted privately for friends — who included Lynch.
“He's very modest and humble about the whole thing,” she said of Hayes. “With this, he was just one of the eight.” Lynch added that all of the players “were there because they're givers. I know a lot of these people through Twitter, and I know how active they are in giving back, and how big their hearts are. And how big their wallets are. We're in a fortunate position by coming into people's homes every week or doing stand-up comedy or making music, and it's a great place to put the spotlight on situations that need our attention as members of the human race.”