For several years, “The Daily Show” has recorded “Between The Scenes” segments during commercial breaks in which the host takes questions from the audience for a few minutes. The whole thing is unrehearsed, but when it’s good, the finished product is posted to YouTube.
In 2018, when Trevor Noah was still in the anchor chair, Anna Kendrick was his guest. When her regular interview segment ended, she left the set and Noah spent a couple of minutes by chatting with an audience member as the cameras kept rolling. But to his surprise, Kendrick walked back out, sat down, and pretty much took over.
What made it so much fun to watch was that even if Noah knew she was going to come out during his “Between The Scenes” segment, he and Kendrick had great chemistry. She, in particular, really impressed me with her comic timing, loose attitude, and ability to play — three qualities any host wants from a great guest. Watch her quickness when a woman in the audience says that Kendrick is on her husband’s “list,” a phrase Noah isn’t familiar with.
Try to imagine how this would have worked on Jimmy Fallon’s “Tonight Show.” He would have oversold the premise, overreacted in shock to her reappearance, and had his writers give him lines to say during their interaction. It would have lacked all the spontaneity displayed by Kendrick and Noah.
A year later, Kendrick returned to “The Daily Show” with a new project to promote and did another “BTS” segment with Noah in which they discussed the first go-round and then went off on a couple of other things.
You can watch both segments here…