Jack Black will trap Friends stars Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow, along with Ben Stiller and Adam Scott, in an escape room for an NBC special.
The hourlong Celebrity Escape Room will kick off the network’s annual Red Nose Day fundraiser on May 21. It will be followed by a two-hour variety special/telethon that will raise money to combat childhood poverty.
Stiller and Black are also executive producers of Celebrity Escape Room, which will have “Game Master” Black lock Cox, Kudrow, Scott and Stiller in an escape room. The four must then work together to decipher clues and solve puzzles to gain their freedom before the clock runs out. If they’re stumped, they can ask the Game Master for three clues. Each room the quartet completes will earn money for Red Nose Day.
“Kicking off with Ben Stiller’s hilarious Celebrity Escape Room, NBC’s Red Nose Day lineup is the perfect vehicle to help drive this year’s fundraising efforts,” NBC Entertainment chairman Paul Telegdy said Tuesday in a statement. “We are privileged to continue our support of this incredible cause in partnership with our amazing friends at Comic Relief US as we work together on behalf of children in need around the world.”
Added Comic Relief US CEO Allison Moore: “Through the power of laughter and entertainment, Red Nose Day serves as a galvanizing force, rallying Americans to come together to end child poverty. Together with our incredible partners and celebrity supporters, we are working to change the story for good for millions of children in the U.S. and around the world.”
Celebrity Escape Room will also serve as a mini-Friends reunion of Cox and Kudrow, along with Stiller, who did a memorable guest turn as a guy Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) dates in a 1997 episode. (The full cast of the classic sitcom will reunite for a lucrative HBO Max special later in the year.)
Stiller and Black executive produce Celebrity Escape Room with Christine Taylor, Nicky Weinstock, Amiira Ruotola and Lee Metzger (The Voice). Universal Television Alternative Studio and Stiller’s Red Hour Productions are producing the special.
