Tina Fey is taking a extra reflective take a look at her time on “Saturday Night Live,” admitting that not each joke she helped placed on air aged the best way she’d hoped. Talking on the 2026 version of “Historical past Talks,” the comic acknowledged she was “on the improper facet” of sure moments throughout her tenure.
Regardless of that admission, Fey pushed again on the concept “SNL” ever tried to steer a particular political narrative, insisting the present’s affect has at all times come from reflecting tradition fairly than controlling it.
Tina Fey Admits Some ‘SNL’ Jokes Crossed The Line
Fey is taking a candid look again at her early comedy profession, admitting that not each joke she made on “Saturday Night time Reside” aged the best way she meant. Earlier than stepping in to host the primary episode of “SNL UK” final month, she had already spent years as each a author and performer on the present’s flagship U.S. model.
Talking at a current HistoryTalks event, Fey revisited defining moments from that period, together with returning to the present within the aftermath of the September 11 assaults.
Whereas the comic mentioned she has no regrets concerning the time she devoted to the long-running NBC sequence, she acknowledged that a few of her materials missed the mark.
“I used to be fairly d-mb and never significantly better now, however there’s jokes that I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, I used to be on the improper facet of that,’” Fey mentioned.
Fey Says ‘SNL’ By no means Tried To Management Politics
Fey has additionally pushed again on the concept “Saturday Night time Reside” ever got down to form political narratives, insisting the present’s strategy was way more measured behind the scenes.
Talking on the occasion, Fey mentioned she typically discovered it fascinating to appreciate simply how severely audiences might take what was meant to be comedy. That consciousness, she defined, grew to become particularly clear throughout a very intense six-week stretch when she labored alongside Seth Meyers and Amy Poehler on a run of sketches centered on Sarah Palin.
“We at all times labored actually exhausting to make it possible for we felt like they had been what we might name ‘a good hit,’” Fey mentioned, describing the group’s effort to strike a stability between satire and accuracy.
Tina Fey Joked She’s ‘Youngest’ ‘SNL UK’ Host
Fey introduced her signature wit to the UK stage final month, delivering a monologue on the British model of “Saturday Night time Reside” that leaned into the identical self-aware humor that outlined her rise within the U.S.
In her opening, Fey expressed real gratitude for the chance earlier than joking that she was the “youngest particular person” ever to host the sequence.
She then playfully reintroduced herself to the viewers, saying, “Chances are you’ll know me because the trainer from ‘Imply Women,’ otherwise you would possibly keep in mind a very long time in the past after I performed Sarah Palin on ‘SNL U.S.,’ Or possibly you are feeling such as you acknowledge me as the woman from the present ‘Veep.’ And that’s high-quality too! Let’s go along with that!”
The Actress Dropped F-Bomb Throughout ‘SNL UK’ Debut
From that second on, the present delivered a extra traditional Fey, together with a sarcastic comment about how “nobody actually is aware of why” an American was chosen to host the debut episode.
When “Bridgerton” star Nicola Coughlan requested her why she thinks she was chosen, the “Veep” alum responded, “How do I put this politely?… None of you f-ckers would do it!”
The uncensored second didn’t go unnoticed. Actor Michael Cera identified that she had simply dropped the f-word, however Fey brushed it off with out hesitation.
“Yeah, we’re allowed to swear on this model of the present,” she fired again, pointing to the principle distinction between the U.S. and UK versions of “SNL.”
Tina Fey’s Upcoming Initiatives
Fey isn’t slowing down anytime quickly, with a number of tasks already lined up for the months forward.
Later this 12 months, the comic will return to the small display screen for Season 2 of “The 4 Seasons,” reprising her function as Kate alongside a returning ensemble that features Will Forte, Colman Domingo, Marco Calvani, Kerri Kenney-Silver, and Erika Henningsen.
Past that, Fey can be stepping again into growth mode. In March, PEOPLE reported that she could be adapting Elle Cosimano’s bestselling thriller novel “Finlay Donovan Is Killing It,” marking one other collaboration with Lang Fisher, her inventive associate on “The 4 Seasons.”
