Watch the Michael Longfellow Standup Joke That Inspired SNL’s ‘Water Park’

An old standup routine from Michael Longfellow provides a glimpse at how one of this week’s SNL sketches was born.

Longfellow was a central part of the Saturday Night Live sketch “Water Park,” which follows two EMTs (played by Longfellow and host Nate Bargatze) in the aftermath of a death at the top of a waterslide debating the best way to move the body. Fans of Longfellow’s comedy were quick to recognize the premise. That’s because the comic mined it from his own act.

Longfellow joked about the experience—loosely based on his job working at a water park—in his standup prior to being cast on SNL. And thanks to the internet, that joke is available for viewing.

The video, uploaded to Longfellow’s YouTube account in 2019, captures a version of the joke that’s much shorter, but also very much in line with what made it into the sketch.

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Even beyond that standup set, the “Water Park” sketch was years in the making for Longfellow. The cast member, who was promoted to repertory player status for Season 50, first wrote the sketch in 2022, his first season as a featured player.

As The Saturday Night Network’s Jon Schneider revealed in the SNN’s weekly post-SNL episode podcast, Longfellow got the sketch all the way to dress rehearsal in the third episode of season 48, hosted by Megan Thee Stallion. It was cut after dress, but Longfellow brought it back to the table this week. 

The version that aired this weekend was written by Longfellow with Jimmy Fowlie, Streeter Seidell, and new writer Allie Levitan.

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