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CBS’ Stephen Colbert and James Corden, NBC’s Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel and TBS’ Conan O’Brien were all set to welcome a special, surprise guest on their respective Thursday-night broadcasts — and that guest was none other than the former anchor of San Diego’s award-winning Channel 4 news team, Ron Burgundy.

In a series of previously recorded segments, Will Ferrell appeared in character as his Anchorman alter ego. Each appearance consisted of a completely original stand-up comedy routine, followed in some cases by a sit-down interview. In fact, O’Brien and Colbert had no other guests lined up for their respective broadcasts. Ferrell remained in character throughout, and not a single host referred to him by his actual name.

Burgundy first showed up on Conan, which airs at 11 pm. The following half-hour, he appeared simultaneously on The Late Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Tonight Show. Colbert and Kimmel welcomed Burgundy for his “exclusive” stand-up comedy debut, while Fallon sat down with Burgundy as part of an extended dream sequence.

So why the late-night stunt? Ferrell was making the rounds to promote Season 2 of The Ron Burgundy Podcast. When asked what listeners could expect, Burgundy told Kimmel, “We’re releasing a lot of the podcast in Braille!”

Watch all of Ferrell’s myriad appearances via the following video playlist, then hit the comments with your reactions to this unique (to say the least!) promotional strategy.