Photo courtesy NBC/Getty Images
There's a little bit ofbrSouthlake in Hollywood. Southlake resident Jessica Marchetti (pictured far right) will appear on thebrFebruary 16 episode of “Hollywood Game Night” at 7 p.m. on NBC. The hit primetimebrshow hosted by Jane Lynch features everyday people along with celebritiesbrfacing off in hilarious party games for a chance to win up to $25,000.
Tune in February 16 (click here for a sneak preview) tobrsee Marchetti and celebrities Hunter Hayes, Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbardbr(Florida Georgia Line), Ciara and Estelle (R&B singers) and Ta’Rhonda Jonesbr(“Empire”). On average, each episode draws approximately four million viewers.brThere will certainly be a local surge in viewers as we cheer on our own hometown contestant. Here’s what Marchetti has to say about the experience:
SouthlakebrStyle: How were you chosen?
Marchetti: I’m a huge fan of thebrshow, and every time I’d watch and play along at home, I’d tell my husband,brNick, “I can so win this game. This show was meant for me.” So at the endbrof Season 4 I decided to go online and see if they were acceptingbrapplications. Sure enough, there was an online form, so I spent an hourbrcarefully filling it out and sent it off. I had completely forgotten about itbruntil I randomly got the call in August from the casting director saying theybrread my application, and that I was the perfect candidate. They wanted to setbrup an interview.
SS: Have you ever appeared on a game show or televisionbrprogram?
Marchetti: Never as a contestant. I’vebrbeen seen in the audience for “Oprah” and “The Price is Right,” but this was mybrfirst time being on center stage.
SS: What was it like to rub shoulders with celebs?
Marchetti: It was fun! I’ve met a fewbrcelebrities in the past and always managed to be calm and collected. Thisbrwas pretty much the same but with cocktails, so a little more craziness andbrjumping around. Oh, and barking orders at them to get the answersbrright. I was intense! Tyler Hubbard (from Florida Georgia Line) wasbrso nice and down to earth. He would ask me how he was doing, and I’d offer himbrtips on how to do well in the next game. He was so nice and responsive about it! Theybrhave a celebrity wall inside the green room where every celebrity who’s been onbrthe show has signed. I was standing next to Tyler when he signed his, thenbrhe turned to me and handed me the Sharpie and told me to sign it. Ibrlaughed and said, “I’m pretty sure they only want celebrities to sign this.” Hebrsaid, “Heck no man, you’re a celeb now! You sign this wall!” I didn’t. I wasbrtoo afraid I’d get yelled at before taping even began. Ask me again howbrcool I was if I ever rub elbows with Justin Timberlake, Ryan Gosling or JimmybrFallon. I may not be so cool.
SS: Is Jane Lynch as funny in person as she is on thebrshow?
Marchetti: She’s great! I thinkbrshe may have been the nicest of everyone we met. She was very encouraging,brhugged me a lot and might have been the most fun and laid-back of everyonebrthere. She even went and found my husband, Nick, during a commercial breakbrto talk to him about me.
SS: Were you nervous? Excited? A little of both?
Marchetti: Oddly, I was very calm. I kind of expected to bebra little nervous, but it never happened. I was definitely excited! I keptbrthinking to myself, “Is this really happening? Did I seriously just get pickedbrout of all these people to be here?!” It might also be because therebrwas never any time to think about it much. When the producer told me I’dbrbeen picked, I may have screamed a little, but as soon as she said I was in, shebrraced me into hair and makeup, and from that moment on, things moved atbrlightning speed. The premise of the show is that it’s a game night you’dbrhave at a friend’s house. There are lots of cocktails and food, which also madebrthings easier. It really did feel like I was just hanging out with friendsbrhaving fun. But don’t get me wrong, I was also laser focused. Therebrwere even points where some of the celebs were trying to make small talk withbrme and I was too busy doing math in my head to see how many more points I wouldbrneed in the next round to advance.
SS: How would you describe the experience overall?
Marchetti: Amazing! One of thebrhardest things about being on the show was keeping it a secret. Due to thebrnature of the show, you had to sign a contract saying you wouldn’t tell anyonebryou’d been on, or anything about your episode or celebrities until thebrpromotions air. The other people who interviewed weren’t even allowed tobrstay to watch the taping. They didn’t even tell us who our celebritiesbrwere until we were in hair and makeup.
SS: Anything else you’d like to say?
Marchetti: From the time I startedbrinterviewing to the night before the big audition, I actually studied a lot. Ibrread celebrity blogs, US Weekly, People magazine, you name it. I basicallybrlived and breathed pop-culture trivia. My episode is musical themed, sobreveryone was a musician. Try singing alongside chart-topper Ciara and notbrlook inadequate! It’s actually pretty hysterical to watch.