Michael Longfellow made his debut in the first episode of Saturday Night Live’s 48th season with a stop at the “Weekend Update” desk on Saturday, October 1. The comedian made jokes at the desk about spending time with anti-vax relatives and having a family member who supports former President Donald Trump. “You shouldn’t cut anti-vax people out of your life. They could be dead tomorrow. Spend time with them, call them, get in the will,” he quipped.
After Colin Jost mentioned Trump-supporting family members, Michael had a hilarious joke about confronting his dad. “When I found out my dad was voting for Trump, I sat him down, and I told him, ‘Hey, if you keep going down this path, I might have to pay for my own car insurance next year,'” he joked.
Big changes are coming to Saturday Night Live for its 48th season. Several cast members including Kate McKinnon, Pete Davidson, and Aidy Bryant have left the show, which means it’s time to welcome a slew of rising comedians to Studio 8H. The NBC show announced the new additions, including Michael, on Sept. 15. Michael is one of four new featured players alongside Molly Kearney, Marcello Hernandez, and Devon Walker.
So, who is Michael Longfellow? Get to know one of the newest stars of SNL below!
1. Michael is a standup comedian.
Michael visits comedy festivals and comedy clubs around the world to perform his stand up comedy shows. This summer, he visited Indianapolis (Indiana), Madison (Wisconsin), West Jordan (Utah), and more cities on his comedy tour. He’s set to visit Seattle, Portland, Phoenix, Houston, and more later this year before his final shows of 2022 in Vancouver, Canada, according to his website.
2. He’s from Arizona
Michael was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. He eventually moved to Los Angeles, where he pursued a career in comedy. He’s currently based in LA but travels a lot for his job.
3. He was featured in a Netflix special.
Michael was one of eight comedians chosen for Netflix’s Introducing… at the Netflix Is A Joke Fest in early 2022. His 7-minute segment featured a plethora of hilarious jokes that the audience loved. He was the fifth rising comedian to be featured in the standup showcase, hosted by Mo Amer.
4. He competed on a reality show.
Michael was a contestant on the NBC competition series Bring the Funny which aired in 2019. Hosted by Amanda Seales, the show featured comedy acts performing in front of audiences to win $250,000. Michael was eliminated in Week 9 and came in 7th place. Ironically, one of the judges was Kenan Thompson, who Michael will work with on SNL.
5. He was recognized at the 2017 NY Comedy Festival.
Michael was selected as one of TBS’s “Comics to Watch” at the 2017 New York Comedy Festival. He went on to make his late-night debut on CONAN the following year. He did a 5-minute skit where he cracked jokes about having an 82-year-old roommate.