Will Ferrell and former SNL head writer Harper Steele once pulled a writing stunt at the show that resulted in a bizarre failed sketch.
The two longtime friends and Saturday Night Live collaborators recounted their ill-fated “Unicorn Mountain” concept on Late Night with Seth Meyers Tuesday night. (The duo are promoting their upcoming Netflix documentary Will & Harper.)
Steele explained that during their SNL days, she and Ferrell attempted a sketch-writing experiment a few times. Ferrell and Steele would each write one half of a sketch, not knowing what the other had written until they combined them at the read-through table. “By the way, it never worked,” Steele cautioned.
They took that approach for a sketch called “Unicorn Mountain,” to disastrous (and what could have been amazing) results.
Ferrell’s half was an “incredibly long” five-page song that served as an introduction to a children’s show titled Unicorn Mountain. “The unicorns are free and they’re friendly and they love everyone,” Steele recalled of its heartwarming message.
“And then, [in] my half, we open on Unicorn Mountain,” she continued. “Tracy Morgan and Will are eating a unicorn, talking about how easy it was to catch them.”
“Their faces were so sweet,” Ferrell added. “They had no idea.”
The sketch may have bombed back then, but the Late Night audience greeted it with enthusiasm. “Do you hear this laughter, Lorne Michaels?” Steele joked.
While it’s hard to imagine Michaels will trot out “Unicorn Mountain” on SNL anytime soon, the sketch could live on. Meyers said he’s game to stage it on Late Night’s Second Chance Theatre. (Coincidentally, Jason Sudeikis and Mike O’Brien mounted another morbid unicorn-themed sketch, simply titled “Unicorn,” for the segment in 2020.)
Steele became a writer on SNL in 1995, the same year Ferrell joined as a cast member. From 2004 to 2008, she was co-head writer. She left the show in 2008, six years after Ferrell’s departure.
Will & Harper premieres on Netflix this Friday, September 27.
