Anxiety at SNL (w/ Writer Simon Rich)

Simon Rich tells Neal Brennan about the anxieties of writing for SNL. From the Blocks Podcast w/ Neal Brennan.
Full Episode: • Simon Rich | Blocks Po...
Watch Neal Brennan: Crazy Good on Netflix:
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Theme music by Electric Guest (unreleased).
#podcast #standup #comedy #snl

[@tpac28]

Man Seeking Woman is an absolute underrated gem of a show. Thank you Simon.

[@natedevillers]

"TEXT JAY KAYY! TEXT JAY KAYY!"

[@TheBocklin]

Brennan seriously be quiet… let the guest talk… even if they‘re slow, I‘d rather listen to them unfold their ideas, rather than to your incessant interruptions and quips.

[@Ace-x4h]

Seriously. I wish Simon would have been able to finish at least ONE story

[@stooney]

It’s insanely annoying

[@funwithpliers]

Yep. Really annoying.

[@aquamarine99911]

@@Ace-x4h Simon did manage to circle back to finish his Lorne Michaels dream story, but I would have liked to have heard his SNL in the course of an entire week perspective. Brennan, like Bill Hader as the game show host, was not being a good guy.

[@GiddyUpGoTrio]

He tries to finish their sentences CONSTANTLY. I just had to turn the Bill Burr episode off because I wanted to shout, “Neal, WE LOVE YOU, we APPRECIATE you, you HAVE our validation…now PLEASE let Bill taaaaaaaaaalk!”

[@troxy18]

"He was a rich person who funded his own game show to torture people" so gamechanger on dropout?

[@samwilliams7192]

When Lorne Michaels finally croaks it, something tells me it's going to be like the American entertainment industry version of Death of Stalin.

[@Theomite]

I...can't disagree.

[@Norsilca]

I can't wait for the stories to come out once he can't exert his power anymore

[@2beJT]

Norman the Doorman was toooooooo perfect. Who came up with the idea of naming the doorman Norman?

[@andybaldman]

Someone named Norman.

[@jimtroeltsch5998]

Man, this guy absolutely sucks at interviewing people. I hope someone else talks to this guest. Maybe we'd get to actually hear their thoughts and experiences for more than 4 seconds at a time.

[@Jay-kk3dv]

💯 wtf

[@Dippedwithsweet]

Omg Harvard makes the best professional comedians

[@ep6507]

He looks like he’s 20, how has he been a comedy writer for 20 years

[@JLX1373]

look at his wikipedia. dude is nepo baby. never lifted a finger a day in his life.

[@DizzyBusy]

​@@JLX1373How can you be so wrong 😅 Did you think his father wrote Simon's novels for him too?

[@77barrymac]

Because he's 40. He's finally starting to look a BIT older, but five years ago, he definitely looked like he 20

[@lreyay]

Its amazing how much time, effort, and stress goes into making some of the most unfunny sketches you’ve ever seen in your life at SNL.

[@ClayChiarelott]

I see it as a crucible for comedy writers, actors, and directors/producers (not to mention set and costume design and special effects) that we get to watch and enjoy. It has had some of the worst and some of the best comedy on television for almost 50 years. Yeah it’s hit or miss, but when you watch it as live sketch comedy and borderline improv at times rather than as a pre planned, taped, polished, and edited show, then both the hits and misses can have a degree of enjoyability.

[@ricopaulson1]

Saying SNL isn't funny is as original and edgy as saying the "The Beatles suck". Meaning its tired and objectively not true. Every show throughout its entire history has had 1-2 sketches that worked and the rest were okay. Expecting a show that's written in four days to be perfect is the dumbest take. The people I meet in life who echo what you said typically are chuds. Or at best super uninteresting and lack any semblance of a personality.

[@DizzyBusy]

That's how art is made though. It's the grind 😅 You can't always strike gold. We just happen to watch their by-products on TV

[@danielvalleduarte]

SNL is sooooo terrible, and Lorne would steal so many bits from submissions and auditions....never paying or crediting the original artists/comedians.

[@oldsaddad7274]

......... Do you think Lorne is writing the sketches

[@danielvalleduarte]

@@oldsaddad7274 he writes them all and pays 300 writers to make them "more human"

[@dereksupernaut]

SNL IS FOR CHILDREN... i stopped watching in high school except Norm MacDonald's weekend update and perhaps an occasional Will Ferral skit or musical artist i liked... Left Winger Adults keep watching as adults which gives you insight into the mental maturity/intellect of lefties... fax!!!

[@MichaelTorres-b2v]

Thanks for sharing. Are there any other meth addicts who would like to share their thoughts?

[@HeynowHeynowheynow]

How are things at home?

[@bimiup1]

@@MichaelTorres-b2v YES!!!

[@gene_takavic57]

Weekend Update is, and has been, the anchor of that show for decades.

[@dereksupernaut]

@@MichaelTorres-b2v was i too accurate, you watching SNL at age 40???... i took calculus at age 15/16 (advanced students are age 17) and have never been in the presence of Meth...

[@noodler7764]

I LOVE WHATS THAT NAME

[@zachlafond2652]

Describing social anxiety. I can relate.

[@RextheDragon881]

Blocks is great

[@willdove3117]

I love Tig Notaro!!

[@AmberNix-k7w]

🤣🤣

[@gene_takavic57]

That was my first thought once I saw the thumbnail!

[@Schrodinger-pk5ws]

Was Simon Rich a woman? I thought it was a woman in the thumbnail until I read the title

[@andybaldman]

Yes. She used to be Simone.

[@DizzyBusy]

​@@andybaldmanLOL