John Mulaney was welcomed into “Saturday Night Live’s” five-timers club with a sketch that featured suprise appearances by Conan O’Brien, Tina Fey, Paul Rudd, Candice Bergen, Steve Martin and Elliott Gould.
The group of veteran past “SNL” hosts hazed Mulaney before handing him a coveted royal blue smoking jacket with a large numeral 5 embrodered on the right breast.
The sketch opened with Martin, Rudd and Bergen meeting in a private library-like setting, all wearing their jackets. As Mulaney entered the room, Bergen quips, “Let me be the first person to say, ‘Who are you?’ ” To which Mulaney responded, “If you have a niece or son who’s bad at sports, he might know who I am.”
Welcome to the Five-Timers Club, @mulaney! pic.twitter.com/HiG8pN1foF
— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) February 27, 2022
Fey pointed to Mulaney’s tenure as a writer on “SNL” alongside another famous alumnus, Bill Hader. “You wrote that character with Bill Hader and 800 other things that aged terribly,” she chided.
The group made note that Rudd joined the elite list last December when production of the episode was abruptly shortened by the omicron surge, forcing Rudd to deliver his monologue to an empty Studio 8H. “I’m just happy you’re here in my episode,” Mulaney joked.
Bergen then turned serious. “We have some buisness to discuss: The club here has gotten so big that to get in, someone has to retire,” the former “Murphy Brown” star stated.
Martin, the comedy legend now riding high as a star of Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building,” shot back, “Too bad no one here is retirement age.” Mulaney observed, “You are 76.”
O’Brien, who ended his 28-year run in late-night last June, then burst into the room, albeit without his blue jacket.
“I’m just here to sign up for Peacock,” he said, referring to NBC’s streaming platform. “It’s weird that they make you do it in person.”
O’Brien flubbed his next line, winked at the audience and became characteristically animated. After playfully yelling “so shut up” at Fey, he lamented, “I hosted my own TV show for decades.”
Mulaney queried, “What are you doing now?” A dejected O’Brien replied, “I have a podcast.”
But O’Brien brightened up and triumphantly declared, “Live from New York…” The other five-timers reminded O’Brien that the “SNL” episode had already had its traditional cold open, but the “Late Night” and “Conan” host pressed on. “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night,” he shouted.
The sketch ended with an overhead shot of the august group shaking hands and exchanging greetings.
