SNL Could Get a LEGO Set, With Help From Bobby Moynihan

Studio 8H could soon be immortalized in brick. A concept LEGO set of the Saturday Night Live studio is currently in the running to be considered by the toy brand—and one of its designers is a former SNL player.

The LEGO set is a collaboration between YouTube series Building Friendships and former SNL cast member Bobby Moynihan. Their concept includes Studio 8H’s modern Grand Central Station-themed home base, as well as four mini builds of fan-favorite SNL sketches.

The just-launched project is currently nearing 300 votes on the LEGO Ideas site, which lets users submit concepts for LEGO sets and vote on which ones the company should consider making for real. When a set hits 10,000 votes, a panel at LEGO officially takes it under consideration. (A project’s deadline for hitting 10,000 votes is extended along the way as various voting thresholds are reached.)

The collaboration came about after Moynihan guested on the YouTube series Building Friendships, in which host Jon Sosis interviews guests while building LEGO sets together. “It’s like Hot Ones without the suffering (mostly),” Sosis tells LateNighter.

After welcoming Full House star Jodie Sweetin onto the show early last year, Sosis and Sweetin collaborated on a LEGO set of the iconic sitcom’s house. When Moynihan later guested to promote the Disney+ series LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy, the idea of an SNL set came up—but there was a hitch. LEGO only considers ideas from certain brands, and at the time, Saturday Night Live was not an approved IP. But LEGO, which had initially considered the show political, eventually changed course, so Moynihan and Sosis were off to the races.

The main SNL stage was the natural starting point for the designers, who included “the music stands, drum kit and a sax as an homage to legendary SNL saxophonist Lenny Pickett, who our surprise designer loves with his whole heart,” the project’s description explains. 

“When it came to what sketches to [include in the build], we first decided that with SNL celebrating their 50th anniversary this year, we should do a variety of popular sketches from across 50 years,” Sosis tells LateNighter.

“Weekend Update,” of course, was a shoo-in for inclusion. For that, Sosis chose to replicate the set design from the Update era closest to his heart, when it was anchored by Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Jimmy Fallon.

As for the others? “’Wayne’s World’ is obviously a favorite that became a feature film and sequel,” Sosis says. “Then we threw in ‘Target Lady’ because who doesn’t like Kristen Wiig?”

Of course, the set wouldn’t be complete without a nod to Moynihan’s nine years on the show. Here, he’s represented by David S. Pumpkins, the Tom Hanks-led Halloween sketch in which Moynihan plays a man in a skeleton suit. “Drunk Uncle wouldn’t have been approved by LEGO, but everyone loves David S. Pumpkins so that was a no-brainer,” Sosis explained.

Sosis adds that he and Moynihan will add additional sketches to the set as the campaign continues. “We need to have something Farley in there,” he notes. “Trying to find a way to sneak [Celebrity] Jeopardy in too. ‘Therapists’ is probably okay for LEGO, right?“

Fans who want to help the Saturday Night Live LEGO set become a reality can vote for it here on the LEGO Ideas page. They’ve also created an Instagram account for project updates.

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