“We come together tonight with a common goal.”
To the comedian Nikki Glaser, this was a great premise in search of a better punchline.
Over Zoom, three days after nominations for the Golden Globes were announced last month, she invited ideas from her staff of 10 writers for the opening monologue that she will deliver as the host on Sunday. She and the writers were also together for a common goal, finding something funnier than: “To get out of here before Dax Shepard asked you to do his podcast.”
Glaser, 40, seated cross-legged in black pants on her couch in West Hollywood, liked the joke but thought it was too wordy. And maybe, she said, it could be harsher. One writer, Sean O’Connor, suggested: “Getting out without having a conversation with Jesse Eisenberg.”
She smiled and said they could think more out of the box.
“Leave before Harrison Ford snaps at you.”
“Getting Ted Sarandos’s personal number.”
“See if they can parlay a Golden Globes win into an appearance on ‘Hot Ones.’”
Glaser considered each punchline politely, patiently responding to every one. She described this as the honeymoon period: Every joke seemed fun and new. She told the group they were on pace to make a great set. When she turned an idea down, she tended to do it with praise. (“Really good idea but …”) The writers’ room slogan could have been: Making mean jokes nicely.