Entertainment

Maya Rudolph Will Get Behind the Winter Olympics?

by Alicia Lutes

Saturday Night Live alum and the last woman of color cast member since her departure, Maya Rudolph has booked herself a sweet, sweet new gig: host of a primetime variety show pilot. Set to air in primetime on NBC following Russia's misguided attempt at hosting a non-gay Winter Olympics, the hourlong hootenanny looks to be a real spotlight moment for one of the sketch series' funniest females. Plus, it gives us the answer we've been craving for months: FINALLY, we know what we're doing closing night of the Winter Olympics.

Though existence of the show is hardly news — the project has been in the works for several months now —this recent development assures us that the show will at least see the light of day. Really good news when you think about how Rudolph's previous gig, NBC comedy sad trombone Up All Night went out not with a bang but with a, "Oh no. Oh no no no."

But all is forgiven because putting Maya Rudolph at the helm of a variety show is the smartest thing they could've done with the multi-hyphenate. Indeed, Rudolph — who is the daughter of "Loving You" singer Minnie Riperton (yes, that song with the crazy-bananagrams-high note that you attempt to sing but end up scaring cats away with) — is not only an accomplished sketch comedian, but also a singer, an improver, a master impressionist (of the non-painting variety), and also just generally fearless and radtastical. Lorne Michaels (the pilot's executive producer, because of course) is a smart man, y'all — not that he needed the reminder considering his epic career of discovering some of the greatest comedic minds of all time.

Performers like Rudolph don't come around as often as they once used to: the all-around entertainer disposition in Hollywood seemingly died off long ago, with only a few people holding up the flag — like Neil Patrick Harris, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Hugh Jackman — and by "people" we mean "mostly men." It's an opportunity for Rudolph to really shine and remind the world that we should be just as obsessed with her as we are with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.