‘SNL’ Stars Revive Classic Holiday Sketch With Samuel L. Jackson

Just in time for the holidays, two former Saturday Night Live cast members have brought back one of their most famous sketches for a Capital One ad.

Ana Gasteyer and Molly Shannon, who were prominent on the variety show in the 1990s and early 2000s, reprised their roles as Margaret Jo McCullin and Terry Rialto, respectively. They’re the hosts of the fictional NPR show Delicious Dish, and they’re known for their dry, almost deadpan delivery of double entendre appreciations of their guests’ unfortunately-named treats.

The new ad was unveiled via a Today Show segment, linked below. The clip finds Margaret Jo and Terry sitting down with Capital One spokesperson Samuel L. Jackson, who has whipped up some “sweet buttery buns” for the ladies to try.

“You have a really great set of buns, Sam,” Gasteyer says in her hilariously monotone voice.

It’s a much tamer snack this time around, given that the medium is a national television commercial and not SNL, where the jokes tend to be a little more dirty. In the past, the radio hosts have snacked on Florence Dusty’s Dusty Muffin, served up by Betty White, and most famously, Schweddy Balls, created by chef Pete Schweddy (Alec Baldwin).

Gasteyer conceived Delicious Dish during her time at the improv comedy company The Groundlings in Los Angeles. When she was hired for SNL, she took the sketch with her, adding Shannon into the mix once there. It was based on two actual public radio programs, The Splendid Table – whose tagline is “the radio show for people who love to eat” – and a program called Good Food on L.A.’s KCRW.

The Most Infamous Delicious Dish Sketch Almost Didn’t Happen

The “Schweddy Balls” sketch is highly regarded as one of SNL‘s finest moments, appearing on numerous best-of lists across the web. Its popularity even inspired Ben and Jerry, who put out a Schweddy Balls flavored ice cream. It’s also particularly popular around Christmas, given that it’s a holiday-themed sketch. But according to Gasteyer, if network censors had their way, “Schweddy Balls” would have been buried in that night’s episode.

These days, social media and YouTube allow for just about any sketch to go viral, but when “Schweddy Balls” first aired in 1998, stronger sketches were placed earlier in the show when viewership was presumably at its peak. As Gasteyer told Entertainment Weekly, it was Lorne Michaels that saved “Schweddy Balls” from fading into obscurity:

Lorne very graciously fought for ‘Schweddy Balls…’ Standards and practices did not want to put it right at the top of the show. [Traditionally], racier content will play after midnight. I don’t know if that’s still the case. But [Michaels] so correctly understood that the characters were naive to the usage of the word ‘balls’ that he fought really hard and successfully to have it air before midnight, which I really appreciated. He always goes to the mat for work that deserves it. So that’s a huge honor.

Watch the new Capital One ad featuring Gasteyer, Shannon, and Jackson below.