Nearly every era of SNL has at least one future-comedy star on the roster, but the late 2000s had multiple superstars. Look at season 34, for instance. There was Fred Armisen, Will Forte, Bill Hader, Seth Meyers, Amy Poehler, Andy Samberg, Jason Sudeikis, Kenan Thompson, and Kristen Wiig, all of whom have gone on to make classics like MacGruber, Parks and Recreation, Bridesmaids, Documentary Now, and Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.
As part of a conversation with the Wrap, Bill Hader, who recently wrap up his terrific HBO series Barry, and Late Night with Seth Meyers host Seth Meyers reflected on their time on SNL, and gave their respective era a nickname.
“I believe our era was ‘benevolent snobs.’ Everybody had a snobbery but not about style. I think everybody appreciated that there were different voices in that era of the show, so the only thing people were unsatisfied with was any writer not writing to the height of their talents,” Meyers told Hader, who added, “Seth was the person who taught me that the DNA of SNL was competitive, but we don’t have to be competitive with each other.”
That explains why there’s so much crossover between the ex- cast members in other shows and movies, like Fred Armisen on I Think You Should Leave, created by underused SNL great Tim Robinson… and Will Forte on I Think You Should Leave… and Vanessa Bayer on I Think You Should Leave. There needs to be a fourth season so Bill Hader can make a cameo. We know he’s good at screaming.
(Via the Wrap)
