You’ve seen the big reveal — now see what went into pulling off this year’s Halloween celebration on TODAY.
On Friday morning, Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, Al Roker, Craig Melvin, Sheinelle Jones, Carson Daly, Jenna Bush Hager and more familiar faces from the show unveiled their Football “Fright” in America costumes, which saw them embody NFL players, cheerleaders and Super Bowl singers — and even join forces for a remake of an unforgettable Super Bowl commercial.
And while they made it all look easy, a behind-the-scenes peek proves it was anything but. Or as Hoda put it, it kind of felt “like a Hail Mary in the fourth quarter with just seconds left” in the big game.
That’s because the outstanding costumes, hair and makeup that completed their looks were only part of the game plan.
For instance, Savannah and Jenna not only put on Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders’ outfits and shook their pompoms Friday. Before all of that, they had to nail their go-team routine, so they traveled to Dallas to learn the moves from the iconic cheerleaders themselves.
Just before stepping out onto a faux field on the TODAY plaza, Jenna paraphrased Coach Taylor from "Friday Night Lights" saying, "White boots, big hair, can't loose."
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Fittings and rehearsal began weeks before the Halloween bash, so that each anchor and host could really get into character. And for Hoda, that meant learning the song for Carrie Underwood’s Sunday Night Football theme, as well as getting into a re-creation of Underwood’s sparkling minidress.
“I just want to say one thing: There aren’t enough Spanx in the world for this,” Hoda deadpanned as she looked at her costume. But she cheered “yes!” after actually seeing herself as Underwood.
Foundation garments weren’t the concern for Al and Sheinelle, who portrayed memorable halftime show performers The Weeknd and Bruno Mars, respectively.
They both had to learn elaborate dance moves, while looking picture perfect, too.
But no football fantasy could be complete without the players, and Craig, as Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, offered up a peek at his process before he faced off against Carson and Willie Geist, as Tampa Bay Buccaneers stars Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski.
Check out the behind-the-scenes video at the top of the story to catch that and all the moments viewers usually never see, including the bloopers that went into making TODAY’s take on Budweiser’s vintage “Whassup” ad.