"Lazy Sunday": SNL's First Viral Video Was a Major Moment in the Rise of YouTube
Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone played to their strengths in their wildly successful second SNL digital short.
In the weeks leading up to February 16's three-hour 50th anniversary celebration on NBC, the team behind Saturday Night Live has selected one sketch from every single season — 50 seasons in 50 days — to reflect the show's rich legacy across five decades. Presenting the sketch chosen to represent Season 31: "Lazy Sunday" starring cast members Andy Samberg and Chris Parnell.
On December 17, 2005, SNL and The Lonely Island premiered what's become a piece of internet-culture history.
"Lazy Sunday" was the second video SNL viewers had ever seen from the trio, and it instantly cemented Andy Samberg as a comedy star. It also inspired an entire genre of video-shot joke raps on the show...and on just about every social media platform out there since.
But when Samberg and his Lonely Island cohorts Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone were first making the low-budget digital short, they unsure whether it would be well received at all. Samberg, Schaffer, and Taccone recounted the making of the sketch to Seth Meyers in an April 2024 episode of The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast — in which Schaffer made it clear, "we knew joke raps suck."
"We still do know that, actually," Taccone added dryly.
Here's everything to know about "Lazy Sunday," including its inspiration and lyrics.
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"Lazy Sunday" was based on The Lonely Island's pre-SNL rap videos
"Lazy Sunday" was the second Lonely Island video to air on SNL, but it was the third one they filmed after "Peyote." Producers John Higgins and Mike Shoemaker deemed it too visually similar to immediately follow their very first SNL video — "Lettuce" with Will Forte — so they'd asked Samberg, Taccone, and Schaffer to dream up a new concept for the December 17, 2005 episode.
"Before we got hired, one of the things we had done was make joke raps and make videos for them," Samberg explained in the podcast, adding that videos like "Just 2 Guyz" had always gotten the best viewer response. So while they "certainly didn't think [Lazy Sunday] was going to pop off or anything, at least we were like, 'hey this is kind of cool. We're doing our thing, and maybe it'll work? Who knows!"
Recruiting Chris Parnell based on rap skills he'd showcased on "Weekend Update" feature, Taccone quickly crafted the song's barebones beat in Reason, and they were ready to tape.
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Lazy Sunday opens in Andy Samberg's actual bedroom
The "Lazy Sunday" video starts on the same stoop as "Lettuce" did. "We were pretty much just doing stoop comedy at this point," Schaffer joked on the podcast.
To be fair, the stoop in question was the building Samberg and Schaffer lived in at the time. "That's his real bed in his real bedroom," Taccone said of Samberg's intro shot.
Filming the video included an argument with Magnolia Bakery's staff, who tried to confiscate their tapes (years later they "started sending free Magnolia to our shoots," Schaffer said), and "frapping" in the back of a cab.
"Frapping is a term we've coined for fake rapping," Samberg said on the podcast.
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"Lazy Sunday" introduced The Lonely Island — and SNL fans — to YouTube
"Lazy Sunday" was a literal overnight success — and that was thanks to the fact that fans uploaded it to a fast-growing site that people had only just become aware of: "A site called YouTube, that we hadn't heard of before," Taccone recounted.
YouTube had only officially launched wide that month. No more waiting for a rerun to see your favorite SNL moment again — the idea that someone else had put the video online blew The Lonely Island's minds at the time.
"It was the first time any of us went to YouTube," Schaffer said. "It really was the first time most people went to YouTube.
"It became part of that story of the rise of YouTube," Taccone noted.
And the rest is internet history. Watch "Lazy Sunday" above.
"Lazy Sunday" lyrics by The Lonely Island
Lazy Sunday, wake up in the late afternoon
Call Parnell just to see how he's doin
What up, Parns? / Yo Samberg, what's crackin'
You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'? (Narnia!) Man it's happenin'
But first my hunger pangs are stickin' like duct tape
Let's hit up Magnolia and mack on some cupcakes
No doubt, that bakery's got all the bomb frostings
I love those cupcakes like McAdams loves Gosling
Two, no, six, no, twelve — bakers dozen!
I told you that I'm crazy for these cupcakes, cousin
(Yo where's the movie playin'?) Upper West Side dude
Well let's hit up Yahoo Maps to find the dopest route!
I prefer Mapquest (that's a good one too)
Google Maps is the best (true dat) double true!
68th to Broadway (step on it sucker)
What'cha wanna do Chris? (snack attack motherf---er!)
Hit the Chronic (what?) cles of Narnia
Yes the Chronic (what?) cles of Narnia
We love the Chronic (what?) cles of Narnia
Pass the Chronic (what?) cles of Narnia
Yo stop at the deli, the theater's overpriced
You got the backpack? gonna pack it up nice
(Don't want security to get suspicious!)
Mr. Pibb and Red Vines equals crazy delicious!
Yo reach in my pocket, pull out some dough
Girl acted like she'd never seen a ten befo'
It's all about the Hamiltons, baby
Throw the snacks in the bag (and I'm a Ghost like Swayze)
Ticket buyin', what we're handlin'
You can call us Aaron Burr from the way we're droppin' Hamiltons
Now parked in our seats, movie trivia's the illest
What Friends alum starred in films with Bruce Willis?
We answered so fast it was scary
Everyone stared in awe when we screamed Matthew Perry!
Now quiet in the theater or it's gonna get tragic
We're about to get taken to a dream world of magic
Hit the Chronic (what?) cles of Narnia
Yes the Chronic (what?) cles of Narnia
We love the Chronic (what?) cles of Narnia
Pass the Chronic (what?) cles of Narnia
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It spawned a sequel, "Lazy Sunday 2"
Like many a monster hit, "Lazy Sunday" got a sequel starring Samberg and Parnell in May 2012. It was a sign-off for Samberg, who let the show at the end of Season 37.
