Ghostbusters star Leslie Jones’ enthusiastic tweeting of the Olympics has made plenty of fans, and now she’ll be taking her talents to NBC’s broadcasts from Rio, perhaps thanks to Twitter. Mike Shoemaker, the producer of NBC’s Late Night With Seth Meyers, was one of the many impressed with Jones’ Olympic reactions, and he tweeted at NBC Olympics executive producer Jim Bell to consider her. That led to Bell giving Jones a Twitter invite:
https://twitter.com/jfb/status/762145655003295744
Jones then announced Monday that she’d be taking NBC up on that offer:
RIO BOUND BABY USA! USA!! pic.twitter.com/Gkaxr2UOPl
— Leslie Jones 🦋 (@Lesdoggg) August 8, 2016
She followed that up with this:
We gonna win everything I'm telling you!! I AM AMERICAN SPIRIT!! USA!! USA!! pic.twitter.com/RGAAKrnsga
— Leslie Jones 🦋 (@Lesdoggg) August 8, 2016
NBC later sent out a press release confirming that Jones would join their coverage starting Friday. Here’s the key part:
Saturday Night Live cast member and Olympics super fan Leslie Jones is coming to Rio! She will join NBC Olympics as a contributor for its coverage of the Games of the XXXI Olympiad in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Starting this Friday, Jones will attend live Olympic events, meet athletes, and spread her enthusiasm for the Olympics on-air and online during NBC Olympics’ coverage of Rio 2016.
…“We’re thrilled to have Leslie come to the Olympics,” said Bell. “She’s a member of the family, and her passion for the Olympics is remarkable.”
Jones’ Olympic enthusiasm has certainly helped promote the Games, and bringing some of that to NBC’s coverage would seem to make a lot of sense. We’ll see how she’s utilized and if she can still be as interesting and engaging while working under their broadcast standards, but why not give this a try?
Comments are closed.