Seth Meyers Discusses Why Guest Hosting ‘SNL’ Is ‘Terrifying’ and How He’s Grown to Love ‘Late Night’

variety.com:

Antonio Ferme editorPrior to becoming the host of “Late Night” in 2014, Seth Meyers was the head writer on “Saturday Night Live” for 12 and a half years.

After returning to host the show in 2018, Meyers said he was humbled.“I felt like I had to apologize to so many hosts from my time there,” Meyers said on Monday night during a storyteller conversation at the Tribeca Festival. “When I was the head writer there, a lot of times the host would call you into their dressing room and say, ‘I don’t like this joke’ or ‘I don’t like the monologue.’ In the back of my head, all I ever thought was, ‘Fucking shut up and do it… Trust us.

Just do it. We wrote it.’”He continued, “Then I was the host and all of a sudden it was like, ‘Oh, I don’t like this joke. Oh no, I don’t like this sketch.’ When the writers came into my room, I was like, ‘Oh man, [being] the host is terrifying’… I just assumed it was easy and it was a whirlwind.” Joining Meyers on stage was former “SNL” cast member Aidy Bryant, who joined the sketch comedy series in 2012 when Meyers was still head writer.

Although he would exit the show two years later, Bryant raved about how much her writing improved while working under Meyers.“He really was the most generous, truly kind, helpful,” Bryant told the audience. “I was always so impressed because Seth would read over every single writer’s [and] every cast member’s script on Tuesday night at like five in the morning.