We were simply browsing the NBC store on the famous building's ground floor when we were approached by a lady asking if we were interested in attending the monologue rehearsal for Late Night with Seth Meyers. I recognised the name and knew the show itself from when Jimmy Fallon was host, but it's safe to say that Meyers hasn't penetrated the British market in the same way that Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel have.
Nevertheless, we accepted the tickets and joined the back of the queue on the second floor. At this point, airport-esque security kicked in and phones were suddenly banned before we'd even got up to the studios on the eighth floor.
The lack of opportunity to take photos was a shame, as the corridors were lined with stills from NBC shows both past and present. Comedy stars such as Jason Sudeikis, Steve Martin and Amy Poehler were all featured.
We were interrupted from admiring the famous faces by the less-than-subtle entrance of two of the show's writers. They told us they'd been away for three weeks as though it was some kind of excuse for their hyper-activity. They had so much energy that it hurt to look directly at them, much like the sun.
After this fast-paced introduction to the world of television writing, we filed into the small and dark studio. In typical American fashion, there were 'windows' offering views of Manhattan at night - a staple of any late-night US talk show.
Meyers himself came out from behind his desk and explained a little about the studio, how it was a new set across from where Saturday Night Live was filmed. It was at this point that I remembered where I knew him from - he'd hosted the Weekend Update on SNL after Poehler left the show.
Time was tight, though, and it wasn't long before he began reeling off jokes the writers had written for him - so quickly that it would be impossible to remember them all. The volume of our laughter was seen by the staff as a measure of their success, but there were some so poor that only the writers themselves laughed.
In fact, the only quip that was of any real quality was one about the fact that Keanu Reeves has just turned fifty, which is good because "any lower and the bus explodes". That one apart, even Meyers himself seemed a little pained by the quality of the gags he was having to read.
The tight schedule and the nature of US television meant that our job was done in about half an hour, and we were shepherded out of the building as quickly as we'd come in, leaving the writers to analyse our response and decide which gags had made the cut for that night's broadcast.
The jokes may have been questionable but the evening as a whole was a top experience - an unexpected glimpse behind the curtain into the world of comedy where legends such as Chevy Chase, Bill Murray and Tina Fey have all plied their trade.
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