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Seth Meyers Names the "Perfect Sketch" Mikey Day Co-Wrote for Nate Bargatze's SNL

"I don't often do this, but I walked up to your office — I wanted to let you guys know I was so insanely jealous when I saw it," the Late Night Host told Day.

By Christopher Rudolph

It's not every day that a former head writer of Saturday Night Live deems one of your sketches "perfect." That's what happened when Mikey Day stopped by Late Night with Seth Meyers on May 6.

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Watch Late Night with Seth Meyers on NBC weeknights at 12:35/11:35c and next day on Peacock.  

In addition to asking the Season 49 cast member about bringing his Butt-Head lookalike to The Fall Guy red carpet, Seth Meyers wanted to discuss Day's stellar year on SNL — specifically, the "Washington's Dream" sketch from the October 28 episode hosted by comedian Nate Bargatze.

"You have had a fantastic year on the show. And as always, I feel like people don't fully appreciate how many sketches you write, as well," Meyers told Day, who first joined SNL as a writer in Season 39.

"I'm alway asking people, 'Who wrote that one?' And you and [SNL co-head writer] Streeter Seidell tend to write a lot together," Meyers, who was a writer and cast member from 2001-2014, said.

"Yeah we write everything together," Day confirmed.

RELATED: SNL Legend Paula Pell's "Abducted" Bit Is Making the Internet Laugh Hysterically

mikey day during an interview on late night with Seth meyers episode 1516

Among the "incredible hits" Meyers noted in the 2023-2024 season, "there was this wonderful George Washington sketch with Nate Bargatze that you wrote, and it's kind of a perfect sketch," Meyers said. "I don't often do this, but I walked up to your office, I wanted to let you guys know I was so insanely jealous when I saw it."

"The interesting thing is, it seemed so perfectly written that in my imagination it was like, crushed at the table, crushed at rehearsal, crushed at dress rehearsal... Then I heard it didn't?" Meyers added.

Nate Bargatze during a sketch on Saturday Night Live Episode 1847

The story behind SNL's "Washington's Dream" sketch

Washington's Dream

Day said that the audience response to "Washington's Dream" was "decent" in rehearsal, but it truly came to life...live on Saturday night, appropriately enough.

"It was fun to do — Streeter is obsessed with history, so this was his ode to America's weird customs and such," he said. The night of the broadcast, Seidell himself shared on X (formerly Twitter) that in regard to the concept, he'd "been sitting on this one for a while."

"During blocking rehearsal it was a little awkward, because Nate's just saying things that America does," Day explained. "It's just listing facts about America, about our weights and measures, and he's just pacing the group."

Yet once Bargatze was performing it live in Studio 8H, "he turned it on and became George Washington, or Nate's version of George Washington," Day continued.

RELATED: Watch Nate Bargatze's Hilarious SNL Monologue and Sketches from October 28

Impressed, Meyers told Day that the sketch was "the perfect convergence of really strong writing, and then a host who elevates it in performance."

"It was a joy to watch," he told Day.

"I really mean this sincerely, congrats on the incredible season. You do a great job writing for that whole cast," he added at the end of their interview.

"Coming from you, that's awesome," said a clearly flattered Day.

Sounds like "Washington's Dream" ended up being a dream come true for Day and the SNL team.