‘Maya & Marty’ Preview: Rudolph, Short Talk Variety Show, Nerves, Llamas, Beyoncé

Maya Rudolph and Martin Short know the Saturday Night Live comparisons are coming. “We will definitely be compared to them, and I get that because we are alumni and we are doing comedy and Lorne is involved, but this is a different show I promise,” Maya Rudolph tells Yahoo TV exclusively during a phone interview about the variety show she is headlining with Martin Short, Maya & Marty. “And if you don’t believe me, you should tune in and give us a chance to prove it.”

The sketch-comedy veterans, first paired on the 2015 Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special, hope to marry music, mirth, and celebrity guests on the new show which premieres Tuesday. The duo, who will be joined regularly by third SNL-er Kenan Thompson, chatted with us as production began to ramp up a few weeks ago about stage fright, the thrill of a live studio audience, whether they will revisit old characters, what trait makes them good co-hosts, and whether a Trump presidency is worth the endless hours of material it would surely produce.

Did you two know each other before working together on the anniversary special or was that the genesis of this show?
Short: That was kind of it. I had done walk-ons and cameos and things on SNL when she was there, but the last time I hosted a year and a half ago Maya had already left. When Lorne was putting the anniversary show together, he put Maya and myself in charge of a musical section that explained how comedy and music and SNL all merge. We conceived this piece that had us performing as Beyoncé and Martin Short. We found that our working style really clicked — maybe because we have similar improv backgrounds, me at Second City and her at Groundlings. We had instant chemistry and Lorne said, “Wait a minute. We should do this show. We should put them together and do a sketch variety show.” So yeah, we consider that 40th special the pilot.

Rudolph: He didn’t have a Maya Rudolph poster above his bed? What? Unbelievable. That’s what Marty told me. We hadn’t really ever crossed paths. I only knew the legend.

Did you feel that magic immediately too?
Short: When I saw it back, I noticed that we never looked at each other — she is playing Beyoncé staring up — yet we never missed the nuance between each other. That is not with everyone. But ultimately at this point in my career, I think in terms of what seems like a cool idea. And I couldn’t think of a cooler, more fun idea than Maya and me doing a sketch show at 30 Rock in studio 6A. It sounds like a risky, high-wire act and that is the most intriguing thing you can have in your life as a comedian.

What is it about the variety format that keeps you coming back to it? Why do you like this format?
Rudolph: It is probably the best possible platform for what I love to do, which is performing in front of an audience. It is not always an easy thing to do whenever you’d like to. A lot of the time when you are filming a movie or a TV show you don’t get that same palpable energy from the room that you do when you are on stage in front of an audience. And it is also a way to perform with people that make me laugh and that I admire and that ultimately lift you up and make your game better.

What will keep it from being just Tuesday Night Live?
Short: It will be different because there will be a commitment to the shorter pieces and more diversity as far as types of things you will see. There will be a lot of pre-tapes and a lot more music. But I know people will still be saying, “But it is Martin, Maya, Kenan Thompson, and Lorne Michaels, how different can it really be?” Obviously we all have Saturday Night Live in our blood and that influences this, but it’s also in a very different position on the schedule and that changes things. When Dave Letterman went from 12:30 to 11:30, he had to adjust the types of stuff he did. We’re doing a show at 10 during the week and that changes the approach. There’s no question, the stars of this show are SNL alumni, but we have no intention of doing a copycat show.

Rudolph: It is not a political platform and we won’t do up-to-the-last-minute current events. If there is something really funny in the news, then we might write something addressing it but most of what we have written so far for the show can be done in week one or held to week four and it’d be just as funny. The show is not live live in the way that SNL is. We will have pre-taped stuff. Growing up watching variety shows, I always loved seeing movie stars do something you had never seen them do before. The difference is the relaxed feeling. We are inviting people, our buddies or people we are big fans of, to come have fun with us and maybe do something you’ve never seen them do. And it feels like anything can happen at any moment. It could be as big as a written sketch piece or as simple as having someone come on and sing a song or just talk. It should feel fun and loose for us as well as for our guests.

Any friends you can already confirm?
Short: We could certainly have Jimmy Fallon helping on some live sketches. He is next door. We will have Larry David and Tom Hanks. These shows will be filled with a lot of great people showing up. [Editor’s note: Miley Cyrus is also expected to appear on the premiere.]

How prominently will the llama figure in? I see he made it into the promo photos.
Short: Ha. I don’t think it fits in at all. The llama was a nod to an SNL tradition. It was something that traditionally would show up, mostly in the first five years, attached to sketches that had been cut. But I remember when I was hosting a Christmas show a couple of years ago and had to go through the hallway singing and I turned a corner and there was the llama. It had moved and it almost tripped me up on live television.

Music and singing seems to be something you both enjoy and certainly is something you are good at. Will there be more of a music emphasis?
Rudolph: I don’t know that I would say more. But I know that it is definitely a place where I feel really comfortable and it is part of what I do, and Marty comes from the background as well, so it will probably come up. For me, comedy and music is a match made in heaven.

Does live TV scare you at all?
Rudolph: I like it. It is an adrenaline rush. For better or for worse, I am a little bit of an addict. I need that rush. It boosts my performance. I am not as energetic without it. I get nervous not to f–k things up, but I am more addicted than I am nervous.

Short: A long time ago in the ‘70s, I was doing a lot of stage shows and I figured out that nerves were never going to help me. No one likes a nervous comedian. I have always been very logical and logically I realized at 26 that I have never blown the big night. I am empowered by them. I’ve never choked, never forgotten the words to a song. You get tense and you wake up that morning and go, “Oh god. Here we go.” But then you get focused. And my other secret weapon is to over-prepare. When I do Fallon or Letterman or all the way back to Carson, I sit on the phone for two hours with the producer or booker. I send in 18 pages of jokes, thoughts, and notes. It allows you to go out and say, “Anything can happen and it might be a terrible appearance, but there is nothing I could have done because I prepared the best I could.”

That’s an interesting way to combat butterflies.
Rudolph: And that’s why we are good for each other. Because I am the polar opposite. I told him that I am glad we didn’t go to high school together and the last thing I would want to do is come back in another life and be in class with him because he makes you look bad. He’s so the valedictorian, perfect student who always has his homework done and his lines highlighted. And I’d be like, “Uh, what are we doing?”

What does Maya bring to the table that makes you feel like she is the ideal partner for this show?
Short: Maya is just a huge, huge talent with a huge instinct to understand and make the right choices. She can go really big but also be very subtle and when she impersonates someone she captures their soul. And she sings.

And Maya, what trait makes Marty a good co-host?
Rudolph: The thing about Marty that he doesn’t advertise is that he is really easy to work with and get along with. He is so collaborative and he bounces ideas of people and wants to work on things and talk about things and get feedback and he is just the nicest warmest guy. You want to invite him over for dinner. He’s the guy you want to be your right-hand man. He is a generous actor and I personally prefer to work that way too. We both come from sketch comedy and have improv roots and at those places you are part of a funny group of people. You can be funny individually and do your own thing within that group, but you are there most importantly to contribute to the group and add to the group effort and lift everyone up. He is just a joy and a delight to spend time with and at this point in my life, I feel like those are the prerequisites for work. I want work to be joyful and happy and fun. If it is a chore, I should find something else to do. I’ve got really amazing children at home that I’d rather be with if work sucks.

Will we see either of you reprise characters you have done before?
Short: My feeling about that is you shouldn’t repeat a character you have already done unless you have a new good idea for something to do with that character. You can’t just do it for nostalgia. But if you have a new bit and you think it is going to be funny than yes you should. Jiminy Glick will show up. We did a piece for possibly the first show where Glick interviews Larry David. And it’s funny and fresh, but I will not do him every week either.

Rudolph: It is hard to imagine a world with Beyoncé in it where I would not ever have the need or desire to play her again. I am sure there will be an opportunity, but as of right now we don’t have anything planned. And I don’t like to make rules that would limit me. If it comes up, I am open to it. I prefer to do as many new things as possible, but it’s hard when you are the go-to person for something because people always come to you and go, “You should do this.” And usually I go, “Oh yeah, that’s a good idea.”

You mentioned that you don’t feel like you would tackle politics that often but we are in the middle of a very contentious campaign year. Do you think you will ever tackle politics?
Rudolph: I don’t think we’re going to be reinventing the wheel in that department and it isn’t the purpose of the show. But if something is happening that feels like it has got to be touched on, we might do it but it is not meant to be that kind of platform. When there is an insane election year happening like the one we are having right now, you know to tune in to Saturday Night Live or The Daily Show to find their take on it. I don’t think I will be revisiting my Condoleezza Rice anytime soon.

Everyone keeps saying how Donald Trump as president would provide the best fodder for the comedians and late-night shows. But is it worth it?
Short: Not remotely. Saying you want the leader of the free world, the person who holds the key to the bombs, to be a clown so it would be easier to come up with jokes or write sketches is maybe the most shortsighted and shallow statement you can make. This is serious stuff. People need to get out and vote to make sure that foolishness doesn’t continue and doesn’t win. We went through this in Toronto with the late Bob Ford. You become a laughing stock of the world and no one wants that.

Rudolph: No, not worth it. It is funny in theory for five minutes when they are saying that, but that is as funny as it gets. To me, it sounds more like a full-blown nightmare.

Maya & Marty airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on NBC.