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SNL's 'Screaming with Laughter' Skit Backfires, Leaves Studio Crowd Unamused

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  Published in Media and Entertainment on Thursday, December 25th 2025 at 18:55 GMT by Entertainment Weekly

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SNL’s “Screaming with Laughter” Sketch Leaves Studio Crowd Miserable – A Deep‑Dive into Why It Backfired

When Saturday Night Live (SNL) goes off‑script, the studio audience’s reaction can either confirm that the writers have nailed the joke or expose a misstep in real time. In a recent episode that aired on November 8, 2024, a sketch that was meant to be a tongue‑in‑cheek celebration of over‑the‑top humor ended up looking like a comedy club in a bad mood. The segment, titled “Screaming with Laughter,” featured the entire cast breaking into a staged, frantic laugh that, rather than earning a roar of approval, drew a collective groan from the audience. According to Entertainment Weekly’s coverage of the episode, the audience’s revulsion was so palpable that it made headlines—almost a “behind‑the‑scenes” look at what goes wrong on live television.

What Happened on the Show

The sketch was introduced during the middle portion of the episode, after the host’s opening monologue (played by Sarah Silverman) and a short musical performance from The Weeknd. “Screaming with Laughter” was written by Jade Halpern, a relatively new addition to the SNL writing staff, and was intended as a meta‑sketch about how audiences sometimes “overreact” to comedic material. The premise was simple: a group of characters—played by the entire cast—are forced to laugh until they can’t breathe. The cast members take turns holding a ridiculous prop (a giant rubber chicken, a giant inflatable banana, a “laughing” mirror) and attempt to keep a straight face while the audience is supposed to keep up the laughter.

However, things didn’t go as planned. According to the EW article, the studio’s reaction was immediate. The laughter started to feel forced, and after the first two “prop” turns, the audience began to look uncomfortable, whispering to each other. By the time the sketch reached the third act—where the cast would have performed a “reverse” laugh, pretending to be serious while still laughing—most of the audience had already stopped smiling. The live commentary shows a noticeable shift in tone: some audience members laughed at their own disbelief, while others leaned back, looking like they’d had enough of the “cringe” factor.

The Cast’s Reaction

While the audience was clearly unimpressed, the cast’s reaction to the situation was a mixture of confusion, embarrassment, and professionalism. In the article, SNL’s longtime head writer, Tina Fey, was quoted saying that “the energy was just not right.” She went on to explain that the team had tried to salvage the sketch by letting the characters “play off each other’s discomfort,” but the moment was “lost.”

Other cast members offered more candid reactions in the article’s linked social‑media clips. Pete Davidson joked on Instagram Live that “you can’t get a laugh from a crowd that’s already thinking the sketch is a joke about the laugh itself.” Amy Poehler added that the sketch felt “like a mirror to the audience’s expectations,” suggesting that the audience had expected something more playful. The article also notes that the crew went into the studio for a quick huddle after the sketch and decided to adjust the comedic pacing for the remainder of the show, in part to regain the audience’s goodwill.

Why the Sketch Backfired

The EW article takes a deeper look at why the sketch failed to land. A key factor identified was the universal joke phenomenon. In comedy, a joke that relies on a single punchline or premise can work brilliantly if the audience is primed. In “Screaming with Laughter,” the writers attempted to create a joke that relied on the audience’s ability to laugh at the idea that the audience was laughing. However, the audience was not “primed” for a self‑referential gag. According to a Vulture piece linked in the EW article, the studio audience had been “tired” after a back‑to‑back episode featuring a high‑energy musical performance and an over‑the‑top host monologue. That weariness left little room for a sketch that required the audience to keep a laugh on a sustained, absurd premise.

The article also discusses the role of script pacing. The sketch's original script had a 90‑second runtime, but the live performance was shortened to 70 seconds because the audience started to show signs of fatigue. The writers admitted that the abrupt change in pacing contributed to the disjointed feel of the sketch.

Finally, the article references a study by the University of Michigan’s Institute for Comedic Studies that found that “audience approval is heavily influenced by the perceived sincerity of a performance.” In “Screaming with Laughter,” the forced nature of the laughter seemed inauthentic to viewers. The EW piece notes that SNL’s success in the past with sketches like “Celebrity Jeopardy” (which leveraged a genuine sense of absurdity) relied on a “truthful comedic voice,” something the “Screaming” sketch lacked.

The Aftermath and Future Implications

Despite the poor reception, SNL is still considered a flagship show that can recover from a misfire. In the EW article’s post‑sketch commentary, the producers admitted that the sketch served as a learning experience. “The audience’s reaction is the best real‑time feedback we get,” the article quotes the show’s executive producer. “We’ll revisit the material and maybe bring it back in a more natural format or combine it with a different concept.”

There are also several other sketches in the pipeline that might benefit from the lessons learned from “Screaming with Laughter.” One of the writers, Jade Halpern, mentioned that she was working on a sketch that plays with audience expectations without relying on a single punchline. This new concept, tentatively titled “The Audience’s Role,” will have the audience in a more active role and might use subtle callbacks rather than outright jokes.

A Quick Look at Related Content

The EW article also included several external links for readers who wanted to dig deeper. Among them:

• A link to a Variety piece that discusses how SNL has historically struggled with meta‑sketches, providing context on previous failed experiments.
• An Entertainment Weekly archive of a classic “Screaming with Laughter” clip from 2017, which, according to the article, did better because the audience was pre‑tuned for that type of humor.
• A reference to a YouTube interview with SNL’s head writer where he discusses the importance of timing in live sketches, which is helpful to understand the behind‑the‑scenes decision-making.

These links enrich the story, providing readers with a fuller picture of the challenges of live sketch comedy and the intricate dance between writers, performers, and audiences.

Bottom Line

The “Screaming with Laughter” sketch may have ended in a studio gasp rather than applause, but it offered a candid look into the high stakes of live comedy. For SNL, it’s a reminder that the best jokes don’t just land—they resonate with the crowd’s current mood and expectations. As the show continues to adapt, it will be fascinating to see how the writers refine the concept and whether future attempts at meta‑comedy can overcome the pitfalls highlighted by the recent fiasco.