Saturday Night Live: Bill Hader imagines Stefon’s life during the pandemic
By Matt Moore
Bill Hader has a pretty good idea of how his Saturday Night Live character Stefon would react to the pandemic
Trying to find a distraction during the COVID-19 pandemic has led many people to imagine life for their favorite characters over the past year. When it comes to his Saturday Night Live character Stefon, Bill Hader knows just what the “Weekend Update” correspondent would be up to.
Hader was a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers on Thursday. The Emmy-winning actor gave an update on his HBO series Barry which delayed filming season three due to the pandemic. Hader made the most of his time off by writing season four.
Meyers had to start the interview by reminiscing about their Saturday Night Live days. He admitted that people have asked him how Stefon would handle the pandemic. Meyers and Hader both agreed that there isn’t much debate about how the eccentric character would handle everything.
Few places in the U.S. have been hit harder by the pandemic than New York City. As the chief city correspondent for “Weekend Update,” Stefon is supposed to know the city better than anyone. So it wouldn’t be much of a surprise to find out that Stefon knew exactly how to avoid lockdown and find New York’s hottest club.
That would also explain why Stefon would be oblivious to the pandemic. As he proved time and time again on “Weekend Update,” Stefon lives in his own world and only hears what he wants to hear. No order from the mayor would keep Stefon from a club featuring MTV’s Dan Cortese or German Smurfs.
Bill Hader also reminisced about a failed Saturday Night Live sketch with Justin Bieber
No Late Night with Seth Meyers interview of an SNL cast member would be complete without discussing failed sketches. Seth Meyers loves talking about sketches that flopped more than the ones that were hits and his SNL friends are usually happy to reminisce or even reproduce the sketch for “Second Chance Theater.”
On Thursday, Bill Hader recalled an especially bad sketch featuring Justin Bieber. Hader described how nothing went right in dress rehearsal which ensured that the song was never going to make it to the live show.
Clearly, not all sketches can be “Stefon.” Some are absolute duds like “Song For Daddy” featuring Justin Bieber at the height of Bieber-mania. If, like Meyers and Hader, you enjoy hearing about Saturday Night Live failures, check out these links:
- J.B. Smoove’s rejected sketch for Tom Brady
- 30 Rock stole Al Franken’s rejected SNL idea
- Colin Jost and Michael Che on their bad SNL ideas
- Robert Downey Jr and Jimmy Fallon recall failed SNL characters
Related Story. J.B. Smoove on Curb Your Enthusiasm pandemic ideas. light
Do you agree with Bill Hader’s idea of Stefon’s life during the pandemic? What’s the best rejected Saturday Night Live sketch you’ve heard of? Let us know in the comment section below.