Saturday Night Live Fans Should Be Listening To The Lonely Island & Seth Meyers Podcast

"Saturday Night Live" is a comedy institution that has been on the air for nearly a half-century. Soon, the series will be celebrating its milestone 50th season, which will include a star-studded anniversary celebration coming to NBC in February 2025. Even if you're one of those people who (wrongly) tells people that "SNL" isn't funny anymore, you can't deny that the late night sketch comedy series has cultivated some of the most brilliant comedic minds in modern Hollywood history — whether it's the rough edges of live TV comedy innovation that came with the likes of Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Bill Murray, and Gilda Radner in the 1970s or the off-kilter shenanigans of Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, Chris Farley, and Adam Sandler in the '90s. (Even the troublesome 1980s years under the supervision of producer Dick Ebersol gave us Eddie Murphy and Martin Short.) 

The late '90s into the 2000s would bring in a stranger comedic approach thanks to Will Ferrell, Molly Shannon, Jimmy Fallon, and Tracy Morgan, while cast members like Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Kristin Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Bill Hader, and Kenan Thompson would truly usher in the "SNL" of the 21st century. But perhaps the talent with the biggest signature on "SNL" in this contemporary time came from The Lonely Island.

Comprised of Andy Samberg, Akiva Shaffer, and Jorma Taccone, the comedic trio known as The Lonely Island is responsible for the memorable, game-changing run of SNL Digital Shorts, a series of pre-recorded sketches that arrived at a time when YouTube was just taking off online, ushering in a new generation of young talent armed with relatively cheap digital cameras that could capture anything and everything on the go. With classic bits like "Lazy Sunday," "Laser Cats," and "D**k in a Box" among the extensive repertoire, SNL Digital Shorts marked a new era for "Saturday Night Live," and their rise to prominence is being chronicled in a hilarious, fascinating, and informative new podcast from former head writer Seth Meyers and all three members of the Lonely Island. For "SNL" fans, it's a must-listen show.

Unlike their "Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping" character Conner4Real, the trio of Andy Samberg, Akiva Shaffer, and Jorma Taccone are actually humble when it comes to their place in "SNL" history, especially with regards to the fame they've garnered for their hilarious raps. Along with "Lazy Sunday" and "D**k in a Box," they've also made big splashes with "Jizz in My Pants," "I'm on a Boat," and "I Just Had Sex." These are undoubtedly what most audiences think about immediately when the topic of SNL Digital Shorts is brought up, but all three of them acknowledge that comedic rap is an easy shortcut to laughs, and they're not necessarily proud of being best known for those sketches. Samberg himself admits he was initially resistant to any retrospective of what feel like their glory days, simply because he doesn't think anyone would be interested. But what The Lonely Island brought to the "SNL" table with these groundbreaking pre-taped sketches is so much more than what they deem "fake rap."

While folks like Albert Brooks, Christopher Guest, and Adam McKay had already found success with pre-recorded sketches and bits on "SNL," the digital short era came at a time when digital filmmaking was on the rise, along with YouTube as a prime destination for online video content. In fact, in an "SNL" documentary about the 2000s era of the comedy show, cast member Bill Hader credits the pirating of "Lazy Sunday" on YouTube with introducing him to the site, and it undoubtedly helped build its inevitable dominance as an invaluable resource for online videos. It was the first sketch that solidified their presence as a comedy trio, and it was a major stepping stone that helped bring "SNL" back into pop culture relevance in a big way. But it was their early low-rent, guerrilla filmmaking approach that helped them stand out from the rest of the polished material on "SNL," and it also helped that they had a more oddball, alternative comedic slant to their material. 

As Samberg, Shaffer, and Taccone recount their evolution on "SNL," they were flying by the seat of their pants and never sure of what was going to work each week (which is par for the course at "SNL"). While these sketches feel like they're an integral part of the group's DNA, they weren't always the primary talent behind their success. For example, the very first SNL Digital Short, titled "Lettuce," was actually an idea Will Forte had been kicking around. Meanwhile, other ideas came from The Lonely Island's library of unproduced sketches that they once intended to make for a sketch comedy series called "Awesometown," which failed to garner interest at Fox, Comedy Central, and MTV. But their loss was NBC's eventual gain as The Lonely Island gained steam and became a pillar of the comedic institution.

However, even though this is a retrospective podcast, it's not just a look back at The Lonely Island's successes. Because this podcast is covering every single SNL Digital Short, with even some that never made it to air being discussed, there are just as many lows that the guys are embarrassed to look back at. But much like a comedian learns infinitely more from bombing on stage than killing, hearing them reflect on their mistakes, regrets, and how they would make certain bits better today is both hilarious and fascinating. One particularly hilarious and eye-opening discussion comes from their reflection on a sketch that they wrote that wasn't an SNL Digital Short. The rather infamous sketch is called "Surf Meeting," and all three acknowledge it as an immense failure in the face of one of their comedic heroes, the great Steve Martin. In fact, the sketch flopped so badly that Steve Martin still talks about it to this day. 

But it's not just The Lonely Island's humility and honest look back at their "SNL" era that makes this podcast great. Seth Meyers brings his own special sauce too.

When The Lonely Island joined "SNL," Seth Meyers was also still cutting his teeth. Though he would go on to be the show's head writer and one of the Weekend Update anchors, the podcast coverage begins at a time when Meyers was still a regular cast member appearing in a variety of sketches in addition to writing them. Meyers not only offers amusing, self-deprecating memories about his work on the show, but he also provides an outsiders perspective on what The Lonely Island was doing. Because the group are such good friends and collaborated at "SNL" for so long, Meyers isn't shy about honestly critiquing the SNL Digital Shorts. Despite the success of something like "Laser Cats," Meyers has no problem admitting that he's not sure that he likes them as much as everyone else seems to. These are the kind of candid, insightful conversations that I love to hear from comedians.

Because of Meyers' place on the show, especially as he moves on from being a regular cast member, the podcast also has plenty of tangents that focus on other sketches that aired during the episodes where SNL Digital Shorts debuted. With a makeshift theme, a segment called "Seth's Corner" offers his perspective on what was happening at "SNL" that week. The result is even more fascinating conversations about the inner-workings of "SNL," including audio clips from sketches that got cut at dress rehearsal or just before airtime, and it's all accompanied by the kind of in-depth background that you almost never got when the episodes themselves were airing. 

If you're a comedy fan, The Lonely Island & Seth Meyers podcast is what you should be tuning into each week, and since they only just covered "D**k in a Box" at the time of this writing, there are still dozens more to break down with the gang. Plus, for those who want the most comprehensive package, they're also covering the movies they worked on during their time at "SNL," with two episodes dedicated to the underrated comedy treasure "Hot Rod," which is a whole other compelling and interesting conversation. You can listen wherever podcasts are available for download.