Maya and Marty in Manhattan will arrive on NBC this summer, and the stars of the series, Maya Rudolph and Martin Short, have now revealed how the series came about. Fans of the pair can thank Lorne Michaels for pairing the duo up for SNL’s 40^th Anniversary special last year.

Rudolph already had a desire to do her own variety show, but she needed a partner in crime. After working with Short for the special, she knew that she wanted to work with him. Michaels just never thought Short would do it.

He did, and the show will air this summer. The pair did not reveal what the exact format of the series is, but Short revealed that viewers will see plenty of guest stars on the series.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, he said:

“[The 40^th Anniversary Special] was a show that had endless surprises because it had such a large amount of people guesting on it. That’s what we’re striving for. Between Lorne, Maya and myself, we’ve met with a lot of people who are interested in appearing on the show.”

Rudolph also shared more about the series and how it came about. She said:

“I just wanted for a long time, after I left SNL, to find a way to continue that and do what i think we were raised and what we started out in and what is the best possible place for what we both do because we’re both performers. That was the natural desire for doing my variety show before. But It was just a pilot. I was really just waiting till it was right.”

Rudolph’s special aired in May 2014. This new series will premiere on May 31. Do you plan to watch Maya and Marty? Tell us what you think.