Saturday Night Live is a television institution, one that has produced countless iconic episodes. But believe it or not, the show isn’t necessarily one that gets standing ovations from its live audiences after wrapping. Seth Meyers recently revealed the only SNL performance he remembers getting a standing ovation after, as well as his mom’s funny response.
Seth Meyers was on SNL for a whopping 13 years, and was in the room where it happened for some super successful shows. While recently appearing on the podcast Las Culturistas, he revealed the one show that got a standing ovation, as well as an encore. Namely when Anne Hathaway hosted with musical guest The Killers in October of 2008. This was during the height of Tina Fey playing Sarah Palin, as well as the introduction of Kristin Wiig’s tiny-handed singer on the Lawrence Welk show. Meyers recalled the response to that episode, saying:
It is the only time I remember when that show was over, the audience gave a standing ovation. And the Killers performed again.
Saturday Night Live’s long tenure on the air (which is available with a Peacock subscription) has come with plenty of peaks and valleys. And 2008 things were definitely hot, thanks to some great sketches as well as Tina Fey’s iconic run playing Vice President hopeful Sarah Palin. That resulted in the only time Seth Meyers remembers seeing the audience leap to their feet at the end of the taping.
Not only was the Anne Hathaway/The Killers episode memorable for this reason, but Meyers actually brought his family to see the show that day. Later on his episode of Last Culturistas, he shared a sweet story about introducing them to The Killers, and the funny comment his mother made afterward. In his words:
My parents were at the show, and I introduced my mom to the Killers, and as they walked away, she said very loud, and they heard, ‘Well I don’t know why they call themselves the Killers, they couldn’t be nicer boys.’
How wholesome is that? In addition to the musical performances (including an encore), A-lister Anne Hathaway appeared in the sketch that introduced the Lawrence Welk show and Kristin Wiig’s Dooneese. As a reminder, you can check out that beloved sketch below:
I don’t care to mention the amount of times I re-watched this sketch when it was first released. One can only imagine how electric the energy was in the room, especially when you add in the Sarah Palin sketches. I’d probably have given a standing ovation as well.
Following his tenure in SNL, Seth Meyers began hosting Late Night with Seth Meyers, which airs on weeknights. Be sure to check out the TV premiere list to plan your next binge watch.
