‘Maya & Marty’ episode 3, now featuring John Cena as a fireman

The third episode of “Maya & Marty” aired on NBC Tuesday night, and they showed us that, more than anything else, this show really shines in part when they find a way to bring some notable celebrity guests aboard.

Take, for example, a sketch that featured known other than wrestling icon John Cena as a firefight who was obviously the only contender in the house to be on the annual calendar, even though Martin Short’s character could not see it. All of the signs were there, from the sweet demeanor to the muscles to having a dalmatian. This is the sort of stuff that Cena does really well, and the comparisons to Dwayne Johnson are inevitable; we know he can be the ultimate badass, and so there’s something fun that comes out of watching him be different and showcase another dimension.

As for the remainder of the show, we do think that it is still a mixed bag, but somewhat worthy of your time still just because there is so little else during the summer when it comes to sketch comedy. We assume that the show pre-taping is in part a move to differentiate it from “Saturday Night Live,” but there is a big part of us that wishes that the show had a little bit of that last-minute, topical humor in there to help spice it up even further. We’ve seen a little here and there, but we yearn for more!

In the end, we’d say that so long as sketch comedy is your jam, there’s a lot to like from “Maya & Marty” as a series.

What did you think about Cena’s appearance, and are you still enjoying the run of “Maya & Marty” at this point? Share right now in the comments.