We know Sarah Silverman now as a hilarious stand-up comedian with her own specials and the voice of Vanellope von Schweetz in the Wreck-It-Ralph movies (which are streaming on your Disney+ subscription). But before that, the American actress/writer had a one-season stint on Saturday Night Live before she got fired. Fortunately, Silverman talks about Conan O’Brien being “the best thing for me” after her short SNL run.
Sarah Silverman was hired on SNL at a really young age of 22, appearing in sketches like “Weekend Update” alongside Kevin Nealon and “Homegirls,” where she played a prep-school girl. But her screentime was very limited as a performer.
On The Howard Stern Show, Sarah Silverman got real that she was “thrown for a loop” when she found out from her agent that she got fired, thinking that would never happen to her. On the other hand, the School of Rock actress found a silver lining through O’Brien after he would invite her onto his talk show as a frequent guest that same year:
Really, Conan was the best thing for me. That was his first year. It was my first and only year at SNL. And he put me on all the time. Even after I was fired, all the time. And that was the start for me. And I wouldn’t have been able to be on Conan without SNL, and it was an incredible, kind of, bootcamp experience.
Based on Sarah Silverman’s story, it proves that everything happens for a reason. While SNL let the comedian go after not knowing how to use her, that sketch comedy series was her stepping stone into appearing on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. This was a great way for the upcoming comedian to showcase her talents and elevate the career she’s successfully built for herself over the decades.
Conan O’Brien also got his start on SNL as a staff writer from 1988-1991, which helped him show off his comedic writing chops and be around the TV industry. So I’d like to believe that he and Sarah Silverman's shared background on the NBC sketch comedy series created a mutual bond and respect between the two. Plus, since Silverman was a guest on O’Brien’s first major hosting gig the year it debuted, the two were part of each other’s first starts, which is a beautiful thing.
Saturday Night Live may have said goodbye to Sarah Silverman in 1993. But she made her return to the Emmy Award-winning series over two decades later, kicking off SNL40 with Chris Pratt, Woody Harrelson, Cameron Diaz, and more. The Screen Actors Guild Award nominee starred in sketches like a parody sequel of The Fault in Our Stars, “Supportive Women” spoofing female soap opera characters getting along, and more. Given the outstanding comedy career Silverman made for herself, getting to come back to SNL must have felt like a full-circle moment for her.
Sarah Silverman’s time on Saturday Night Live was short after being fired, but Conan O’Brien’s invite to his talk show, she said, ended up being “the best thing” for her career to help further make her mark. It’s always a breath of fresh air to see comedians helping to open doors for others in a tough industry. Feel free to watch Silverman’s season 19 run on SNL streaming on your Peacock subscription.
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