After seeing a massive chunk of its billion-dollar investment in the Tokyo Olympics wiped out by a global pandemic, NBCUniversal were lucky to recoup a programming breakout in Olympic Highlights. The 30ish-minute late-night streaming-only show is more than mere alloy of ESPN’s SportsCenter and SNL’s Weekend Update. During that quadrennial it had Kevin Hart and Snoop Dogg serving up their irreverent takes on the Games’ great and not-so-great moments uncensored and off the cuff; dressage hasn’t looked the same since Snoop likened it to crip walking. “This horse is off the chain,” Snoop cheered, grooving along while flashing westside hand gestures. “I gotta get this motherfucker in a video!”
Recorded out of Hart’s Laugh Out Loud studios in Los Angeles as part of the company’s multi-year production deal with NBCU, the show resonated most on social media – which figures, given that’s where onlookers ultimately wound up gathering. Snoop, who collected some anchoring experience presenting the wildly offbeat Double G News satire, proved such a highlight on his own that NBC invited him into their tent this time to breathe in the scene and relate his impersonations on live TV. (All the while, France’s strict laws against marijuana promise to keep the joint-sparking rap star “clean as a book, clean as the athletes”, he told Time. “They can test me if they want to.”) Across the board, ratings have been through the roof.
