5 Things from Inside 'SNL's Table Read

Bawwww, this past weekend was Seth Meyer’s final appearance as a cast member on Saturday Night Live after a 12-year run with the show. Earlier today, Drunk Uncle, err, I mean Bobby Moynihan, tweeted a picture of Meyer’s last table read and there really was a sense of finality to the image. In case you missed it, his last spot anchoring Weekend Update was full of his SNL alumni besties and it was a total tear-jerker. Saturday’s farewell broadcast made it quite clear that Seth Meyers meant a lot to studio 8H.

But fret not, dear readers, Meyers is doing just fine. He’s on his way to hosting Late Night after Jimmy Fallon (finally!) takes over for Jay Leno at the Tonight Show. Really?! No really, he is. By the looks of the promo, Late Night with Seth Meyers will be as smart, likable, and charming as the man himself. And hey who knows, maybe in five-ish years Cecily Strong will host her own major network late night talk show. LOL WHO AM I KIDDING LATE NIGHT TV HOSTING IS 4 WHITE DUDEZ ONLY.

I digress.

Moynihan’s snap inside the SNL table read offers us a glimpse into the day-to-day world of the historic, albeit controversial sketch comedy series. And from inside the belly of the beast, we can learn quite a lot about Saturday Night Live.

Comedy is work.

Do you see Aidy Bryant over there on the right? She looks about as enthralled as any of us on a Monday morning status meeting. As someone who works in comedy, I can’t tell you how irksome it is for people to be so flippant about the genre and what it takes to actually make good comedy. For the people sitting at this table, and the dozens hunched over desks in the writers room, comedy is their job. Sure, their job has a lot more laughs than most of us, but tah-rust me, it does not come easily.

Every job ever has the same catering.

The cheese plate: yellow cubes, white cubes, mixed yellow and white cubes. Plus Hormel pepperoni. Looks like some veggie wraps. Maybe a few dips. Hey, can someone pass the salsa with a plastic spoon for serving? Thanks.

Everyone tweets and texts during meetings, even famous people.

We see you, Nasim Pedrad! And obviously Bobby Moynihan since he took the pic.

The truth about Taran Killam and Jay Pharoh

They appear to be the only regular cast members actually working on the script at the table read. And that’s why those guys are putting out some of the show’s best sketches and characters. Hard work, Bustlers. Also Kate McKinnon may or may not be flipping off Bobby Moynihan and she is the best.

Oh, So That Whole “Diversity” Issue...

That looks like a big ‘ol table of white people, mostly white men, to me. But hey, Rome wasn’t built in a day. And post-racial America didn’t happen when Obama was elected. And Sasheer Zamata joining the cast as well as LaKendra Tookes and Leslie Jones joining as writers haven’t “fixed” Saturday Night Live’s long history of non-diversity. Howeverm they are indeed a step in the right direction.