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The best Saturday Night Live monologue of all time, according to Conan O’Brien

By Matt Moore

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 10: Conan O'Brien tapes an episode of his "Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend" Podcast at t Beacon Theatre on November 10, 2022 in New York City. The episode will exclusively premiere next week on SiriusXM’s Team Coco Radio channel 106. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images for SiriusXM)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 10: Conan O'Brien tapes an episode of his "Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend" Podcast at t Beacon Theatre on November 10, 2022 in New York City. The episode will exclusively premiere next week on SiriusXM’s Team Coco Radio channel 106. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images for SiriusXM) /
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Few people in comedy know Saturday Night Live as well as Conan O’Brien. From being a fan as a child, to becoming an SNL writer, and later hosting the show, O’Brien has seen countless monologues over the year. So it carries some weight when he recently named the “perfect” Saturday Night Live monologue.

As a former SNL writer, O’Brien knows the challenges of crafting a monologue. He’s also well aware of how the monologue can make or break an episode for the host.

On the August 21 episode of Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, O’Brien welcomed comedy icons Steve Martin and Martin Short. In between the three of them trading insults and stories, O’Brien praised the pair for their Saturday Night Live season 48 monologue.

“I’ve seen thousands of SNL monologues over the years,” O’Brien said. Martin and Short’s monolgue was the “best Saturday Night Live monologue” he’d ever seen. “It was perfect.”

The Saturday Night Live monologue Conan O’Brien calls perfect

Martin Short and Steve Martin co-hosted Saturday Night Live on December 10, 2022. It became far and away the highest-rated episode of season 48. Short and Martin’s reputation in comedy and familiarity with sketch comedy definitely helped. Also aiding in the popularity of the episode was the duo’s cross-generational appeal. Older SNL audiences have watched these two for decades, while younger fans may have been introduced to them through Only Murders in the Building.

Regardless of how you stumbled upon the comedic genius of Martin Short and Steve Martin, there’s no denying they have a polished act by now. And part of that act was incorporated in to the best Saturday Night Live monologue of all time, according to Conan O’Brien.

The highlight of Steve Martin and Martin Short’s 2022 SNL monologue is the eulogies the two comedians prepared for each other. As they revealed on Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, the bit came directly from their stage show.

The reviews match the high praise O’Brien gave the monologue. Everything from the premise to the delivery was peak Martin and Short. The two septuagenarians proved they could go toe-to-toe with anyone else SNL could bring in to host.

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