Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Tori Preston | TV | October 28, 2025
Earlier this month, Peacock released a special documentary about a special guy: Jim Downey, the longest-running writer to ever work for Saturday Night Live. Now, this is not a review of Downey Wrote That, simply because watching it requires a premium Peacock subscription, and I don’t have one. I watched the trailer, though, which features comedy titans reminiscing about this man’s singular impact over the course of decades on < i>SNL. By the time Bill Murray popped up to say, “Jim Downey is the best writer I ever worked with,” I was intrigued. But then I took a look at Downey and realized I already know him…
He’s Douglas, the creepy bubble guy from The Chair Company!
Yes, Jim Downey is having a moment, with a role on HBO’s hottest current comedy and a documentary tied to SNL’s 50th anniversary celebrations. So let’s talk about why this guy matters - and why you already love him, whether you know it or not.
Over 30 Seasons!
Jim Downey first joined Saturday Night Live as a writer in 1976, the same week as Bill Murray (they even shared an office). After getting promoted to being a featured cast member for a season, Downey left the show in 1980 alongside many of the writers and actors following Lorne Michaels’s exit.
He returned in 1984 and was named head writer in 1985 upon Lorne’s return, a position he held for 10 years, making it the longest head writer tenure in the show’s history. He left again in 1998 (we’ll come back to that), then returned in 2000, staying on as a writer until finally retiring in 2013 after thirty non-consecutive years.
During all that time, Downey had a hand in many of Saturday Night Live’s most popular moments. Particularly the show’s political sketches, from Dana Carvey’s “Not Gon’ Do It” as one President Bush to Will Ferrell’s “strategery” as the second President Bush. Though his writing far outshone his opportunities as a performer on the show, you might recall Downey playing Andy Samberg’s dad and making out with Jonah Hill in one memorable Digital Short that featured a lot of tongue.
Late Night with David Letterman
After his first departure from SNL, Downey was brought on board the writing staff of the brand-new Late Night with David Letterman when it launched in 1982. He even did a stint as head writer for the show and is credited with creating Letterman’s signature Top Ten list, before ultimately returning to SNL in 1984.
Norm McDonald and the Ultimate Street Cred
Downey wrote for “Weekend Update” during Norm McDonald’s stint on the desk, including the escalating OJ Simpson jokes that ultimately got Norm fired from the show in 1998. When Downey left that same year, it was either in solidarity or because he was fired, too. More than anything else I’ll write on this list, “Getting canned alongside Norm McDonald for being mean to OJ Simpson” has to be the greatest comedy street cred ever.
“May God Have Mercy On Your Soul”
Do you remember the academic decathlon in Billy Madison, and the judge who insults Billy by claiming that “Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened” to him? The scene that has been endlessly meme-ed across the internet for decades? If you’ve seen that, you’ve seen Jim Downey - and supposedly that insult was inspired by Downey’s own responses to Chris Farley in the SNL writers’ room.
Bit Parts
Here’s a curveball: Downey had bit parts in two Paul Thomas Anderson films, There Will Be Blood and this year’s One Battle After Another. Considering most of Downey’s acting work clearly comes from his SNL connections, his work with Anderson seems all the more notable.
And speaking of connections: The Chair Company! Creator and star Tim Robinson, like Downey, is a former SNL writer with a fascinating history. He joined the show in 2012 as a featured performer before getting transitioned to the writing staff a year later - a rare occurrence. He would have only had roughly a year of overlap with Downey, unlike many of the other alumni Downey tends to work with, but I like to think their unique trajectories at the show may have been a point of bonding. In any event, Downey’s Douglas is no bit part, and the character is getting more unsettling by the episode, to the point where he even makes Robinson’s character Ron seem reasonable.
So there you have it! You definitely know Jim Downey, even if you didn’t know you knew. And if you’ve got a premium Peacock subscription, check out Downey Wrote That. It’s only an hour long, and it has to be pretty fascinating.
