Spoilers ahead for the premiere of NBC's Weakest Link reboot.
The latest game show reboot hit the airwaves on September 29 with NBC's Weakest Link, led by Glee alum and longtime Hollywood Game Night host Jane Lynch. The original show launched in the United Kingdom in 2000 and then debuted on NBC in 2001, at a time when the original Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? had already become one of the biggest shows on television. Anne Robinson became iconic as host with her delivery of "You are the weakest link. Goodbye!" So, how does Jane Lynch stand as a host, especially when comparisons to Robinson are inevitable?
After the series premiere of Weakest Link on NBC, Jane Lynch has already proved that her Hollywood Game Night hosting skills translate perfectly well to the reboot, in my book. She brought her signature sense of humor, with a bit of bite but not so much that it was uncomfortable, and she kept the action moving.
It's worth noting that Weakest Link isn't the most visually spectacular or dazzling game show on television, so it doesn't have the glitz of some other shows or star power other than Jane Lynch. Over on Fox, The Masked Singer has singing and dancing with elaborate costumes and a panel of celebrity judges. On ABC, To Tell the Truth features celebrities as well, as do (of course) Celebrity Family Feud with Steve Harvey and Match Game with Alec Baldwin. Jimmy Kimmel's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? reboot on ABC is probably the closest thing to Weakest Link coming to television.
As of the premiere, I would argue that Jane Lynch is stronger on Weakest Link than many others on the game show circuit with her years of Hollywood Game Night experience. That show launched back in 2013 and has run for six seasons and 74 episodes so far. Lynch tackled the Weakest Link challenges like she's already been doing the show for years, because she has been handling game show duties for quite a while and simply adapted to the format.
That said, Weakest Link has an established formula and rules that are pretty straightforward, even for viewers who are coming into the reboot without watching Anne Robinson's first version of the show. Jane Lynch's top task is to keep the game going and to drop some one-liners in between rounds. She did it remarkably well in the premiere, and I have no reason to believe that she will drop the ball as the weeks pass. It might have been hard for her to flop!
Throw in the fact that enough time has passed that any comparisons to Anne Robinson's tenure as host probably won't be too impassioned, and the stage is set for Jane Lynch to lead the Weakest Link reboot to become NBC's next game show hit. It should be interesting to keep an eye on the ratings and discover if Lynch's next long-running series will be Weakest Link.
New episodes of NBC's Weakest Link reboot air on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET. Be sure to vote in our poll below about how well Jane Lynch did as host, and check out our 2020 fall TV premiere schedule for some upcoming viewing options!
This poll is no longer available.
