The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast
Episode: The Curse
Date: October 28, 2025
Episode Overview
This episode reunites SNL alums Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone (The Lonely Island), Seth Meyers, and guest Jon Hamm to dissect and reminisce about the making of The Curse, one of their acclaimed SNL Digital Shorts. The group reconstructs how the bizarre, story-driven sketch was conceived, the unique atmosphere during Jon Hamm’s second SNL hosting gig, and what it’s like to collaborate under the pressure and chaos of SNL’s schedule. Their discussion is filled with irreverent tangents, loving jabs, vivid recollections of behind-the-scenes challenges (especially Jon Hamm’s ongoing battle against freezing conditions), and television-geeky breakdowns of writing, filmmaking craft, and audience response. They also field critiques from absent members (notably Akiva’s forensic analysis of the short’s “violations” of film rules), and broaden their SNL mileau, reflecting on how their era shaped and was shaped by Digital Shorts, cast chemistry, and internet culture.
Key Discussion Points and Insights
1. Jon Hamm Returns & Banter (00:00–05:00)
- Opening Jokes & Jon Hamm Intro: Launches with irreverent, rapid-fire riffing about vasectomies and SNL camaraderie.
- Quote: “The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers podcast show.” — Jon Hamm [01:46]
- Jon Hamm fills in for Akiva, bringing warmth and playful gibes.
2. Rewind: Hamm’s First SNL Episode & SNL’s “Golden Age” Cast (05:00–10:00)
- Stories from Jon Hamm’s First Host Gig: SNL as a deep-bench era with recurring sketches (Bronx Beat, Vincent Price, The A-Holes).
- Insights into how family emergencies (Amy Poehler’s baby) impacted shows.
- Quote: “It was just so great. There was just such a deep bench for people to roll through and hit the ball out of the park.” — Jon Hamm [05:33]
3. The Sketch “Don’t Make Me Sing” as Lead-In (05:53–08:38)
- Celebrates Kristen Wiig’s “Don’t Make Me Sing”—its elegant, simple comic game, recurring lines, and acting beats.
- Detailed recounting of the sketch's logic, structure, and Wiig’s delivery.
- Quote: “It’s a bummer aunt move. But she has this wonderful voice: ‘Don’t make me sing!’” — Andy Samberg [07:21]
4. How “The Curse” Was Born: Reference Soup (09:12–18:56)
- Origin Story: "The Curse" is a wild mashup of Lost Boys’ sax man Tim Capello, the Kool-Aid Man, and horror anthology tropes (Tales from the Darkside).
- Andy and Akiva recall how finding weird moments in B-movies (like Tim Capello’s oiled-up sax solo) became "comedy-nerd signals" pre-Internet virality.
- Adds Jon Hamm’s own Tim Capello story—a roadie-vet who aided his late dog also worked with Capello.
- Quote: “But to marry that with the Kool Aid man and then slather it with a Stephen King thinner story…” — Jon Hamm [14:47]
5. Breaking Down “The Curse”: Writing & Production (22:16–39:19)
- Filmmaking Team: Predominantly written by Andy Samberg and Jonathan Krisel, with Akiva and Jorma out editing MacGruber.
- Efficient Storytelling: Praised for rapid, clear setup and beat-to-beat escalation (“in 41 seconds... we know everything we need to know” — Andy Samberg [26:42]).
- Jon Hamm’s On-Set Ordeal: Recurring joke/misery about being freezing cold, greased up, and barely able to breathe blowing into a prop sax.
- Quote: “...we’re shooting at two in the morning, it’s freezing cold, and I’m covered in gel.” — Jon Hamm [31:12]
- Structure of the Short: The curse is established; escalating sax-man interruptions; a horror-movie ending with “Sergio” (Hamm) emerging at a childbirth.
- Quote: “It’s a full fucking horror movie... Wig passes out, Hader screams, and then we have one of my favorite Andy faces—horse mouth open sob.” — Andy Samberg [38:21]
- Economy of Story: The short runs only 3:45 but packs in set-up, rule-of-three escalation, and a cinematic conclusion.
- Quote: “You guys are tremendous at the economy of storytelling.” — Jon Hamm [37:17]
6. Filmmaking Critique: Akiva’s Forensic Notes (42:43–48:13)
- Voice Note from Akiva: Meticulously (and humorously) skewers the sketch for “breaking the line” (eyelines, editing geography), color correction, and “amateur” filmmaking.
- Quote: “At 1:03... you jump the eyeline... I just know we’re not in control… not reliable filmmakers.” — Akiva [44:01]
- Group responds with a mix of genuine reflection, defense (“the moment a guy comes through the wall, I’m fine” — Seth [48:04]), and self-effacing glee at Akiva’s auteur-level standards.
7. Audience Reactions & Legacy (39:26–56:00)
- “The Curse” played hot with the studio crowd; cited as a “criteria 100%” classic (i.e., canonical Digital Short) and placed deep in SNL’s Digital Short bracket.
- “How often do people reference Sergio on the street?” Hamm: “A lot. A lot, a lot. Especially... 2010 had a good run of people screaming ‘Sergio!’ at me.” [56:40]
8. Rest of the Episode/Sketches in Show (58:02–67:39)
- Recaps rest of Jon Hamm’s 2010 SNL episode:
- Ham & Bubbly (Hamm and Michael Bublé as forced restaurant partners)
- Forte’s “Closet Organizer” physical-gag infomercials (“pies, pies, pies!”) & elaborate callbacks
- Fred Armisen’s stenographer character (“I can’t find my crackers!”).
- Celebrates this as a “perfect three-sketch act” and “Anne golden era” episode.
Notable Quotes & Moments
- 00:12 | Jon Hamm: “It feels like exactly the right time.”
- 09:59 | Andy Samberg: “Alright, wait. So first of all... you hosted in October of ’08... now this is January 30th of 2010—about 16 months. By then, everyone is sick. 100% disaster time to come through and host the show.”
- 16:38 | Jon Hamm on vet helping his late dog, turns out to be a Tim Capello roadie: “She goes, ‘Hey, you know what? I used to be a roadie for Tim Capello.’”
- 31:12 | Jon Hamm on filming conditions: “It’s probably two in the morning, it’s freezing cold, and I’m covered in gel...on more than one occasion, I almost passed out.”
- 38:21 | Andy Samberg on ending of “The Curse”: “Wig passes out, Hader screams, and then we have one of my favorite Andy faces—horse mouth open sob.”
- 44:01 | Akiva on the filmmaking: “At 1:03… you jump the eyeline… I just know we’re not in control… not reliable filmmakers… That’s just sloppy and wrong.”
- 56:40 | Jon Hamm on Sergio’s street fame: “It had a good run of people, like, coming up to me on the street and yelling, ‘SERGIO!’ at me.”
- 75:39 | Andy Samberg: “A bunch of [young SNL writers] said this podcast was more helpful in telling them how the show worked than anything anybody at the show has told them.”
Segment Timestamps
- 00:00–02:10: Cold open; Jon Hamm guest intro; vasectomy bits
- 05:00–10:00: Hamm’s first SNL memory; cast strength; Poehler’s baby
- 06:00–08:40: “Don’t Make Me Sing” discussion
- 09:05–12:50: Mad Men crossover; concept riffing for “The Curse”
- 13:07–18:56: Lost Boys sax man origin, tape trading among comedy nerds
- 22:16–37:41: Breakdown of “The Curse": structure, beats, production
- 39:19–56:00: Legacy, audience reaction, SNL 'bracket' talk
- 42:43–48:13: Akiva's voice note critique
- 58:02–66:00: Recap and praise of rest of the episode's sketches
- 67:39–End: Fred’s stenographer sketch, meta references, SNL legacy talk
Energy, Language & Tone
- Language: Fast, nerdy, and joyfully profane (casual F-bombs, running bits about being cold, “sticky” characters, inside SNL stories).
- Tone: Self-deprecating, playful, irreverent; earnest about the craft, generous with credit and blame. Lively crackle of deep creative friendship and recurring joke structures (especially at Jon Hamm’s expense).
Conclusion & Lasting Takeaways
The episode is a sprawling, affectionate peek behind the scenes of one of the wildest SNL Digital Shorts ("The Curse"), driven by the easy rapport, sharp memories, and obsessive comic energy of the hosts. The technical side—tight writing, performer chemistry, the bliss/chaos of shooting at SNL—is constantly juxtaposed with self-critique and loving in-group teasing. Their discussion reveals what makes sketches like “The Curse” work: weird referential soup, relentless commitment from the cast (no matter how freezing), and, occasionally, ignoring the “rules”—sometimes by accident.
Final words:
“Jon Hamm, you are Anne golden, host from Anne golden era.” — Andy Samberg [77:37]
Note:
Skipped advertisements and off-topic (spelling bee, ads, personal asides) per instructions; focus on creative and production-related content.