Why Andy Samberg Left SNL

2005 to 2012 was very much a golden era for "Saturday Night Live" (or An Golden Era, as some might say), and a big part of that can be credited to Andy Samberg. He and his "Lonely Island" crew, made up of Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, brought the show into the digital age. They made digital shorts a cornerstone of modern "SNL," and they've cursed the new "Please Don't Destroy" trio to forever live in their shadow.

While Samberg was most famous for his digital material, he still showed up constantly in live sketches throughout his tenure. My personal favorite is his Larry the Goose, a "Weekend Update" recurring character who doesn't think the Miracle on the Hudson in 2009 was a miracle at all:

But despite Samberg being such an important cast member during his seven seasons on the show, in 2012 he officially called it quits. He departed at the end of season 37, a year after his fellow "Lonely Island" members Schaffer and Taccone left the show. "Saturday Night Live" fans may have missed his Mark Wahlberg impressions and his Laser Cats escapades, but ultimately they couldn't blame him for leaving. Seven seasons is a respectable tenure for any "SNL" cast members. Outside of Kenan Thompson, most cast members don't stick around that long. 

But Samberg's departure had less to do with tradition and more to do with his mental health: "For me, it was like I can't actually endure it anymore," Samberg explained in a 2024 interview. "Physically and emotionally. I was falling apart in my life. ... It's basically like four days a week you're not sleeping, for seven years. I just kind of fell apart physically."

Samberg noted that nobody on the show was surprised when he explained why he was leaving. As he explained: "Everyone was like, 'Oh, same.' No one was like, 'What?' Everyone was like, 'Oh, yes, this is just what happens.' Like, you hit a wall. We're not built to operate that way."

Bill Hader, who was cast on "SNL" the same year as Samberg and stayed one year after him, has expressed similar sentiments. "When I was on 'SNL,' I was a bit of a basket case," Hader told Variety in 2019. "It could not have been easy on my wife at the time. I was so consumed with work and anxiety. Sometimes I felt like people thought, 'Oh, he's just wanting attention or something.' It was like, 'No, man, I'm legit. I'm freaking out right now.'"

In the show's 50th anniversary special this year, Samberg even made a whole music video about how "everyone" at "Saturday Night Live" has anxiety, and how basically every week on the show is a nonstop struggle with IBS for the cast and crew. It seems like the only one on "SNL" who doesn't have anxiety is Kenan Thompson, who's comfortably sailing into his 23rd season without breaking a sweat. 

While some "Saturdat Night Live" cast members fade into obscurity when they leave the series, Andy Samberg has stayed relevant. Throughout the late 2010s he was best known for his lead role of Jake Peralta on "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," a Michael Schur-created sitcom that went on for eight seasons despite spotty ratings. His Peralta performance proved that Samberg could handle dramatic material; season 5's "The Box" was so memorable because it was so grounded and intense. It's hard to believe the guy behind "D**k in a Box" could pull off an interrogation scene this riveting.

Admittedly, not all of Samberg's post-"SNL" projects have been a huge success. His 2016 film "Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping," drew mediocre results at the box office despite its positive critical response. Luckily the movie has experienced a bit of a resurgence in recent months, thanks in part to it joining Netflix's library, and also the growing popularity of "The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers" podcast. People today feel much more nostalgic for "The Lonely Island" than they did in 2016, so they're more willing to give "Popstar" the chance it always deserved. 

Today, Samberg looks back on his "SNL" time fondly, even if he can't always remember it that well. It's a running joke on the "Lonely Island and Seth Meyers" podcast that he forgets so many of the details of the shorts and sketches he made, even if the details are so bizarre you'd think they'd be impossible to forget. So much was going on at "SNL" each week that it was impossible for Samberg to remember everything, let alone stave off the burnout. We wish he could've stayed on longer, but the more we learn about the demanding behind-the-scenes "SNL" production schedule, we're just glad he held out as long as he could.