Nikki Glaser is using Prime Video’s NFL postgame appearances to prepare for the Golden Globes

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — What do Tom Brady, Taylor Swift and comedy have to do with learning football?

In Nikki Glaser’s case, everything is intertwined.

Glaser has become a familiar face to football fans this season. Her breakthrough performance at the Tom Brady Roast on May 5 paved the way for five appearances on Amazon Prime Video’s postgame show Thursday Night Football.

Before last Thursday’s game between the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers, Glaser said doing her “Late Hits” segment was a given after her success at the Brady Roast.

“The football audience already knows me to some extent. It’s okay that I don’t know every detail about football or expect to be an expert at it because of who I was at the Brady Roast. I kind of admitted that. “I don’t really follow football that much,” Glaser said. “And through that process, I became a fan of Tom Brady and sports. Then I thought to myself, ‘Let me just keep learning about football by making jokes about it.’ And that was kind of my goal.”

Glaser admits that her football knowledge is not yet fully developed. Still, she’s further ahead than she was a year ago, when she started casually watching Chiefs games because of Swift’s relationship with Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce.

And especially when Swift appeared on the screen.

However, Glaser decided to learn more about the game, which she likened to trying to learn a new language.

“I’ve had blinders on my whole life because I was just afraid of looking stupid if I tried to learn. I always thought football fans would be very judgmental and cruel because of my lack of knowledge. But they’re not,” Glaser said. “They really want you to understand and explain.”

While NFL viewers are used to seeing comedians, these were mostly limited to pre-game shows and recorded segments. Fox Sports used Frank Caliendo and Rob Riggle for years, while Caliendo also appeared on ESPN.

Glaser’s appearances on “Thursday Night Football” took place after games and were more like a roast of both teams.

Instead of having at least a week to try out a joke or refine the material, Glaser and her team of writers develop material as the game takes place.

“I give her and her team a lot of credit for taking a risk by performing live stand-up comedy on a sports show. And there was no way we could have rehearsed what our first piece would look like. “None of us knew what the audience reaction would be,” said Spoon Daftary, senior coordinating producer for Prime Video’s pregame, halftime and postgame shows.

According to Nielsen, Prime’s postgame show averages 2.05 million viewers, an 11% increase over last season. This also beats the late night shows on the network.

The other significant improvement from Glaser’s first appearance, which came after the game between the New England Patriots and the New York Jets on September 19th, to last Thursday was that the fans who remained in the stadium to watch the postgame Watching the show, hearing their contribution were able to react.

“It’s a perfect balance. “Sports is entertainment, so it’s a no-brainer to include that aspect both before and after the game,” said Charissa Thompson, who hosts Prime Video’s pregame, halftime and postgame shows. “I think it’s great that we’re willing to try new things, have fun and do things that are unorthodox or out of the norm. I’m glad we have the chance to showcase even more of their talents in sports.”

Glaser and her team’s work on jokes and delivering them live was also good preparation for her as host of the Golden Globes on Jan. 5, which will air on CBS and Paramount+. Ironically, the Golden Globes will take place after CBS Sports airs a doubleheader of NFL games in the final week of the regular season.

“It was a perfect training program for the upcoming Golden Globes because I will be writing jokes about the events during this show, which I have never done before. “I’ve always been someone who really prepares beforehand and knows exactly what I’m going to say,” she said. “We just throw out these crazy jokes so much that we don’t even have time to perform them in comedy clubs to see if they even work. I mean, we’ll find out live on air whether they work or not.”

There are no further appearances planned for Glaser on Prime Video’s postgame show this season, but all parties would be interested in doing so next year.

“I feel like I came to the table with a lot more knowledge about the sport than I did this year,” she said. “I now feel like I can walk past a TV in a bar and I can watch the film and talk to people about football and be able to keep up the conversation to some extent, and that’s a great triumph for me.” Me.”

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