Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Andrew Sanford | News | August 28, 2025
We are not a monolith here at Pajiba. You will find varied opinions. There will be overlap, yes. We also don’t have any jerks. But you are likely to find many different points of view here. Now that I have that out of the way, I can confidently say that, like Dustin, I don’t really get Kyle Mooney’s appeal. I don’t dislike him as much as our fearless leader does, but I’ve never felt the need to explore his work outside of Saturday Night Live. That may soon change.
Mooney starred on SNL for nine years, which feels insane to say out loud. His comedy stylings are often dry and awkward, like a thirteen-year-old boy who’s nervous to be on camera. He could fit into other roles during his time here, but that was, and continues to be, his main schtick. I liked him when he would fill other roles, and honestly didn’t hate his “schtick;” it just isn’t for me consistently. Unlike one of his co-stars and good friends, Beck Bennett.
Bennett was on the show for eight years, which also feels crazy, but not as crazy. I first noticed him in a series of AT&T commercials where he talks to children. They were a perfect use of his straight man talents, which he also used with aplomb on SNL. He also often mixed it up with Mooney, and the two have worked together a lot since, with their newest venture being a podcast.
The show has started with two episodes. The guests so far have been Fran Gillespie and Marc Maron, the latter of whom is, presumably, trying to appear on every podcast possible as his own winds down. I listened to a little this morning, which does have Mooney’s schtick (which Bennett happily plays along with and Maron gleefully laps up) and, to be fair, the little bit I heard cracked my four-year-olds up. I may finish the episode at some point, but the thing that would get me back is a Lorne Michaels appearance.
Bennett recently revealed to Vulture that their former boss would be, at least, an interesting prospect. “Not necessarily my dream guest, but I think it would be really fun to have Lorne Michaels on,” Beck noted. “He’s a very interesting guy.” Michaels has taken a lot of risks over the years with “alternative” comics, and the idea of him interacting with some that he hired feels too good to pass up. Does he … find them funny? Or did he simply assume that others would?
I’d see Michaels sit down to chat with any of his cast members, past or present, just to see the dynamic. But Bennett and Mooney would be even more fascinating, as I don’t think they would take it seriously in the traditional sense. They’d do their schtick, and we could see Lorne react to it in real time, either taking it seriously or completely stonewalling them, and that would be worth the watch.
