Ego Nwodim shares some “truth” about the “not so secret” enabling method Saturday night live proceed as smoothly as possible.
“It’s written, our show. We read the signs,” the actress promoting her new series Peacock Mr. Returnspeaks exclusively to PEOPLE. “People always think, ‘They’re reading maps.’ Guys, we should be reading the cards live, these skits are changing by the time we put them up.”
“For example, ‘Lisa from Temecula’ [sketch]first, there’s a whole section of that sketch that was removed minutes before we set it,” she revealed. “The writers didn’t even have a chance to find me to tell me it was removed.”
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From Nwodim’s perspective, “We have to rely on the cards. We would be doing ourselves and the show and the sketches a disservice if we didn’t actually use their cards,” she says.
“It’s just, every once in a while I’ll see something like, ‘They’re on the cards,'” she adds. “We should be. We have to. It’s live. It changes at the last minute, and some people can’t tell us the change before.”
Nwodim, 36, also shared some additional insight into the inner workings of the iconic “Lisa from Temecula” sketch, which features its title character aggressively cutting a steak to hilarious results. “That was a real steak. I mean, it’s hard to cut a steak, but it’s even harder to cut an extra, extra, extra well done steak,” she shares.
(L-R) Bowen Yang, Molly Kearney, host Pedro Pascal, Ego Nwodim as Lisa from Temecula and Punkie Johnson during a Lisa from Temecula skit on Saturday, February 4, 2023.
Will Heath/NBC/Getty
Saturday night live is gearing up to premiere its landmark 50th season on Saturday, September 28. Teasing what fans can expect after watching, Nwodim says the producers of the NBC series “have been working hard since last year.”
“It’s going to be like your dream wedding. Like it’s Dad’s 50th birthday party or something,” she says. “I think it’s going to be really special. What I can say is that they’re going all out and they’re really meticulous and thoughtful about who they’re going to show up. And so, I know they’re really excited.”
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Besides that Saturday night livefans can also catch Nwodim performing alongside Stephen “Steph” Curry and Adam Pally on the Peacock Mr. Returnwhich involves a souvenir seller (Pally) hoping to reconcile with his former high school basketball teammate who is now an NBA legend (Curry).
“There was so much play behind the scenes and so much laughter between takes. It was such a joyous experience, such good vibes, such good energy throughout the shoot… We improvised and played off each other. It was a really good time and I think that look,” she adds.
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Season 50 of Saturday night live premieres Saturday, September 28 at 11:30 PM ET on NBC. Mr. Return now streaming in full on Peacock.
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Source: HIS Education