Saturday Night Live may be seen as the pinnacle of comedy in Hollywood, but Pete Davidson and Jason Sudeikis have revealed that the seemingly glamorous gig doesn’t necessarily come with a huge paycheck.
The SNL alums revealed as much during an interview with New York Magazine where they and several other comedians from the show were asked what their first big purchase was after receiving their first earnings from SNL.
Davidson had an incredulous reaction to the question.
“Do you guys know what they pay us?” he replied. “It’s like three grand an episode, so I think I got dinner.”
Davidson was the youngest comedian to join the show when he was cast at the age of 19 in 2014. He later left the show in 2022.
Sudeikis’ response was along similar lines.
“I mean, you don’t really make enough money to make big purchases,” he pointed out, though he didn’t go into as much detail as Davidson. “So, I think New York rent was probably the biggest purchase I made after writing on SNL the first year.”
While some stars spent their earnings on something a little more glamorous — like Sarah Silverman, who purchased a $300 cashmere sweater with her first paycheck — Seth Meyers and several other SNL alumni revealed that they bought new furniture with their first paychecks.
“I got like a really big couch and then I went to Best Buy and I got a really big TV,” Meyers said.
Cheri Oteri also said she bought a couch with her earnings, which she still owns to this day. “I have gotten it reupholstered three or four times,” she said. “I remember a designer coming over in tears and he goes, ‘Oh, those arms are too high. We’re going to get rid of that couch.’ I said, ‘Oh no. No, you’re not. Not today, Satan!’”
Julia Louis Dreyfus, who was part of the SNL cast from 1982 to 1984, admitted, “I bought a pair of shoes that were out of my budget.” She said the shoes were around $75.
It is great to see all of these SNL stars in one place. There will likely be a major cast reunion to mark the show’s 50th season celebration, which will air Feb. 16 from 8 to 11 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.
There’s no telling who will be making an appearance, but Meyers has already confirmed that Lorne Michaels reached out to him to see if he was available.