Nate Bargatze’s “Washington's Dream” (with SNL’s Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell)

Summary

Podcast Summary: Good One: A Podcast About Jokes

Episode: Nate Bargatze’s “Washington Dream” (with SNL’s Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell)
Release Date: December 24, 2024
Host: Jesse David Fox, Vulture Senior Editor

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Introduction

In this episode of Good One: A Podcast About Jokes, host Jesse David Fox delves into the intricacies of the “George Washington” sketch from Saturday Night Live (SNL). Joining him are Nate Bargatze, an acclaimed stand-up comedian and SNL host, along with SNL alum Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidell. The trio explores the genesis, development, and execution of the sketch, offering listeners an insider’s view into the creative process behind one of SNL’s memorable comedic pieces.

Sketch Clip

The episode kicks off with a clip of the “George Washington” sketch, featuring Nate Bargatze portraying the first President of the United States as he navigates the absurdities of establishing a new nation. The humor arises from Washington’s bewildering explanations of the country’s systems, such as weights and measures, and his interactions with a soldier who struggles to keep up with the illogical changes.

Notable Quote:

• Nate Bargatze (02:44): "I hear the British are sending another 5,000 troops."

Creation and Development of the Sketch

After the clip, Jesse and the guests discuss how the “George Washington” sketch came to life. The initial idea sparked from Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell’s brainstorming sessions, influenced by their viewing of HBO’s John Adams. They aimed to create a character that could humorously highlight the nonsensical aspects of starting a new nation.

Notable Quotes:

• Streeter Seidell (11:28): "The very initial thing from the previous season was I had been watching the HBO show John Adams..."
• Mikey Day (12:00): "I remember we're not on Monday. We're on Monday. I think on Monday we're probably just in a panic going like, what are we gonna do?"

Collaborative Writing Process

Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell recount their collaborative efforts in refining the sketch. Initially, the concept was too abstract, focusing on Washington’s inaugural address without specific comedic elements. Through iterations, they introduced relatable and absurd elements like the confusion over measurement systems and the perplexing rules of sports, making the sketch more accessible and humorous.

Notable Quotes:

• Mikey Day (24:44): "But fear not, men. A hot dog will not be made of dogs."
• Streeter Seidell (29:30): "We will focus on this later on. We'll deal with all that."

Performing the Sketch on SNL

The guests discuss the challenges and triumphs of performing the sketch live on SNL. Nate Bargatze shares his insights on embodying George Washington, emphasizing the importance of maintaining the character’s stoicism while delivering the comedic lines. Streeter Seidell highlights the collaborative environment of SNL, where writers and performers work closely to polish sketches up until the live broadcast.

Notable Quotes:

• Nate Bargatze (32:09): "Our own thing, sir?"
• Streeter Seidell (33:20): "They went straight to John Adams. They went straight to John."

Revisions and Refinements

Following the initial performance, the team reflects on the feedback and the necessary revisions to enhance the sketch. Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell explain how they pruned weaker jokes and introduced new elements to strengthen the comedic impact. This iterative process ensured that the sketch resonated well with both the live audience and viewers at home.

Notable Quotes:

• Mikey Day (35:43): "Yeah, so we just kind of did it. So I was pretty nervous at first, but then when I read what they did, it felt very different enough."
• Streeter Seidell (38:50): "And the second one, Mike Dzo helped."

Reception and Legacy

The “George Washington” sketch received positive acclaim, with legendary figures like Tom Hanks praising Nate Bargatze’s portrayal. The guests discuss how the sketch has become a staple within SNL’s repertoire, admired for its clever writing and unique character portrayal. They also touch upon the potential for future iterations of the sketch, ensuring its place in SNL history.

Notable Quotes:

• Streeter Seidell (27:31): "Because jumping ahead with Tom, that was fine. It was like, that's him."
• Nate Bargatze (33:56): "That'd be great if it was a serious biopic. When Nate turns into, like, you win an Academy Award."

Challenges and Bombed Sketches

The conversation shifts to discussing sketches that didn’t land as expected. Streeter Seidell shares anecdotes about sketches like “Bebo” and the challenges of creating humor that resonates with the audience. Despite these setbacks, the team emphasizes the importance of perseverance and continuous refinement in comedy writing.

Notable Quotes:

• Streeter Seidell (84:07): "They had one sketch called Bebo... and the audience was just like, no, thank you. Dead silent."
• Mikey Day (91:06): "We were so confident in this idea, and I think it ate more. It was just dead silence."

Interactions with Comedy Legends

Nate Bargatze, Mikey Day, and Streeter Seidell share memorable interactions with legendary comedians like Steve Martin and Martin Short. These stories highlight the camaraderie and mentorship within the comedy community, underscoring the mutual respect and inspiration drawn from established figures.

Notable Quotes:

• Streeter Seidell (87:24): "I did a corporate gig recently with Steve Martin. Martin Short. Wow, that's so amazing."
• Nate Bargatze (88:42): "My son was really into it, and he recorded a voice memo for my son. I was like, hi. Hello. I'm with your dad right now."

Final Segments and Lightning Round

The episode concludes with a “laughing round,” where guests share favorite jokes, sketches they admire, and memorable moments from their careers. This lighter segment provides a humorous close to the in-depth discussion, leaving listeners with a sense of the guests' comedic styles and personal anecdotes.

Notable Quotes:

• Streeter Seidell (81:07): "Anytime someone teased the ball up and then they... that's the first stroke. It's not."
• Mikey Day (82:26): "I would say it's likely, if we can come up with it."

Conclusion

Good One wraps up with Jesse David Fox thanking Nate Bargatze, Mikey Day, and Streeter Seidell for their insightful and entertaining conversation. The episode not only sheds light on the creative processes behind SNL sketches but also celebrates the collaborative spirit that fuels successful comedy.

Notable Quote:

• Jesse David Fox (94:15): "That's it for this episode of Good One. Thank you for listening. I am Jesse David Fox... Have a good one."

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Key Takeaways:

• The “George Washington” sketch exemplifies the collaborative and iterative nature of comedy writing on SNL.
• Nate Bargatze’s portrayal brought a unique blend of stoicism and humor, earning praise from both audiences and comedy legends.
• The creative process involves continuous refinement, adaptability, and resilience, especially when sketches don’t initially resonate.
• Personal interactions and mentorship within the comedy community play a significant role in shaping successful comedic careers.

Notable Quotes Overview:

• Nate Bargatze (02:44): Sets the comedic premise of the sketch.
• Streeter Seidell (11:28): Discusses the initial inspiration from John Adams.
• Mikey Day (24:44): Highlights a specific humorous line from the sketch.
• Streeter Seidell (29:30): Emphasizes the collaborative nature of the sketch’s development.
• Nate Bargatze (33:56): Reflects on the potential for a serious portrayal.
• Streeter Seidell (84:07): Shares experiences with less successful sketches.
• Streeter Seidell (87:24): Narrates interactions with comedy legends.

This episode offers a comprehensive look into the making of a successful SNL sketch, the dynamics of a comedy team, and the enduring impact of thoughtful writing and performance in comedy.

Transcript

[Nate Bargatze]

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[Mikey Day]

Can down the road in plans and.

[Nate Bargatze]

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[Mikey Day]

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[Nate Bargatze]

Download Thumbtack today.

[Mikey Day]

This episode is brought to you by Google Gemini. With the Gemini app you can talk live and have a real time conversation with an AI assistant. It's great for all kinds of things like if you want to practice for an upcoming interview, ask for advice on things to do in a new city or brainstorm creative ideas. And by the way, this script was actually read by Gemini. Download the Gemini app for iOS and Android today. Must be 18 to use Gemini Live.

[Jesse David Fox]

Hello and welcome to Good One, a podcast about jokes. I am the host Jesse David Fox, a senior writer at Vulture and the author of comedy book How Comedy Conquered Culture and the Magic that Makes it work. Since 2017 I've been hosting Good One, a show where the guest comes on to discuss the process and thinking behind one of their jokes, bits or sketches. Over the last eight years I've interviewed, I don't know, 200 comedians from Bo Burnham to Kate McKinnon, Cat Williams to John Mulaney, Bill Burr to Take Notaro. Historically, you can listen to any of my interviews like this interview wherever you listen to podcasts, but this is the first episode if you want to, you can also watch at the Vulture YouTube channel. We will include a link in the show notes. This is the first of hopefully many Truly video Good One episodes. The guests are Nate Bergetse, Mikey Day and Streeter Sydal. We all talk about the sketch George Washington, which aired on SNL when Nate first hosted in 2023 and was written by Mikey and Streeter. Streeter is one of the head writers at SNL. He's been a writer since season 40. Mikey has been a writer since season 39 before joining the cast in season 42. We will start, as all episodes do, with a clip of the joke, or in this case the sketch which is the first incarnation of George Washington. And then we'll talk about how the heck it came together. So here is George Washington.

[Nate Bargatze]

I hear the British are sending another 5,000 troops.

[Streeter Seidel]

How will we ever win this war? By remembering what we fight for. General Washington, sit please. We need your strength for the fight ahead. We fight for a country of our own, a new nation where we choose our own laws.

[Nate Bargatze]

Here, here, said sir.

[Streeter Seidel]

Choose our Own leaders. Yes, sir. And choose our own systems of weights and measures.

[Nate Bargatze]

Weights and measures?

[Streeter Seidel]

S. Yes, yes. I dream of that one day our proud nation will measure weights in pounds. And that £2,000 shall be called a ton.

[Jesse David Fox]

And what will £1,000 be called, sir?

[Streeter Seidel]

Nothing. Cause we will have no word for that.

[Nate Bargatze]

Seems like we should have a word for £1,000, sir.

[Streeter Seidel]

And yet we won't. Because we are free men. And we will be free to measure liquids in liters and milliliters. But not all liquids. Only soda, wine and alcohol. Only those, sir. Yes. Because for milk and paint, we will use gallons, pints and quarts. God will.

[Nate Bargatze]

How many liters are in a gallon, sir?

[Streeter Seidel]

Nobody knows.

[Nate Bargatze]

And sir, in this new country, what plans are there for men of color such as I?

[Streeter Seidel]

Distance will be measured in inches, feet, yard and mile. So 12 inches to a foot.

[Jesse David Fox]

12Ft to a yard.

[Streeter Seidel]

If it were only so simple. Three feet to a yard.

[Jesse David Fox]

And how many yards to a mile?

[Streeter Seidel]

Nobody knows.

[Nate Bargatze]

Okay, well, how many feet to a mile?

[Streeter Seidel]

5,000, 280. Of course, it's a simple number that everyone will remember.

[Nate Bargatze]

Let's confess, it feels a little complicated, sir. Why not use meters and kilometers?

[Streeter Seidel]

We will, soldier, but only in certain unpopular sports like track and swimming. For popular sports like football, we will use yards. Football, sir? Yes, it's a sport where you throw a ball with your hands.

[Nate Bargatze]

So in football, there is no kicking.

[Streeter Seidel]

There's a little kicking. You kick the ball to get points.

[Nate Bargatze]

How many points, sir?

[Streeter Seidel]

Sometimes one and sometimes three.

[Nate Bargatze]

Very confused, sir.

[Streeter Seidel]

Do not worry. For our new nation, we will have rulers with two sets of numbers. Inches on one side, centimeters on the other. So we can see where they line up. Yes, except that they don't line up and they never will.

[Jesse David Fox]

Why?

[Streeter Seidel]

Liberty, son. Liberty.

[Nate Bargatze]

And the slaves, sir?

[Streeter Seidel]

What of them? You asked about the temperature.

[Nate Bargatze]

I did not.

[Jesse David Fox]

We.

[Streeter Seidel]

We show up two different, unrelated scales of temperature. One of them will make sense to the entire world and the other will be super random. Our great nation will use the random one.

[Jesse David Fox]

What is the scale called, sir?

[Streeter Seidel]

Fahrenheit. Spell that for me. Impossible. But one day, if we were brave, we would get rid of the U and a lot of British words like color and armor. But by God, we will keep the British. You in the word glamour.

[Nate Bargatze]

Only glamour, sir.

[Streeter Seidel]

Only glamour. That is my dream for our country. Myth. A melting pot of different measurements that will make Europeans throw little tantrums. In short, a land of liberty. Where all men are free.

[Nate Bargatze]

Where all men are free.

[Streeter Seidel]

Right.

[Jesse David Fox]

Thank you all for joining Me?

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

So I want to start with Nate. As you're getting success as a stand up. When did the possibility of doing SNL first cross your mind?

[Streeter Seidel]

The, like the year I got it. So when I was it last year, 2023? Yes, it was last year. Act like I've been there for. Feels like it's been forever. But earlier that year, I think I heard my agent said that someone was coming to see me in Vegas and they're like kind of. They were a fan. And so it was even just that the door was kind of open. So I heard it then. And then when I came to Radio City, a lot of people from SNL came out to that show and. And then it kind of just worked out with the, like the actors strike was going on and so I, you know, it was just like as a comedian, we have nothing where we're just alone. There's no union, no protection. Yeah, yeah. So we are just available for everything. And so it just ended up working out like that. I got the call about two weeks before and then was like, all right, it's happening.

[Jesse David Fox]

And so at that point, you know, or even your. What was your relationship to SNL growing up? Did your family watch it or, you know, or even what was your relationship to success Sketch. I know you first. When you started to do comedy, you first moved to Chicago.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah, it was. I'm a, I was a big SNL fan, like growing up, you know, especially around my age, like with the Sandler and Spade and the whole group will frell. Like, so I was for a big giant fan of all the people that they were. SNL was a. I remember watching it. My buddies, like they were obsessed with it and we, I mean, I loved it too. And I watched it and it was, it was, it was something that I wit. That I kind of did want to have in my career. But I, at that, at this point I was just figured like, well, you know, I didn't think I was. I never auditioned for anything because I never thought I could get it in a million years. Like, I don't do anything. So I was like, what could I do anything? What could I do? What could I get? So I kind of thought it was going to be, you know, I just was like, you know, I'll just never do snl. But everybody that I looked up to, all their roots went through snl. So, you know, I was probably, I was a little jealous to not have any roots go through snl. So then, now to get to do it and actually have SNL Be this big of an impact on my career is wonderful.

[Jesse David Fox]

So I want to go through the days of the week, talk about how the sketch emerged and sort of how your all working partnership developed. So Monday is the initial pitch night. Mikey and Schrader. This was the third show in a row of the. Of the 49th season. How are you feeling at that point? What are you doing? Do you pitch anything on a Monday night this far into your run at the show?

[Mikey Day]

Always. Yeah.

[Streeter Seidel]

I thought y'all did pitch it.

[Mikey Day]

Yeah, we did pitch briefly.

[Nate Bargatze]

Usually a silly idea. Right. Monday pitch.

[Mikey Day]

Did we pitch this idea tonight? Is that what you're asking?

[Jesse David Fox]

What did you do Monday night?

[Streeter Seidel]

Did you say Washington? I thought you said something Washington.

[Mikey Day]

But maybe we might. Yeah, we might have.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah. It wasn't this, but it was. Maybe it was like George Washington.

[Mikey Day]

Definitely on Tuesday, we.

[Jesse David Fox]

Sure.

[Mikey Day]

I remember we're not on Monday. We're on Monday. I think on Monday we're probably just in a panic going like, what are we gonna do? You know, going through ideas. Maybe we had said maybe something with George Washington.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah.

[Nate Bargatze]

But this idea was not around on Monday in terms of us talking to Nate about it.

[Mikey Day]

Yeah. And it's an old. We had like a half draft of a very different version of it.

[Nate Bargatze]

Yeah.

[Mikey Day]

From the previous season.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. That.

[Mikey Day]

I think probably on Monday, we probably looked at that and said, like, oh, maybe we can finish.

[Streeter Seidel]

They were trying to sell it. No one was buying.

[Mikey Day]

Yeah. No one wanted.

[Nate Bargatze]

A few different locales.

[Mikey Day]

Yeah, it was very, very different. And worse, I would say, much worse.

[Jesse David Fox]

What was the. I believe the initial spark of doing a George Washington sketch started with you, Streeter. What was the very initial thing be like? Oh, what if I wrote a George Washington sketch?

[Mikey Day]

The very initial thing from the previous season was I had been watching the HBO show John Adams, and Mikey and I were joking about the scene where it's during his inauguration and no one can hear him. That was like, the initial kind of idea for it.

[Nate Bargatze]

I feel like I watched John Adams once a year.

[Mikey Day]

Yeah, it's great. We always joke. We love to do Giamatti, how he.

[Streeter Seidel]

The man from Connecticut, how his voice goes real quiet.

[Mikey Day]

He's like, gets me. He's like, I would rather be a snake slithering in the grass. Ramps up and very fun show. But anyway, that's what it's started as.

[Jesse David Fox]

Do you remember what. Who the host was for that?

[Nate Bargatze]

I don't. I don't remember. I just remember us talking about, should it be his first day in office? Should it be an inaugural Address what should the locale be to get out the stakes of, you know, this fledgling country and all these dumb things that he's saying.

[Mikey Day]

But I think all it had progressed to in that, like, half draft was the idea that Washington saying, this is what the country's gonna be. But it wasn't so targeted as to, like, the weights and measures thing that it became.

[Jesse David Fox]

So. And then for you, Nate, first day is. Your first day is coming in Monday. What did you. How are you feeling?

[Streeter Seidel]

You know, it was like, first time meeting Lauren. First time being those offices, you know, they do really good job of making you feel comfortable and welcomed. So that was nice. But, yeah, then when you go into Lauren's office and everybody. Everybody comes and sits on the floor that's a little more crowded.

[Nate Bargatze]

Children.

[Streeter Seidel]

You really think. Yeah, it's. I mean, it's everybody. So you're just in there. I didn't. I don't think I realized that.

[Nate Bargatze]

So I haven't talked to an adult who's sitting on the floor.

[Streeter Seidel]

Oh, yeah. Like, you just. Everybody. And you don't know how to, like, you know, I don't want someone not to get their sketch because I, like, I stink or I'm something. So you're trying to be like, I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I don't know. Like, is this. Is this really it? Like, I didn't want to be like, hey, I like that either. Like, I just. You idiot. Because I was just trying to get out of the room, and I was like, oh. Then I complimented idea. So it was. Yeah, it was very, very interesting. It was like, you know, I just kind of sit there and was like, you just kind of go around and take it all in.

[Jesse David Fox]

Did you think that night, oh, this is going to go great or this is going to be terrible? Like, did you have any sense of what the show would be like from Monday?

[Streeter Seidel]

I think I was. I felt relieved that Because I said about. I don't want to be. I want to be clean. So I. I felt relieved that I think most of the. I think almost all of them were sketches that were not political, basically not clean. So that it. It. That I did feel the relief of that because I, you know, sometimes you just get worried, like, I'm gonna get pitched everything and be like, hey, you know, I mean, you don't want to, you know, I don't want to constantly go, I don't want to say that. I don't want to say that. So I was relieved that it wasn't Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

I think you mentioned that you. You told them ahead of time you didn't want to do anything political or. Or sexual. Can you talk about that? That why that was and why you want to make sure that was the case?

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah, it's just. I mean, just what I do on stage, so it just fits with what I do. I'm not the sexual and stuff I wouldn't do, but political, it's like, I don't. I doubt I would do it either, but it had to really be something down the middle of the line that, like, doesn't really lean to one side or the other. But. Yeah, so I just was like, I'd rather just, you know, it's just not what I. What I do. I can tell what I'll be comfortable with selling and what I won't be comfortable selling. And so if there's a line or something that I'm like, you know, I'm not going to deliver this line the best because I'm going to probably deliver more nervous than I would. And so I would just. But they did unbelievable for that.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. So going into Tuesday, knowing Nate's voice and that Nate wanted. What is that exciting for y'all? They're like, oh, he doesn't want to be doing things that are edgy in these ways.

[Mikey Day]

Yeah. I mean, I think we always try. Every host has things they want to do or they don't want to do, and we're not. We're not going to try to make anyone do something they don't want to do and just create a bad show. So we're. We're used to working within different host guidelines.

[Nate Bargatze]

You know, sometimes the Halloween show, too.

[Mikey Day]

Oh, yeah. So, I mean, it's. For us, that's. It wasn't any big change. Every single host has certain things that they're, you know, that they don't want to touch, and we're not gonna try to force it on anyone. That would not go well.

[Jesse David Fox]

Before we dive into writing, I wanna back up a little bit to talk about your two relationship. Because our relationship.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

Or your partnership. Mike, you started on the show in season 39 as a writer. You brought in partly to. Right. With Taran Killam and Naseem Pedrad, who were on the cast at the time. And you knew from Groundlings Streeter, you starred in season 40. You were hired with Cher Schneider from College Humor. How did you find?

[Mikey Day]

Not with her. She hired me.

[Jesse David Fox]

Really?

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah.

[Mikey Day]

She was there a long time before me.

[Jesse David Fox]

Really?

[Mikey Day]

I think she just recommended.

[Jesse David Fox]

Got it to the head writers so Cher recommended you and you. So there you are, worlds apart at the beginning. You don't know each other necessarily. How did you find each other at the show? And what is it about one another that clicked?

[Streeter Seidel]

Wow.

[Nate Bargatze]

But we were put into an office.

[Mikey Day]

Yeah. That's the main thing.

[Nate Bargatze]

Together.

[Mikey Day]

They put us in an office.

[Nate Bargatze]

It's like college. You're like, okay, you're my roommate. I remember someone going, your new office mate is named Streeter. And I'm like, streeter, because I never heard that name. But at the same time, my name's Mikey, so I feel like it works out. We sound like a Nickelodeon show. And then just. I feel like by necessity and just the nature of the place, we just started working, like he would. He was up at 4am I was up at 4am and it was like, is this funny? And then it just kind of started happening. But I do remember the first episode. It was our first week working together. He was asleep on our couch, and I was leaning over him, smoking a cigarette out the window on the 17th floor. It immediately. You immediately get comfortable with your colleagues there.

[Mikey Day]

Yeah, I think it was. It was. You know, we were roommates. I was writing with the new writers because there was five of us. So we all kind of just clung to each other because you don't know what you're doing and no one really holds your hand there. And then a few shows in, I remember pitching on one of Mikey's ideas, and we're just laughing a lot, having a good time, and it was like, oh, let's try to do, like, one weird one, you and me, like, late in the night.

[Nate Bargatze]

Yeah.

[Mikey Day]

And then, like, that weird one became, let's do two. And then eventually you just. You know, it's like when you get to college, you just cling to your. This is the kind of opposite, but you cling to whoever the first people you meet are. And then, like, over a few weeks, you start to meet your real friends, and you're like, okay, say goodbye to this guy. You know, thanks for the memories. But I found my. I found my one.

[Nate Bargatze]

Close encounter. I found my one.

[Mikey Day]

I found my purse.

[Nate Bargatze]

It should be on a greeting card. I found my one. I'm. Close encounter was the next season, right? Yeah, that was my third year. Second. Okay.

[Jesse David Fox]

Is there a thing that you're like. That's what we're able to do together?

[Mikey Day]

Tolerate each other, I guess. I don't know.

[Nate Bargatze]

You mean like a type of schedule.

[Jesse David Fox]

Or just like, something about the way you work together? You probably both have worked Ridden with other people before.

[Nate Bargatze]

I don't know. It's hard to, like, just this weird alchemy and chemistry that you can't really pinpoint.

[Mikey Day]

We can recognize good ideas in each other, and I don't think there's any ego about, oh, that was his idea. Or, you know, it's just kind of like we're sort of, let's go with.

[Nate Bargatze]

The best idea synonymized, which is great because I very. I respect this man a great deal. So I enjoy being lumped in with his successes as well as our failures. Yeah, we share successes and failures as well.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. Mike, was it ever floated that you might be a head writer as well?

[Nate Bargatze]

Whoa, this is getting intense, Jesse. I don't know.

[Streeter Seidel]

Go ahead. Are you angling? What if you. Intruder. Switch places.

[Mikey Day]

I just want to be a cast member. He just wants to be a head writer. I was saying let's just one.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah.

[Nate Bargatze]

I don't really. There wasn't really. I don't think any discussion about it. And then luckily was able to do cast as well on my fourth season there. What's so cool about writing there is that even when you're on cast and you write something, you produce it, and it's so creatively fulfilling.

[Mikey Day]

Yeah.

[Nate Bargatze]

You produce your piece from start to finish. The buck stops with you on everything. I mean, you talk to wardrobe and hair and makeup and everything to help make it happen. But, like, you're an. I think, even down to the shots.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah.

[Nate Bargatze]

You know, you can tell Liz, our director, who's awesome, but you can be like, can we go in closer? Can we hold here? So it's a pretty fantastic the way the show's designed.

[Jesse David Fox]

So Tuesday night, Nate, how. How late did you stay up? Were you around? Did you.

[Nate Bargatze]

Nate was walking around the hallway just like, this sucks.

[Streeter Seidel]

This.

[Nate Bargatze]

Give me something.

[Streeter Seidel]

I go, this show. I go, how's it on? I would ask them, how's it? I go, I've met all your writers.

[Nate Bargatze]

Calling us all clowns.

[Streeter Seidel]

I went to the Lord. I go, I'd like to meet the real group.

[Nate Bargatze]

Not.

[Streeter Seidel]

No, they. Tuesday was. You go into each room. This the first time. Tuesday, I think I did actually get out. Not too late, because I went and I would go run my set, my monologue. And so that one I. I did. And then. Because the next one, I only read the monologue on that Monday, I believe. And I think we were. I was. I was there. Everything got later. I think the second.

[Mikey Day]

Right. Yeah.

[Streeter Seidel]

Second episode was. I was there a lot more than I was. The first episode was Monday was kind of like, you know, you're there from, I don't know, three to nine or something like that. And then I was able to go run and do a couple sets.

[Jesse David Fox]

How, how did you approach your monologue considering this would be the first time being in front of a specifically new.

[Streeter Seidel]

I messed with it a lot at. I changed it a ton. I was trying to. I would record it and I would give it to them to listen to. No one cares. No one wants to listen to it. Like, you really can't believe it because you. I'm so used to getting it to, you know, like you do it tonight. Show you do anything. You got to kind of show them what you're gonna do. And they're like, do whatever you want. And I was, you know, I'd be like, did you listen to it? And they're like, I don't. It doesn't matter. I just couldn't believe that there was just this trust that I'm gonna go, can do what I think is appropriate. And so I love it, by the.

[Mikey Day]

Way, when there's a stand up host because it's like, oh great, he'll just take care of the monologue. That's like one less thing we have to worry about. We trust them, you know, they know how to do that better than we can tell them. So.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah. I mess around with a lot though, because I was trying to. I understood the moment I was kind of getting into. I know even though I was at a point where we were starting, I was doing some arenas and with a stand up, it was doing it. But this was, you know, I've only been through the standup world, so this is actually a, a total other audience. And so I kind of knew the moment. So I was really. That, that first one, I went and ran it and did a lot of sets. I'd go down the cellar and just. Do they have, you know, four or five rooms? I just do five shows and just mess with and try to figure out what to open with, where it's going to go. You know, it was. A lot of the jokes are in my new special, but it's like, you know, but I couldn't tell the whole joke. So it's like just grabbing what I could grab out of it and all that and then just go out and try to do the best. I was pretty nervous. I was actually more nervous about the monologue than I was anything else. Because everything else you're like, I'm not, you know, if I stink, it's like, you're Like, I'm not good at this. Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

Like, they wrote it.

[Mikey Day]

They asked me to blame it on us. Yeah.

[Streeter Seidel]

The monologue, you feel like there's like. There's that pressure. They're like, oh, great. A comic series of the beginning will be great. And so then you're like, will it. I don't know. You know, it's like you're in a. You're still in a studio audience. You're like, I hope it goes great. And all this. And then it took a moment to. When I. Yeah. I don't know if I might be getting ahead, but when you. When you go out there and you do it and you see. Because you can see yourself on tv, there's a monitor right there. And so just doing it. And I mean, in my head, your moments, you're like, there's millions of people watching this right now. Not later now. And so it's kind of wild.

[Jesse David Fox]

So you're working on the standup. How does it. Then you had this failed George Washington or the stalled George Washington idea. How do you then break through to have it be this completely different direction?

[Mikey Day]

I think we just talked about it, Mikey and I. And then when Nate came around to meet with everybody, you know, as the host, you go meet with all the writers on Tuesday, I think we mentioned it, like, you know, you're Washington. I think by that point, it had become Valley Forge. And.

[Nate Bargatze]

Yeah.

[Mikey Day]

You're laying out, you know, the rules for the country. I remember Nate, you being like, yeah, that's something I could do. Like, that sounds like in my wheelhouse. And we're like, great. Done. That's it. You know, you just need the littlest encouragement.

[Nate Bargatze]

Yeah.

[Mikey Day]

From a host.

[Nate Bargatze]

To be like, rather than a blank.

[Mikey Day]

Commit our night to this one.

[Nate Bargatze]

You know, it's always better than a blank stare in silence. And you're like, yeah, or something else. Or something else.

[Mikey Day]

We probably hit you with, like, 15 ideas. But I do remember Washington.

[Nate Bargatze]

You.

[Streeter Seidel]

You.

[Mikey Day]

That's in my wheelhouse.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah. Yeah. And it felt like y'all wanted. That was the idea, too. That.

[Mikey Day]

Yeah.

[Streeter Seidel]

Out of all your ideas, you would have pitched. It was not like, you have to do it, but it was like, hey, this idea we would like to do. And then I was like, yeah, I would like to idea. So it just kind of came together to be like, all right. But I didn't remember seeing much. I mean, you know, y'all really. I was A lot of trust. I didn't. I was just like, all right, I guess there'll be. We'll see what happens.

[Mikey Day]

There'll be sketches tomorrow.

[Nate Bargatze]

It is weird thinking now especially that I don't know who was hosting when we were working on the original. What Washington. It would later become with Nate. But the original infant stages of the sketch. It's crazy to think of anyone but Nate being Washington. I feel like it was faded that.

[Jesse David Fox]

It wasn't happening, especially with this direction. It just truly. It's why people think you wrote it. You're like, well, it just seems like you adapted your stand up.

[Nate Bargatze]

Of course it's Nate. I think they should be Nate on our money now.

[Mikey Day]

That happens. You just have a half idea. You know, there's something good about it. But whatever, whoever was there the week you thought of it, just like, it's not right. So you file it away and then someone like Nate shows up and you go, oh, that one.

[Streeter Seidel]

Oh, that.

[Mikey Day]

That'll mesh perfect. And I remember when we were writing it too, it was just like super easy to write. Just kind of came tumbling out. And that's usually a good sign.

[Nate Bargatze]

And like, I recently heard Conan talking about it and he was saying, I just kind of resigned to. There's magic to that place. And sometimes you can try and recreate it sometimes. And sometimes you'll get some great results. But there's just this weird magic that happens with the right host and the right idea at the right time. It's. It was one of those.

[Streeter Seidel]

I feel like, you know who else loved it? I just found out last night.

[Mikey Day]

Really?

[Nate Bargatze]

Tom Hanks.

[Streeter Seidel]

Because jumping ahead with Tom, that was fine.

[Nate Bargatze]

Sounds like you.

[Streeter Seidel]

Because he was here. Come on, Washington.

[Nate Bargatze]

And I get the crazy pumpkin man.

[Jesse David Fox]

One of my favorite things about SNL is like, if a sketch does well, one of Lauren's friends will, like, reach out to be like.

[Nate Bargatze]

That's when you know, it did well when Lauren's.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah, it. I have ended up because I ran. I. I've just been in situations. I met Steve Martin. Martin short. I mean, everybody's brought it up to me. Yeah. I went to John Laney's all in Play last night. So that's where everybody was there from snl. It's great. Everybody go see it. It's. But it was. Yeah, it was like. I mean, Alec Baldwin, like, Tom. Tom Hanks, John Stewart. And that all of them were saying. Because I only see them very. In moments. Like, you know, because I don't live here anymore. And like, so then when I see them, they're all like. And they just. They only talk about that. So awesome.

[Jesse David Fox]

Congrats.

[Streeter Seidel]

I Told Tom Hanks. I wrote it, though.

[Mikey Day]

That's.

[Streeter Seidel]

I said, I wrote it. It was Tom Hanks. We heard you wrote something. I was the only one that wrote. I go, lauren refused to do it. I said, lauren, you better let me do it, Tom.

[Nate Bargatze]

I wrote it alone. Thank you so much.

[Streeter Seidel]

And he was like, that's even asked that.

[Nate Bargatze]

I know.

[Streeter Seidel]

I go, oh, yeah, the one I wrote alone. Yeah, yeah, it was a good one.

[Nate Bargatze]

And who's this? Steve Martin High. I wrote it alone. Thank you. I wrote it alone. I wrote it alone. That's so funny.

[Jesse David Fox]

Tom's like, that's funny. I wrote David Pumpkins.

[Nate Bargatze]

I wrote David Pumpkins.

[Streeter Seidel]

I go, wow.

[Jesse David Fox]

So how do you have the initial turn of like, oh, he's going to be talking about these sort of, like, observations of things that don't make any sense to the different moves within the sketch. Did that just sort of come through, talking it out?

[Nate Bargatze]

Yeah, the Keenan stuff.

[Mikey Day]

Yeah, right. The Keenan stuff was like, we need.

[Nate Bargatze]

Something else other than to break it up.

[Mikey Day]

To break it up. And then the idea that Nate's character, that Washington is just gonna not answer and keep going, felt like a perfect way to say everything without saying anything at all. You know, honestly, the most historically accurate part of the whole thing, too, that they were just like. We're just. We'll deal with that later.

[Nate Bargatze]

You asked about now.

[Mikey Day]

We're gonna focus on this later on. We'll deal with all that.

[Nate Bargatze]

For every fact in there, too, about weights and measurements and all of that. Streeter knows even more that we'd have to reel you in. You're like. Because you know how milliliters the conversion rate in some part of Europe. And it's like, you do know so much. And he knows so much about history too.

[Streeter Seidel]

He wrote it without looking anything up. Yeah.

[Nate Bargatze]

Streeto would be like, should we do a sketch about that small uprising in 1512? What? Phillip's last uprising.

[Mikey Day]

King Philip's war.

[Nate Bargatze]

I'm thinking about all of this stuff that you know because you're a smart man.

[Mikey Day]

A smart.

[Nate Bargatze]

You're like, yeah. I mean, you're smart about a lot of things, but I. I just.

[Mikey Day]

None of that has made it into.

[Nate Bargatze]

The Street Will be like, do you think people know about King Philip's war and why it's so funny? I'm like, I don't know if maybe. I guess we could explain it to people.

[Streeter Seidel]

I've never heard of the John Adams thing y'all mentioned earlier.

[Nate Bargatze]

So you haven't seen John Adam?

[Mikey Day]

Yeah, I don't know. The jokes. I mean, it changed a lot, too. Like the one that Nate read, a table had, like.

[Nate Bargatze]

It was super long.

[Mikey Day]

It was long. There was a lot of jokes about. I just remember this. We had a millimeters thing, and it was like, we'll only use that for guns. We'll also have another thing called caliber, and no one will really know the difference or why we're using. But it was just. It was getting, like, too much, too muddy. And then so we put, like, the football stuff in.

[Nate Bargatze]

And so, yeah, there's, like, much more.

[Mikey Day]

That came from the table. It was much more accessible. And like, oh, that's an easy. And then the way Nate delivered. It's a little kicking.

[Streeter Seidel]

It was a little kick.

[Mikey Day]

It was perfect.

[Nate Bargatze]

Nate's stare is incredible. His stare out, the blank stare, it's truly cannot be captured by anyone else. I don't know what's going on or what you're doing, but it's incredible. Just.

[Streeter Seidel]

I don't know if I know.

[Nate Bargatze]

Are you making any choice? Because there's liberty behind the blank stare as well. You can see Washington's vision.

[Mikey Day]

Washington's always sort of glancing off into the future.

[Jesse David Fox]

And when you got it, do you go, I'm playing the character George Washington right now? Or you go, I'm gonna read this as Nate. If he was wearing away.

[Streeter Seidel]

I don't know if I completely think that. Yeah, I think it's. But, I mean, you do. I think he was kind of trying to talk a little, maybe more presidential. I'm got to be in control of these men.

[Mikey Day]

Declarative.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah. So it's like you're. Yeah, so it's like I'm saying it like that, and. But, yeah, I don't know if I thought of, you know, the staring off is just. I mean. Well, y'all were telling me to stare.

[Nate Bargatze]

You're like, yeah, and you're reading, and.

[Mikey Day]

We put cards up high.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah. So. So you're kind of looking up. I was trying not to. Like, where it's so obvious that you're looking at the cue cards. So you kind of, like, can look at them, but then looks like you're looking. And so I was just able to play in the circumstances that I was in.

[Nate Bargatze]

Yeah, it's hard on. When you're on stage performing, this is mostly with the second one. If you make eye contact with Nate, it's hard not to break. So I try to look out a lot because. And you can feel in your periphery, him staring at you with that George Washington stare, because, you know, you're like, I can't stare into it.

[Mikey Day]

He's a serious man.

[Nate Bargatze]

Yeah.

[Mikey Day]

Washington.

[Nate Bargatze]

There hasn't been a lot of portrayals, I feel like, of George Washington and media. I mean, beyond that.

[Streeter Seidel]

They went to John Adams.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Streeter Seidel]

They went straight to John.

[Nate Bargatze]

You don't really know.

[Mikey Day]

It's kind of boring.

[Nate Bargatze]

Yeah. I feel like you kind of know Lincoln.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah.

[Nate Bargatze]

You know what I mean?

[Streeter Seidel]

You kind of had some pizzazz. He was, you know, at a plate.

[Mikey Day]

Washington's stoic.

[Nate Bargatze]

Yeah, exactly. So you kind of. I feel like Nate's the definitive George Washington.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. At this point, I think so in media. I don't know.

[Nate Bargatze]

That'd be great if it was a serious biopic. When Nate turns into, like, you win an Academy Award.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah. They go off a sketch, they go. He goes. I just. Once I saw it, I just.

[Mikey Day]

That's him.

[Streeter Seidel]

Who was going to believe.

[Mikey Day]

Who could.

[Streeter Seidel]

Who else that would have beat out?

[Nate Bargatze]

Tom Hanks.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah, Tom Hanks. Because Daniel Day Lewis said he'd come back for this. And he goes, no, Nate's got to do it.

[Nate Bargatze]

He wrote the sketch alone.

[Streeter Seidel]

He wrote the sketch alone. Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

The Oscars not for performance. The Oscars for writing it.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah. Oh, yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

Adapt a screenplay of your own sketch.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah, yeah.

[Nate Bargatze]

It's a clean sweep.

[Streeter Seidel]

It's a clean sweep.

[Jesse David Fox]

So how did this sketch play on Wednesday, besides the sort of, like, seemingly as two in the weeds with too.

[Nate Bargatze]

Many examples, I'd say it didn't feel double or a single.

[Streeter Seidel]

Oh, no, it was a single. It was not good.

[Nate Bargatze]

It was mildly amusing.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah.

[Mikey Day]

You could tell that there were enough good jokes that it was like.

[Nate Bargatze]

That it could work.

[Mikey Day]

It could work. But it wasn't like a heater at the table.

[Streeter Seidel]

No, no, no.

[Mikey Day]

And I think we all got a little worried about it. Not worried, but it was like, I believe in this idea. It'll. You know, obviously, there's no costumes. There's no set. There's none of the, like, the pageantry that surrounds this very stupid idea that makes it funnier.

[Nate Bargatze]

Just a lot of facts written out.

[Mikey Day]

Just a lot of facts.

[Nate Bargatze]

When you look at the script, you're like, this is just someone stating facts.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah.

[Nate Bargatze]

Why is this funny? Very few punchlines with a few, like, liberty.

[Mikey Day]

Yeah.

[Nate Bargatze]

Metaphors intertwined in there.

[Streeter Seidel]

I think that. But, like, my act is kind of. If you read my act, it would. A lot of it is. Would be like. Well, that doesn't.

[Mikey Day]

I think that's where we were.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, going, like, they can get a.

[Mikey Day]

Laugh just saying, like, yeah, So I went to the grocery store, like, and that's a huge. Like, you're able to do that with your cadence. And just how when the audience goes along with you, and it was like, they'll go. I think they'll go along with it for this one. But you can't tell. You just never.

[Streeter Seidel]

It was. Yeah, it did. It definitely did not go good. And it was not leading to, you know, double. You're like, yeah, yeah, yeah. Foul ball. I got. I got, like, a hit. Where you think I go. I thought it was a foul, but it was right inside. And they just tossed it to me. They tagged me at home plate and go. I didn't know I should run. I thought that was a foul. It's real embarrassing. Yeah, the chalk a dribbler.

[Mikey Day]

I think you got it in, though, right? In the media?

[Streeter Seidel]

I did. I don't know where.

[Jesse David Fox]

That's the next question.

[Streeter Seidel]

We're not. Oh, we're at what?

[Jesse David Fox]

You know, Because I believe you were the one who pushed for it when Lauren was like, not sure if you go to the next round.

[Nate Bargatze]

Our hero.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

You're George Washington.

[Streeter Seidel]

I go. I think I go, sure, Mike. You got something for Liberty? They. Yes, it was so after that table Reed. Thursday, we shot that. So fry Friday, we were getting fitted still for everything. Like, Right. Everything was, like, acting like it was gonna go. It wasn't like it was getting cut then.

[Jesse David Fox]

Oh, God.

[Mikey Day]

Yeah, it wasn't.

[Streeter Seidel]

So it was.

[Jesse David Fox]

We cut after dress.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

So you're. So. I guess the question.

[Mikey Day]

It was dead last, I believe, at dress.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah, we want to wait for dress.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah, let's wait to dress. We got Thursday, so Thursday, Friday, and Saturday day. We'll go through.

[Streeter Seidel]

All right, so we're at dress. So sorry. We're at rewatch.

[Nate Bargatze]

Are we at air?

[Jesse David Fox]

We're.

[Nate Bargatze]

No, we're not at air.

[Jesse David Fox]

We're Thursday. We're Thursday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday day. Anyway, so it seems like the major changes was to move it out of, like, a joke machine into, like, a sketch that has characters that are moving almost. Would that be fair? It seemed like they're not moving much.

[Nate Bargatze]

Not moving.

[Mikey Day]

There's one character moving.

[Nate Bargatze]

Right, Right.

[Jesse David Fox]

Because I think, like, when I think of the sketch, the things that I think make it work is not just, like, the facts, but I think the line the soldier goes, how many liters are in a gallon, sir? And he says, nobody knows.

[Nate Bargatze]

Nobody knows.

[Jesse David Fox]

That sort of, like that game of him. There just be parts where he's like, there's no answer. To that I feel like is the thing that allows it to like, oh, this is a specific person. Not just for some reason George Washington is saying these facts about things nobody knows.

[Nate Bargatze]

Usually followed by a shoulder pat on the shoulder.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah.

[Mikey Day]

And a move just moving on to someone else. I mean, really, that. I feel like a lot of that stuff was in there. It was just taking the weaker jokes out and getting the table to pitch better ones that could. And luckily they came through in a big way with a couple really good ones.

[Jesse David Fox]

Do you want to give anyone any credit?

[Nate Bargatze]

I don't remember. I'm going to take a page from Nate's book and say we did it all alone.

[Mikey Day]

The rewrite on the ninth floor, that.

[Nate Bargatze]

Was where it was on the second one, Mike Dzo helped.

[Mikey Day]

That is true.

[Nate Bargatze]

Yeah.

[Mikey Day]

And the second one, Mike Tzo.

[Nate Bargatze]

But the first one, I do not remember the table. I remember sitting there and the football thing coming out of it.

[Mikey Day]

Yeah.

[Nate Bargatze]

Did we block on Thursday as well? Cuz sometimes you. You'll block a sketch the same day you rewrite it, which is a little. I feel like it was on Thursday because it wasn't that complicated. Sometimes some of the easier ones. Staging wise block on Thursday.

[Mikey Day]

I do remember feeling. Feeling a lot better about it when. When they were like, oh, it's going to be on home base. And I was like, oh, it's great. Because then Nate's right in front of everyone. You know, it's right there.

[Nate Bargatze]

I feel like we had needed to add and blocking some moves for Nate.

[Mikey Day]

Some crosses and some crosses.

[Nate Bargatze]

And by like the third time you do it, you're like, I don't know. I think this is funny, right?

[Streeter Seidel]

Well, yeah, the crosses were. Because everybody's just in the same sitting there. And you're like, I'm like having to. And I'm crossing over and you're trying to do everything. Then you're like, well, I gotta tap him. And so there's it. I mean, when you look at it, it's crazy because you're like, yeah, dude, is. You're not easy, but you're in your head. You're like, all right. And they're like, now you're gonna cross. They wrote cross on the cue cards. So I would know.

[Jesse David Fox]

Just for those who don't know, you said the idea of home base. Can you explain the sort of stages of snl?

[Mikey Day]

I mean, they kind of cram sets in wherever they can. But home base is, you know, where the monologue happens.

[Nate Bargatze]

The band behind them, Weekend Update is on home base. It's Kind of the center stage, so to speak. Right.

[Mikey Day]

Yeah.

[Nate Bargatze]

So you really. It really feels like a performance because sometimes you'll be.

[Streeter Seidel]

It's where you do the model.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah.

[Nate Bargatze]

Sometimes you'll be under the bleachers, and people can kind of see you, but they're mostly watching the monitors. So on this one, you're kind of doing a. Like a play almost.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Streeter Seidel]

I always thought one of the cool things I heard was the cowbell sketch. It was. It's like, where they shot that was way in the corner, like this small area. So it's this crazy, legendary sketch that was. Most audience in the room couldn't have even. Couldn't even see it because they were so. I don't know if. I mean, like, with 20. People could probably see it because it was just so far back.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Streeter Seidel]

So I. I just. I thought that was neat. Like, because you just. I don't know why. You just think, you know. I don't know. You just think everything's gonna be right in the middle.

[Nate Bargatze]

Yeah.

[Streeter Seidel]

You get there and you're like, oh, no. This was, like, ducked out.

[Nate Bargatze]

The first Wayne's World I heard, too, was really. I don't even think. I don't think we even use that anymore.

[Mikey Day]

No, it's.

[Nate Bargatze]

It's like, next to the music.

[Mikey Day]

Yeah.

[Nate Bargatze]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

What were the notes for the. The. To build out the sketch beyond the words. The. The music, the costume, the wig music was always there.

[Mikey Day]

Since table music was there from table.

[Nate Bargatze]

We used the song from Glory at table, which is. What is it? End credits?

[Mikey Day]

Yeah, it's like the Glory end credit song.

[Nate Bargatze]

It's very.

[Mikey Day]

So they had to find Goosebumps, Something like that.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Mikey Day]

And they did incredible job.

[Streeter Seidel]

I did watch Glory, one of my first movies my dad actually showed us. I couldn't watch anything. We could watch Glory.

[Nate Bargatze]

You're gonna watch Glory, son. And then eventually, like, Private Ryan.

[Streeter Seidel]

I don't think ever really made it to that. It was. But I was like, out of all the stuff I was not allowed to see, some reason out of the gate, Glory was like, dude, I remember I.

[Nate Bargatze]

Had a guy's head exploding within.

[Streeter Seidel]

I remember that, too.

[Nate Bargatze]

Yeah.

[Mikey Day]

Back. And he's like, come on. And then his.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah, I do too. I was watching that movie a ton.

[Nate Bargatze]

Glory is the only one.

[Jesse David Fox]

That's the secret.

[Streeter Seidel]

That's the secret of the sketch. Yeah. That's why I kind of knew what to do. It was in me. It was like, once I heard that music. This is my childhood, really.

[Nate Bargatze]

Only movie this kid can see is Glory. Guys want to watch Glory?

[Streeter Seidel]

I wouldn't be allowed to watch Wayne's World.

[Mikey Day]

Not even Home Alone.

[Streeter Seidel]

I could watch Wayne's World. I'm not gonna watch Glory.

[Nate Bargatze]

What's your favorite Christmas movie? Glory.

[Streeter Seidel]

Glory.

[Jesse David Fox]

Costume.

[Mikey Day]

Oh, yeah, the costume.

[Nate Bargatze]

I mean, we just department Tom Broker and company.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah.

[Nate Bargatze]

Fantastic.

[Mikey Day]

I think we just always.

[Nate Bargatze]

Great.

[Mikey Day]

We said they should be dirty. They've been in Valley Forge for a while. It's tough times sometimes.

[Nate Bargatze]

Who has a hat? Who doesn't? Do you want to hold your hat? That was the biggest. I feel like. But no, I feel like the set and costumes are always fantastic.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Nate Bargatze]

From the jump.

[Jesse David Fox]

We'll be right back with more Nate Bragatzi, Streeter Seidel and Mikey Day.

[Streeter Seidel]

This episode is brought to you by Dutch Bros. Get stoked for all the holly jolly vibes this season at Dutch Bros. Stay cozy with returning winter faves. Hazelnut truffle mocha and candy cane mocha. Plus, the new winter Shimmer Rebel energy drink blends up sweet cream and blue razz flavor with soft top and shimmer sprinks to keep those spirits energized all winter long. Download the Dutch Bros app to find your nearest shop. Order ahead and start earning rewards.

[Mikey Day]

Gift the remarkable with Marc Jacobs fragrances this holiday season. From the iconic Daisy and Perfect to the all new Daisy Wild Marc Jacobs perfume. Gift sets include everything she needs to feel special from her favorite fragrance, plus.

[Streeter Seidel]

The matching travel spray.

[Mikey Day]

Holiday gifts don't get much more perfect than this.

[Streeter Seidel]

So if you're looking for a gift inspiration these holidays.

[Mikey Day]

Gift the remarkable with Marc Jacobs.

[Jesse David Fox]

And we're back with Nate Bragazzi, Streeter Seidel and Mikey Day. So here we are Saturday night.

[Nate Bargatze]

Ooh, we got there.

[Jesse David Fox]

The music is playing. Cue the saxophone.

[Nate Bargatze]

The dress music is playing.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. So you're not still. We're at 9:00. What time is dress?

[Streeter Seidel]

8. 8. Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

How are you feeling?

[Streeter Seidel]

Feeling good. You know, the only thing I knew from s. What's that? What was the TV show that was. Yeah. I would always. Every. Every moment of snl, I would go, just. I've watched that show. And so every. I told Lauren that I go, I goes, this all like studios. Every time we were sitting up any. We'd go to Lawrence office. I'm like, dude, this is like Studio 60. He goes, he has the curtain out.

[Nate Bargatze]

Lord, how come you're. You're.

[Streeter Seidel]

You're curtained just like it was on Studio 60? Dude. I go, that's crazy.

[Nate Bargatze]

How come you're sitting and not giving all notes while walking down a long.

[Streeter Seidel]

Corridor that was only engaged to snl.

[Jesse David Fox]

The idea that you visiting the White House, this is just like the West Wing, dude.

[Streeter Seidel]

This is crazy. The office. This is like when they. What's that blow up the A1. Yeah. It'd be the White House.

[Jesse David Fox]

Paul.

[Streeter Seidel]

White House down. Yeah. I've watched you. I moved Glory. I go Glory.

[Nate Bargatze]

White House down.

[Streeter Seidel]

White House down.

[Nate Bargatze]

Interesting.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah.

[Nate Bargatze]

They both have an Americana vibes, so.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah. So I think 8:00, we feel, you know, good everybody's coming to use sketches. I mean, being that first week, you're trying to get, like, gather, like, what's going on. You're still trying to, you know, kind of keep your head above water and then. But it is. It is in there. It's to. Well, when you go up to pick it. That what we're going to do for dress rehearsal. I remember there it was on the. The thing of out. And it was. It was the maybe.

[Jesse David Fox]

Oh, yeah.

[Streeter Seidel]

And so it was the maybe. And so we're going through and we're. He's saying, like, what? I say what? You don't realize you have. You do have a lot more say than you think you do at snl. So, you know, pardon me. I'm like, y'all just do it. I don't. I don't want to ruin your 50 years of TF television because it's like, well, I got. Because I watched Studio 60 and I'm like, I got some ideas they do not have. This would not fly in Studio 60.

[Mikey Day]

Absolutely.

[Streeter Seidel]

And so it was. It was on the maybes. And I just remember Lauren, he goes, what do you think? He looked back at me and I was like, I like that Washington sketch. And he goes, all right. And he put it last. He knew that it was. That was the sketches. It was mainly. It was, you know, mostly me. And he was like, all right, we can do it. Last address rehearsal. So that's kind of. I. You know, it's one of those. I don't know if I said that if it. Maybe it would have just because there was so much commitment already into it.

[Mikey Day]

I don't think so.

[Streeter Seidel]

But it. Yeah, I could see it because the.

[Nate Bargatze]

Thing was a lot of heat around it throughout the week.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah.

[Nate Bargatze]

It was kind of like the studio's like, oh, no, we'll dump this here. We'll see what.

[Streeter Seidel]

I think. It was like getting into the washing stuff, too. It was like just. That was the biggest costume.

[Mikey Day]

Yeah.

[Streeter Seidel]

Thing. So it was like, you could just cut out a Lot of stuff. Like, if that one works, you're like, well, that, you know, that's the biggest kind of. You got to jump into all this kind of stuff. Everybody's got to change. And all this had that going for it.

[Mikey Day]

That it was a good look.

[Streeter Seidel]

It was a good.

[Mikey Day]

They're always considering, you know, on a variety show.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah.

[Mikey Day]

You want stuff to look. You don't want everything in an office. This, you know, so it was at.

[Streeter Seidel]

The maybes, though, and I was. I. I remember going. Because I do remember thinking, like, they said I could say stuff, but do I say, so this is the time? And so I was like, might as well. And I go, I. And he said, what do you. I go, I like the Washington one. And he goes, he put it over into that.

[Nate Bargatze]

Thank you.

[Streeter Seidel]

You said I could say stuff, and I said stuff.

[Jesse David Fox]

And then you do an address and you're vindicated.

[Streeter Seidel]

Oh, yeah. It destroyed. It's murder to dress because I. I'm not a good auditioner, so I never got stuff. So, like, a table read with no cr. I need. I'm good with the crowd. So I think that's why I was never worried about it, because I was like, in my head, I just knew, just let me get in front of a crowd. It's going to be great. It's the. With no laughter and no anything. You know, it's uncomfortable to do this kind of timing. I'm so used to, like, stopping because of laughter and, like, playing with the rhythm of the crowd. So once we're able to do it there. I always felt pretty good about it just because I knew that just. I mean, I was, you know, I came from a show, doing a live show, going right back to a live show. So it's. I was doing stand up and I was like. I just felt pretty good about it. So once we did it, I knew it was, like, not feeling great. But then, I mean, once we were in it, it was like, once it was over, it's like, well, that murdered.

[Mikey Day]

Yeah.

[Nate Bargatze]

And it was pretty far down. Was it last? It was second to last. It was dead last.

[Streeter Seidel]

Dead last.

[Nate Bargatze]

Wow. I thought it was like, second, but I think.

[Mikey Day]

I think we too.

[Nate Bargatze]

We, like.

[Mikey Day]

And Lauren also felt like once there's a crowd in here.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah.

[Mikey Day]

This will feel different.

[Nate Bargatze]

Yeah.

[Mikey Day]

You know, no one was, like, outright hating it.

[Nate Bargatze]

Yeah.

[Mikey Day]

No one was like, this thing sucks. But it was like, we don't know.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Mikey Day]

We'll see.

[Nate Bargatze]

It was just like. I feel like Lauren was like, hopefully we'll get it to where it needs to be.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah.

[Mikey Day]

Because it is, like, on paper, like, we've said very few, like, jokes, like, traditional jokes. It's all just attitude and how Nate plays it and stuff. So.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah.

[Nate Bargatze]

You also don't know if people will laugh. They might just be like, huh, they.

[Mikey Day]

Took that turn the second Nate goes. Our own system of weights and measures. And everyone laughed.

[Jesse David Fox]

It was like rewatching the. The one that aired. It is unbelievable. It's like the audience knew. It was like. It was the second version of that, how hard they laughed.

[Nate Bargatze]

Thank you. Someone's bringing this up. It's so stupid what we do.

[Jesse David Fox]

I. The. Well, did you get. Did it change any between dress and air?

[Nate Bargatze]

Not all.

[Mikey Day]

Maybe we cut one little out.

[Nate Bargatze]

Like, it was pretty much the same.

[Mikey Day]

I remember, you know, I mean, when something hits, like, you don't want to mess you up.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah, maybe. Yeah. It would have been time would have been the only thing. Yeah. Maybe a line or something for time or whatever. Yeah.

[Mikey Day]

I think we cut. Truly cut, like, one couplet out, maybe especially on air.

[Jesse David Fox]

I think one of the things that is really going for it. It's the first time I can think of where the host's monologue essentially directly leads into what that sketch is about. Your monologue was about not knowing things and, like, not knowing history.

[Streeter Seidel]

I want to learn more about history because I don't know anything. And so I'm trying to figure it out. And I can tell I don't know anything about history because every history movie I watch, I watch on the edge of my seat. Just. I mean, like, what. What is going to happen? You know, I don't know. I watched. I watched the movie Pearl harbor, and I was as surprised as they were. Just crazy. All right, we've got a great show for you tonight.

[Nate Bargatze]

That was all on purpose, right?

[Jesse David Fox]

Literally. Maybe in the history of this, it did feel like almost like Chappelle's show where he does a monologue about what.

[Streeter Seidel]

The sketch would be. That also helped it go good. Straight up. Introduced it. Yeah, we're gonna do this George Washington thing later, guys.

[Nate Bargatze]

Stick around.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah, stick around.

[Mikey Day]

Wonder what George Washington might have to say about that.

[Streeter Seidel]

I don't know.

[Nate Bargatze]

Maybe after round. Maybe.

[Mikey Day]

We'll find out.

[Nate Bargatze]

We'll find out.

[Jesse David Fox]

I think the thing that also is in the costume, in the audience, it's like. And it's also the same thing that happens with you, like, when you're playing arenas is, like, the contrast of the way you're talking and the nature of the situation keeps on getting heightened. So when it's on snl, you're like, this is what they're doing. Like, there is an added element of, like, it is so silly that this is what the sketch is about. I think. Yeah.

[Nate Bargatze]

It's. What's so great about that show is, like, we look so good. The set is so well done. Like, all of those components are so well executed that you can have fun with the dumbness of what it's about. Or being said, like, that part will always be so legit. All the other components to it.

[Jesse David Fox]

So, Mike Intruder, you've been parts of some of the hottest live sketches of the last decade in terms of how they put Jesse.

[Nate Bargatze]

It's a fact. Stop. You flirt.

[Mikey Day]

Stop that.

[Jesse David Fox]

Close Encounters, David Pumpkins, Beavis and Butthead. Many, many more. And I feel like it's a lot of stinkers, too.

[Mikey Day]

But we're not stinkers.

[Jesse David Fox]

But even so, I feel like it is also notable in a decade where Pre tapes are seen as cooler or it's easier to do pre tapes. And I feel like y'all have made it a point of pride to do live sketches.

[Nate Bargatze]

Yeah. When you get a live one, to get.

[Jesse David Fox]

What is it about?

[Nate Bargatze]

Tension. Just because I feel like. I feel like Higgins says, there's no other place out there that does what SNL does, so it's able to produce something special and different. So if you can utilize this medium well to what it's, like, built for and what it can showcase unlike anything else, then you have the opportunity to do something really cool.

[Mikey Day]

And I don't really like the live stuff. I like my Pre tape a lot more.

[Nate Bargatze]

So, listen, we love a good Pre tape.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yes.

[Nate Bargatze]

We love our trailers.

[Streeter Seidel]

Higgins called. He called me before I got there, like, to, you know, kind of let me. I always liked what he said. He goes, it's this week. This is what you thought show business would be like?

[Mikey Day]

Yes.

[Streeter Seidel]

He's like, that's what SNL is. And then when you. And that was the best way, that really helped me rap, because that's what it felt like. You're just. You're writing something and then immediately going and trying it or going out, and you. You. Everything gets solved in that one week, and then it's done. And you're like, forget it all. Start over.

[Nate Bargatze]

There's like showgirls and animals in the hallway.

[Mikey Day]

Yeah.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah. We had one sketch. We had Noah sketch.

[Nate Bargatze]

Bunch of kids.

[Mikey Day]

Oh, yeah. I think it was.

[Nate Bargatze]

That was Chase.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah.

[Nate Bargatze]

Completely forgot about that one.

[Jesse David Fox]

What happened?

[Nate Bargatze]

Crazy.

[Streeter Seidel]

That's what's hard when they. Whoever writes the sketch. They're there and you're like, Phil, you're like, I guess it's gotta go. I feel bad for this. You guys just staring at the. He's like, I need to sketch skill. I'm joking.

[Jesse David Fox]

This is another way in which you're like, George Washington.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yes.

[Jesse David Fox]

The burden of decide their fates.

[Nate Bargatze]

Oh, you played Noah and George Washington at dress. That's so funny.

[Streeter Seidel]

I completely forgot about.

[Mikey Day]

Those are real iconic.

[Nate Bargatze]

Yeah.

[Mikey Day]

People.

[Jesse David Fox]

So we talked earlier about how y'all two found each other or developed and made your partnership made sense. Nate, what was it like for you coming into the show? You did not know them before this week. Week. And then by the end of the week, they are able to figure out your voice and help translate it for you.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah, I mean, we. I. I knew him in the Scream of us doing comedy. Being around, especially Streeter was around. We were all doing stand up. Stand up, like in New York and forever.

[Nate Bargatze]

Everybody.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah, well, yeah.

[Nate Bargatze]

He was like, oh, yeah, I did.

[Mikey Day]

Stand up because my name is weird.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah, people, your name is weird. But you were like, you got broken. You got. You were. The college humor was like a big, big thing. And so we always thought street was better than all of us. And look how wrong you were.

[Mikey Day]

Selling out arenas, Dubai.

[Streeter Seidel]

No, but I. So we knew each other. It was. You were. You. Tell me about the messages you sent on Twitter, which I thought was pretty funny. He's.

[Mikey Day]

It was like when I got hired on SNL as a writer, I think 2013 or 14, I saw that. So I went to. When I heard Nate was hosting, I went to go. I was like, let me message him. I haven't talked to him in years, you know, because I stopped doing stand up. So I wasn't around the scene anymore and stuff. And I was like, let me message him on Twitter and just say like, hey, dude, congrats on snl. And the last message I had was Nate sending one to me, being like, congrats on SNL. Look how perfect this is.

[Streeter Seidel]

Kind of worked out.

[Mikey Day]

10 years later, I get to say it right back. Yeah.

[Streeter Seidel]

But yeah, so it was. And then the relief, I think I felt because I always would. You know, I've always written my own stuff, so I was nervous about someone writing anything for me. But with the Washington sketch, and it shows to the writing because that's. Everybody thinks I wrote it because it just flowed so well with what I did. There was not. You know, sometimes the sketches, you might be like, let me say this. I'm not gonna say that. Like, I wouldn't say that or blah, blah, but the way they did it was. It was a. It, like, opened my eyes. It was like a relief to be like, oh, you don't have to come up with everything, you know?

[Jesse David Fox]

So I believe by the time the idea that you'd host the second time was. Came up, you had already started working together on what would become the Nashville Chris. The holiday special.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yes.

[Mikey Day]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

So what were those conversations like? Was it immediate like, oh, we need to do George back, or if we're. Or was it more like, we can do it if there's an idea. How did. How did that conversation develop?

[Nate Bargatze]

I remember over the summer talking about various areas for another George Washington.

[Mikey Day]

Sending, like, little jokes back and forth or just like. But always with, like, if Nate wants to. Yeah, do it.

[Nate Bargatze]

You know, the text would just be like, 18 to vote, but 16 to dry. 18 to vote and die for the country, but. And look at porn. But 16 to drive and 21 or 21 to vote.

[Mikey Day]

21.

[Nate Bargatze]

No, no. 18. What is it?

[Mikey Day]

18 to vote 20.

[Nate Bargatze]

21 to drink and gamble. Yeah, yeah, but so that kind of.

[Mikey Day]

Rent a car like that, you know, just looking for stuff. I remember the kindergarten joke from the second one came out of that. I remember.

[Nate Bargatze]

Yeah, I remember you talking about.

[Mikey Day]

But we were kind of focused on the, like, getting the Christmas special.

[Nate Bargatze]

Yeah.

[Mikey Day]

Sort of wrapping our heads around what that would be.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah. That was like six months, which there ends up. When does this come out?

[Jesse David Fox]

This will come out after the. The. It airs, so.

[Streeter Seidel]

Oh, after the Christmas.

[Jesse David Fox]

So did you write the Christmas version of this before you wrote the second George Washington?

[Streeter Seidel]

An angel appears to us. Rejoice for God's son, Jesus is born in Bethlehem. Let this day be called Christmas, and let it be celebrated each year by gathering with family. Amen. Praise the Lord, thy doing good will in his name. Hallelujah. And by putting a big pine tree in your house.

[Nate Bargatze]

A pine tree angel.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yes, a big pine tree. And God commands the pine tree shall be decorated with glittering glass ornaments of incredible beauty. Also with garbage that your children make at school.

[Mikey Day]

We had, like, a version.

[Nate Bargatze]

We had a version of the Nativity.

[Mikey Day]

Yeah.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah.

[Mikey Day]

Because we're like, that's a. There's a lot of funniness about how nothing about Christmas is related to Jesus in any way. And it's just all, like, German, Scandinavian, like, solstice tradition, you know, that they.

[Nate Bargatze]

Kind of got packaged before Santa.

[Mikey Day]

Yeah. But it all. You know, when you grow up with it, you don't really think about it. You're just like, of course we do the Christmas tree. Yeah, yeah, why not? That's awesome.

[Nate Bargatze]

Put a nativity set up.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah, yeah.

[Nate Bargatze]

There's our Jesus stuff.

[Mikey Day]

So we. We were like, oh, this would be perfect for Nate, you know, for this, the Christmas special to. Yeah, look at that.

[Nate Bargatze]

That was.

[Mikey Day]

That was kind of like from the jump. We have that, and it'll. And we know it'll play in front of an audience. You know, the only question was, would it play in front of that big of an audience? I think.

[Nate Bargatze]

But you have Nate with angel wings. Come on. I mean, nice, curly blonde angel hair work.

[Jesse David Fox]

So then what was your thinking when they asked if you want to do.

[Streeter Seidel]

George the second time? The second time, I do remember saying a couple times, I was like, I don't know. Maybe I was like, I don't know. I had a buddy. I had a buddy that goes, do not do another one. And it, like. And I thought of it, and then you do. You're like, I don't know, man. Like, because it was before the nativity scene.

[Mikey Day]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Streeter Seidel]

And so before we actually taped the nativity. But, yeah, it was. I was kind of nervous, you know, you're just like, I don't. You're like, that one did. That one went so crazy. I mean, that was like, probably with the biggest, if not the biggest thing I've done in my career is the George Washington skills. Like, as a thing that people come up to me is. It's. It's all anybody said. I had a guy dressed like George Washington at his show. I text these guys.

[Jesse David Fox]

Wow.

[Streeter Seidel]

I tell the. I have to constantly text these guys. I feel like they. You got shoes? I sent. Yeah, shoes for us.

[Nate Bargatze]

Oh, my God.

[Streeter Seidel]

And then so I get. We were on his college game day was like, George Washington. It was like. It kept being so much stuff that I would, like, text him because I'd get so much of it on the road or whatever. So you're just like, I don't want to blow it up. You know, it's like, we kind of did it. So I was pretty nervous at first, but then when I read what they did, I like, it was. It felt very different enough. And I think I then got it that I was like, it's not about what the jokes are. It's just about the George Washington character, where you're like, it's more. People just want to see that character come back. What we're talking about is fun and funny, but it's really the rhythm of the character.

[Nate Bargatze]

I feel like at SNL2, there's a tendency, after you do something that goes, well, you're like, we can't. We can't do another one. We have to maintain the legacy. And then as a little time goes by, you're immediately like, yeah, we'll do another one. We'll run this into the ground so hard.

[Mikey Day]

As long as we've got jokes for it, we'll keep doing it. We'll do it.

[Nate Bargatze]

We'll do it.

[Jesse David Fox]

Well, I do think the second one, I think the key partly is, you know, when George Washington's giving a speech, the way he phrases is. And to do our own thing with the English language, which was like one famously, David Pumpkins, is his own thing.

[Streeter Seidel]

But we will live through the battle ahead because we fight to control our own destiny, to create our own nation and to do our own thing with the English language.

[Nate Bargatze]

Our own thing, sir?

[Streeter Seidel]

Yes. I. I dream that one day our great nation will have a word for the number 12. We shall call it a dozen.

[Jesse David Fox]

And what other numbers will we have a word for?

[Streeter Seidel]

None.

[Mikey Day]

So you're like, oh, this is our little bag of tricks.

[Jesse David Fox]

His own thing. But it does show that, like, the second version, you're like, oh, this is a character sketch this whole time. It's not like. Like an observational com. It's like he's doing it. I think, how did you approach to have it have more turns so it doesn't feel like you're just, like, doing the same rhythm of the script. Right.

[Nate Bargatze]

I remember talking about that intro.

[Mikey Day]

Yes. That.

[Nate Bargatze]

To go back, we talked about how to anchor it with a very.

[Mikey Day]

Like, what's the thesis?

[Nate Bargatze]

Yes, the thesis statement. I remember talking.

[Mikey Day]

Because that changed later. I forget what the original. It wasn't to do our own thing with the English language. It was something like, are we our words or words and numbers or something? Whatever.

[Nate Bargatze]

It was like that talked about the dozen things. So we're like, let's just make it language.

[Mikey Day]

Yeah. Based, but then adding, like, the James thing where Nate tells James to, like, get out of the boat and, like, cutting the music. We're like, oh, that's different. That's a new move. That's not in the first one, you know. Yeah, like, that's how you. I feel like you can get a recurring sketch or whatever, as long as you're changing it enough that there's still something surprising.

[Streeter Seidel]

But fear not, men. A hot dog will not be made of dogs.

[Jesse David Fox]

What is it made of, sir?

[Streeter Seidel]

Nobody knows.

[Mikey Day]

Sir.

[Jesse David Fox]

Shouldn't we know what's in a Hot dog.

[Streeter Seidel]

Get out.

[Mikey Day]

I'm sorry.

[Nate Bargatze]

Sorry.

[Streeter Seidel]

Get out of the boat.

[Jesse David Fox]

Just go over the side.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yes. Go.

[Nate Bargatze]

It was fun to get out on that boat. Although the very first boat we used in blocking.

[Mikey Day]

Not good.

[Nate Bargatze]

Was so small. Nate was like, for liberty. When you sit down, like, getting out of a movie theater, and you're down and you're like, excuse me. Excuse me. Getting past people's legs, it was ridiculous.

[Streeter Seidel]

The boat thing, that's the only thing I did think about playing, is when I went to talk to James to get out of the boat, I was like, I'm gonna just do my regular voice. Even I'm essentially doing it. But I was like, I'm gonna try to do the most regular voice and just like, get out. Get out, man. Like, I was trying to, like, just talk like myself, you know, in the moment. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was like, yeah, he's just so bad. Yeah.

[Mikey Day]

This guy wants to know what's in a hot dog.

[Streeter Seidel]

Y.

[Mikey Day]

He's just like, get out of here.

[Nate Bargatze]

I just remember being so. Because our lines are just the setups, and so you don't want to mess up a setup line. And I just remember liking the mattress joke so much that I didn't want to, like, flub. And I just remember, like, trying to enunciate so much for. And what will we do on holidays, sir? So why buy a mattress? Of course.

[Mikey Day]

So I feel like that's a Mike to Chancellor joke, I believe.

[Nate Bargatze]

Yeah. And I. It. It just. I know our. It's Bowen, myself, James. And Keenan has some kind of little attitude.

[Mikey Day]

Keenan gets to put a little mustard.

[Nate Bargatze]

We're very forgettable parts, but still, you take seriously, kind of nailing the setup so that Nate.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. I think the Keenan part is the other part that heightens clearly, where it's, like, more specific and you force George Washington to interact, but also be dismissive.

[Nate Bargatze]

Just completely ignoring his.

[Jesse David Fox]

It is interesting. The sketches end with Kenan.

[Nate Bargatze]

Yep. Both of them. I think they all have to.

[Mikey Day]

Can you name a better person? I think this is a sketch with.

[Streeter Seidel]

Again, how SNL's gonna end. It's gonna end. It all runs through Kenan. Yeah.

[Nate Bargatze]

There's a. It's like, if you need an ending, you can't think of it. You can always just go, cut to Keenan. Or Keenan enters and you're good to go. You'll know it'll have life.

[Mikey Day]

Keenan yelling at Nate as Nate kind of doesn't clarify his point and walks off, like, head held high to dream about the future. And Keenan getting angry and yelling after him. I mean, that's a. That's a great way to go, you know?

[Nate Bargatze]

Perfect.

[Streeter Seidel]

We fight this war to free the English language and free the American people. All the American people, sir. Do you mean the slaves will be freed after this war? After a war. A war.

[Nate Bargatze]

But it's this war, right?

[Streeter Seidel]

It's this war, right?

[Nate Bargatze]

Bring up if.

[Jesse David Fox]

When Nate hosts again, will you do George Washington?

[Nate Bargatze]

Maybe thought about where we would put him?

[Mikey Day]

I would say it's likely, if we can come up with it.

[Nate Bargatze]

You know what? We probably will.

[Mikey Day]

I think people would be bummed out.

[Jesse David Fox]

They'd be very surprised.

[Mikey Day]

I would be bummed.

[Streeter Seidel]

I think after the second one. Yeah.

[Nate Bargatze]

I'm trying to think of a good.

[Streeter Seidel]

I might be in a different place, though, since if I'm on there, I'm doing serious acting by then.

[Nate Bargatze]

Dude, it got really serious. I think he's going for an Emmy.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah. It's not fun at all.

[Nate Bargatze]

But I'm trying to think of a good, like, third movie in a franchise return.

[Streeter Seidel]

It would have to be.

[Nate Bargatze]

Yeah, we want.

[Streeter Seidel]

It has to be.

[Nate Bargatze]

We want a good third one.

[Jesse David Fox]

But the problem with that is then you. When you're doing the fourth one, you're like, by the fourth, they're like, okay.

[Streeter Seidel]

Well, the fourth one, I think we have to be done.

[Nate Bargatze]

Fourth one, you kind of reboot.

[Streeter Seidel]

We reboot John Adams, put him back.

[Jesse David Fox]

In the go, and then you just.

[Mikey Day]

Then it runs forever, also following the course of the war. So, you know.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. I mean. Yeah. Then he's president. Then eventually. I think the last one would be his. That letter he wrote where he says he's not going to run for president.

[Nate Bargatze]

But here's my dreams for my predecessor and successor. And what I want.

[Jesse David Fox]

That would be the last one. It's hard to know when that would.

[Nate Bargatze]

Be, but that early White House, where was the early. It wasn't. It was in New York, right? It wasn't in. Okay. Of course. You'd be so proud. Exterior, New York, honestly, if you want.

[Mikey Day]

To go see it, we're really close still.

[Nate Bargatze]

Where the original White House. Did they call it the White House.

[Mikey Day]

Federal hall on Wall Street?

[Streeter Seidel]

No. Or was it just George Washington's house?

[Nate Bargatze]

It was just like.

[Mikey Day]

He just lived on Broadway.

[Nate Bargatze]

It was just like government. Yeah, that's the government.

[Mikey Day]

The government's gotten a lot bigger since then, I believe.

[Nate Bargatze]

Yeah, a little bit.

[Mikey Day]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

And there's the part I'm just thinking about the plot of Hamilton. And there's the part where they just. They move it to Washington as A compromise.

[Nate Bargatze]

Yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

Which is why the financial. Financials are here. Anyway, Mikey's.

[Mikey Day]

Mikey's eyes just glazed.

[Jesse David Fox]

He's just like.

[Nate Bargatze]

He's literally on the tail end of being sick. So that's why I want to get that out there. That's why I look. Absolutely.

[Streeter Seidel]

I'm like, he hasn't been fun.

[Nate Bargatze]

I'm not fun.

[Mikey Day]

He's been an absolute dragon.

[Nate Bargatze]

If I get Nate sick. Hey. Yeah, that's what happened.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

I see Mikey preparing you.

[Nate Bargatze]

Can you write an article about me? Jesse, just a glowing review of me as a person, please. Thank you.

[Jesse David Fox]

Sure. Well, this is actually in. This question is a glowing review.

[Nate Bargatze]

You've been so nice throughout this whole thing, dude. Seriously, you're awesome.

[Jesse David Fox]

I was thinking about your run on the show and your legacy as an SNL cast member. And I do think. I think it's unique that there are big sketches and big characters that you have performed, but I don't think there's another cast member that has so many historic sketches that you wrote and were supporting. How do you combine those things? How do you think about that when you think about your time on the show?

[Nate Bargatze]

I don't know. I kind of lead. I feel like writing, and that's kind of what I think about. And then try to input me in there somewhere. Sometimes it's a more fun role or sometimes it's lesser. But usually lead with the idea. Sometimes I'll have kind of a mode or an attitude or a character type I want to play, and we'll kind of write around that. But Nio. A lot to this moon right here.

[Jesse David Fox]

If there was a Mikey DVD, the best of DVDs. If we brought them back, it'll just.

[Nate Bargatze]

Be Beavis and butthead for 82 minutes.

[Jesse David Fox]

And then sketches you wrote and be like.

[Mikey Day]

And Mikey wrote this one?

[Nate Bargatze]

Oh, yeah, he wrote this one.

[Mikey Day]

I'll say this about Mr. Mikey Day because I don't know if this is out there. He might be the only cast member ever who's written a sketch for another cast member that he is not in.

[Nate Bargatze]

Oh, yeah? Which one?

[Mikey Day]

The. The role playing.

[Nate Bargatze]

Oh, with Melissa.

[Mikey Day]

With Melissa. Right.

[Nate Bargatze]

We tried. You're just not able. We're like, can't. Can't. Crowbar my way.

[Mikey Day]

Generous. A generous talent over there.

[Nate Bargatze]

And we. For Washington, we were. Had so much fun with Nate and credit him endlessly for bringing that to life because I don't think anyone else could have pushed it over the finish line.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah.

[Mikey Day]

Not be talking about it would be what it was. Try that Washington one.

[Nate Bargatze]

It would have been a thing that we did, but it wouldn't be what it. I think it became.

[Mikey Day]

And I will also say one more thing. Nate also got a second, long, simmering idea of ours that we always loved over the finish line, which was the golf tape.

[Nate Bargatze]

Oh, the golf tape.

[Mikey Day]

545 yards to the green on this par five, and here's the drive.

[Nate Bargatze]

Oh, my God. Did I hit that bird, Amy? I have never seen that happen. It just exploded.

[Streeter Seidel]

Is it okay?

[Nate Bargatze]

This Wanted to do that for years.

[Mikey Day]

Like, we always talk about that. Randy Johnson exploding a bird.

[Nate Bargatze]

Yeah.

[Mikey Day]

Oh, my God. That's such a. Like. Like, when you see that, you're just. Oh, my God. And we're like, oh, what about. Yeah, I mean, at least seven, eight years. And then Nate's such an incredible golfer. We're like, would you maybe want to.

[Streeter Seidel]

Totally go, that was great. I did not. I'm always sensitive to golf because it's like. Like, I'll get someone to say something. Golf. Because I like golf. And you're like, yeah, dude. But, like, not everybody's into golf, so I always think someone wants the idea. Then you're like, who's gonna care? But then that one did.

[Mikey Day]

Oh, so fun.

[Nate Bargatze]

Did I hit that bird?

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah.

[Nate Bargatze]

So funny.

[Mikey Day]

Every time Nate comes by, he just, like, helps us get one of the things we love over the finish line.

[Jesse David Fox]

And, well, I feel like that's, like, the cast. The. The host that people love are the ones that are like, I want to. I want. My. My hope is that when I host, I can do that for the writers.

[Streeter Seidel]

They did the water slide was.

[Mikey Day]

Yes, another one. I'm sorry.

[Nate Bargatze]

What are you guys talking about?

[Streeter Seidel]

They want to send a dead guy down the water slide. Wait, wait. You think we should send him down the water slide? That is interesting.

[Jesse David Fox]

I had not considered that, but now that she brings it up. She's not wrong.

[Streeter Seidel]

I didn't bring it. It up. You two were clearly thinking about it. No, no, that was one that we. It was funny because that one, I was like, man, I want that one because the. To go. Because the idea is just so funny that if someone died, would you just push it on? So it's very funny to talk about the idea, and it's just delicate how you do it. Yeah. And then I remember being up in the office with Lauren, and we're going through everything after dress rehearsal, and, I mean, all I'm thinking about is the water slide. So he, like, looks at me, and I was like, what about water slide? He Goes, water slide's in. Don't worry about it. And then he's like, all right. And then.

[Mikey Day]

So that might have been the first one. It might have been like, washington waters, just move.

[Nate Bargatze]

He was like, all right, dad talking to his king. We got you, Nintendo. Relax, relax.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yes, it was exactly that.

[Nate Bargatze]

Don't worry.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

On the Lonely island in Seth Meyers podcast, Seth likes to say that his time with Lonely island was end. Golden era Streeter, you know, as a head writer, would you call you your.

[Mikey Day]

Era in the shadow of this?

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. Do you feel like. No. Do you feel like golden era? Do you think, do you feel that way?

[Mikey Day]

I mean, it's. I do. It's not really for me to say. I mean, I see. Seth says it. I see. Well, it's easy to say when, you know, it's years later and you can look back on everything, like, you know, in the moment. Every week, I feel like there's something, one or two things I'm like, that's classic. That's fantastic.

[Nate Bargatze]

You know, to contribute anything to the show's legacy that people like is fantastic.

[Mikey Day]

And I just see how many talented people are writing there and performing there and, you know, so it's, it's. I feel like, I don't know if I want to say golden era, certainly, but only time.

[Streeter Seidel]

40, I mean, yeah, 40th was such a big thing. And so then now you're at the 50th. It's. Yeah, I think it's SNL's just someone that just before I got on it, but it was. You would still see SNL kind of everywhere. And, and then. So I, I, I, Yeah, I agree. I think it's at a place because you're having some of this stuff go really vi. You know, with social media, you haven't lost it. Go really, really viral. And so that's, you know, and it's like said, like, live sketches. It's live. It's something that's. It's the last old school. There's nothing like that on TV anymore.

[Nate Bargatze]

Yeah.

[Streeter Seidel]

And so the Christmas special, the idea of that was to bring something like that back, but there's just not anything. There's, you know, everybody that works there, like, has been there forever, and it's really feels like a family when you go in there, and that's not. And I think that shows through because you're competing with no one, really, because there's no one.

[Mikey Day]

No, no one's truly.

[Streeter Seidel]

No one's even trying. If one other person tried, it'd be Over.

[Nate Bargatze]

Nate Night live, Saturdays at 11:30.

[Streeter Seidel]

I'm clean, so I do mine at noon. Comes on at noon.

[Jesse David Fox]

But still, it's not Saturday.

[Streeter Seidel]

Saturday Night Live, noon.

[Mikey Day]

It's kind of for other people to look back on and label things when you're in the mix of it. And I've been there 11 seasons now, from 40 to 50. Like, you're just in the shit, and you're just trying to put out the best show you can every week. And then, like, I don't know, 20 years from now, maybe I'll look back and compare it to the era that came before.

[Nate Bargatze]

If I could go back on that podcast, I'd say, yes, it would be golden era.

[Mikey Day]

We didn't know how bad it was gonna get, but we've been there through some weird stuff, man. Like. Like Covid, you know, just, like, three elections. Yeah. But I'm sure everyone, anyone who's been there for a while can say that about their time as well.

[Jesse David Fox]

So, Nate, when we. When we last spoke, we were in the offices for your pilot in 2019, and we discussed how you thought about your career beyond standup, which is your number one. And I was wondering how. How does your success hosting SNL make you think about the work you want to do?

[Streeter Seidel]

That probably didn't go.

[Jesse David Fox]

I didn't.

[Streeter Seidel]

I blamed it on you, always. Yeah, he knew it, dude. He knew.

[Jesse David Fox]

He interviewed me too early.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah, he hit me too early. One of the questions, when this doesn't go, what do you think you will be doing? And I go, well, Jesse.

[Nate Bargatze]

Oh, I saw it. It was awesome.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Nate Bargatze]

So what's next?

[Streeter Seidel]

No, I. I think. Yeah, I love television. I still think television is still something people want to do. I just don't think there's stuff being put out for it. And movies the same way I think people want to go to movies. And so now it's about doing that. We did this variety show, got a few movies trying to kind of plan for. And so I started a company, Nateland. And the idea of it is just to. I don't build a trust with an audience that they can just come and it's not. It kind of. I'm trying to appeal to everybody, so it's like we're not trying to pick sides one way or the other, and people come for different reasons and just be entertainment for them. And so now I see it. I mean, you know, it's weirdly. Thankfully, I didn't get that pilot because I'm much happier with where I'm at now, because I Think I'm in a. I have a lot more control, and I can go in a direction that I feel I want to go in. Versus. I don't know if I would have had that, if I would have got it that way.

[Jesse David Fox]

So now it's time for the final segment of the show. It's called a laughing round. It's like a lightning round because it's a comedy podcast.

[Nate Bargatze]

Go take your shirt off and compliment the person to your left.

[Jesse David Fox]

That's a good idea.

[Streeter Seidel]

Mikey's got a great butt. I'm not taking my shirt off.

[Mikey Day]

This is just for him to feel.

[Jesse David Fox]

Mikey takes his shirt off for the second abs. Well, now it's a video podcast, so if anyone does want to take their shirt off, this would be a great time.

[Streeter Seidel]

This would be the time to do it. Mike, like it. Go ahead.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. When it's audio. When I interviewed you for audio, it wasn't necessary, but it was appreciated. You all can answer these questions.

[Nate Bargatze]

All.

[Jesse David Fox]

You all can pass, but they're shorter questions, easy questions. Do you have favorite joke? Joke? Your street joke or dad joke?

[Streeter Seidel]

That's pass.

[Mikey Day]

I can't remember jokes. I know I have one, but I have to pass.

[Streeter Seidel]

I can do a golf one. It's a dumb one. Anytime someone teased the ball up and then they. When they set the driver down and just knocks the ball off, you go, all right, that's one. And he's like, that's the first stroke. It's not. You let him re. Tee it. But I. That. That's. It's not even an original joke. It's a very hacky joke on the course, but it's one that I always. It's very funny.

[Mikey Day]

I have a joke like that. Okay.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah.

[Mikey Day]

At. At a Christmas, when someone gives, you know, family Christmas or whatever, someone gives someone, like, a really nice present, I like to say that's from all of us, and that does well within.

[Streeter Seidel]

That's a great one too. Yeah, that's from all of us.

[Mikey Day]

All the family.

[Nate Bargatze]

All laughs wow. That's fantastic.

[Mikey Day]

That's a good one. You can try that out.

[Nate Bargatze]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

Is there a joke or sketch you wish you could steal? You wish it. It's a different dimension where everything's exactly the same, but that sketch is yours or joke is yours.

[Nate Bargatze]

Do you know what you're gonna say?

[Mikey Day]

I know exactly what I'm gonna say.

[Nate Bargatze]

I was gonna that song from that dude on Instagram.

[Mikey Day]

Have you checked your butt?

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah.

[Nate Bargatze]

Have you checked your butthole? I don't forget his name, but he's very Talented.

[Mikey Day]

Australia, I think. Australian.

[Nate Bargatze]

It's a song about. About. It's a. What does he say? Just a funny thing to say to someone when you've lost something and you're stressed out visibly, and you say, have you checked your butthole?

[Mikey Day]

It's a song about how this guy's go to thing. Whenever someone's stressed out and is looking for something is for him to say, have you checked your butthole?

[Nate Bargatze]

And they get it.

[Mikey Day]

Everyone gets mad.

[Nate Bargatze]

I know that's an odd thing to say.

[Mikey Day]

I would. I would steal Mitchell and Webb's Are we the Baddies? One of my favorite sketches ever.

[Streeter Seidel]

Oh, wow.

[Nate Bargatze]

Yes, yes, yes. I mean, there's so many. There's so many. I don't even know where it is. That one's yours. That one's mine too.

[Jesse David Fox]

Is there a joke you wish you to steal?

[Streeter Seidel]

Dove Davidoff has a joke about relationships that really, really. It's just the way he gets into it and he talks about. I think he did it on tonight's show. His wife. It's a lighthouse. His wife called it a lifehouse. And then they get in a whole argument about it. He's like, but it's called a light. You know, you gotta see. It's just his performance of it. And it. It's. It's just. Yeah, it's. That's one that. It's, like, so relatable of something that it's. That was one that you're like, man, that's awesome.

[Jesse David Fox]

Do you have a favorite time you bombed?

[Nate Bargatze]

That was a lot.

[Streeter Seidel]

Of stuff. Yeah, man. Okay. A ton of times I bombed on a cruise ship.

[Nate Bargatze]

Oh.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yep. And then they. It didn't go good. And I was riding in the elevator to go. I was in the elevator in. On. On top of the water. Really? Sounds like you made it crazy. And I'm sitting in the elevator, I got my hat on, and the guy just goes, man, that Southern comic was awful. And I. I'm just standing next to him, and I saw his wife, like, bump him. He's like, what? He goes, what? And I just got off whatever the next four was, because it was like, this was.

[Nate Bargatze]

Wow.

[Streeter Seidel]

Not fun. Not fun at all.

[Nate Bargatze]

Wow, wow, wow.

[Mikey Day]

I bombed. Was the second time I did stand up. I had to follow Chris Rock, who had dropped in, and so I thought I was obviously cut. And they were like. I didn't realize they. There's always a sacrificial lamb.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah.

[Mikey Day]

When that happens, he's like, they gotta drop the check.

[Nate Bargatze]

Why continue?

[Mikey Day]

So they were like, all right, kid. Get on up there. And it was all right.

[Nate Bargatze]

That was cool, right?

[Mikey Day]

And they're like, if you can do like 10 minutes. So we make sure we get all the chat. So I. I didn't even have 10 minutes. So it was brutal. Brutal.

[Nate Bargatze]

Wow. I mean, so many some bombs. There was a sketch we tried to do called Bebo. Was it Bebo?

[Mikey Day]

Yeah.

[Nate Bargatze]

Which was like the end of ET but one the mom. It was like, everyone up with everyone. Yeah. It was like, very emotional, like, bye, I'll miss you. And then. Bye. And then the mom goes, I'll miss you. And then they just start making out. People were enjoying it. But when we did it, the audience was just like, no, thank you. Dead silent.

[Mikey Day]

I thought you were gonna say Pokemon.

[Nate Bargatze]

Oh, that's a good one. That was recent.

[Mikey Day]

That was recent.

[Nate Bargatze]

We were doing. It was Josh Brolin and Heidi.

[Streeter Seidel]

They were.

[Nate Bargatze]

Josh Brolin was like. And Heidi had just started dating. So he's like, I want to get into what your kids are into, so I can relate to them. So they like Pokemon. I'm gonna watch. So he starts watching it. And it. We're dressed as Pokemon, just like made up characters within that universe. And we're. And it's like, she's like, oh, I hate the American dubbed over pokey. Like anime. And we were just doing. Because the sounds are very, like, very like, sound heavy.

[Jesse David Fox]

Sure.

[Nate Bargatze]

And so we were doing that, but committing so hard. And the first time. Because it's like, if the first time we do it, they're not into it. It's like, oh, no, this is it. This is it for three minutes.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah.

[Mikey Day]

There's nothing else in this sketch besides Mikey.

[Nate Bargatze]

And it was just like, let's go.

[Mikey Day]

Silence.

[Streeter Seidel]

Would you ever just stop?

[Nate Bargatze]

I think two people went, I think there should be a red button. That's like, jettison. We're in the middle. You can just go. So you push it, right? And then under the bleachers where Lauren is, his button lights up. And if he agrees and is cool with thing, he can push it as well. And the sketch ends. That's my thought.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah. Then everybody gets. You're like, thank you.

[Mikey Day]

Yeah, sorry about that.

[Streeter Seidel]

The crowd's like, all right. Well, we saw him. They tried something.

[Nate Bargatze]

If you push the button and Lauren doesn't, you're like, what happened?

[Streeter Seidel]

Why didn't you push the punishing me? I believe in your anime. You're like, huh? Did you push the button? Huh? Please push the button.

[Jesse David Fox]

Do you have a short story of an interaction with a legendary comedian living or Dead. You're willing to share, Any of you?

[Nate Bargatze]

What the. Aren't we, towards the end, A story.

[Jesse David Fox]

A short story.

[Streeter Seidel]

Short one.

[Nate Bargatze]

A short story. I mean, I have so many. I don't know, though, living or like, an interaction. You said. Okay.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah, y'all. I did a corporate gig recently with Steve Martin. Martin Short. Wow, that's so. Yeah, it was very random. It was. And Neil Young, or. Yeah. Is it Neil Young? Yeah, Neil. Yeah, yeah. It was us doing a show. It was at this lady's house. They built this stage outside. It was crazy, the stuff that she set up. And it was like, kind of put together pretty last minute. And so we all just like, we go to her house. So she had her house, and then she had the stage stuff set outside. And then I go downstairs and then it was like, Martin shorten and Steve Martin, and they're just in there. And so getting to talk to Steve Martin about, like, con. Like, a lot of, like, stuff that he said where it was like, you got to become undeniable and things he talked about in Stand Up. Yeah. So just get to talk to him about that. And then Martin Short with one of my favorite movies is Pure Luck.

[Nate Bargatze]

Oh, my God, I love Pure Luck.

[Streeter Seidel]

It's great where he does the straw. Yes. It's the fun.

[Nate Bargatze]

I've never heard another human being besides my dad, when we were saying it, talk about Pure Luck.

[Streeter Seidel]

I love it. That I've mentioned.

[Nate Bargatze]

Yeah, that was amazing. I go, danny Glover.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Nate Bargatze]

Sorry to interrupt.

[Streeter Seidel]

No, it's. And so I get to ask him about that. And then, you know, going up there and getting the. You know, the pictures and seeing Neil Young, then talking new Young after. And, like, it was just like a pretty wild, wild night of. Just legendary. That's the first time I got to meet anybody. Any of them.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Streeter Seidel]

Oh, yeah. I mean, and they mentioned the George was. So it was nice to be able to meet them where I didn't feel like I was having to, like, they knew who I was.

[Mikey Day]

They knew.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah.

[Mikey Day]

I mean, we meet.

[Nate Bargatze]

Should we tell Marty's stories? Just yesterday at Pitch, he went. He went, I see you still have a child's name. What else? One time we were doing a show called Maya and Marty with him. We were doing a sketch and there was a stop down, and to the audience, he just went, mikey, how does it feel? How does it feel to be the least famous person on this stage? He's the best.

[Mikey Day]

My favorite Marty time was at the rap party for Maya and Marty, which was at Jodi. Mancuso, our head of hair. She threw a little barbecue at her house. We were all there hanging out. Very fun. And then someone took out. Was it cards against humanity. And Marty had never seen that.

[Nate Bargatze]

Oh, my God.

[Mikey Day]

And so each thing was like an improv prompt for him. So, like, whatever the two cards were, Marty would just do like a five minute.

[Nate Bargatze]

That's incredible.

[Mikey Day]

Hysterical improvised scene. So it was like we weren't really playing the game. It was just like, let's see what Marty's gonna do next, you know, and they're all, like, incredibly offensive and stuff. But, yeah, man, it was really fun.

[Nate Bargatze]

Marty did the voice of Cat in the Hat in a cartoon, and my son was really into it, and he recorded a voice memo for my son. I was like, hi. Hello. I'm with your dad right now. I know. Weird, right? He's awesome. He's the best.

[Jesse David Fox]

And then last one. Is there a joke or sketch that never worked? You tried an amount of times, but you'll go to grave being like, I was right there wrong. That's funny.

[Streeter Seidel]

I feel.

[Nate Bargatze]

Magical bakery. Do we want to give that away?

[Mikey Day]

No, I know one.

[Nate Bargatze]

What?

[Mikey Day]

I have one.

[Nate Bargatze]

What?

[Mikey Day]

There's one we Mikey and I wrote called. It was a. For a car security system.

[Nate Bargatze]

Oh, right.

[Mikey Day]

And the whole thing was that it was a bag of old McDonald's that you just threw on your passenger seat. That would make car thieves be like, this guy. This car's gonna smell. He doesn't take care of his car. He's just filthy. I'll steal a different car. We were so confident in this idea, and I think it ate more. It was just dead silence. But I still maintain that that's a funny idea. That should have worked.

[Nate Bargatze]

That's a good one.

[Streeter Seidel]

They're gonna make me have to do it next.

[Nate Bargatze]

You're right.

[Streeter Seidel]

Hey, you're. So we did that interview with Jess.

[Nate Bargatze]

You're finish line, Nate. You get them all over the finish line.

[Streeter Seidel]

I don't know if I have. I. I'll break down. If a joke's not working, I'll, like, break it down for parts. So, like, it's like. Like, it'll just get. It'll just get sucked down to be like, I wanted it to be something, and then it just ends up being a line and something. So, I mean, I don't know if I really think in my head, like, something that I tried that was like, ah, this is good. And then it never. Because sometimes it gets through. Yeah. I don't know if I have a good answer. It's all gold. Yeah. It's all. I mean, one. I think I've talked to you about it. Maybe about the milk. Yeah. Buying milk publicly. In the history of my life, that line was. I tried to do a whole joke about buying milk and saying, no, you don't buy milk unless you're married or you have a mom in your house. And then. So it never stood on its own. And then it just got switched into one line when you were. So it's sometimes sad because you think it could be this two minute chunk, right?

[Mikey Day]

Yeah.

[Streeter Seidel]

And then you're like. It's. It's three seconds, two seconds maybe.

[Nate Bargatze]

Don't we have the people who just woke up? Like Narnia or the long. It's like the long hero's journey, and they arrive at their destination and then they knock on the castle wall and the person opens like, what's going on?

[Mikey Day]

It was like they had to climb a mountain to be trained by this master.

[Nate Bargatze]

Like killing five in the morning. And they're like, one second.

[Mikey Day]

Come back at 10.

[Nate Bargatze]

Who are you looking for?

[Mikey Day]

They're all like, I'm here to be trained. You know, that energy.

[Nate Bargatze]

Okay, one second.

[Mikey Day]

All right, well, look, now I'm feeling good about our ideas.

[Nate Bargatze]

You know what, Jesse? We need a direct line to you where we can call and you can give us your opinion.

[Jesse David Fox]

Sure. I mean, I have a phone number.

[Streeter Seidel]

I know.

[Nate Bargatze]

Oh, really? Yeah.

[Streeter Seidel]

You want just one number that only us three have. Yeah. Just for.

[Jesse David Fox]

I was imagining a special phone text to remember.

[Streeter Seidel]

It's more than that. We don't be associated with your other numbers.

[Nate Bargatze]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Streeter Seidel]

It's like orange. Yeah.

[Nate Bargatze]

It's in our office. You have one on your bus.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah.

[Nate Bargatze]

And you have one.

[Streeter Seidel]

If you pick up, you have one in a bag. Like the old cell phone bags. Yeah. Because you have to carry yours around. And then we can call Jesse, what do you think?

[Nate Bargatze]

Hard. No.

[Streeter Seidel]

Got it.

[Nate Bargatze]

Thank you.

[Jesse David Fox]

Look. Sounds great. All right. Thank you, guys.

[Streeter Seidel]

Yeah. Thank you. Thank you so much.

[Nate Bargatze]

Thanks for watching and listening.

[Jesse David Fox]

That's it for this episode of Good One. Thank you for listening. I am Jesse David Fox, and you can follow me at essydavidfox. Good One's produced by myself, Jelani Carter and Anne Victoria Clarke. Gautam Shrigshin did our theme song, Goodwin's production of New York magazine. You can subscribe to the [e-mail] pod buy my book, comedy book, wherever books are sold. Be back with new episodes soon. Have a good one.