ET spoke with the actress about her latest hosting gig and if she'd be up for a 'Best in Show' reunion.
The Weakest Link is back with Jane Lynch at the helm! The actress hosts the revival of the 2000 game show, delivering her own Anne Robinson-twist by channeling her snarky Glee character Sue Sylvester.
"I always say that Sue Sylvester lives about a quarter of an inch below the skin, below the surface that you see here," Lynch tells ET's Rachel Smith. "So I just kinda scratch her out and she can come out like the ride of the Valkyries... She's definitely in attendance when I'm doing The Weakest Link."
The primetime quiz show tests trivia knowledge. Robinson hosted both the original British and spinoff American editions, delivering her own brand of cutting remarks when the contestants were exiled.
"Of course my brand is sarcasm, and cruelty is my own individual unique brand," Lynch jokes. "And of course Anne has hers. So it was just a really fun thing to watch her because I watched a lot of the episodes on YouTube when she did them in Britain and when she did them here, and she is a joy to watch. She really inspired me and I love the way she helmed the ship. I hope I do it justice."
The latest iteration is a lot more high tech, with a bigger and more dramatic set. "We've got a tunnel where I've dismissed people and I say goodbye," Lynch teases. There's also $1 million at stake.
Thirteen episodes were shot safely during quarantine in just five days, and the smartest people don't always win that million dollar prize.
"We had a guy who had a degree from MIT and he was out in the first round because he was asked a Britney Spears question and he was asked a question about a 1970s television commercial and he didn't know. Bye bye," Lynch recalls, adding that they have no idea the questions they will be asked. "Had we given him questions on quantum physics or literature he might’ve made it all the way to the end. But he got two pop culture questions and he's gone in the first round."
Lynch says people will enjoy The Weakest Link and sees it as an educational "escape" from the current climate.
"You can watch it with the entire family. It's an entire hour where we're not talking politics at all, we don't even mention the pandemic. It's just an hour to sit with your family, or by yourself, and test your own trivia knowledge," she notes. "And there will be moments when you feel really smart, and other moments when you feel really dumb. But hopefully you retain some of it and you walk away a better-rounded person, trivia-wise and intellectually."
Next up for Lynch is the 20th anniversary of the mockumetary Best in Show. She just celebrated her former co-star Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara's big wins at the Emmys.
"It was wonderful to see. They are both really unique extraordinary talents," Lynch praises. As for the possibility of seeing the cast get together for a special reunion, Lynch is up for it.
"We can't necessarily do a reading of one of our movies because they're all improvised, so that would be kind of weird," she quips, adding, "But it would be fun to do something. I would totally be into that."
The Weakest Link airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on NBC.
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