Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper’s annual New Year’s Eve countdown feels like a reward for making it through a trying year. Each year the besties deliver an unhinged, unfiltered broadcast they sometimes have to apologize for later —which is exactly what makes them so fun to watch.

Snakes, puppets and of course, shots. Here are some of the best moments from CNN’s New Year’s Eve Live with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen.

Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki is heading back to Kansas for the 2026 season, per a report. Kotelnicki is returning to the Jayhawks’ program to be an associate head coach, according to Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports.

Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer, the trio also known as The Lonely Island, chatted with GQ along with Chris Parnell and Seth Meyers, looking back at writing and recording “Lazy Sunday,” in 2005. The group's second-ever SNL sketch became an online sensation and changed the trajectory of the trio's careers.

Andy Cohen’s parents, Lou and Evelyn Cohen, join Anderson Cooper and Andy to toast the new year and confess that they haven’t been watching the broadcast because they were at dinner. Camila Olmos update: Teen's body identified, cause of death confirmed

Kotelnicki will return to Kansas as associate head coach after not being retained as offensive coordinator at Penn State, Jayhawks coach Lance Leipold announced Friday.

Matt Campbell hires USC's D'Anton Lynn as his defensive coordinator, a significant move for the Nittany Lions.

“CNN New Year’s Eve Live with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen” will return on Wednesday, Dec. 31, starting at 8 p.m. on CNN. The special will run well into the New Year, and you can watch live or on-demand on Sling TV or DIRECTV (free trial).

The Kansas City Chiefs have one game left in the horror show that has been the 2025 season, against the Las Vegas Raiders. With the Chiefs being out of the playoffs for the past couple of weeks, it has given the organization a license, if you will, to shuffle the decks.