'SNL' Viewers Disappointed Bill Hader’s Stefon Did Not Appear

Saturday Night Live fans felt certain that a Stefon skit was coming this weekend, and when it did [...]

By Michael Hein

Saturday Night Live fans felt certain that a Stefon skit was coming this weekend, and when it did not they were sorely disappointed.

SNL has always relied on recurring characters to drive its sketches, going back to the show's earliest days. This week, when Bill Hader took the stage during the cold open, many fans thought he would reprise his classic character Stefon at some point in the night. To their dismay, he did not.

Fans had reason to believe that Stefon could make an appearance. Not only did Hader make a surprise visit, but this week's host was John Mulaney. Mulaney is a former writer for SNL who co-created Stefon in his years on the show. With the two back together it would make sense for Stefon to roll out on Weekend Update or somewhere else in the show, but he did not.

The duo even brought back Stefon last year, in an episode when Hader was the host. The comedian had a hard time keeping a straight face in his old character, as he gave entertainment recomendations for St. Patrick's Day weekend. Mulaney joined the skit as Stefon's lawyer, Shy.

This time around, Hader joined the show for some more casual roles. In the cold open, he played Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan, who featured heavily in the congressional hearing of Michael Cohen last week. Hader did an exaggerated version of Jordan's angry cross examination, repeatedly contradicting himself in the process.

After that, he hosted a game show skit called "What's That Name," in which he offered contestants a huge sum if they could remember the names of people they had met. Hader's expressive comportion was a welcome addition to the already star-studded episode, but many still mourned the missing Stefon.

"Bill Hader and John Mulaney on an episode of SNL and no Stefon??? New York's hottest club is 'betrayal,'" one fan joked on Twitter.

Fans were especially upset because SNL tweeted a Stefon GIF earlier in the week, which some took as a hint of his appearance on the show.

"So... these b—s are gonna put Bill on the show... Promo with past Stefon GIFs.... and then NOT HAVE STEFON ON WEEKEND UPDATE?" one person tweeted. "F— SNL LIVES!"

Even without Stefon, it was a great week for SNL, especially after taking last weekend off. The show airs every weekend at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

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