Colin Jost, Mike Myers, Sarah Sherman and Marcello on 50th Show, Cut Sketches

“I’m excited for how Emily’s going to describe your tone, Marcello,” Colin Jost says about 20 minutes into our interview, of Hernández. I’ll admit it: it’s impossible to describe, other than to say it’s hard to imagine how this group gets any actual work done during a week on “Saturday Night Live.”

And this year meant a lot of work. Not only did the sketch show produce a 20-episode 50th season with A-list hosts, but they also tackled four specials that brought in more than 50 million total viewers. 

Four-part docuseries “SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night” focused on the history of the show; “SNL50: The Homecoming Concert” was a star-studded concert that livestreamed on Peacock; and Questlove’s doc “Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music” took a deeper dive into the musical aspect of the series.

The fourth special, “SNL50: The Anniversary Special,” encompassed it all, brought in dozens of A-list talent, past cast members and hosts, and included top musical guests. One of the best parts of the special was that it brought together both newer comedians, like cast members Marcello Hernández and Sarah Sherman, and comedy heavy hitters like current writer Colin Jost and former writer and performer Mike Myers, to take on hilarious sketches.

“I found it much more stressful because you didn’t want to let down people who are legends,” says Jost, who has been one of the show’s writers since 2005. “There was so much more lead time, but just like our regular show, I’d say 90% of it got written in the week leading up to it. So, it was stressful for six months for everyone.”

With so many iconic sketches, it’s hard to determine which was the toughest to prepare for or most fun to see. Linda Richman, Myers’ beloved “Coffee Talk” host who appeared on “SNL” from 1991-1994, is up there. The character popped up on “SNL50” through another beloved sketch, “Bronx Beat With Betty and Jodi,” lead by Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph. 

“It was very lovely. Maya, Amy and [writer] Emily Spivey did all the heavy lifting,” Myers says. “I felt like they were letting me sleep on their couch, which is very nice. It was fun for me because the two worlds overlap so easily.”

Jost adds: “I think people were especially excited to see you. You hadn’t been back in a while!”

Little did viewers know they’d be seeing even more of Myers in the weeks to come. Thirteen days later, he showed up in the cold open as Elon Musk, marking his first appearance on a regular “Saturday Night Live” episode in 10 years.

“It’s so much fun. Colin and the crew write the Elons, and all I do is I add a little this and a little that, and mostly, I cut. A lot of people don’t like to cut. I love to cut,” he says. “If you’ve got eight jokes, three of them are OK and the five of them are strong, let’s just go with the five!” 

Jost nods in agreement, so Myers tells him, “Write that down!”

“I’ve had so much fun doing it,” Myers continues. “When I did the 50th anniversary, I had a moment going, ‘Do I know how to do this?’ And I was like, ‘Oh, of course, I know how to do this. I did this for six years,’” he says, with Jost agreeing once again: “If not you, then no one.”

For the current cast members, one of the best parts of “SNL50” was not knowing who was returning and what sketches were happening until that day. Sherman notes that she gasped with excitement when she saw Myers as Linda.

“They didn’t tell us anything that was going to be in the show because Marcello would open his big fat mouth,” she recalls. 

Sherman, who joined “SNL” in Season 47, was surprised she was even part of it. “I just assumed I wouldn’t be in it. I thought I’d be a lamp or something,” she says. Sherman appeared in two sketches, a parody montage and the digital short. “It was so much easier than a regular show because we didn’t have to do that much. It was kind of like being on vacation.”

Hernández, who joined in Season 48, agrees. He appeared in two very popular sketches: “Domingo: Vow Renewal” with a few huge guests — Martin Short, Molly Shannon, Andy Samberg, Sabrina Carpenter, Pedro Pascal and Bad Bunny; and “Scared Straight” with Will Ferrell, Eddie Murphy and Jason Sudeikis, among others.

“I got to rehearse Eddie Murphy and that’s insane, because Colin put me — let the record show — as a young Latino criminal.” Jost defends himself — “next to two white criminals!”

Hernández responds, “Fair. Anyway, it was crazy to be feet away from people you looked up to your whole life.”

Jost brings up an earlier question with a new answer: “That is who I was most nervous to write for: Eddie Murphy. He’s very cool and —”

Myers helps him find the word: “taciturn.”

“Yes,” Jost continues. “So, someone not talking, you read all your worst fears into that person, so when I first presented him with the sketch, he was like, ‘I think it’s funny.’ I was waiting for, ‘But I’m not gonna do it.’”

Two days before air, Jost called Ferrell to see if he’d join. Ferrell said yes, pitched the character’s name (Big Red) and the idea that he has a “big wad of dip” in his mouth. Jost asked him to wear really short shorts and Ferrell agreed — something no one saw until the night of, since there was no dress rehearsal. 

During a weekly “SNL,” the dress rehearsal takes place a few hours before the live show with a full live audience and many sketches and jokes that are then cut, depending on time and how they work in the room.

Jost and Michael Che’s “Weekend Update” is much longer — and includes them both scribbling in their “diaries.” Mostly, Jost is writing notes to remember to change something for the live show,

“Sometimes I’m just writing down ‘that sucked,’ just as an outlet,” Jost laughs. “Sometimes it’s a stick figure to show Che. It really depends!”

Everyone feels a bit different about the process of the dress rehearsal.

“I think super important for the host or special guest. It’s fine if you mess up. Not having that, I think for guests, I think is probably tougher than for us,” says Hernández. “We’re more used to it.” 

Sherman feels that dress is more “loose,” so the live special without that felt like “the fun version” of the show.

Myers disagrees.

“I’m the opposite. Dress rehearsal bums me out and I get nervous,” he says. “Then if the sketch gets in, I’m like, ‘OK!’ I’m way more psyched that it got in, that I’m going to be in the show this week.”

He continues, “I used to go into a depression when my sketch got cut. Then one week, Conan [O’Brien] had worked with a very, very hard host who had put him through the wringer. Conan was just a mess and saw that a sketch was cut and he goes, ‘Perfect. It’s all going perfectly to plan.’ It got a big laugh, and I was like, ‘You can be that way? You don’t have to be depressed?’ He taught me how to say, ‘OK. It’s not the end of the world.’”

Now, Myers learns from every sketch that’s cut.

But it’s not an easy process. Sherman says to Hernández, “You’ve seen me have a fucking meltdown!” 

It’s something Hernández compares to athletes: “There’s a sports thing about it. I just smile and wave, but I appreciate it when people get upset. You’re competitive and you get mad.”

What’s tougher, they all agree, is when a sketch seems funny, but doesn’t make it past the table read. And fighting for a sketch to stay in isn’t really an option. Hernández even calls me out when I ask. 

“Whoa, Emily! Are you wildin’? Is it even possible?” he asks.

Myers quickly responds, “Never. I have witnessed people try it. That’s when I go invisible. Too much tension! The captain has spoken, move on.”

But they have fought for certain jokes. 

“When I was younger as a writer,” Myers says, “if Lorne Michaels asked, ‘Do you think you can make that work?’ I’d say, ‘Yes, I think I can.’ Whereas now I think I’d be more likely to say, ‘If you’re not sure, let’s not!’”

Jost and Myers both appeared on “SNL40” as well and agree that 50 was funnier — but the “Wayne’s World” sketch 10 years ago still is one of Jost’s favorites. Since the sketch was also a tribute to the series, Myers recalls the sad music and turning to Dana Carvey to ask, “Are we dead now?”

“He goes, ‘Fuck ’em, we’ll go out there and we’ll win them back,’” Myers recalls. “And that’s why I like working with great team members.”

It’s no surprise Myers has some of the best stories from his time at the show, as Sherman turns to ask him questions through our interview. While talking about who makes the cast laugh the most, he recalls Phil Hartman being a “killer at the table” who “fought for everyone” and made every sketch better. “I sat next to him. That was a real education.”

Sherman then asks who his officemate was. “Well, I didn’t get an office at first. My office was me cross-legged on my coat by the elevator bank for a year, with Lorne going, ‘Do you work here? Dress nicer,’” he recalls. “I’d go, ‘Yeah, you hired me.’ ‘Don’t wear track pants. You’re always wearing hockey shirts, why?’”

The interview ends with the group apologizing for Hernández’s behavior and him signing off with remarks that makes the whole room uncomfortable: “Wish you nothing but the best. There’s still a lot of years left, and I’m sure you’re gonna make the best of it!”

Set Designer: Sabrina Lederer; Photo Assistants: Will Heath, Alex Schaffer, Caro Scarimbolo; Photo Interns: Leanne Diaz, Holland Rainwater; Colin Jost, Hair & Styling: Daniel DiMauro; Makeup: Rashida Bolden; Marcello Hernandez, HMU: Evy Drew; Styling: Tanya Ortega; Sarah Sherman, Hair: Davey Matthew; Makeup: Marc Reagan; Styling: Dot Bass, assisted by Gabby Weis: Wardrobe, Top: Ellery; Dress: Miss Claire Sullivan; Shoes: Delosantos; Jewelry: Alexis Bittar; Tie: Sarah’s Vintage Personal Archive; Mike Myers, HMU: Min Min Ma