Lopez vs. Lopez is known for many things by this point, including a history of bringing in big name guest stars. Season 3 already brought back Stephen Tobolowsky and introduced Vikki Lawrence. In the latest episode, none other than Jeff Ross turned up to roast George Lopez, but it was the roastmaster himself who laughed so hard that he ended up on the floor. Boy Meets World alum and increasingly prolific TV director Danielle Fishel opened up to CinemaBlend about the episode and what it was like to have Ross on set!
The episode that required Jeff Ross' service was literally called "Lopez vs. the Roast of George Lopez," so who better to bring in that the comedian literally known as "Roastmaster General" in real life? (You can watch the episode streaming with a Peacock subscription.) Not too long after participating in Netflix's Roast of Tom Brady (and cracking one joke that reportedly hit the former NFL superstar especially hard), he came to the NBC sitcom to play "Jeff," George's high school friend who was happy to come on board and roast.
Danielle Fishel returned to Lopez vs. Lopez in Season 3 after directing episodes in the first two seasons, and she shared with me some behind-the-scenes trivia about Ross' guest star appearance:
Jeff was phenomenal. Jeff and I are still in touch. I actually just talked to him this morning. He was so much fun to have on the show. He came in as a surprise to the audience, so he was hidden from everybody until his big reveal in the episode, and he is just laugh-out-loud funny.
Talk about a fun surprise for the Lopez vs. Lopez fans who thought they were attending the taping of a normal episode, only for Jeff Ross to walk out! I have to wonder how handy it was for the cast that their characters were supposed to be cracking up at all the roasts of George, so they wouldn't have to hold back their laughter on camera at any of the antics. According to Danielle Fishel, it was the youngest member of the cast who quite literally floored the guest star:
One of my favorite moments of working with Jeff, and I don't think it ended up making it into the show because it just would take the audience out of it, but I think it was Brice [Gonzalez]. Brice got up, and it's the roast of George Lopez, so the family is roasting George. Brice gets up and makes a joke and Jeff thought it was so funny. He literally fell out of his chair onto the ground, and all of us just died laughing.
Brice Gonzalez of course plays Chance, Mayan and Quentin's young son, and apparently the ability to make comedy legends laugh has no age requirement. Danielle Fishel went on about Jeff Ross:
He's the absolute roastmaster. It was such an honor to have him there. The cast was thrilled, and everybody kept going to him all day long, saying, 'Help me punch up my jokes. Help me punch up my jokes.' So he helped everyone just make the roast the best it could possibly be.
Guest stars Vicki Lawrence and Stephen Tobolowsky previously opened up about what surprised them about working with George Lopez; it sounds like Jeff Ross definitely helpful to the cast of Lopez vs. Lopez as well as a pleasant surprise to the studio audience. And what would a roast of a legend like George Lopez be without a master of the craft?
Both George Lopez and creator Debby Wolfe had comments on Jeff Ross' Instagram post about his arrival on the series, and they're definitely positive:
- George Lopez: "SALUTE 🫡 TO THE ROASTMASTER GENERAL!!"
- Debby Wolfe: "All hail the roastmaster! Thanks for joining us! 🔥🔥🔥"
While it remains to be seen if Jeff Ross will ever return to Lopez vs. Lopez, new episodes of the sitcom will continue airing on Fridays at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC, following new episodes of Reba McIntyre's Happy's Place. You can stream the comedy next day with a Peacock subscription, and the full first two seasons are available via Peacock and/or a Netflix subscription. Danielle Fishel also directed the next installment on November 15, called "Lopez vs. Friends," so be sure to tune in!
