Saturday Night Live: J.B. Smoove’s rejected sketch for Tom Brady
By Matt Moore
J.B. Smoove described two of his favorite rejected sketch ideas from Saturday Night Live
There are few people in comedy whose mind works in quite the same way as J.B. Smoove. He proved that once again on Conan while describing two of his favorite sketch ideas that were rejected at Saturday Night Live.
Smoove was a writer at Saturday Night Live from 2003 to 2005 while also appearing in a handful of sketches and monologues. Most fans know Smoove as Leon Black from Curb Your Enthusiasm and the many other film and television roles he’s had since leaving SNL.
And like any former SNL writer or cast members, Smoove has a lot of stories. Perhaps no stories are more entertaining to fans than those stories about when things went wrong or never made it to air. Late Night with Seth Meyers has made an entire segment out of these types of tales with “Second Chance Theater.”
Last night on Conan, Smoove was promoting his Quibi series Mapleworth Murders. The show comes from fellow SNL writing alumni Paula Pell and John Lutz. Conan O’Brien asked Smoove about some of his favorite rejected sketch ideas and Smoove did not disappoint including sharing an idea that would have put Tom Brady in the football history books.
The banker-turned-sandwich maker sounds like the kind of sketch that perfectly fits in with J.B. Smoove’s era as a writer. The mid-2000s Saturday Night Live was full of characters that had one particular flaw, tick, or hook that was taken to the extreme.
Smoove’s idea for the first football player to ever smack a teammate’s rear end is another idea that surprisingly didn’t make it to air. Fans can be forgiven if they don’t remember that Tom Brady once hosted SNL. He didn’t leave any exceptionally memorable sketches behind but maybe that would have been different had Smoove’s idea been given the green light.
Rejected Saturday Night Live sketches like J.B. Smoove’s are popular late-night stories
No matter what late-night television show you watch, there is a good chance you’ve heard a story about a rejected sketch idea from Saturday Night Live. Conan O’Brien, Seth Meyers, and Jimmy Fallon are typically the best hosts to hear these stories given their own experiences at SNL.
Late Night with Seth Meyers has shared rejection stories from Michael Che and Colin Jost. The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon featured one from Robert Downey, Jr. And before J.B. Smoove on Conan, Al Franken described his failed sketch idea on “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” that turned into a running gag on 30 Rock.
Just like the two ideas we heard from J.B. Smoove on Conan, these rejected ideas usually sound like pretty good sketches. Fans are often left wondering why they never made it to air or why writers and performers abandoned them.
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Do you think either of J.B. Smoove’s sketch ideas should have made it to Saturday Night Live? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.