Happy sweet 16, Stefon!
Today marks the anniversary of the beloved city correspondent’s first Saturday Night Live appearance, the lukewarm response to which almost made him a one-time character.
Before achieving hall-of-fame level popularity as a frequent “Weekend Update” guest, Stefon—a joint creation of his portrayer, Bill Hader, and John Mulaney—was introduced in Season 34’s “Movie Pitch” as the odd brother of filmmaker David Zolesky, played by host Ben Affleck.
The three-minute sketch was built on the premise of the mismatched siblings pitching a movie idea to a pair of executives played by Andy Samberg and Jason Sudeikis. Before a tardy Stefon enters the meeting, his brother explains, “He’s been going through some stuff the past couple of years.”
As Affleck’s David tries to sell a heartwarming family film he describes as “Bad News Bears meets Little Miss Sunshine,” Stefon continually throws in insane plot details such as “adult baby fantasy shots of diaper people” and “f’ed-up leprechaun situations.”
In the end, David’s pitch is approved, while Stefon’s is characterized by the execs as a “half-remembered gay nightmare.” “Yes, we’ve heard that a lot,” Stefon replies before getting a solo offer to rewrite the script for WALL-E 2, which he gladly accepts.
Even though they hadn’t yet found the right venue for him, Hader and Mulaney clearly had an idea of who Stefon was from the beginning. In “Movie Pitch,” the character fans would come to love is nearly fully formed in terms of his mannerisms and style, from his numerous silver rings to his full-sleeved Ed Hardy shirt.
Stefon’s creators tried to incorporate him into a February 2009 episode hosted by Bradley Cooper, but that sketch was nixed after falling flat in dress rehearsal. As Hader told Stefon’s canonical husband, Seth Meyers, in a 2014 Late Night interview, the Affleck sketch “barely worked… It was a long walk to get to what the sketch was about.”
It was “Weekend Update” head writer Doug Abeles who suggested Stefon be utilized as a correspondent during the news segment. His first such appearance occurred on April 24, 2010 and involved him telling Meyers about several of “New York’s hottest clubs” featuring “Teddy Graham people,” “screaming babies in Mozart wigs,” and “human fire hydrants.”
“Look, Stefon,” said Meyers, “we asked you to come here and tell us about fun, tourist-y things… But I have to say, the things you describe sound like visions a dying gay man might have if he was under too many blankets.”
“That’s fair,” Stefon replied before Meyers added, “Your heart was in the right place and I really enjoyed having you here.”
Positive audience response to the character led to his second “Weekend Update” visit just three weeks later during the Season 35 finale. He has since made 16 Update appearances, including one during the show’s 40th anniversary special.
“Movie Pitch” remains Stefon’s only non-“Weekend Update” SNL appearance, and that’s probably a good thing.
