John Mulaney Purposely Made Bill Hader Break in "Stefon on Halloween's Hottest Tips"
New York's hottest Halloween club is [hissing sound]
In the weeks leading up to February 16's three-hour 50th anniversary celebration on NBC, the team behind Saturday Night Live has selected one sketch from every single season — 50 seasons in 50 days — to reflect the show's rich legacy across five decades. Presenting the sketch chosen to represent Season 38: "Weekend Update: Stefon on Halloween's Hottest Tips," starring Bill Hader and Seth Meyers.
When you think of iconic recurring "Weekend Update" characters — Adam Sandler's Opera Man, for example, or Cecily Strong's Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation with at a Party — Bill Hader's Stefon ranks high among them. And while Stefon's all of "Weekend Update" appearances as the fake news program's "city correspondent" are a delight, "Stefon on Halloween's Hottest Tips" is an all-timer, for both its jokes and the fact that Hader can barely contain himself in reaction to them.
Stefon's Halloween appearance came during Host Bruno Mars' October 20, 2012 double-duty episode (during which Hader, as Stefon, introduced Mars' second performance).
"Weekend Update" anchor Seth Meyers — who had an entire story arc with Stefon, culminating in their wedding in the character's last appearance — asked him "some of the best spots to check out" in NYC on Halloween.
"Yes. If you need a spot checked out, I know just the place for you. New York's hottest club is Jelly Bones," he told Meyers, shifting into a deep bass voice to pronounce the venue's name. "Located on the Lower Upper Side, this random home invasion is the creation of legally-drunk clothing designer Nick Nolte & Gabbana."
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Stefon says New York's hottest Halloween party has everything — including "my son"
But when it comes to New York's hottest Halloween party, Stefon tells Meyers the place to be is [hissing sound]. At this point, Hader showcases his physical comedy chops, effectively transforming into a territorial cat for several seconds. He explains that "this place is gonna have everything: Ghosts, ghouls, goblins, my son..."
Meyers somehow lets this new piece of lore go (and we never hear about Stefon's son again), and soon Hader is dissolving into giggles as he tries to get through the next hysterical nightlife tease — ultimately laughing hysterically.
Hader blocks his face with his hand and seems to wipe a tear away before Stefon moves on to explain that "Frasians" are a health snack of "raisins that look like Frasier." But when he launches into an extremely raunchy ghost story, Meyers cuts him off. But, plot twist: Meyers is actually game to hang out with Stefon on October 31.
"I'll pick you up at 7 – where do you live?" Meyers asks.
"Uh, you know the Radio Shack at 23rd and 7th? I live in a garbage can," Stefon tells him.
Watch "Weekend Update: Stefon on Halloween's Hottest Tips" from Season 38, Episode 5 above, and stream all 50 seasons of Saturday Night Live on Peacock anytime.
Why does Stefon cover his mouth on SNL?
While it's one of the character's go-to tics, the gesture also serves a practical purpose: Bill Hader was hiding his laughter after writer John Mulaney surprised him with new Stefon jokes on the cue cards.
Stand-up comedian, actor, and six-time SNL Host John Mulaney invented Stefon with Bill Hader. Mulaney co-wrote Stefon's appearances with the cast member during his time as a writer on the show from 2008-2013, and he delighted in trying to make Hader break by switching Stefon's lines up at the last minute. As in, right as Hader was performing live.
"He'll put stuff up without telling me — or, he'll tell me as I walk out. Anything to kind of shake me up," Hader told Howard Stern in 2013.
Though you'd never know it watching him onstage, Hader admitted he'd get "very nervous" before going live on SNL, and "I'm someone that goes over my lines kind of obsessively. I run them constantly — I do go off the cue cards, but I like to know what's coming up, kind of obsessively [...] John knows this," he added.
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While he'd sometimes giggle knowing a last-minute change was coming up, Hader noted that "the one that really got me on that I did not know was up there was on Halloween." It's the joke with the "Sidney Applebaum" punchline, and he told Stern he cracked up "as soon as they turned the cue card over."
"It completely...it stopped the show for like, a minute. I was done! And other side of the cue cards I see John and the other writers," Hader told Stern. "Everyone's dying laughing, because they're just waiting for it."
