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With the exception of Bill Hader's eagerly anticipated comeback, this SNL 50 show has almost everything. Numerous members of the Saturday Night Live cast from all seasons, including Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Pete Davidson, returned to the Studio 8H stage on February 16th for the show's 50th anniversary special, reenacting some of their most famous roles. There were a few noteworthy omissions, though. One cherished cast member who was absent, in addition to original cast member Dan Aykroyd, was Bill, who appeared frequently on the sketch comedy program from 2005 to 2013.
However, his absence from Weekend Update as famed New York City correspondent Stefon solidified to fans that he would not make an unexpected appearance, even though he did not walk the red carpet.
One fan posted on X, formerly Twitter, that while watching the SNL special, "I just thought I was going to see Bill Hader as Stefon, but no, it's just another Sunday."
"Wow, I guess Bill Hader really isn't going to be on the show," said another fan on social media.
In fact, Stefon hasn't offered his expert advice on the best clubs in New York City for seven years. In 2018, Bill, who worked on the character with former SNL writer John Mulaney and current Update co-anchor Colin Jost, made a comeback to Lorne Michael's venerable program. About two minutes into the sketch, the comedian broke character to laugh out loud while offering his best advice for surviving St. Patrick's Day in the city.
However, Bill recently reprised another SNL character for a Volkswagen commercial, suggesting that he has been thinking back on his time in 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Bill is currently dating comedian Ali Wong. He even got back together with fellow alumni Fred Armisen and Kristen Wiig to bring back “The Californians,” an iconic trio that parodies a soap opera—but with hilarious over-the-top SoCal accents.
Ultimately, the Barry star created innumerable memories on the set of Saturday Night Live. Some of the sketches were a little rougher around the edges, including one that nearly hurt Justin Bieber, but many sketches went off without a hitch.
"'Song for Daddy' was Justin Bieber, and that sketch only went to dress,” Bill told fellow SNL alum Seth Myers in a 2021 episode of Late Night with Seth Myers, “and everything that could possibly go wrong in a sketch went wrong during that sketch."
"I tried to make it, like, a part of the sketch or something," he added, "but I think the set almost fell on Justin Bieber right away." Then I realized that none of the props I had planned to use were present. And it moved—it just went terrible."
