Conan O'Brien credits Adam Sandler with bringing fun back to SNL after 'life or death' era: 'You ...

The former latenight host previously said that he was &34;way too intense&34; when he worked at &34;SNL.&34; Conan O'Brien credits Adam Sandler with bringing fu

The former late-night host previously said that he was "way too intense" when he worked at "SNL."

Conan O'Brien credits Adam Sandler with bringing fun back to SNL after 'life or death' era: 'You can like this?'

The former late-night host previously said that he was "way too intense" when he worked at "SNL."

By Daysia Tolentino

Published on July 30, 2025 07:00AM EDT

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Conan O'Brien and Adam Sandler attend an event in 2020. Credit:

Michael Kovac/Getty

Conan O'Brien says Adam Sandler brought the enjoyment back to *Saturday Night Live* the moment he started working on the show.

On a recent episode of *Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend*, fellow *SNL *alum Andy Samberg remarked that O'Brien was in the last "intense and gritty" generation of the show, before asking the former talk show host if he felt like the show's culture was competitive.

"I was in that state of mind, and I think, you know, [Robert] Smigel and [Bob] Odenkirk and Greg Daniels were like, 'It's life or death,'" O'Brien said. "And it feels like that's kind of how everyone feels."

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O'Brien was a writer on *SNL *from 1988 to 1991. He credits Sandler, who joined the show as a writer in 1990, with bringing fun back to the program. The *Happy Gilmore 2 *actor became a cast member in 1991 and left the show in 1995.**

The former *Late Night* host said that Sandler would burst into the writers' room with countless character ideas and outrageous energy — as well as frequent suggestions to get milkshakes. O'Brien added that the *Uncut Gems* star outwardly expressed how much he loved being on the show.

"He was like, 'This is so much fun to be at *SNL*. Oh, I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it. Yippee!' And he had that, 'I'm going to do Opera Man. I'm going to do this. I'm going to do that. This is great, guys!'" recalled O'Brien, who remembered thinking at the time: "This is a possibility? You can like this?"**

Adam Sandler sings during "Weekend Update" on 'Saturday Night Live' in 1994.

Alan Singer/NBCU Photo Bank

O'Brien has said in the past that he regretted being "too intense" while working at *SNL*. He shared on his podcast that he had left after feeling burnt out.

"I think I robbed myself of some fun that I could have had," he said. "I did have a lot of fun, but I think I could have had more fun. And I think I could have maybe written there a little longer if I didn't make it such a grind for myself."

His peer, Bob Odenkirk, who wrote on *SNL *from 1987 to 1991, recently reflected on his own time on the show.

"I was too hard on the show," he said. "I had a lot of attitude when I got hired there, like, 'This show could be better, this show could be *Monty Python*, this should be more cutting edge, this should be more dangerous.' And I was frustrated by it not representing purely my point of view. I wanted it to be me, *my* show."

Check out the entire episode of *Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend *with Andy Samberg below.

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