Not every Saturday Night Live sketch is going to be a winner, but at least it has the honor of making it to air. These days, even some of the sketches that couldn’t be fit into the live broadcast are still able to be seen when they’re uploaded to YouTube and become available to stream with a Peacock subscription. But there are plenty of SNL sketches that don’t make it past the conception stage or are cut for time, though there’s one in particular that Weekend Update anchor and writer Colin Jost refuses to let die.
In the latest episode of The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast, Meyers, who worked on SNL from 2001 until he took over Late Night in 2014, told cohosts Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer, who made the SNL Digital Shorts with fellow podcast cohost Andy Samberg as the Lonely Island trio, about how Jost has been trying to get a sketch called Manny Manimal on the air numerous times over a span of more than 15 years. The first attempt was when Taylor Lautner hosted SNL in December 2009, with Meyers explaining:
Manny Manimal was the man of many animals. It started with [a] cartoon-type opening, like of a superhero cartoon, where he was bit by a radioactive spider, but then he fell backwards into a tank that had a radioactive octopus, and he just keeps getting bit by different things. So he has the power of every animal… And then it cuts to him stopping a bank robbery, and it's this crazy costume where it's got a scorpion tail and falcon wings, and it's a nutty costume that was amazing. And it was all about like how he just felt really sick all the time ‘cause there was just too much stuff going on. But the thing about it is, the audience is super psyched by the premise, and then they're super psyched when they see the costume. But then it's the diminishing returns of, ‘Oh I think I might throw up.’
Yeah, I have to agree with Seth Meyers on this one. While I’d certainly be interested in seeing the Manny Manimal costume, the recurring joke of Manny getting sick because of all the animal craziness going on in his body would quickly get old. So the sketch was cut from Taylor Lautner’s Saturday Night Live episode, but Colin Jost decided to give it two more shots: once when Meyers hosted in October 2017, and then when Stranger Things’ Finn Wolfhard was hosting just last week on the 2026 TV schedule. Meyers continued:
He resubmits Manny Manimal for me. Once again, enough time has passed that everybody forgets, myself included, why it didn't work… Basically I do it at dress. By the way, my show, not a house on fire. It wasn't like, ‘Oh, it was a great show. It was hard to get through.’ Like, fucking ate shit at dress. Not even considered. So you would think that's the death of Manny Manimal. Resubmitted it for Finn Wolfhard, went to dress.
While Seth Meyers was telling this story, Akiva Schaffer wondered if Colin Jost changed the Manny Manimal script between when Taylor Lautner was on SNL and when Meyers returned to the show. Then, after learning it’d been revived for Finn Wolfhard, only to fall through once more, Schaffer suggested that he and the other podcast hosts watch all three Manny Manimal dress rehearsal sketches to see if there are any notable differences. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind if at least one of them was made available for the public to see.
Still, at this point I think Colin Jost should call it quits on Manny Manimal for good. If this sketch bombed three times within 16 years, then I doubt waiting another decade will improve its chance, assuming Jost is even still around on Saturday Night Live by then. Let’s close the book on this sickly superhero and dedicate more attention to the upcoming SNL hosts and musical guests.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
