Alec Baldwin Still Having a Ball Hosting ‘Match Game’ in His Fifth Season

“I never thought I’d say that I’m grateful to be hosting a game show,” Alec Baldwin admits, five seasons into his stint as the emcee of the uproarious Match Game revival.

But as a 62-year-old man with five young children, the Oscar nominee and three-time Emmy winner is genuinely thankful that it’s part of the “weird quilt of jobs” that allows him to stay home in New York City with his family.  

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There are other incentives too. He has just as much fun doing this show as he did starring on 30 Rock. Many of the cheeky (and sometimes boozy) celebs who try to match fill-in-the-blank answers with the contestants are his pals.

The November 5 panel is a combination of Match Game veterans (comedian Horatio Sanz, actress Ali Wentworth and actor Justin Long), first-timers (Evil‘s Mike Colter and The Sopranos alum Drea de Matteo) and someone in between (Taxi‘s Marilu Henner, who appeared on the original series in 1978). 

(Credit: ABC/Jeff Neira)

Regardless of who’s seated before him — or who’s huddling for the Super Match, worth up to $25,000 — Baldwin’s goal is simple: “We’re going to tell jokes, say some pretty salty things and make fun of the contestants. But we always keep in mind the integrity of the game,” he says. “I’m the one that keeps the whole thing moving. I have a ball.”

Match Game, Season Finale 10/9c, ABC