QLS Classic: Michael Che

Of Course, Love Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio. This classic episode was produced by the team at Pandora.

Hey, this is Sugar Steve and this week's QLs Classics guest is SML Royalty and stand up comedian Michael Cha who joins Team Supreme to discuss his anecdotes and his accolades. This was originally released on September twelfth, twenty eighteen.

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An electric Lady studio.

When when you're when you're.

When you're a student of thirty Rock University, you have to think, quick on your feet game like what yeah you know, no slapsches at thirty Rock. Anyway, Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another edition of Course Love Supreme News, of Course Love.

We have teams Supreme. It's probably this is our blackest episode. This is the blackest episode. Yeah yeah yeah, Steve. Well yeah, but Steve call me Tyrone today. Steve. You know you got the sugars. And actually I.

Got the strangest call this morning. My doctor called me and said I was healthy. What yeah, I mean I still have.

Remission. I still got sugars.

But but I went the other day, took some blood tests and she called and she had like this this amazing voice of like she couldn't believe it. She was like, I'm so happy to be calling you right now. I'm I'm like, what's up. She's like, you're healthy, like with a question and an exclamation point.

I was like, not shill of hands. But when he said that, I was a little slightly disappointed.

I thought something else.

I feel like there's such an achievement that no, no, if you I'm so committed to us.

That he got blacked to.

What you don't know is that Quest gave sugar Steve the sugars.

Really, Steve's been my engineering for twenty years, and I guess he had to. That was my bonus. That was my bonus one year for Hank he.

Had after my diet, and so you know, the entire summer of soul food literally gave him.

And then you know, so, well, I'm happy that you you're healthy.

Yeah, I mean relatively. You know you seem thrilled about it. By the way, Well, it was one of those moments.

I was actually sitting on the toilet and I got and I got the call from my doctor. I was like, well, this is it, you know, like this is where it is where I'm going to get the news. Right, no, and uh and and she gave me good news. I was like, a great, keep keep keep them feet.

Do you have another man? Do you have another moniker? Now? Like, well, are there any other black diseases I could get, Like.

There's out actually sickle cell exclusive to really black people?

You can.

Yeah, hypertension, hyper very black.

Yeah, so you know, anyway does sound great?

And rhythm?

Mm hmm, Well that's not a disease.

Get shot by the police, possible police.

We have all list institutional racism anyway, yesterday.

Yeah, it's not only the first African American host of Are we still using that?

Or we're just black? I like black, I like black.

All right, ladies, I guess it is not only the first black host of EST and LS esn l's institution we cannot date.

But uh.

Also, actually you're double first because I believe that you're the first black host of the twenty eighteen.

Or the Emmys. No way, I don't think I'm the first black hosted. He did the Oscars, right, yeah, he did the Oscar Chris. I don't know.

I'll be honest with you, I really don't know.

I believe and I believe that you're the first black host.

Oh man, George Lopez was probably the closest we got.

He might have got closed Yeah he did, Yeah, he did, close up, I got what. You know, it's kind of weird.

In twenty eighteen, we're still celebrating first first black shout out to.

Beyonce and right, first black coach, first black did she's the first black black woman to yes to headline Coachella.

No kidding, yeah, no kidding, wow.

Yeah, but also the Vogue issue oh yeah, and her getting uh uh, I'm sorry.

Chust Love, you didn't turn your phone down?

Is my lawyer?

Your doctor called you this morning called, so probably not a lawsuit, yeah, but basically, uh, Vogue just used uh, their first the first African American photographer for the cover.

And it's one hundred n they did. Yeah, and it's one hundred and eight year history. I didn't even know that Vogue was around and yeah, yeah that long.

That's why that Black issue.

You know, there's an actual black issue of Vogue that came out like five ten, five years I.

Think I remember, but that was the Italian exactly. Yo.

It was funny because I thought that that's when I was heavy on my eBay join so I ordered, like Reek's wife to Reek's wife was like, yo, this is the most historical thing. It's from the eBay Golden So I purchased like twenty five issues of that of that thing, and now I can't find.

Anyway. This is how we do the show. We don't even introduce the guest until happen. Oh yeah, I'm with it, so.

Up, welcome to the show. Ig Story sneaker God, I gotta say, I mean, like, I know Clark Kent and New York knows that Clark Kent is the god of sneaker collecting, like he got me my job at Nike when I was working for Nike.

That's how much of a sneaker god is.

But I will say that I envy no one Ah and their sneaker collection more than you.

Like you're a king stunt you.

Okay, but when you when you you know, and I'm often at thirty rock watching you guys, like, do you often like choose your sneakers Like yeo, I'm a stunt on I'm a stunt on a hole tonight.

I know. I never well, only I'll break out certain ones for certain people. I'm like, oh, this is gonna be a fun one. I can't wait, but like I don't. When I was a kid, it was never really the sneakers. It was always like just fresh sneakers. It was always about you, but they was fresh. They was like all right. So like for me, it was always I had to buy a lot because I had to keep them fresh. So I to keep them clean. I would just buy four or five pick Okay, that's what I was gonna ask.

Yeah, you describe you have one today, mister. Check what's going on here on your feet?

These are and these are actually beaters. These are these are Concord elevens. But these is like I think the twenty eleven ones and these is like I probably will these like seven times. Nah, but these aren't even like I got some in the box. That's like never never had a factory. Yeah, yeah, factory. You can hear him snap when you walk, you hit a little the crack a little bit. J's don't hurt your feet, no, Jay's there's no, Jay, I found like they're comfortable slippers.

Them, they're the most comfortable sneakers.

You know.

I don't like is the like there's certain sneakers that now that they have like the sock kind of those hurt a little bit because it just feels like I'm walking on the floor like the Jay's the soul is so actually made for like I feel like I'm in shoes.

You know.

The elevens are the ones that like the comfortable ones. I like the comfortable. The threes are the most comfortable. Fly with those because I could take them off and put them back on like they mad. I hate both, y'all right, man, Like I mean, is the only ones.

I have an illustrious Jordan collection, but I can't wear them like absolutely.

No, No, I just work for air.

But the thing one the thing is is like I have to prepare me wearing rocking some Jordan's, which goes into.

Shaving my corns off, oh ship.

Feet, maybe sleeping upside down so the circulation goes down to my foot anything like with the exception of I told you about Tony Maiden the guitar roof. Yeah, like he just to fit some cowboy boots from Japan. He had his feet shaved, shaved with and length just so that.

He could fit a pair of of Cowboy dues. Oh yeah, damn. Anyway, Michael, it's beautiful. Yeah, it's sneaky. Games on point bro. I always I always, love, always love fresh kicks.

You're not wearing those under the desk though, Yeah you are, no matter why you're wearing the desk. I was like, when do we see your sneak unless it's like.

At the end of the show. As I used to put my foot on the desk at the end of episodes and then people but I would put my foot on the desk just like as a move to put your foot on the desk, and people like, you're showing off your sneakers. Like, no, I just always wear ill sneakers so it looks like I'm showing them up. But I was literally just putting my foot on desk. So I stopped doing it because people thought I was showing up sneaker. They're like, what're you gonna wear next week?

See, I'll be the last one too, Like you doing that?

So are you? Are you a native New Yorker? Yeah, I'm Lower East Side? You living there? Now? You were born? No, I was born. My whole family is from the same project. I'm like a legacy. Yeah, like we're from the project my grandparents? Wait, which which which one Smith projects? Like I'm sorry, I'm new to New York. You don't you know right? Not giving your dress away? No, I don't have projects? Okay, okay, like what address the projects? Well,

Because I was saying when we shot what they do, we had to go to the projects to shoot a rooftop scene. And the first thing that I was thinking, I was like, yo, this is like the Hugs and Kisses project, Like yeah, it was old Grandmothers or whatever like, but it was a late nineties so I was expecting, Wait where was it.

Lower like Lower Manhattan?

And I remember there was a lot of projects.

There was concern from the label the hell there was like man concern from the label and you know when we got there, they were like prepas, like okay, guys, make sure security, you know, because we thought we were going to the projects to shoot the scene.

Yeah, when we got there, we were just like, wait a minute, it's not project enough.

Yeah, yeah, there there's a project. We used to go to the like specifically for Halloween, and it was just all old people. You would go there and just yeah and nobody like visited them sadly, so they was like happier about Halloween, and we was when we was kids. We would go over there and we'd rack up. It was great. It was awesome. We're not from you're from projects in Philly. The Philly do projects. It's like roadhouses and yeah, roadhouses.

Treek makes fun because my father we were the only house that never got broken into because my dad would put like security ride iron gates around our entire crib, so it looked like I lived in a prison. But yeah, I mean we were the only house on the block with like three thousand records and all this recording equipment and drums and stuff.

So my dad's like, nope, you know that makes sense. It was like Fort Knox, you know. So okay, So being born in Manhattan, Like what led you to entertainment?

Uh, that's crazy. I mean it wasn't entertainment to me.

It was specifically stand up comedy like I would watch Bring the Pain, I would watch Carlin's HBOS and Damon Wayne's HBO special, Like those are specific specials that stood out to me, like when I was a kid growing up and wanting to just do that. I just love the way you know what I mean? It was like it was every class clowns, Like what thirteen? Okay, yeah,

I think I think it was like a half hour.

That was a half hour. Thene family was like legendary because for one, they was from Lower Manhattan. They was from Chelsea Projects, I think, and then I remember like Hollywood Shuffle and I'm Gonna Get Your Sucker and Robert Towns and specials and all of that.

So the Waynes was like already it was like Eddie Murphy.

And then Damie Wayne's like right under. You know, Okay, I gotta know, I'm the youngest by the way of seven, so we was getting Yeah, I was getting all of that stuff immediately, you know what I mean. I was in the house. I was in the house full of teenagers, so all that stuff. Yeah, Like I don't remember the first time I heard hip hop. Like there stories of me as a baby, sinking a lot of dotty and all that stuff.

Like, Okay, it's like that usually usually the baby of the family of a large family, you know, it's probably I was the business of being sucked it all right.

No, I was asking, like, do a lot of those specials age well, because I try not watch nothing ages well. In twenty eighteen, like half the ship that we laughed at in the nineties would get fucking I mean, Nigga's writing petitions on Twitter and shit absolutely carling stuff from the nineties ages very well.

Yeah, it depends on the comedian, right, because like, Mom's mainly I was listening to her as a kid, but that was like what thirty forty years ago by the time you.

Listen to those tapes.

Yeah, yeah, Mom's mainly. Yeah, Colin Wasca, this was kind of more like commentary, Like it was more social commentary, like yeah, Eddie Murray, like the first yeah raw is like nigga, like first first ten minutes that I was like thirty, right, I was something.

I was thirty something when I first watched Deliric, yeah, like, because you know, I grew up in ain't no Eddie Murphy in this house, so I didn't get to see none of that stuff growing up.

And then finally on a tour of bus, you know, they showed Delirious and.

It was weird because I wanted, you know, Delirious is in the mount rushmore than everyone's comedy.

But it didn't hit me that way one because not like a illmatic right, and you're like, how right? But I get it.

But the thing was, because that was my introduction to Delirious. Was everyone else doing Delirious, so I knew.

And very funny.

I knew all that based on classroom kids doing it and rappers sampling it and all that stuff. So but when I finally watched it, it's funny you say that because I know, you know the same way that who was indifferent to Midnight Marauders? Uh like Loupe or whatever, Like I'm probably that ways I respect delirious and know where it stands historically.

Oh, I get it. I was like I was like that for prior, Like I didn't really get a lot of people are like that. I was like, like live in the sensens trip. I was like, okay, but to me, he was funniest in movies, so like, which way is up is? My ship? Was funny Because critics pan off his movie, I think with Richard Pryory was copied so much, and Eddie Murphy is true too, They've been copied so much that it's kind of hard to understand the context

You know that Cosby actually released two Blue Humor records that people don't know about.

What Yeah, there's one joint and came out on laugh or some ship like one the one people who don't oh Blue Humor is like dirty like Curson, like yeah, fussing cussin. Yeah.

In seventy four, there was like a I mean, he didn't get that deep into it, but the other one in eighty eighty one he spoke at uh. It was more like him speaking at some prison in Pennsylvania. And it wasn't comedy per se. But they made the record cover it looked like it was like Bill.

Cosby and hard always hard hitted boys. And I was like, oh, let me get this record, and then there was just like him him being real, like you know that sort of thing like that whoop. I saw his last special that never came out Netflix won or yeah, I think it was Netflix. It was. I think it was called Cosby seventy seven.

When he's coming at us, like coming at us.

No, it's actually he's actually not.

It's well what I saw he did like two hours of I guess what was going to be a ninety minute special or whatever, and it was Robert Townsend was directing it, and they did it at I was doing shows in San Francisco, and it was like there was an early tape and like a six o'clock tape, and I watched it and went and did my show, and it was it was like good. It was. It was kind of loose, It wasn't you could tell like he was still trying stuff for whatever.

Oddly but it's like a month after that everything happened.

He was talking a lot. It was weird because he was talking a lot about like like growing up, like his first experiences dating. Yeah, it was kind of it was like blueish. It wasn't blue, but it was like blue for Cosby. It was like it was like an old man. I was like, you know what, I'm gonna let it loose a little bit.

But it was.

It was good though. It was like kind of like excited, you know, I was kind of excited to see.

What I was. I was interested. I mean, you know, obviously everything that happened to understood why, but I was always curious to see that special when it came out, because how many seventy seven year old comedians.

Yeah you don't get that perspective.

But yeah, yeah, no, yeah, it ain't the same. Well you can still see him, uh he he's still just kind of popping up. Also, I heard he was doing course this jazz club in Philly a lot Cosby. Yeah, Yeah, it's not I guess the people that own the old bar. Yeah, it's they have one join that's kind of uh not Balla Kinwood. But he's in the bird.

They showed a video of him like recently, like at that spot or whatever.

After everything came down a couple of months ago.

Yeah, it was just he was just out there and he just yeah, yeah, he.

Was doing Hicky Bird.

I think crazy.

That's the only safe cutty guy, it really is.

So what were your first steps into taking your comedy series, Like one too many trips at the principal's office or.

Like, no, none of that. I was I got it late. I was like I always wanted to try it. I always always wanted to try it. Was like they had like comedy classes. The thing about stand up is if you don't know any comedians, it might as well be on the moon because you don't have no idea how to do it. So I would just google like how to do it and find like different open mics or whatever, and it's just literally five dollars, half a pint of E and J and you just go up there. Like

Took the pressure off.

You don't have to be good at it, you know, because every time somebody wants to start coming always like I don't got no jokes though, Like, yeah, nobody has jokes when you start.

That's the whole point. There's no joke.

You're gonna start with that you're gonna end with, you know what I mean, it's all gonna you're gonna outgrow all of that ship. So it doesn't really matter. Just being on stage is what's important. So going there and just doing it. I couldn't tell you what I said, but just being on stage and seeing that perspective of hearing your voice in the micro I never heard my voice in a microphone before. Like even that was freaky.

And you did it with no nerves.

Of course, you remember something that's just we call it, he's got jerk, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. So you went there without a formula, nothing. I went up there with like four things that I thought were funny that that would make my friends in the car crack up. That wouldn't make anybody else it's outside that car crack up like literally nothing. I just wanted to be any Like you

Time people open the door. But it was like like that, you know, like kind of like a haha, you know, like one of those.

But that's all you need. Just as long as you're comfortable on stage, everything comes, you know what I mean. Like even now you might go on stage with nothing and find something.

You know, So with that first laugh, was it like uh a crack high like a yeah, like your first real good laugh.

The first real good laugh.

Well, you start out only doing open mics, and open mics in the city is it's not regular people there, it's all other people waiting to go on. So a lot of the laughs are like, ah, you know, they're right back in their book or whatever. Nobody's really there to support people, you know. So the first actual show I did was what they called a bringer show. That means you bring five people and then you can perform. So you had to pass out flyers in the corner. No,

I was leaving Carolines and then I saw the guy on the corner and I thought of crashing right, And you know, I was like, all right, let me make it rain, And I said, dude, and I brought five hundred dollars worth of tickets.

Whoa right? Just you know, I just made his night right, And he couldn't believe it. And then I was like he and he tried to talk himself out of it, like no, no, no, tickets, just give me, Like tickets are only twenty dollars. That's all.

I said, dude, give me five hundred dollars worth of tickets. And he couldn't understand it. And I was like, I watched Crashing, and I understand that this is how that's.

Actually a terrible, terrible thing you did.

You know what, because now somebody's gonna be like, yeah, we sold out, and nobody's gonna be a sh.

That's an awful idea.

No, So what what I was saying is how you never had to go that route. No, I never. I never did barking. I never did barking. I mean you barked like your own show. Like if you like everybody has kind of like a bar show or whatever, that's kind of your penance of coming up in comedy, like you do my show, do your show kind of thing, So everybody kind of has like a bar show. And then if your if your show's light, you might go outside and be like, hey we got a comedy show.

To do you know so what you said you watched Frashion too though, right, did you watch the show?

I've seen somebody. I don't really. I watch Food Network and Sports Center, Like that's literally.

I know what it is.

But I just.

I think that once now that you're part of the conversation, I know what I know how it's made, and I'm just like, I can't watch it the way like a regular person can watch. This is why I cannot entertained.

This is why I feel like I have imposter syndrome, because I feel like people that are really making history don't watch history.

They just make it. Yeah, they make it. And meanwhile, I'm like, episode twelve, let's keep that right exactly, well, like, can you watch? Can you watch other late night shows? Dude?

I obsessively like to prepare for that job. Yes, I watch, really, I watch in the mornings.

I watch. I watched Conan.

I watch everything to see what they're doing, what their bumpers are like with their walk on the songs. So if no other reason you know what not to do, it's like yeah, and then like the guests are on the show, like I'm watching their entire series to see if I can get something on the character that I want saying, like my crack high was who was on Chappelle the asker gay dude, uh.

Mario Mario Canton steam Pipe Valley.

There you go.

So I did a steam pipe and he almost stopped the show in tears, like, how do you know about like we picked this obscure song from.

I would have picked that up easy.

That's a good one. Steam Pipe Valley used to come on every like what was like Saturday. It was like they would play Looney Tunes. It was like this one man sketch show and it was all for kids, and they played Looney Tune in between them. So like, if you wanted to watch Bugs Bunny, you watch steam Pipe Ali. It's going on like Channel nine.

Yeah, it is Mario Canton.

Once that like and all this is the Jimmy sagrin because it's basically like, hey, guys, just play the three second song and let my guests.

But then once like the root managed to distract the guests like how did they know that? Oh my god, and he wanted to talk about it ruined the interview and then well no, no, no, I'm just saying At that point, then I was like, oh ship. Then I'm watching every show on time and now I have an addiction like I have that is the ill That is the illest thing I gotta say, like that, that is like a really cool thing, like what are the roots going to bring everybody out to? It's kind of a cool.

It's cool, but then it's like some people come on the show like with their Matt like Cosby used to do that, like I only got like a good my own like jamming on the one reference because then Cosby was like, like, Okay, well this is why I want to walk out too, and I'm like, no.

Let me surprise you. Uh. Steve Martin also, but Steve Martin's are funny.

Because oh he's requests. He makes special requests.

Steve loved the idea of what we did to Michelle Blackman, Oh my god, right, what we did to her that. Then he was like, then he.

Would orchestra, but then it like backfire for us because then we would have to come in early to rehearse his walk on. Like one time he introduced lady No, I'm Steve Martin, and Steve Martin came out. He was on the Letterman set like no, and then he was on the view set no, and then he was on Conean set like it was this whole elaborate four minute walk on thing, and then Will Smith and you know, so it's just like sometimes it.

Backfires, wait to go back to the source of his rabbit hole.

Are you saying that you can't watch any entertainment or is comedy even harder to watch?

I'm saying comedy. Comedy is hard to watch, and like comedy in particular, it is hard to watch. But I don't really there's no like shows that I really I watched, like Detroiters that like, is that good?

I love it because the ratings are like out of this world and I want to commit, But again I love It's that which list I think.

I think it's Jason getting from a beep. Sam Richardson and Robins, yeah, well and Steve Tim Robinson was like my officemate at SNL. Tim and Zach who are the who are the co creators of the show, and so like I remember them working on it. I wrote an episode last season and and it's just like their humor is just the crazy. We used to write the craziest, craziesth it together on SNL that would never get on and then we would just have so we would just bug out all the time.

So when don't we talk about matriculating from going on stage with some I and J and just winging it to becoming a writer, because that's I got.

The craziest how I got on SNL story I think that I've heard so far. Literally wait, we didn't even get to the Daily Show that.

I was a writer on SNL. Before I was at the Daily Show.

Order, oh shit, all right, go ahead continue. I was doing stand up maybe you know if he is in and I saw Colin Joe's at the Ditton Factory Hannibal's show in Brooklyn, and we both did a set or whatever, and he was like, man, you know you're funny whatever, and we were like we would see each other around, but like he was he like got to like really watch me.

Next day he hit me up like, hey, you.

Want I shouldn't say this is going to like discourage people from ever going through the process, but he messaged me where he was head writer at the time at SNL, and he was like, Yo, if you ever want to you know, if you have like a packet or something, I would love to submit your packet to SNL, Like you know, if you write sketches. And I'd never written sketch before, so I was like all right, yeah, sure, I'll do it. And I was like, I ain't fucking writing.

Before, and no limitations.

They just right there. Yeah. They was like, so the first thing you gotta do is you got to go into Lawn's office and do the pitch meeting, which I'm sure you know about. You literally the entire cast and writing staff in Lawn's office with the host and Kevin Harts in Lawn's office seventeen with the host. Oh my god, it is Kevin is Kevin Hart porn and everything. Don't touch the popcorn at that point. Don't touch the po It's behind him. So in order to touch the popcorn,

Yeah, back.

Office, right, Like, y'all know, y'all know, we don't know what you're talking about. Right, I'm just saying, everybody who listening, tell y'all.

Inside loves pop. If you walk in, you just you hear all over the floor. So we're all in there when everybody's giving sketch ideas. Everybody's telling me this is like comedy pros, And I'm like, what the fuck am I doing? So my I had to pitch a sketch and I got a laugh from it, and I think after that they was like, my sketch was I probably told you, but uh it was Kevin Hart playing the richest black man in New York, Dwayne Reid, and I always tell that joke. But and everybody laughed and they

A sketch? You could never do that? That was close She's Got a Dick, and it was She's Got a Dick.

It was a romantic comedy trailer about this lady that had everything, but she also had a dick who played woman. It was it was justin in the scene. Okay, it was justin in the scene. So when you say so, when you say it skip bombed at the table, what what's the I guess the chain of command? What's the process? You pitch it in the meeting in law's office and then what well, I didn't know this, but typically people

Sometimes people do.

Like there's times where you can pitch something people are like, hey, that's funny, actually can you do that? And then you write it and then like that's happened to me a couple of times, or you know, like I've recommended or whatever the sketch that that was like super popular. Farewell mister Bunting. You remember that one where like Pete stands up and his head gets chopped off on the ceiling fan.

But it was almost he was almost like it was like a throwaway.

I was literally going to ask you, like the reason why you see me there obsessively every week in the show, isn't I mean, yes, I want to laugh and I enjoy the experience. But my conversation with Higgins always the next day is what was the pitch like?

And then when you got I said, when I went to him after that that bit, I said, did someone just say, okay, we're going to do it? Not good well hunting? What's the thing where I my soy? Yeah? Like, did someone just.

Say okay, it's a dead post society sketch? But then when Pete stands on the table, he's going to get beheaded?

Like how do you literally pretty much that?

Yeah, But the thing is like a lot of the physical comedy or the or the one bit where somebody was a poster or something that involves physical comedy, It's like, how do you articulate that that's going to be the funny part if?

And how does that work in the room that actually gets you too. That's where the show gets tricky because there's a lot of things that make a table full of comedy writers laugh that doesn't make America laugh. And there's a lot of stuff that doesn't make us laugh

So can I ask a crazy question?

You're throwing out names and I just googled one because I had to figure out who Higgins was. Okay, it's Steve Higgins. Okay, this is the guy who is actually on the Tonight Show. But he also is like a writer.

Higgins is like he runs yeah, different fat and he's just like that's his DJ gig, right, but you know his roots gig is SNL Yes, yes, legendary writer for the show. And now he's a producer and he works pretty hands on on the show. Yeah.

See, well that's the thing because usually, like you know, commercial breaks when like Lauren is just in the middle of the floor, like in the camera.

Shot photo opp right, part of me is wondering, like, okay, are you again? Are you Ronald McDonald? Are you a crop? Like are you really making the decisions? So he actually reads the Oh no, Lauren makes the like Lauren is the guy. He's very he's extremely hands up. We all go in his office and we talked things through and he has the board and he gives He's very, very very instrumental in get I never knew that. I just start.

On Wednesday. We read up until about eight o'clock and.

Table readers, you guys, table read, we read about forty anywhere between thirty five and forty of the sketches you wrote on Tuesday that we all wrote on Tuesday, and then we picked maybe eleven to produce. We rewrite it Thursday. We do our pre tapes Friday and our blocking Friday, and then Saturday run through dress rehearsal air. Do you Between dress rehearsal and air, we usually cut two to three sketches cut meaning meaning it together.

Yeah, it's like a two hour show.

We go in with about two hours and then we leave what about ninety minutes for live, and sometimes we're cutting shit on air.

Sometimes we're rewriting shit on there.

There's times where like the show is on and you're in your dressing room and you think your day's open, your sketch is next, and they're like, hey, they need you in a control room and you're literally in the script department cutting out sketches, cutting out lines of a sketch. So if you ever like watching the show and at the end you're like, well that ended weird because we had to shave forty five seconds out of a three minute sketch, which happens a lot. Yeah, and if if

If you're one of the bits that gets cut, if you're newbie, you might take a little personal you might take a little personal Pam pizza.

So then you go up to seventeen and then you get ship face drunk if you just been.

Yep, Because does everybody every week at least get in a get in a segment, like everybody.

Hannibal said, no, no, not Hannible, what's his name said? He never got his? I think I think Hannibal got like one or two. But yeah, some it's it's for some writers you never see it's been a little bit. Well, you got to think when they were writing, they had like I mean it was like, yeah, they you had like Kristen wigg and only people on the show that that's like half the show right there. I didn't write anything.

She was in real Estate gets a lot smaller, you know, so like you.

Know, Larry David said he none of his bits ever got on. Yeah, Larry David, Sarah Silverman, I've heard that as well.

And to work there for years.

I think Sarah was only there for like a year or two. I don't think she was there.

Well, so is it an official?

Is there really an official like s n L Frattorney, Like, was there a moment when you felt like, yes, I'm officially in this special collective and I can go talk to Bill Murray at anytime?

And No, it's really you never feel that because it's you. You just get comfortable. It's like anything else. It's like you really it just it ends up being like holy ship, that's Bill Murray to Bill Murray's here. It becomes like just that, Yeah, we see them all the time. And I think that's kind of the crazy thing. Like we're probably the only show where people are more nervous than we are, yeah, to be on than we are to have them on.

Not even the nervous part, just a camaraderie of knowing that. Okay, So if Chevvy chasees me on the street, he's going to say something because we are in this fraternity, like.

Or maybe he won't. Maybe he won't.

I should have went fast basketball.

I don't know. Okay, when when someone you haven't worked with from the show knows who you are, it's a very strange experience, Like you're like, what I saw John Love It's I've never seen him outside of the show before this, and I saw him in l A one time and he was like nice to me and I was like, John Love It. It was like it blew my mind becau. John Loves was like my favorite guy favorite. He was, Oh my god, I love John Love this. He was so funny.

So okay, with the host that come on the show, do you I feel like there's three types of posts.

So if.

Say, someone that's eager and easy to work with, I would assume that Hanks is that guy that's like really about making the most of a moment hosting ESNL.

He's a dream come true. Yes, I'm sure that timber Lake is also that way, very eager to you know, can do anything, do what I gotta do to make sure this is a classic episode. If it's funny, He's with it. But then.

You know, you guys might get a wild card like were you there during the Trump yeah, hosting, Yeah, of which I'm sure that was a little crazy.

Well, it wasn't. To me. It wasn't that crazy because I didn't expect him to win until like a year after that. Like at that time, it still kind of felt like it was still a little bit of a joke. It wasn't as kind of like you know, it wasn't like.

Not even not even the process of like will he be president? I'm just talking about like a good host for the show, deliverying that sort of thing.

A good host for me is a little bit different like somebody like a comedian. When a stand up is hosting, it's usually not fun for me, really, yes, because they bringing their own team. Because not only they bringing their own team, but stand ups and like comedians wroke, like they know why they're funny, they're not. They trust themselves way more than they trust the writings, you know, and they know they got one shot at this and they don't want a bomb, so they're like, I don't know.

My favorite is like a like a Blake Shelton.

That's just like, man, just you unexpected. I don't care. Just just write it. I'll read it. If it works. It works.

That's a dream scenario.

What was Chappelle like?

What was his Chappelle was?

Well?

First of was Chappelle is not only is he a genius, but he's a perfectionist.

And also this week was like the craziest week because Trump had won. So literally Tuesday you felt one way and the country was completely different by Wednesday, Like I never other than nine to eleven, I don't remember a more drastic change and tone after a day. So to write comp we mind, we write the show Tuesday, so we have to write a sketch, you know what I mean. You gotta imagine writing like the Poop Family sketch and you're watching the country literally fall apart, and you're like,

Has that ever been a comedian who's bought a ridiculous amount of life writers with him?

Uh?

What's ridiculous? Number more than two is kind of crazy based on what I've watched. All Right, all you have to do is confirm yes or no. You don't have to say anything.

Did Rock bring a lot of writers on his episode? Thing? Though, because I can tell the difference between when a comedian host brings his own people and then when a comedy well not a comedian, but when someone knows to trust the process. Now, I don't have any expectations for the Larry David episode, but that to me was one of the funniest shows ever. Yeah, And I was like, okay, former uh, former SNL alumni, he knows that he knows the situation writing on that I know. But but thus

Well. I think that's also a big difference, is is that, like Larry David really wanted to do it. I don't. I think Chris was kind of Chris is all you know how Chris, He's like, I don't know, like he's.

Never like gung ho excited to do that.

Yeah, that's what I'm saying, Like he's so just added to Like Larry David was kind of like dude, he was like laughing out loud at the table, like it was a little bit of a different kind of energy where it. Yeah, it was a little bit.

Chris is a little bit more like Yeah, So that takes me ask that sketch with Chris and Dave, how many people does it take to write Christen days? Now?

That sketch is almost and that sketch is a like perfect example of the week. That sketch was completely different Wednesday than it ended up being because because Hillary because yeah, so like they had to completely retool that sketch. It make different. I think the initial premise it was it was a Tucker Tucker and Neil wrote it. I think the initial premise, I don't even you have to me, I don't even remember the initiate, but it was so

I like and it was hell of black. But you said wrote that.

Neil Brennan and Brian Tucker they're very white but.

They get pass some days.

But that was like Tucker, Tucker and I write Black Jeopardy together. So to give you an idea of how No, I can his sense of he's from North Carolina. He's got like what city is from? I don't know where he's from. That as I'm saying that, I'm like, yeah, well, yeah, I really don't.

Know what city, given him the past and everything.

Yeah yeah, yeah, I don't know what city, but definitely North Carolina. Speaking of Speaking of which, I'm gonna gas Chap like around because he's a huge UNC fan.

That whites man from North Carolina that knows our people. I must look into this.

Yeah, I don't know. I mean, I don't know what the end game is for him, but he seems nice now.

Speaking speaking of which, speaking of which, it just hit me right now that you, Michael, are probably the first, uh black cast member of that show to really not have to endure the Is he going to be the next Eddie. Oh that's a really good point. No, yeah, I'm never, yeah I was. I was never chasing a ghost on that show. I think you're chasing a different ghost though, because I update, Yeah.

I had to Seth was my ghost, which was like terrible.

You know what I mean, probably for you is like surviving weekend update as opposed to will I make a one hundred million dollar paramount movie deal once I get off the show.

When I first got to the show, I was like, I was the only black writer on the show when I my first my first year. But that's why I don't like it's so weird when people say, oh, you're a first black head writer, and I'm always like, it wasn't like.

It was a rule, you know, like Jackie Robins writer.

Now, yeah, I like this year right because it was big h.

That's the crazy thing. I became head writer.

I became a guest writer, and Kevin Hart was the host. And when I became head writer, Kevin Hart was the host. Forgive me, he's doing it and not Ken the host. I gotta git a promotion for some reason. No, But I mean like I was the first I was there. I was the only writer there only black writer there, so.

I'm sorry.

There was there was ton that after that. Then Leslie was a writer, and then the Kendricks was a There was a few, there was a few black women. Oh, head writer, I don't know, but like, so what is what is it to me to be the head god? Am I about to open this ben doors box? All I know from what I know from where I work, Yeah, you know a lot being the head writer. Interviews always act like they don't know, trying to keep I don't know.

I'm just saying that from what I observed, being the head writer is just I'm not dancing line it just let me say it. It's it's a nightmare because basically requires you to be the bad cop.

Yeah, you gotta be the bad cop.

But also well, head writer is not necessarily the bad cop. That's I feel like producer Higgins and I feel like the producers are more so the bad cop. Higgins is a bad cop.

I mean they're in the position to be back.

I've never seen Higgins serious day in his life, and I've known him from nine years, So I don't know how to comedy serious. You gotta the comedy serious people. Comedians are so sensitive, like so sens it's like because when you're telling somebody this isn't funny or you're doing it bad, you know, like you can't. It's hard to recover, especially when you're in that room with all with Kate McKinnon and all these mothers that are awesome and comedy

After we read all of the sketch.

Yes, it's pretty much like basketball the basketball team where they write what made it on the on the door okay, and then you all of the sketches are on in then they circles the ones that's that's going because then you have to go produce your sketch. Like literally, when you find out your sketches picked on on Wednesday night, you have to go to production and you go to wardrobe department, you go to the hair department, you go

Your sketch and they give you liked they give you a budget like that's too expensive?

You want an explosion, we can't do that.

Like the videos for pre tape, they don't give you a number, they don't give you a number budget, but they will say, all right, that's a little we probably can't do that because you know, we can't get a real Lamborghini you know what I mean, whatever, But but a lot of our stuff they can do. Like if it's good though, that's when Lauren comes in. That's when he's like, no, you know what, fuck that, we're doing it.

So okay, say I'm a writer there and I'm asking you dad hypothetically Dad, no, no, no no, and you're like, and you somehow diplomatically or whatever, tell me, I don't think that's going to work.

Yeah.

Has there ever been a at dinner Lauren? I really had this this idea that I think and then like you gotta sneak at the Higgins and Lauren Lauren and then like going over your head the way the system is well nothing, See, I don't have an agenda, so nothing.

You don't have to go over my head.

If you perses of where a writer or a cast member like kind of goo wright is back to good. I feel like, what when like, we don't have an agenda? So when a writer will come up to us or whatever and tell us, like about a sketch they want to do, or an idea that they have or whatever, if we think it might be like a disaster, we'll be like, well, I mean, we'll try to kind of redirect the idea. But at the end of the day, you got the computer, you write it, you put the

Like if you come in there on your own, like I'm alone writer, Yeah, is it wise for me to say, Okay? So Kate McKinnon is being used a lot more than blah blah blah blah blah. So you know, hey, Kate, I got an idea for you, or let's write a thing together.

Yeah, it becomes that's the first move. That's the first move.

Usually I don't want to know who's the barbershop share that no one wants to go to the guy.

That doesn't cut number five. Yeah, but it's how Also it becomes a chemistry thing. It also becomes like because you got to think you're in a room with this person. So if you can't get along with somebody, you think they're weird, like you don't want to be in there trying to But that's my question. All right now, I hate to throw you under the bus.

So yeah, John love he loves him.

See right now, before you throw me under the there's still times of Steve's kind of the resident oscular grouch at at thirty on on the sixth floor. No, yeah, he is, but like like a lovable grump. You know, people know everyone loves Steve, but it's like a lovable grump. But the thing is is that what if you have the goods as a writer, but you might have aford to have an he got it. Yeah, like person, this guy is funny, right, but he loved him him you know, no, yeah,

Hey, what are you guys working on? What are you working on?

Okay, oh that'll be good, or we need more table, we need more of this whatever. So in those discussions they realize, hey, this cast member is not being written for as much or whatever, so maybe you know, and then we'll kind of like, okay, well, well what could be something that they can do? And then you make sure that you have covered You kind of make sure everybody has a shot at the table, everybody has something

Do you do you feel a well, I guess we all feel pressure as black people, But do you feel a pressure in.

This sort of unspoken tug of war.

Battle to make where you work reflective of where America is now as opposed to the comfort zone that SNL was associated with. Like, I can assume my idea that you're not an avid, obsessive SNL.

Right, exactly.

A update because not for nothing I do, right, No, I get it if I see me, I'm on, I'm on it.

But right, see, but I respect the institution of comedy, so I'd watch it regardless.

But I will say that now that I think now that they're aware that, okay, we have to be more inclusive.

Of now that they were forced and pressure about a few years ago with the higher of two black ladies.

Right, But I also feels like, you know, you have to reflect what America true is, like there's no hiding it anymore, right it used to be.

Well, it's so funny you say that, because I was just talking to somebody at the show about this yesterday, and I always feel like when people bring up diversity they always bring up, just like different colors of people that think the same, you know, And I kind of like the idea. I kind of like the tension in the show of people having different beliefs and people kind of having different That's what makes it a variety show.

And I'm cologized.

I forgot that Michael now is the head writer, which option been writing watching ever since they made that announcement, because now I can because I know there's a voice of higher up making this.

Oh yeah, I mean what I'm saying. The idea of Black Jeopardy probably probably wouldn't have flown, but it was so authentic and so good. I was like, it's honest for me and some you know y'all like yeah, I hear you laughing a mirror like that sort of yeah, yeah, yeah, Like where I'm laughing louder than the people that slept ten hours on the sidewalk to watch kill Swift perform. Its like, is there ever a concern?

You just said a very interesting thing. But what you just said a very interesting thing.

Which makes our show so unique is that our show we never know who our audience is gonna be. Our show could be all hairl of Swift fans. Ow I gotta do North Korea jokes for the people that came to see the one direction it might not work the same, you know what I mean. Or your sketch whatever, you could have a political sketch for, you know, the Bruno

When it comes it is like all the Black America swoop down.

There's certain there's certain black shows that we have that's like, oh boy, my phone was about to be.

Yeah, like Glover, it was like a ship.

Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, Donald Glover, Drake of course, Kevin Hart, of course, any chappelle forget about it. It was what was a chappelle and tribe was Tiffany had I got a lot of I got a lot of calls tif one.

Yeah, yeah, I was shocked. I got in a few of those. It's my dream to actually be an intern there.

So that.

Like for me, like Higgins is like, no, man, you can't come to pitch meetings, but I just want to see how pitch meetings are, just so I can figure out how that machine runs.

But you have a thirty rock show in you you know that there's like a whole show in that building that you could just host.

I you know, we talk about that all the time, like what happens out of the show is actually that's more funnier and interesting than you know, the shows that are produced.

There is it a pressure for a Lauren Michael's produced movie, Like what's the process? Because it feels like Lauren only really produces the movies that his people are in. But is there pressure or is there like, Okay, I know this is an added incentive that I might get him behind it, so I need to write something.

Is there a pressure to make one?

Yeah? Oh, I'm never really I'm never really into anything like that. Like I'm always like, what if I have a good idea, how do we execute the idea? I think it comes from doing that's enough for so long. It's just like if I have an idea, that's if it's a sketch, I'm like, oh, this will probably be better as a live sketule. This will probably better as a pre table, This will probably be better as a sitcom script, but this will probably be better as a movie.

Like because I enjoy it, You're like in the moment. Most people don't. They're not in the moment working for the next one.

Look, I've met in a moment because I enjoyed the moment, Like this is fun for me, you know what I mean. So it's like this is you know, like this is this right here is fun and producing something that's fun and right being in the writing room is fun. So I'm not in the rush to leave or do something else if I'm having fun doing this, you know what I mean. I feel like a lot of people are always kind of trying to find that next thing. Once they get it, it's not it's not fun, and they're like, well,

So now that we know that you're not in a rush to do things, which is why we haven't seen you in too many projects. But However, I don't like when we saw you in Top five, I was like, okay, so.

This a whole scene, fucking cut. I'm going to I'm going to direct this floor.

I don't know. I'm still mad at Chris.

But you did it, which is like that.

I was.

I had a whole thing.

It was like me and Chris like one on one, I'm telling him to go to the projects and then and then but why in the movie, as like somebody that like has to make those decisions. I'm like, oh yeah, I guess that was a stupid transitional scene that you did not need or whatever. But I was still mad that I that I was cut.

But what was that like in that scene with all of those people at that one time, because you know when he went back to the projects and it was like you Sherry Shepherd.

Chris, Chris just the shit out of me, and that during that what you call it, it was hilarious. He goes we were because I remember in that that XM studio, that scene it's me and him and Rosario and Rosario.

I'm like starstruck.

I was, you know, and I'm like holy ship and she's like nice where You're like, oh my God, I think I think she loves me anytime. Exactly. She's just like a nice person that happens to beautiful like this, she must love me. She was super nice and then uh she was. She was like, where are you from? Because she's from the Lower east Side too, so we were talking about like the Lower east Side and she's like.

Have I met you before? And I'm like, I don't. I don't think so, And that's all Chris Hurt.

You don't think so. You don't know if you met Rosario Dawson, I don't know. And everybody's just dying like have you met Beyonce? You remember that nigg.

Like and I'm like on set like an action.

Like I don't know what I'm doing.

Just give me out of here, just give me my Uber pull back.

So wait, what was your reaction when they told you we want you to try a weaken up dates? My reaction was no? Initially you said no initially? I mean it was like, it's the same reaction I hosting Emmy. I'm like, I don't know that, but could you collectively feel all of Black America watching you to make sure that you know?

I never really, I never thought it'd be that I never thought.

I always thought, if you if you let me talk, if you let me say what I want to say, somebody's gonna notice what I'm saying because I just like to say shit like that. You know.

That's like since kindergarten.

But on Weekend Update, the format was so rigid that it took me like maybe two seasons to even feel like I could say what I wanted to say, just because it was it was already. It's such a set formula that we were doing. I always feel like there's like anybody on TV has like there's like a stepdad

That's not coming back, is not coming back, and I'm waking.

Pretty use of that role change in like every decade. I feel like, yeah, like Dennis millerded, but you have.

To make it yours. There was a point, there was like a turning point for me on the show where I was like, if I didn't show up to work and someone else did this job, no one would care because there's nothing that I'm saying that only I can say. And that was how I started writing, when I was like, well, what can I say that nobody else can say? Do you write? Or does someone else?

Now?

Just now I write? At first, I didn't write any of it for like a season, I didn't write any of them and then and now and Lauren would be like, you need to write it, and I was like, well I don't.

I don't think you realize what I write, you.

Know what I mean? I didn't know remember in Trading Places when they brought Eddie Murray to the house and he was in there was like, this is all your stuff and he's still stealing you. Like, no, you don't understand, you're you're stealing your stuff. Like that's how I felt at the show. They were like, just take control of it. And I'd be like, yeah, okay, whatever, Hey what should I say next? They said, no, say what you want

Does it require like are you you know, are you entertaining uh you know, spirit fingers, musical opening or is it just like all right?

There might be something might be some elements of music. We wanted to feel like Essenel is hosting the Yemmy's, but while still keeping the integrity of the Yemmys, you know, like we don't want to kind of spoof it or lampoon it. But is it me?

Me thinks Lauren also got a special relationship with the Emmys because, like in retrospect you think about the Tina Amy, like a lot of alums have kind of hosted that.

As well well, the way they did Well Amy did goldenlu They rotated through the networks the Emmys, so like this, so when NBC has it, I think it's been Jimmy, and it's been Jimmy is like four years ago, and Seth's done it before.

They have a favorite host so far, Like for awarding any award show? Have you watched an award show once?

He was like, Yo, I like Tina Aamy a lot. I think they I think I love what they do together. I think they're they're really good. And I think I think there are two people that when they do what they can do, what only they can do. You know what I mean.

I guess you can't just have two random people do the same app.

I was going to say since it's such a staple where you know you have the Peacha delivery guy in the audience thing, you should just take them to like Roscoes or something.

I would love I would love to put I got we got a couple of tricks of us. I got a couple of tricks of us leaves that we were talking about that could be really fun. I'll tell you. I can't spoil it. Don't spoil'll kill me.

But you're gonna have you need some que cars because you don't watch TV.

So all those people in the audit we got que cars. Then we got what you call it to problem. Yeah, hopefully, Well we got to figure all that out though, because you can't show the que cars on TV. So actually by the time this air is this it will have when it's the.

Air date again for the Emmys, I think late September.

Yeah, like I think time spoil it? No, no, no, maybe all right, I don't know. I don't know Mario one about that unlikely, so I didn't I didn't get it. I was like, this ship is a hit, y'all really like this song? Yeah, Mario.

Favorite, I think about Mario Wrio.

Yeah, I didn't know, so any any plans for any other stand up specials.

Or yeah I'm working on the special now.

But another one that I think is where I feel like specials are just not really because so many people have specials that it's almost like, yeah, it's special anymore money, Yeah, they gave me a little it was it was okay, they didn't they didn't monique me, they didn't me. They did they took care of me a little bit. But uh, it's it's not even so much. I don't know. I just feel I always like to go against the ground. Everybody's going one way, I kind of want to go

You were going to get to see Kat Williams or whatever.

And that's kind of why they were so big, and when the special came on repeat, it was that one, so everybody kind of knew it.

And I feel like, now there's ten a week have Netflix.

It's like, who oh yeah, a millennial nasty comedian.

Yeah, it's it's a lot, and not just Netflix, it's just it's everywhere. But the cool thing that I do like about Netflix though not just because they paid me last, but they people tend to watch multiple in a row, so like like when Dave's special comes out, I get a lot of hits about my special because I'm like, oh, so you saw it?

Was like if you like that guy, yeah, and then they kind of throw you out.

So it is cool because the people that are going like looking for one guy will you know, discover a lot more.

So that is that is a benefit.

But for me, I just think conceptually to make people talk about it, it can't just be did you hear his you see his special? It's gotta be did you see this thing about that? You know? It's got to be a little bit more interact with people on Yeah, Oh that's fun. I don't get to do that a lot anymore, but they don't let me. They don't yeah, they don't really are you. I know, I gotta start. I gotta start dragging my nuts.

Man.

I want to ask you alway want to ask you, how did What was your reaction when the text from old Girl hitting neck NI? I just wanted to dap you up from Yo, you handled that ship? I was like, word the fun up, Here's what happened here. So I got hit up by page six on Facebook. Literally she was like, hey, we got this, uh this lady that's been saying that you did x y Z the hood and you know you were really mean and rude and nasty, and she We're gonna run the story.

Do you have any comments?

And she showed me the story she was gonna run, and it was just basically close on it that I was a piece of ships that I was like, did this you know, just from texting?

And I was like, none of that shit happened.

Like I have every text and it's not even that I saved text, it's just I never delete text. Yeah, I just don't think too, you know. So I was like, Yo, I found her number and I was like, this is every interaction I've ever had with her and I'm not even gonna tell you my side, I'll let you tell me my side. And she was like, okay, can I use these? And I was like, yeah, I'm thinking she

But I also think if that ship would have.

Ruined me, like in the climbing of me Too and the climbing of you know, the harassment, I would have never been able to defend myself. If I didn't have those no, no, no, I would have been fried. I appreciate you for clapping back. I was like, where the funk up?

No, that was my I learned my lesson. Yeah, that's what I mean. When's this come out?

A wait? That was a rail celebrity, uh tender status.

Not necessarily.

It's the same ship.

No, you have to be.

Accepted, you know, like how you go to the hallal cart and one's got a long line and one doesn't. It's the same fucking meat. It's the same ship. It's just one got a line, one don't. From the results, yeah, I mean really, I mean look, it's the same I didn't know that was a ray of fel.

The only thing I liked about Ray though, is that you can't scream shot on.

The well yeah they warned you. Yeah, like I did. It's like, oh damn, you can't. You can't scream? So what so what is the rail? And I'm not kidding. So it's a it's a spot. It's a spot that like.

You know, I might see Demu Levado's real joining. I might see you know, like I see Peers like yeah, singers seven Street.

Like oh yeah, yeah, yeah, okay.

You know, it's basically a tender where you will see more writers people to.

Lose, right exactly, there you go, I got it. Yeah yeah, like can't keep it in my account. Still ship. Damn. So if you're looking for a sad immediately and then what really hurt me too was you know Dan Soda very funny comedian Dan Soda. He's he's a writer on Billions to show Billions, and so I told them about Ray like a while ago, and so he wrote it in the show and he was like, Michael Chay's on

I'm certain that is hilarious.

Yeah, your your ig is some of the most dangerous comedy they don't I've ever seen.

I feel like you use it because you know it would be going in twenty four.

Hours, sometimes less I deleted, sometimes even quicker.

It's just fun. So you leave your comments open for them for people.

To my messages. I live open and I like screen cap and I answer it.

I like it better than Twitter because on Twitter, like they could take they can just at you and then they get your whole followers to read all of that. Ship. At this I get to select. I get to pick what I want people to see. You I don't want people. Yeah, motherfucker could like at you and then everybody that filed that read your ship. They see that. That's why they say the wow, crazy shit to you, so that they could be attached to and then the motherfuckers they use

It's just like, Yeah, they do that a lot. At thirty Rocks. Someone has to go through their routine to an empty audience. Yeah, that's rough, that's right.

I remember when I worked at The Daily Show, John would go through run through and he would do all of the jokes to just like us. Yeah, like maybe twenty of us, maybe fifteen, fifteen, twenty of us, and that's how he would guess, would then make decisions based on We would all huddle up right after and he'd be like, move this, do this, do this, do this, and then we have one more meeting with a big

He was so good at that.

You bounced back and forth because yeah, I went.

To I went to the Daily Show. I didn't have It was just pretty much I didn't have a summer. As soon as that Snow wrapped, I went straight to the Daily Show, And as soon as the Daily Show and Snow came back, I went.

Straight back to Was that John's last season or one was John's last season?

I was like maybe three four months before he left. I didn't know he was leaving though, I had no idea that's both John's right or no no, no, no no no. When I remember, like one of my last weeks, he was given Trevor the tour to come in as like a correspondent. He was like a special court. He was like kind of doing what Wilmore was going to be doing. Ah, can you remember what Will Moore used to do? Yeah, that's what he like. That was kind of how it was presented, like, oh, yeah, well, you know,

I don't think he did.

I don't think he I don't think he did because I think for a while they wasn't sure who's gonna be, and then they decided before they decided trup. That's what I know. I never really talked to Trevor about it.

TV funny at everybody else's job.

Are you looking forward to uh, season forty or is it forty two? Now this is forty this will be forty four? Jesus christ is Obama?

Yeah?

Wow, you're right, dude, are you? Are you looking forward to it? Or is it like I am Obama? Ye?

Or Michael?

I think that I think that this one's gonna be a fun one, honestly, because I feel like everybody's kind of hawking out. I think like Kate McKinnon's is a superstar, Leslie's you know, star, and I think I think like this is going to be like a fun season where everybody kind of starts to I think, like, it's not as Trump heavy anymore. How do you do that? I don't think it will be ill, do you? Yeah? Do you?

I mean not that if you expect impeachment action or whatever. Midterms. I have faith that something will happen in the midterms. You know, something will happen.

Either more collusion or the House will I don't think they got him. You don't think they got him yet.

I don't think they got him.

But it's almost weird because it's like you when you're about like to U see two dudes about the fight, and they say, like, the dude that's taking off the most clothes don't want to fight. Yeah, I think that's what my little I don't think they I don't think they want I don't think they got it.

Well, I don't.

I don't know. It's kind of weird. I'm in the minority with that. I'll say that, but I just think they would have did it by that well. As a black person, I gotta have faith in something. Man impossible. How long? But how long isay? I'm not the biggest history, but how long did Watergate take?

How long was that not this long nine months because basically Democrats have the house, Like if we just get the house, this nightmare couldn't you know, But we don't have the house we need.

We need five.

So but it's I'm just saying that either way, like if if he continues, that's technically.

Good for you per se if Trump continues, I mean, because I feel this is like SNL what the cultural No, we could say that no one.

But the thing is is that you guys are more you guys are more digestible. Like for me, we can Update is actually a news program now because that scares me.

I know, I know, I watched real News seriously, it's yeah, it's no, No, nomics are more the way I present it is in a way that's more digestible. I mean, you don't.

Realize that every every diatribe that you do on weekend up date winds up being a heavily passed around.

Yeah, but I understand it on on that on that front, but I'm saying there's stuff I feel like we could do on week and Update that isn't necessarily Trump. That's way more important. Like I watched like the real Estate that Oliver has. I watched the real Estate that even Trevor has, but I mean they do. He does this show every day, so it's a little bit less fair

I don't think it's even Trump specific, but I feel that the domino effect of like we definitely would not have me too if it weren't for the Trump administration that I feel. I don't feel there's a lot of things. Yes, I agree with you, I.

Don't think so. I mean, because it would have happened during the Obama.

Because remember what happened on inauguration Day, a women's march.

Yeah, against everything, like whatever he stands for.

Then it's like we're gonna sort of seek it out and everyone else other than him and make them pay for.

What he represents. We can't get him out of the paint.

Yeah, So even if you don't have to talk about him specifically, I mean, we're you're gonna talk about immigration, which is a result of him.

You're going to talk about me too.

He's right, everything even the banks and getting the access to our Facebook.

That's his fault.

I'm gonna blame him.

Yeah, you're gonna have Zuckerberg jokes. And the way the Way Update the Way Update is delegated. It's you know, it's about four minutes and then a three minute future and then you know what I mean, three minutes and then maybe a three minute feature and you know, so it's like the real estate that we have to be able to talk about, and then it's between two people, so you cut that. It's like it's almost like like income. You gotta cut that in happening, you know what I mean.

Maybe you take the lead and the news will follow.

That's what I mean. You know, it's not just me.

It's not up to me.

It's also but I mean as a show, like because the news is doing the same thing that you're saying y'all trying to stay away from, like MSNBC, CNN, it's all the same all the time.

His name so yeah, and he knows and he's he's playing it like an instrument. Man. He knows he knows exactly when to say some crazy shit about Lebron, you know exactly. Yeah, he knows when, he knows when to dominate. Motherfucker knows how to control the news source. And everybody's guilty because we all, I think it's interesting. We all want the clout, you know, like we all want to have the witty, perfect thing to say about what he's saying.

The Hollywood star fame people, they already took the lead. They said, just take it away, so it won't be no debate, no argument has gone good.

Wait, so, speaking of distraction, in wrapping up this episode.

This was fun as hell. By Yeah, this is thanks for letting me come up here.

You're welcome. I have to say, uh, dude, you have to make more Willie. You don't know.

Look, I have three YouTube mixes on my private YouTube page.

One's all Michael, one's all Soul Trained. The other is Willie. Who was Willy? Who Willy?

Is this this?

I'm probably no, No, it's it's funny ship.

It's it's a character that Michael's written written for Keenan Thompson.

Yeah, how he's the most optimistic. He's the most optimistic guy. I know, he's my neighbor. He always sees the bright side of everything. But he just has the worst life ever. So it's really sad he's been involved with. It's really familiar, like you know, he is the worst luck on the worst luck on nerve and uh, he's always trying to cheer me up and he just keeps using an example. Wait, Will, he's based on a real person. No, Will, he's not

And this is this is a week enough. He's an updated character.

The punchline is always like he'll say, hey, it's like they always say, and he'll come up with an idiom, but he doesn't realize. He doesn't realized that. You know. It's like they always say, hey, Willy, what did I tell you about coming in I'm your mama? That I like the y'all did it was what the weekend up there? The one it was only one that got cut that was like way too rough? Will Willie where he goes? Uh, It's like I told Martin Luther king you can smoke outside.

It's just like, yeah, yeah, every time I do it, y'all will do anymore?

What up with that? Is that? The thing about what with that is Jason he's not there anymore and Fred's not there, so it's hard to do and Bill Bill Hayter, who does does It's not so like they're all gone. So I think the last time they did that was that's Tucker Man, look at you, your ban Tooker fan. You don't even know.

I didn't even know he's black. He's a little black and black I'm not to meet him like black girls.

That's not the way.

They stopped there, they stopped, they stopped there.

Look get your you're right, that's right.

We're supposed to blind date you and all that stuff like I got now. Okay, well we'll see how it works in five months, in time for Valentine's Day.

How's your things going with your boot quest? Love? Still my Yeah, I'm still bowed up.

We're taking we're still winning.

Second, I love your code talk, you know what I'm saying. Yeah, of course is very shocked that I'm dating a black woman.

I've been dating pat her Head too, like like one of the ones that pat her Head and get bread.

Yes, we're going to Hawaii. Okaye, we said, what's up? Yes, I will tell Shep. You said, hello, oh ship Hawaii. I've never been to Hawaiian You gotta go, you.

Got to go.

I've never been on a vacation.

I'm sorry.

I will introduce you to Sheep Gordon, who's the you know, the vacation whisper.

Okay, oh yeah, I would. I would love that you've been on an Actually, you've never been on a vacation. I've never been on a plane that wasn't like for a work since you started doing this, since I started doing it. I don't think the first vacation was what for when that first meet Gordon four or five years ago. Yeah, I think my first one was tried like twenty fourteen thirteen,

You know the group Rockhampton, Yeah, sort of roots Generation to See or whatever. They they only have one like one record out, and already they're like taking a vacation in Hawaii, like working on the new record.

And I'm like, you were shaming the youre mirror as the Elder Like no, I'm just.

Like, wait, who does that? Like you? But that I just heard them yesterday for the first time ever. It's so crazy that you even said they was playing a song on the bar and I thought it was I thought it was a j rock song. One of the guys kind of Ryan fans. Sounds like rock Christian rock. It's weird because when I told them it's like seven niggames. Yeah, it's like seven or eight of them. They're black and white. It's like a Benettone ad of Jen.

Reference.

It's just we get it. Well, what's the new benine ad Mountain Dew commercial? Okay, there no, But what's weird is that.

What's weird is that who put me onto Mecca from Diggable Planets like her kids loved them.

So I looked at them and then like we got them on the show. But the thing was because of a it's weird. His name is a mirror. Two, they kind of had a me too moment.

Backstage at the show or before, not tonight's show, at their show, okay, so they had to kick a member out. And then when they came on our show, it you know, I'm expecting these seven rambunctious like flying all over the place. Uh, And they did the most emo depressed like they sat on the floor like a bonfire like with crime millennial tiers about like and you know, and that was the jam they did. I used to know they didn't do

Yeah, I was like, you can have to. You know, Jimmy's looking at me like, is this a group Jimmy hit you with? That's your man? Exactly? That your man? Oh man? Really up brock camp? Was it cool?

People do that?

I want them, Yes, I I want them to come back and do what I.

Exactly.

You said you more of a music person than you are watching me. Of course you're watch I love music well, because music I'm in, I'm in. I don't know how it works. Well, comedy I know how it works, so it's not that interesting.

It's the same.

But music, I'm like, I'm blown away.

By that rocking lately listening, oh man, I don't like new stuff.

They don't have to be making music for me.

Like what's your era? And that's like, are you like Man Midnight, your Neptune Switsch beat era?

That's my era technically, but I like the era right before that. I like the ninety five ninety six.

I like you're aumatic yeah, yeah, yeah, you know what you know what a gang star is? Okay, you know what a gang yo? This is? This is bizarre, you know, Like I was literally that same bottle. I was listening to Brockhand for the first time. They was playing Guru jazmatads Wow, and I was like, jazzmatass. It was an Irish bar called Deacon Brodie's and they was playing Guru jazmatas. Wait where I was like in New York? In New York and.

Randomly, what's up of you guys going to random bars because nobody cares about you and an Irish bar, no one gives a fuck about who you are?

Fine, I'm telling you, they don't bother you. It's anything collegy or anything young and hip. You gotta wear a fucking pub Oh they don't. They could care less. They're playing music, they know who you are, and they're just like, so what, and you're fine. I love it. That's the one aspect of thirty rock folklore that I'm kind I'm not mad I missed out on it because I don't want a habit or anything, but I'm looking for.

Like you do it every day. You can't develop a habit because.

Able to navigate like they're supposed to be, like Jim Belushi, you know, messing around with Jane Curtin in the hallway with heroin and you know.

Like I'm looking for like the rock stars. Yeah, like that era that she can't exist Normal everyone's at.

Whole Foods and you know, yeah, everybody's giant salad Amazon.

Steve is like Steve is throwing me under the bus again just to end the episode in a way that you're going to feel happy about yourself.

Yeah, Steve, I am, I have a.

Question for you. Okay, just circling back here to weekend update. Okay, I mentioned Seth as your ghost. Who's your all time favorite? Normal? Norm? I love Norm only because Norm knew it was funny, even if the audience did. And I love that freedom that Norm. And like he he would tell a joke like straight down the back. He wouldn't budge and it would get almost like worse than nothing. He was, but he didn't care. Like at home watching it, it was hysterical.

It's a small suggestion. One of the things about watching the show in the studio is the volume is so low, yes.

Because we're not we're miked for the camera, we're not for the crowd, right, yeah, And.

It's almost like you're like hearing your natural voice, but from like one hundred and twenty feet away, you know.

And that's the thing.

Like some shows that I've seen in person, I'll be like, I'm all right, and then I'll go home and watch it the next night or yeah, DVR or whatever. I'm like, Yo, that was hilarious, And I'm realizing that shows SNL is definitely more hilarious on television than it is.

Plus in the audience, you're sitting really far back, so you can't see your face, your facial expressions and when we can update.

Sometimes I didn't know it only went once. I'm sorry, I'm not.

They have TVs where you can kind of see a little bit better butt, but it is. It's true though, sometimes even if you have the monitor, sometimes you're just trying to watch it happen live and you can't really get there.

If I watched the monitor sitting down.

Yeah that's true. But yeah, good point the whole I.

Feel the concert. Sometimes if you that far away, your eye is always on a monitor.

What am I doing here about stories? That's why don't like going to football games. I go to the football game and I'm the Dumbo tron. I'm like, I could just be comfortable. I don't have to be next to two races.

I really done. I could do this at home now.

The fun, or at least for you, like the fun of SNL, is just the experience of like the first the first episode, in the last episode is usually when the Benders part happens, like it's dress versal. What a thirty ten thirty, and then the show is eleven thirty to one, and usually the sad rejects go up to seventeen and get sloshed until about one thirty and then the after after parties from one thirty t about three thirty or four.

That's another thing now that the Lonely Island is left, like there's no one. They came and disrupted the after party system.

Whereas they started throwing their own after parties, and then there was like the cool kids'll call it, that's the rap group name they you know, like when you see like SNL comedy video diox, Like.

They really brought the viral video.

Damn, near invented it because Sunday was the viral video, so they invented the viral video.

So but they would have their own cool.

Kids parties versus the teamsters and the other people that can't play their games.

But then when they left, no one was feeling that void, like you should be should it just be one party? I feel like you and Pete, we need to throw your own. Actually, your birthday party was lit. It was fun. Yeah, but that was the last. That was the last party. Yeah, yeah, we hung out, but I just don't I don't go. I don't even go to the parties. You have responsibilities.

Like everybody just wants to talk about the show.

It's like you've done this and you've been waiting for so long for this ship to be over, and then now somebody wants to talk to them about it, and you're like, I want to go home and enjoy my Sunday. I would say, so Sunday is that you're really your only day to Sunday is your one day, and I would you would lose your Sunday because Yo, when they drink at the after after part, they drink to like

Wait the fact I was really proud of the fact that this was going to be an effect free show, that Michael was going.

To be our I wanted to get to the bottom of that, because you know, Michael j woe black man, he's single, and you got to get to the.

Bottom of excuse me, mi one, nothing I am and so are you. You're into that, right, Michael.

I thank you very much for coming to our show. It's so much fun. Thank you, thank you, and good good luck on your future endeavors.

And can you say I love black women.

I'm just love black women.

There we go, black listen.

I just wanted this is why you were talking to anyway on be aut Sugar Steve Face. Hey Bill, I'm very sorry the other Bill was up. All right, I'll see you all in the next go around. M h of course.

Love Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio. This classic episode was produced by the team at Pandora. For more podcasts from iHeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.