In November 2020, in the middle of a blazing pandemic, Eureka Productions and Fox tapped Jane Krakowski for hosting Name That Tune. She would be the face of the revival of a big game show, one that had not been touched since 1985.
It was a primetime version of the show, and Randy Jackson of American Idol was chosen to be her co-host.
This meant Krakowski had the tough job of keeping the show's name up after such a long absence and doing it during a pandemic. The cast and crew had many difficulties, which the host discussed during her interview with NPR in January 2021.
Krakowski always wanted to do Name That Tune because she wanted to perform in front of a live audience. Her Broadway background urged her to take up the job.
However, the pandemic threw a curveball at her and everything shut down right before the production began. Nevertheless, she still took the challenge.
Name That Tune host Jane Krakowski revealed how the show had to be filmed in Australia amidst the pandemic. (Photo: Name That Tune/Instagram)
"I thought it'd be super fun. It also came at a time where there was no live theater," she told NPR host Peter Sagal. The closures had ended any chances of doing the show with a live audience.
So, they had to come up with a Plan B. And that included changing the filming location to Australia.
"The only way we could film it in time through our corona, COVID times was to go to Australia to film it," Krakowski said to the surprise of Sagal.
"An iconic American game show has just been filmed in Australia," she added.
They had to take everyone to the land down under, including the contestants, who were still all American. They were all required to quarantine for 14 days.
Everyone was under strict supervision during their 14-day isolation. Krakowski joked, saying nobody got the keys to their rooms under the pretense that if they could not leave, they need not get back in. There were even guards outside every hotel room they were in.
It was a relief when they were let out of the four walls.
The filming began on November 17, 2020, at ICC Sydney with a partial studio audience, and the show premiered on January 6, 2021 on Fox.
