Amazon will bow a new laugh lead-in for its exclusive “Thursday Night Football” NFL games package, enlisting “Saturday Night Live” alum Taran Killam as the host of “The NFL Pile On” — the league’s first official comedy show.
“The NFL Pile On” will premiere Sept. 14 at 7 p.m. ET on Prime Video, airing each Wednesday throughout the NFL season one day before Amazon’s “Thursday Night Football” coverage. In the half-hour show, Killam will riff on “funny and unexpected moments” from the across the NFL the week prior, from mic’d up players during pregame warmups to postgame press conference zingers, and from epic fumbles to off-the-field blunders — according to Amazon, “everything from studio shows, social media and fashion faux pas will be fair game.”
“I am so excited and grateful to help launch a show about two things I love: football and comedy,” Killam said. “The fact that we are supported by the NFL and Prime Video means we can provide exclusive, all-access content to Prime members and NFL fans alike… and also that I get all ‘The Boys’ spoilers I can handle.”
In addition to being designed to drive tune-in for “TNF” — for which Amazon is paying about $1 billion per year — “The NFL Pile On” has sponsorship revenue attached to it: The show is “presented by Carnival Cruise Line,” which is also the exclusive advertising partner.
The show is produced in coordination with NFL Films and led by showrunner Chris Pizzi. After they air, episodes of “The NFL Pile On” will available on demand for one week afterward on Prime Video.
On “The NFL Pile On,” Killam will be joined by comedian Sarah Tiana and special guests from the worlds of pop culture, sports, comedy and social media, per Amazon. Killam’s acting credits, in addition to “SNL,” include “Night School,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “MADtv” and a turn as King George III in the Broadway production of “Hamilton.”
“’The NFL Pile On’ will give viewers an entertaining, fresh take on all the week’s NFL action,” Marie Donoghue, Amazon’s VP of global sports video, said in a statement. “Led by Taran Killam, we will bring fans closer to the fun in and around the game, so they can enjoy even more access to their favorite teams and players.”
Amazon Prime Video’s “Thursday Night Football” schedule for the 2022-23 season kicks off Sept. 15, when the Los Angeles Chargers visit the Kansas City Chiefs. The tech giant’s 11-year pact with the NFL includes 15 regular-season games and one preseason game per year, with Prime Video also producing pregame, halftime and postgame shows. Each “TNF” game also will stream live on Amazon’s Twitch and will be available on over-the-air TV stations in the two home markets of the competing teams, as well as in Spanish on Prime Video.
Watch Killam’s promo video for “The NFL Pile On”:
