Jane Lynch Has a Backyard Blast on NBC's "Hollywood Game Night"

For four seasons Jane Lynch has been having a hoot inviting viewers into her palatial Hollywood hills home on her hit NBC game show Hollywood Game Night.Going into its fifth season, keeping the show fresh was important to Lynch who, along with the show’s producers, is excited for viewers to see what’s in store. Lynch has done a little redecorating; overhauling some of the games, introducing some new ones and for the first time ever opening her spacious backyard to the celebrity contestants.  “I have a backyard,” exclaimed a joyful Lynch when I visited her recently at home.  “Well, I’ve always had a backyard but I’ve had it renovated.

“It’s all drought-tolerant and the pool is full of little balls,” she continued.  “We’re being ecological in that regard and we have new games! ‘Smash The Buzzer’ is a lot of fun; it’s like having a dream where you’re trying to run but you’re running through mud.  You think you’re going to speed towards the buzzer and you slow right down, but the balls do give you some traction.

“I think ‘Seven Seconds of Frame’ is maybe my favorite new game,” she added.  “I installed three guillotines in the backyard [for that game].  It’s a part of my art gallery and as the paintings slowly come down you have to list off items in a category.  I’m immortalized on the pictures that drop-down, all inspired by the masters, and I actually took a photo of the one I liked the most and will use it as my Twitter picture.”

In addition to the pool and art walk, Lynch has installed a huge turntable for ‘Turn This Beat Around,’ wherein a pop song is played backwards and after it’s been identified contestants leap into the center of it and hit a buzzer.  There’s also ‘Hold My Balls,’ ‘Celebrity Name Game’ and ‘Chest of Drawers’ and believe me, after experiencing these games in person they are much harder than they appear on TV.

Steve Gidlow

Steve Gidlow, a long-time columnist for MediaVillage ("Behind the Scenes in Hollywood"), has written about television and pop culture since 1994, beginning in Australia.  Since moving to Hollywood in 1997, Steve has focused on celebrity interv… read more