Matt Iseman & Akbar Gbajabiamila on Bringing ‘Ninja’ Color to ‘That Clip Show: Holiday Edition’

Fans of American Ninja Warrior are used to Matt Iseman and Akbar Gbajabiamila calling the action together for a decade. In the spirit of the season, this dynamic duo is now lending their fun commentary and witty banter to That Clip Show: Holiday Edition.

The NBC special features a collection of viral videos from winter sports bloopers, festive fails, and gift-giving mishaps. Joining the pair for clip-related gameplay are Gina Brillon, Jay Jurden, and Alex Kumin. We spoke to Iseman and Akbar about their friendship, gifts given, and pranks played on one another.

You both have such great chemistry, so it’s fun to see you in this setting. How did the project come together? 

Matt Iseman: He has been my work husband for over a decade. We’ve done countless game shows together. We’ve done the Olympics together. The thing we found is we always had a good time together. So when NBC said, “Look, we want to put this show together for the holidays.” We’ve been a part of Hoda and Jenna’s New Year’s Eve celebration, so we love doing something around the holidays. When they said it was just going to be clips and us reacting, we thought, “Well that’s what we do on Ninja Warrior.” We were totally in and had an absolute blast filming it. We can’t wait for people to get a dose of the holidays.

 Akbar Gbajabiamila: It’s such a natural fit too with Matt and I. Matt talks about how long we’ve been together and our natural chemistry with us reacting, but it also mimics real life. We may go, “Look at this clip.” He’ll send me something. I’ll send him something. It’s the way the world is now. We’ve been seeing clip shows for a long time. I think even more so now. There are so many viral moments people want to get in now. Matt and I get to give the commentary in our way, a little bit the Ninja Warrior way, a little bit of our personal relationship way. The fact Matt is a comedian. I’ve always been his fan because I’m always the guy in the audience. So, I play off of Matt and the stuff he sets up. It’s probably the funniest clip show you’ll ever see.

What are some of the clips you love the most? 

Matt: Kids preparing a turkey to be cooked for the very first time and finding out the things placed inside the turkey after the turkey is prepared. It’s an astonishing lack of animal anatomy awareness with some of the things we saw. We saw people slipping on the ice. We were loving that.

Akbar: People having the big fails and falls. Those are always funny. It is always fun, especially during the holiday season to see some of those things. We’re just adding to the laughter people usually get around this joyous time of the year.

Matt; There was this British kid who wanted a bike. His parents got him a nice scooter. And he opens it up and says in a British accent, “Is this a scoot-ah? Is this a joke here? I that what is going on?” It’s so funny because he was so upset, but it’s cute because he was British.

What does the panel of comedians bring to the show? 

Akbar: It was an absolute treat. I was a minority there. I was the only ‘non-comedian.’ Sitting there and watching them go back and forth. It was the funniest stuff on the planet. To see Matt among other comedians. It took Matt Iseman to out of this planet Matt Iseman. It was hilarious.

Matt: We were very lucky with Alex, Gina and Jay. We had instant chemistry as soon as they sat down. All five of us were just laughing. He downplays it but Akbar is hilarious. It was fun because we all had different perspectives, and they brought different points of view, so it was really fun. To me, many of the shows I like are ones with just friends sitting around. What it felt like was this is what we would have been doing if it was the five of us sitting on someone’s couch and a video came up. Just laughing and having a great time. I hope everyone feels that energy.

Peter Kramer/NBC

So there is a lot of improv? 

Matt: Oh yeah. Some of the clips we hadn’t seen until that moment, but Akbar and I are big on doing our homework. We had stuff prepared, but the best is when things just come out of your mouth or you’re responding. Akbar and I as broadcasters have learned to be part of a team. When we had the three comedians in there, it felt like we were watching the “Dream Team” in 1992. Assists everywhere and slamdunks. We had a good time.

Is there something from your life you would submit as a clip if cameras were there to capture the moment? 

Akbar: We do play a lot of pranks on each other. Sometimes they go the other way. I was playing a prank on Matt. I had him good. I had it all set up and had the ninjas involved in it. We had this Hostess cupcake. I stuffed mayonnaise in one of them and left the other one with the icing or whatever they put on the inside. Somehow it got mixed up, and I couldn’t recognize which one was which. I gave Matt the real one, and I took the mayonnaise one and didn’t know it.  I took a bite and was like “Shoot!” Matt took a bite of his and said, “Wait, what? I don’t get the joke?” The joke was on me. That would have gone viral if someone had recorded that.

Matt: The best part is even if they had given me the mayonnaise one, with my diet, I probably still would have loved it the way I eat. I’d be like, “It’s so creamy!”

Akbar: If you would have seen the precision. We had a needle-like thing to push it in there so you couldn’t detect it had been tampered with. It looked like the perfect Hostess cupcake, and I just destroyed it.

Matt: Sometimes Akbar is like Willie E. Coyote where the best-laid plans just blow up in his face. It’s still funny. Just not the way he intended. I do remember one Christmas memory. My mom always kept presents even with me and my brother. Not that I would count, but my brother and I had ledgers in our heads. One Christmas it seemed a little uneven, so I was sulking. I was 12.

Then I heard, “Matt, would you come to clean up the kitchen? There is some junk in here.” I’m walking up there thinking, “I can’t believe it. Now they want me clean.” I went in there and there she was. A black BMX Mongoose bike. To this day they got me so good. I remember seeing that bike. It was like Ghost Rider finding his motorcycle. It was a holiday moment, but I was so mad and then when I saw the present, I was nice again.

Do you see this special as a possible pilot to see more of this show? 

Akbar: It was great. To me, what we put out and what the world will see, you’re going to say, “That’s some funny stuff. I want more.” We hope people get more too.

Matt: We did this as our gift to America during the holidays. If NBC wanted to give us the gift of picking up a few more episodes, we’re not going to return it. At this point though, we’re glad we got to do the one. We had a blast. We were bummed the New Year’s Eve show wasn’t happening, so this feels like a nice way of getting to check in with people around the holidays and make sure they are having a good time.

What kind of gifts have you gotten each other? 

Matt: Well, for my birthday he got me 50 pizzas.

Akbar: It was a good prank though. You have to check that out on social media.

Matt: I haven’t bought my gift to Akbar yet, but odds are it will involve chocolate or coffee. Those are the two things he likes.

Akbar: More than anything I appreciate his friendship. Our relationship isn’t based on material items.

Matt: That’s his way of saying I’m a lousy shopper. You know what, Scott, you’re starting an Akbar-Matt tradition. This Thursday for the show we’ll post what Akbar and I got each other. This came because of you.

Thank you. I appreciate it. With this being the holidays, what’s your go-to movie or TV show to watch during this time of year? 

Akbar: Every single year I watch It’s a Wonderful Life and make my kids watch. The go dad, “No!” But it was a big part of my childhood. It’s not Christmas unless I watch It’s a Wonderful Life.

Matt: For me, there are four movies I watch: It’s a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story, Elf, and the greatest Christmas movie ever made Die Hard. Nakatomi Plaza!

Akbar: I’m going to show it to my kids and see if it’s a Christmas movie.

Matt; They will probably like it more than It’s a Wonderful Life. 

There is some cursing, so watch out for that.  

Akbar: Is that the Yippee-Ki-Yay?

Matt; Yes it is. So maybe that might be a terrible choice for them.

Elizabeth Morris/NBC

You have been together for a decade. How would you describe your bond? 

Matt; The second I met him the thing that struck me, he is one of the hardest people you’ll ever meet. You see that with how he did in the NFL. He brings joy everywhere he goes. A relentlessly positive guy who gets better all the time. Akbar is a tremendous broadcaster and a funny guy, but just a tremendous human being. Just being around him. He is such a good guy, a wonderful guy, husband. He is a butt for many of my jokes. I love him.

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Akbar: Matt, likewise. One of the smartest dudes on the planet, kind and generous. Every year he is always hosting events at his house whether it’s the premiere of Ninja Warrior or holiday celebration. He is family. Over the years as I was making the transition from sports, he was there for questions and support because Matt was there way before. I’m not calling him old, but he was doing this way before I was doing this.

He was super helpful and instrumental. That’s odd in a competitive environment like Hollywood where people don’t always want to help you out. It’s not like a team sport. So when you have someone where we’re in the same industry, and he is here to help you out, it speaks volumes of his character. I think that all is the secret to our long-lasting friendship.

That Clip Show: Holiday Edition, December 14, 8/7c, NBC (Nex Day on Peacock)