Janie Lynch on hosting "Celebrity Weakest Link"

Sean. Thanks. I'm DeLulu to think you know that DeLulu is short for what word? Delusional. Correct. Johnny, the hospital drama The Pit is set in what U.S. state? We'll be right back. Chicago? Nope, Pennsylvania. Wait a minute. He didn't get the pit right. Come on. Eight world champions, one intimidating host and up to one million dollars on the line tonight. Some of the biggest names in their sports trade their athletic skills for trivia skills in the world champions edition of Celebrity Weakest Link. And if anyone knows how to deliver a little pressure with a whole lot of personality, it is the fabulous Jane Lynch. She joins us live this morning. Jane, good morning. Good morning. Yeah, it's good to have you with us. All right, so this might be one of your most competitive lineups yet. You've got these Olympic legends. You've got Nancy Kerrigan, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Sean Johnson. That's just naming a few here. So what is the energy like when you put all of these elite athletes together to compete in something that's completely different from what they're used to competing in? Well, believe it or not, they were probably the least competitive group of people we've had on the show. They worked together as a team really well. They understood the strategy. They understood banking and how important that is. And so it was a real joy to host that show. They were wonderful. I find that fascinating. I would have expected this to be the most competitive group of all. But, you know, kind of speaking of what's surprising, was there somebody who surprised you with their knowledge, or was there somebody who turned out to be maybe a little less impressive outside of their sport? Well, I was a little shocked to hear Johnny Weir be given the clue, the pit, and not know that that's Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. But as a Chicagoan, I was flattered that he thought it was in Chicago. That's fair. That's fair. Well, here's the deal, though. There's more at stake here than just bragging rights for them, right? I mean, they're actually playing for charity up to a million dollars. Do you get a sense that maybe that changes how they approach the game at all? Yeah, when you're not playing for yourself or for your own glory and you've chosen that charity yourself, I think it makes it much more fun. It makes it much more something that, you know, one of the things I kept saying is, you know, I just want to win money for my charity. You know, oh, I feel bad that I got that wrong because that means I didn't win money for my charity. So it's nice. It keeps the focus off yourself. A different layer to it there. Well, and we know you. I mean, you can do it all. Broadway, film, television. I was telling you during the break, some of your movies are some of my favorites and they never fail to make me laugh when I watch them over and over again. But I mean, this is a different genre here. What is it about hosting this game show that appeals to you most? Well, I like making people feel comfortable so that they can perform their best. Like I always say, I love to host a party. I don't necessarily like to go to a party. I'm like Jay Gatsby. I stand up over the party and I kind of look at everybody having a good time. So I like doing that. And, you know, I know my job is to read those questions as quickly as possible without stumbling over my words, because when I stumble over my words, they lose time. So I do my best to make, you know, set them up for success. Well, that's interesting because, you know, you said you want to make them feel comfortable, but I would imagine, I mean, I don't know, I'm thinking of it from my perspective. There has to be some sort of intimidation factor when they're standing there right in front of you, or is there? I mean, these are world-class athletes. Do you see them squirm a little bit or not? No, because I think everybody knows that the character I'm playing is indeed a character. And I don't think anything is going to scare Johnny Weir or Nancy Kerrigan or Jackie Joyner Kersey. I think that they probably are unscareable. Well, I am eager to see you face off here with all of them and see how this goes this evening. Jane Lynch, a pleasure to catch up with you. Thank you so much. Thank you. And our thanks to Fox for production assistance with that interview. You can watch an all-new episode of Celebrity Weakest Link tonight at 9, right after Name That Tune at 8, right here on Fox 5.