Jimmy Fallon's latest fake soap opera co-stars a cross-dressing Martin Short and Steve Martin

Martin Short and Steve Martin co-star in Jimmy Fallon&#039;s new old fake soap opera — (Image credit: The Tonight Show)

Jimmy Fallon was in a lot of '90s soap operas with big stars, they all aired on NBC for just three episodes before being canceled due to their immense absurdity, and Fallon keeps finding the tapes in the basement of 30 Rock. His last new vintage soap co-starred Bryan Cranston, and was performed entirely midair, but Fallon's new new old soap, Tensions — on Thursday's Tonight Show — co-stars Martin Short and features creating tension out of non-tense situations. Fallon played Maxwell Vanderbilt and Short his wife, Lilian. ("There were no women in Hollywood at that time," Short deadpanned.) Short carried the show as the neurotic Lilian, and the final round of slapstick with Steve Martin is worth waiting for. Now that you know the premise and the joke, enjoy the performance. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.