The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast

Episode: The Criterion Episode (2024 Re-release)

Date: December 30, 2025
Guests: Mike Schur, Jake Tapper, Alan Sepinwall

Overview

This episode is a celebratory, hilarious deep-dive into the anatomy of Lonely Island’s iconic SNL Digital Shorts. Seth Meyers reunites with Mike Schur (TV creator, SNL alum, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine showrunner) and Jake Tapper (journalist and comedy enthusiast), with a late-in-the-show appearance by TV critic Alan Sepinwall. Their mission? To establish a Criterion Collection of the very best of the first 34 Lonely Island Digital Shorts, dissecting their impact, quality, and legacy—while inventing tongue-in-cheek comedy categories along the way.

The conversation is lively and affectionate, punctuated with behind-the-scenes stories, blunt assessments, and playful bragging. The team also invites the podcast’s fans into the process, weighing popular vote with their own comedic standards.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Establishing the Comedy "Criterion"

• The main goal: To determine which SNL Digital Shorts by the Lonely Island are worthy of entry into the “Criterion” collection, signifying all-time classic status.
• Criteria Debate (11:45–13:00):
  • Schur & Tapper agree only about 20% (“one out of every five”) can be true Criterion—akin to “grading A’s.”
  • Seth suggests a 75% fan-vote threshold for a short's inclusion, referencing sports hall-of-fame induction processes.

2. Creating “Additional Reading” and “Kim’s Videos” Categories

• Recognizing some shorts aren’t all-time greats but are essential to understanding the Lonely Island’s evolution, they invent two extra categories:
  • Syllabus/Additional Reading: Key for context, not quite Criterion (15:10)
  • Kim’s Videos: Deep cuts for comedy cinephiles (24:32), named after a legendary NYC video store.

3. The Shortlist Process: Rapid-Fire Rankings

• The group goes through all 34 digital shorts, quickly voting “yes” or “no” for each one.
  • If tapped as Criterion by both, they discuss what made it classic.
  • If not, they decide if it’s “Additional Reading” or “Kim’s Video” worthy.
  • Hilarious asides and memories punctuate the process (e.g., Seth’s James Mason impression, inside SNL stories).

4. Required Classics and Stories

• Lazy Sunday [15:47–17:14]:
  • Universally acknowledged as a Criterion-level short.
  • Schur recounts watching it live at SNL, knowing instantly it was historic:

    “It’s like landing on the moon for SNL comedy. Like, I remember where I was the moment that Lazy Sunday aired.” —Schur (16:53)

• Natalie’s Rap [27:49–31:09]:
  • Praised for taking host-driven comedy to a new level.
  • Schur highlights how it opened a new lane for hosts, but the Lonely Island wisely resisted repeating the formula with less capable rappers.
• Dick in a Box [32:39–33:39]:
  • Seen as being at the top tier (“on the cover of the Criterion Collection”).
  • “It’s basically Lazy Sunday but with, at the time, the greatest pop singer in the world.” —Schur (33:15)
• Dear Sister and Iran So Far:
  • Both recognized for their innovative parody and “next gen” comedy sensibility.

5. Category Debates and Honorable Mentions

• Laser Cats: Divisive; some consider at least one iteration essential due to its cultural imprint; Alan Sepinwall advocates for its inclusion (49:12).
• United Way Ad with Peyton Manning: Seth’s favorite, but others say it’s a “Peyton Manning sketch, not a Lonely Island one”—earning it a unique “ESPN Classic” designation (36:04).
• Other recurring bits:
  • “Roy Rules” (funny but not top-tier)
  • “Best Look in the World” and “Harpoon Man” get cult-favorite praise.

6. Ethics and Comedy Integrity

• Across several discussions, the team lauds the Lonely Island’s refusal to pander:
  • Only casting hosts in rap shorts if they could truly deliver (30:22).
  • Avoiding “cheap nostalgia” and seeking substance through satire and cleverness (52:15).
• Schur:

  “They have incredible… for real, like, the most incredibly high ethical standards. Ethical is such a funny way of putting it, but it is true.” (31:00)

7. Lively Guest Chemistry and Running Jokes

• Jake Tapper drops casual flexes about his “lake house” (27:27).
• Seth and Mike reminisce about SNL writing room days, failures, and the emotional “life raft” friendships that kept them going (5:36–11:41).
• The crew affectionately teases each other throughout, e.g., Tapper’s news references (“filibuster”), Seth’s football memories, and self-effacing stories about sketches that bombed.

8. Alan Sepinwall's Cameo (47:47+)

• Alan brings the critic’s eye, agreeing with most decisions, but lobbies for “Roy Rules” and at least one “Laser Cats” to be in the Criterion.
• Points out how Dear Sister demonstrated Lonely Island’s skill for plucking out recent “nostalgia” references that felt archetypal even outside their original context (51:31).

Notable Quotes

• On the impact of Lazy Sunday:

  “I remember it so clearly because of how obviously important it was in the history of comedy.” —Mike Schur (16:53)

• On Natalie’s Rap:

  “That’s like a one in a million that you can take over a digital short or a sketch like that and perform at that level.” —Mike Schur (28:00)

• On Dick in a Box versus other shorts:

  “It’s basically Lazy Sunday. But you replace Parnell…with, at the time, the greatest pop singer in the world.” —Mike Schur (33:15)

• On comedy ethics:

  “Ethical is such a funny way of putting it, but it is true. They have the most incredibly high ethical standards.” —Seth Meyers (31:00)

• On category nuance:

  “It’s not Criterion by any stretch, but I would actually argue, if I were teaching this class, you need to watch this early juvenilia.” —Mike Schur on “The Tangent” (25:02)

• On Chris Dodd vs. Christopher Walken:

  “Yeah, I mean, it’s got the two Chrises, the big two, you know… our Chrises were Dodd and Walken.” —Seth Meyers (50:18)

• On the United Way sketch:

  “I think this is the best performance in a sketch ever given by an athlete.” —Schur (36:45)

Segment Timestamps

• [02:01] – Show proper begins, Mike Schur and Jake Tapper introduced.
• [11:45–14:43] – Establishing voting processes and voting breakdown.
• [15:10–28:00] – Rapid-fire short ranking begins, including Lazy Sunday and Natalie’s Rap discussions.
• [32:39–33:39] – “Dick in a Box” awarded top Criterion status.
• [47:47–54:04] – Alan Sepinwall joins; Laser Cats and general summary.
• [54:31–55:00+] – Reflections on Lonely Island’s evolving greatness and future short criteria.

The Official “Criterion Collection” (Listener and Panel Consensus)

Guaranteed In:

• Lazy Sunday
• Natalie’s Rap
• Dick in a Box
• Dear Sister
• Iran So Far

Contenders/Mixed Votes:

• The Mirror
• Andy’s Dad
• Laser Cats (pending tie-break from The Lonely Island team)

Special Categories:

• Syllabus/Additional Reading: Lettuce, Young Chuck Norris, Cubicle Fight, The Tangent, etc.
• Kim’s Videos: Deep-cut oddities cherished by insiders.
• ESPN Classic: Peyton Manning United Way.

Tone & Takeaways

High-spirited, affectionate, and insightfully self-deprecating. The panel finds joy in both the hits and the misses, revering The Lonely Island’s influence on both comedy and the SNL format. For fans, this episode is a love-letter to the art and craft of sketch comedy, SNL history, and internet culture. It’s full of delightful rabbit holes, inside references, and the warm camaraderie of sharp, passionate comedy minds.

End of Summary