The Lonely Island Returns on 'SNL' With New Song

Viewers saw the unexpected return of the 'SNL' Digital Short banner.

By John Connor Coulston

Saturday Night Live viewers got an unexpected treat during the latest episode: The Lonely Island. The comedy group (Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone) broke out on the NBC sketch comedy series during Samberg's time as a cast member, often airing comedic hip-hop videos. The group re-emerged on-screen for the first time since 2019 to share a new song during Saturday's episode.

The song in question was the crude but hilarious "Sushi Glory Hole." Samberg and Schaffer were in character as businessmen pitching an idea to investors: an app where you could locate bathroom stalls that would serve you sushi through a hole. The duo repeatedly had to clarify that it was "not weird" and in no way sexual.

The music video featured a lot of SNL favorites. Maya Rudolph, Kenan Thompson and Bowen Yang played the Shark Tank-like panel the duo pitched to. Cast members including James Austin Johnson and Chloe Fineman were shown as customers of the risqué sushi business.

Taccone was not shown in the video; it is unclear if he played a role behind the scenes in the production of the song and/or video.

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Though they've worked on comedy projects together in recent years, "Sushi Glory Hole" is the group's first musical effort since their Netflix special The Lonely Island Presents: The Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience. That 2019 project was a send-up of controversial MLB legends Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire. As far as SNL appearances, this was the group's first song on the NBC show since Season 41, when they aired a music video taken from their movie Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.

Samberg has popped up in both SNL Season 50 episodes so far. As the show skewers the 2024 election, he's been playing Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris. It's unclear if more Lonely Island sketches are on the way throughout the remainder of Season 50.

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