Now a household name thanks toI Think You Should Leave, Tim Robinson was previously a relatively unknown cast member and writer onSNL, but all things considered, he’s found the right role for himself. There have now been50 seasons and counting ofSaturday Night Live, and countless writers and cast members have made their way through the doors of 30 Rockefeller Plaza in that time. Some members have stuck around for years, while someSNLcast members don’t make it very long at all. Others jump from writing to the cast or vice versa.
It’s hard to guess how well a comedic talent will adjust toSNL. Some incredibly gifted performers have not lasted long and every fan has that one cast member that they can’t believe is still hanging around. For whatever reason, somevery talented performers are made onSNLwhile others need to leave before audiences “get” them. Tim Robinson falls in the latter category. The star and creator of theabsurdly funnyI Think You Should Leavehad a surprisingly short stint on the show, butmaybe it was his leaving that allowed him to fulfill his potential.
Tim Robinson’s Early Career And Introduction On SNL
Robinson First Appeared As A Featured Player In Season 38
Tim Robinson began his career touring with Second City Detroit, in his hometown, before moving on to the Second City Chicago troupe, which is more or less the feeder team forSaturday Night Live. He was quickly noticed bySNLtalent scouts, whoinvited him to be a featured performer forSNLseason 38, the first season after Kristen Wiig, Andy Samberg, and Abby Elliott departed the cast. He was joined by other newcomers, Aidy Bryant and Cecily Strong. That year, Vanessa Bayer, Taran Killam, and Jay Pharoah were all elevated to repertory players.
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Robinson struggled to make an impression his first year, not entirely unusual for new cast members as they find their way. The legendary Aidy Bryant even had an unremarkable debut year. Robinson always felt slightly out of place in his sketches. His loud, strained voice that is so hilarious onITYSLdoesn’t always translate to live TV. There were a few notable exceptions, however. “Roundball Rock” has become a cult favorite, featuring Jason Sudeikis and Robinson as John and Dave Tesh, the creators of the famed NBC NBA theme song, who think the song could use some lyrics.
Vanessa Bayer, Cecily Strong, and Andy Samberg have all appeared onI Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson.
His sketch “Z-Shirt” is another winner by Robinson that allows him to play the exhausted, undermined character trying to keep it together that he’s known so well for. He and host Kevin Hart show off their new “Z-Shirts”, but not before Hart goes through every letter of the alphabet. Even here, though,Robinson has to play a much more subdued character than the kind he would become known for. There are plenty of zany and over-the-top performances onSNL, but Robinson had trouble marrying the live theater aspects with the unrestrained nature of the characters he was trying to play.
His Move To Writer On Saturday Night Live Was A Good Decision
Tim Robinson And Zach Kanin Met Each Other In The SNL Writing Room
Robinson only lasted one season as a featured player, but that doesn’t mean he leftSNL. He instead became a writer on the show for the next three seasons. The announcement came in September 2013, but no reason was given (viaNYT). From the way Robinson talks about the movie, it sounds like it was not his decision (viaHourDetroit),
“The first year was really hard. And it shook my confidence, the most anything’s ever shaken my confidence in comedy. I felt lost. And then when they took me out of the cast and made me a writer, I just worked really hard.”
Robinson did not let his move off the cast get him down, and he instead used the pressure to help improve his writing. He found his time as a writer onSNLmuch more freeing. If his skits bombed, no one would know because he wouldn’t be performing in them. It was as a writer thatRobinson got to showcase his unique sensibilities without worrying about how he would have to perform.
38
2012-13
39
2013-14
40
2014-15
41
2015-16
Writing Staff
SNLdoesn’t always reveal the writers behind sketches, so it can be tough to determine exactly what sketches Robinson penned. It is known that Robinson met his futureI Think You Should Leaveco-creator Zach Kanin in theSNLwriting room. Robinson said about the pair,
“We just have a very similar sensibility. And we’re completely aligned on what we think is funny. When we’re working on something and we find something we both like, there is definitely a giddiness and a lot of laughing.”
There are at least twoSNLsketches that feel like they were definitely written by Robinson and possibly Kanin as well. The first is “First Impression” from season 44, episode 8, hosted by Jason Momoa. Robinson is credited as a writer on that episode. The sketch features Beck Bennett preparing to meet his girlfriend’s (Melissa Villaseñor) parents (Jason Momoa and Heidi Gardner) for the first time. He decides to create an elaborate hide-and-seek game instead of greeting them. Bennett’s refusal to accept the weirdness of the situation is veryITYSL-coded.
Another possible Robinson sketch comes in season 42, episode 21, hosted by Dwayne Johnson. Again, Robinson is credited as a guest writer in the episode, which features “Enhancement Drug”. The sketch focuses on a character played by Johnson doing a voiceover in a drug commercial for Xentrex. The Rock’s voice-over becomes increasingly unhinged as it’s revealed Xentrex is actually a black-market drug. It feels veryTim Robinson-esque with the escalating voiceovers and commercial marketing that doesn’t stop even when the skit dissolves into chaos.
Tim Robinson’s Brand Of Comedy Works Best When He’s In Control
Robinson Needs Room To Be Explosive
Tim Robinson (and Kanin) leftSNLafter season 41 and the pair, along with Robinson’s long-time friend and collaborator Sam Richardson, got working onDetroiters, an early testing ground for Robinson’sI Think You Should Leave-style comedy and a dramatically underrated series that far too few people watched. Only two years after the premiere ofDetroiters, the same creative team producedI Think You Should Leave, an absurdist comedy sketch show that is arguably one of the funniest TV shows or movies to come out in the last decade.
The seeds of what Robinson could do were present in his time atSNL, but it wasn’t until he left the late-night sketch show that he really got to be himself.
The seeds of what Robinson could do were present in his time atSNL, but it wasn’t until he left the late-night sketch show that he really got to be himself. He was on a leash onSNL, and not becauseSNLstifles creativity. As much as people want to complain that the newSNLis terrible,it still consistently produces memorable, weird, and funny moments. Robinson was on a bit of a leash because the format ofSNLrestricted his exact type of humor.
Robinson needs every frame in a scene. Each character is critical, and the camera has to linger. That’s impossible with rapid-fireSNL-style comedy. Music cues are huge inITYSL, as are sound effects. The song that plays over Tim and his P.O.S. buddies shaking champagne on the beach, the odd gear-grinding noise when Robinson meets Stewart’s (Bennett) other friends at lunch, the quick aside from a man in the hot dog sketch when Robinson suggests someone needs to spank him, “well one of us is gonna have to do it,” these aren’t easily replicated on live-TV, even with pre-taped sketches.
There hasn’t been a show likeI Think You Should Leavein a while, and there hasn’t been a performer like Tim Robinson in a long time either. While his time onSNLmay be looked back on as a bit of a disappointment, it’s his efforts on the show that gave him the confidence, the connections, and the skills to produce something truly memorable.
Saturday Night Live
Cast
Saturday Night Live is a live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels, premiering in 1975. It features comedy sketches parodying contemporary culture and politics, performed by a rotating cast. Each episode is hosted by a celebrity guest and includes musical performances.
