David Giesbrecht/NBC(NEW YORK) — “Red Nose Day,” a three-hour live event designed to raise money for charity organizations that focus on helping children and young people in the U.S. and around the world lift themselves out of poverty, aired Thursday night on NBC.
The star-studded lineup included actors Will Ferrell, Jack Black, Anna Kendrick, and Gwyneth Paltrow, as well as musicians like Coldplay, John Mellencamp, Keith Urban, Ed Sheeran, and U2.
Here are some of the evening’s highlights:
- There was a comedy montage called “Seth Meyers’ Celebrity Phone Tree,” in which Meyers started a phone tree featuring a myriad of film stars to spread the word about “Red Nose Day” to their friends. The message gets more jumbled with each subsequent call, until, finally, Reese Witherspoon calls Seth to ask him if he’ll agree to take part in a charity called “The Day They Stopped Making Rosé.”
- In a parody of The Voice, Ferrell faced off against Parks and Recreation star Nick Offerman to prove who is the best at convincing people to donate. To Ferrell’s disgust, Voice coach Adam Levine declares the battle a tie, to which Ferrell responds, “That’s not the way winning works, Levine. There’s no such thing as two winners.”
- In a segment of “Billy on the Street,” comedian Billy Eichner and Martin Short approached random New Yorkers on the street asking for “Red Nose Day” donations. The two manage to collect some money, but are outraged to learn that people either haven’t heard of Short or don’t believe it’s really him.
- Jane Krakowski, noting the upcoming Ghostbusters reboot featuring an all-female cast, presented a comedy segment featuring several films that once starred men, re-imagined with women. Among them:Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, starring Anna Kendrick, in search of the Holy Grail as a decoration for her house.
- Coldplay’s Game of Thrones parody featured the show’s cast taking part in a musical production of the show, written by the band’s frontman, Chris Martin. Though he had high hopes for the production, it ends in failure when, according to the sketch, Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin won’t give his consent to turn the books into a play.
The evening also included musical performances from U2, who performed “Song for Someone.” Ed Sheeran teamed up with Kermit the Frog for “The Rainbow Connection,” from The Muppet Movie. Mellencamp and Urban joined forces for Mellencamp’s “Pink Houses.”
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