Jane Lynch Brings a Touch of Sue Sylvester to ‘Weakest Link,’ Plus Would She Do a Soap?
Q&A
If you’ve missed Jane Lynch’s Sue Sylvester, the acerbic gym teacher character she played on Glee, you can find traces of her in Lynch’s current gig – host of Weakest Link, the game show that rubs it in your face a smidge when you don’t know the right answer.
The series was made famous by Anne Robinson over in Great Britain, quickly migrating across the pond for a lengthy run in the United States. Now, the revived series is back with new episodes on NBC. The April 2 one pits Lynch against eight cast members of Days of our Lives, which can be seen daily on the network’s streaming platform, Peacock.
TV Insider chatted with Lynch just prior to the premiere’s taping of the Weakest Link about a host of topics including if she’ll do a sitcom again with Chuck Lorre, her late pal Leslie Jordan (Beverly Leslie, Will & Grace), and if she’ll ever pop on to DAYS for a guest spot or sign up for Dancing With the Stars.
This hosting gig is such a fit for you because of Sue Sylvester and other characters you’ve played.
Jane Lynch: It took me no time at all to say yes. As soon as my agent told me about this, I said, “I’m in!” Anne Robinson is just masterful in it. I adored the way she handled the show. She didn’t break. I break [character] a little bit. My character’s a little bit less consistent with the stern school mom.
Chris Haston/NBC
Saturday Night Live’s Rachel Dratch spoofed Anne. The sketch showed her as a little girl behaving the same way she does on Weakest Link. Who could spoof you on SNL?
Well, Kate McKinnon imitated me in [a sketch on] Hollywood Game Night. I think Elizabeth Gilles [Fallon, Dynasty] could. She’d be very good.
In your role as host, how much is you – how much is Sue Sylvester, how much is Dr. Linda Freeman from Two and a Half Men?
Oh, good [re: Linda]! I think it’s all of those things. It’s picking and choosing which ones at different times. I actually don’t consciously do it. I always stop short of being really, truly mean. I try to walk that line.
Comedy has become a sensitive issue, strangely. One person who could make zingers and they’d always land was Leslie Jordan (Will & Grace).
That’s a great example. His beating heart was right on the surface. Bless him.
Are the trivia questions on Weakest Link toned down to be made easier for celebrities?
No. We’re a trivia show. We’ll go from pop culture to computer science. We’ve had questions about Picasso and opera.
Sometimes the question can be where you – Jane – are the answer, but players get it wrong.
I love it when they get questions about me wrong. One time, the answer was “Sue Sylvester” and [the contestant didn’t get it right].
How might you do as a Weakest Link contestant?
Not very well. There’s the pressure of answering quickly. My reference level is pretty good but the pressure of answering [is intense]. Having to say the answer right away might get the best of me.
Did you ever do any day player work on soap operas when you were starting out?
No, but I would have had I know how to do it. I had friends in New York doing them back in the mid-’80s.
How would you feel if DAYS extended an invitation for you to pop over and appear on the show?
Never! Unless the lines were on a teleprompter!
Glee was a huge hit around the time Simon Cowell exited his role as a judge on American Idol. Sue Sylvester would have been a great replacement for him given her similar tone. There would have been synergy tie-ins between Idol and Glee.
I would have liked that. If someone asked me to do something like that now, I would. I’d love to be a judge. Not to be mean, though. I might have done it back then as Sue, but now I’d want to do it as me.
People see you in Two and a Half Men reruns as Charlie’s (Charlie Sheen) therapist, Dr. Linda Freeman. She could have her own series. If not that, would you like to do another Chuck Lorre show?
I’ve been wanting to. Chuck told me we need to do a sitcom called The 50-Minute Hour. Boy, if he wanted to do that, I would.
What else is keeping you busy?
[Last year] I did my Christmas show with Kate Flannery (The Office) — Jane Lynch & Kate Flannery: A Swingin’ Little Christmas.
She was terrific on Dancing With the Stars a few seasons ago. Would you ever do that show?
Never. I hate dancing.
You wouldn’t have to go far…the show tapes here at the same production facility.
I know. I almost went into the spray tan room!
Weakest Link, New Episodes, Tuesday, April 2, 9/8c, NBC (Streaming, Next day, Peacock)
Days of our Lives, Weekdays, Peacock
