Podcast Summary: "The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast"

Episode: The Other Man

Date: December 2, 2025
Hosts: Seth Meyers, Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone
Topic: SNL Digital Short "The Other Man"

Episode Overview

This episode reunites SNL alums The Lonely Island (Andy, Akiva, Jorma) and Seth Meyers to revisit and dissect their Digital Short "The Other Man." The group dives into how the short was made, offers behind-the-scenes stories, and reflects on SNL's impact on comedy and internet culture. While "The Other Man" is the featured short, their conversation expands with tangents about movie tropes, comedy's place at the Oscars, and fun bits of SNL lore.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Catching Up: Shoutouts, Spelling Bees, and Word Games

• Seth thanks Andy for his recent shoutout and the group jokes about monologue punchlines that bombed (02:00).
• Playful roasting of NYT word games: spelling bee, Wordle, and various addiction levels (02:56-04:29).
  • Andy: “Just go to solid and then be done. Don’t be an addict.” (04:14)
• Generational gaming: Akiva’s dad’s obsession with word games and the dubious correlation between longevity and word puzzles (04:34-05:10).
• Recurring riff: The absurdity of “grandpapa” being an accepted word, with Andy and team poking fun at NYT’s word approver, Azersky (03:10-03:39).

2. Podcast Process: Overlapping Jokes & Human Ego

• Zoom mishaps: The group admits that real-time banter often means missed jokes, only noticed later during editing (08:04).
  • Andy: “There’s something about the human ego that you’re just thinking about what you’re gonna say.” (08:10)
• Competitive energy on podcasts: Andy jokes he wants his “character to win”—the podcast becomes a competition for laughs (08:15-08:28).

3. Movie Tangents: From Steel Magnolias to Oscar Snubs

• Proposal for a Steel Magnolias rewatch podcast after a tangent about emotionally-charged films (08:52).
  • Jorma: “If we’re going drippy saccharine, why not go to the base?” (08:57)
• Hot takes on crying at movies: The usual “no crying in baseball” from A League of Their Own is subverted (10:25).
  • Akiva: "I cried so many times." (10:46)
• Oscars overlook comedy: They praise overlooked performances, including Bill Murray in Groundhog Day and Ralph Fiennes in Grand Budapest Hotel (12:38-13:13).
  • Keith: "Groundhog Day should have won most things the year it came out." (12:49)
  • Akiva: “Name somebody in a comedy that you think got overlooked for an Oscar... People do not value comedies.” (12:26)

4. Behind-the-Scenes: SNL Stories, MacGruber, and Digital Shorts

• Rewatching “The Other Man”: The team admits the short isn’t the most memorable, but praise its execution and certain moments (16:05).
  • "We all remembered the house. We all remembered the location." – Andy (16:22)
• SNL logistics: Tina Fey's proximity to a short, casting choices, and the randomness of sketches making the live show (16:30–17:55).
• MacGruber update: Glenn Powell’s input, Will Forte’s last-minute writing, and Tina Fey helping with table reads (18:38–19:47).
  • “We basically did a table read with Tina.” – Andy (19:41)
• Lauren Michaels stories: How Andy’s relationship with Lorne evolved, with mock-seriousness about being "high on Andy's supply," referencing Lorne's legendary aloofness (17:44–18:18).
  • “I feel like this is maybe the era where Lorne is now a little high on Andy’s supply.” – Akiva (17:44)

5. Viewing and Dissecting "The Other Man"

(29:04-43:04) Main Segment

• The Setup: Classic “other man” rom-com trope—guy shows up at ex’s place, only to find her with someone new (29:04).
  • “There’s a kind of shittiness Andy gives that’s hard to beat.” – Akiva (29:41)
• Escalating absurdity: Each location (girlfriend’s house, new guy’s place, parents’ house, church confessional) finds Andy as “the other man,” maintaining the running joke.
  • The running cereal gag: Andy’s character always has a bowl of cereal, in a bathrobe—later referenced as a possible influence on other sketches.
• Notable moment: Yorma in a chest-hair wig, Akiva and Andy riffing about the consistency of Andy's performance, and a meta-commentary on tropes ("too handy a trope") (30:22).
• Strong finish: The final hallway “standoff” with Matt “Yonks” Yonan offering, “I have a bone to pick with you,” called “maybe the best cameo of any digital short” (41:02).
• Meta-reflection: They critique the pacing, note how some beats are predictable, but admire the ending as a clip-worthy moment (41:10-42:22).

6. Tropes, Influence, and Legacy

• "Trope busting" discussion: How their "cool guys don’t look at explosions" short inadvertently influenced a scene in Netflix’s House of Guinness (30:26-32:34).
  • Andy: “You are causing more tropes. People like, hey, what if we did that trope?” (30:34)
• Accents and meta-jokes: Extended bits about referencing or accidentally paralleling movie tropes (The Other Man film with Liam Neeson and Banderas), and the group spoofing each other’s impressions (43:45).
• Comedy's impermanence: Musings on how even SNL duds disappear, compared to infamous enduring flops like Gigli (44:23).

7. Other Bits & Closing Banter

• Personal anecdotes: Andy tells a story of getting his dad a custom Scarface painting, only for it to be abandoned at Berkeley Rep (47:04).
• Listener questions: Listener’s daughter steals the show in a previous recording; the guys are both proud and amazed at the "correct me if I’m wrong" moment (15:09-15:55).
• Creative process: Reflections on SNL table reads, the experience of rewriting after failed sketches, and the freedom/peril of "torturing the counselors" (66:17-66:22).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On podcast dynamics:

  • “There’s something about the human ego that you’re just thinking about what you’re gonna say.” – Andy (08:10)
  • “I’m focused on trying to fucking win. I don’t care what you’re trying to win.” – Andy (08:17)

• On Digital Short creation:

  • “We all remembered the house.” – Andy (16:22)
  • “It’s a nice heightened.” – Andy (36:24)
  • “Matt Yon. That is the best cameo maybe of any digital short.” – Andy (41:06)

• On comedy and influence:

  • “I feel like you are causing more tropes. People like, hey, what if we did that trope?” – Andy (30:34)
  • “Groundhog Day should have won most things the year it came out.” – Keith (12:49)

• On MacGruber and SNL process:

  • "We basically did a table read with Tina." – Andy (19:41)
  • "Lauren loves MacGruber very much." – Akiva (20:10)

• On favorite movie crying moments:

  • “I cried so many times.” – Akiva (10:46)
  • “You don’t know why you shouldn’t cry watching A League of Their Own? ...Because there’s no crying in baseball.” – Keith (10:29-10:36)

• On "The Other Man" ending:

  • "I have a bone to pick with you." – Matt "Yonks" Yonan, cameo (40:26)

Important Segment Timestamps

• [01:49] – Opening banter and SNL references
• [10:00-13:14] – Movie nostalgia, Oscar snubs for comedies
• [16:05-20:11] – Rewatching "The Other Man," show logistics, MacGruber story, Lorne Michaels anecdotes
• [29:04-43:04] – Main "Other Man" viewing and breakdown (scene-by-scene, with commentary)
• [30:26-32:34] – Discussion of "cool guys don’t look at explosions" influencing Netflix’s House of Guinness
• [41:00-43:04] – "Other Man" ending, reflections on sketch endings, influence on later movies
• [44:23-46:12] – Comedy’s fleeting legacy, story about Gigli and classic directors
• [66:17] – Table read memories, SNL as summer camp, behind-the-scenes fun

Summary Table: The "Other Man" Short Breakdown

| Segment | Description | Notable Commentators | |-----------------|------------------------------------------|----------------------| | Setup | Rom-com trope: Surprised by "other man" | Andy, Seth, Akiva | | Escalation | Situation repeats at various locations | Andy, Jorma | | Running Gags | Andy’s bathrobe, cereal, chest hair | Akiva, Jorma | | Final Standoff | “I have a bone to pick with you.” | All, esp. Andy | | Meta-analysis | Reflection on trope longevity | Akiva |

Tone and Style

Throughout, the crew keeps a playful, nostalgic, and irreverent tone—roasting each other, SNL, and the showbiz machine. The language is fast-paced, self-deprecating, loaded with in-jokes, and occasionally meta, especially when discussing how sketches succeed, fail, or take on new life through cultural osmosis.

For Listeners Who Haven't Tuned In

• Expect a mix of behind-the-scenes SNL insight and pure comedy geekery.
• Plenty of nostalgic movie riffs and deep dives into how SNL sketches are written, rewritten, and sometimes brought back from the dead.
• The team's relaxed, bantery chemistry makes even the tangents about Oscar snubs and word games feel like part of the creative culture that made their SNL era so distinctive.
• Their retrospective on "The Other Man" is a masterclass in both self-critique and playfulness—perfect for fans of both SNL history and the Lonely Island’s brand of absurdist humor.

Closing Moment:

• Andy: “Love you guys.” (73:24)
• Group: “Love you!” (73:25)

A classic, warm end to an episode packed with comedy, nostalgia, and insider SNL lore.