NBCUniversal has tapped “Saturday Night Live” duo Colin Jost and Michael Che to host the first-ever live comedy show on the Peacock streaming service on Thursday night. The duo poked fun at the untested format and distributor of their comedy show, “Colin Jost and Michael Che Present: New York After Dark,” in their opening monologue.
“Tonight is going to be like having group sex. If it goes well, we can do it every few months with our friends. If it goes really bad and turns into a disaster, we’ll never talk about it again. Either way, we’re filming it,” Jost began, taking the stage at The Bell House in Brooklyn. “We’re on Peacock! You know Peacock, right? You know Peacock from, ‘I can’t believe the NFL made us take down the fucking Peacock.’”
“What happened to you, man? The checks didn’t cash?” Che joked. “That’s the experience we have when we go to places and stay. We wanted to take that experience to the country… Is the Peacock playing all over the country?”
“We want this to be the second funniest event of the week… after the debate,” Jost said, before joking about Trump’s debunked claim that immigrants eat pets in Springfield, Ohio. “Nothing sounds more presidential than yelling, ‘They eat cats and dogs.’ I think that was Thomas Jefferson.”
The special featured an unannounced group of comedians taking the stage one by one, each with the support of Jost and Che. The lineup included Alex English, Aida Rodriguez, Amina Imani, and Carlos Miller. Emmy nominee Mike Birbiglia took the mic for the final segment of the night and began his show by forcing Jost into a Q&A session.
“I recently texted Colin and asked him to be on my podcast, ‘Working It Out.’ Do you remember what I wrote him?” Birbiglia said before scoffing at the host. “Nothing.”
“Impractical Jokers” star Sal Vulcano also appeared, along with fellow “SNL” cast member Sarah Sherman, who also quipped at Jost: “This place is right by my apartment, looks like you didn't respect the restraining order.”
