Posted in: NBC, Peacock, TV | Tagged: andy samberg, Hart to Heart, kevin hart, nbc, peacock, saturday night live, snl

Saturday Night Live: Andy Samberg Reflects on SNL Departure Decision

Andy Samberg (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) discussed how he approached his decision to depart Saturday Night Live on Kevin Hart's Hart to Heart.

Andy Samberg will always be grateful for everything Saturday Night Live has done for his career during his seven seasons on the long-running NBC variety series. The actor did return a few more times in uncredited appearances in seasons 38, 41, and 43, and hosted a season 39 episode. His longevity on SNL is only surpassed by his Fox/NBC police procedural sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine as Det. Jake Peralta and his improvisational skills certainly served him well across eight seasons. Samberg appeared on Kevin Hart's Peacock talk series Hart to Heart and broke down his fateful decision to leave SNL.

Andy Samberg on Difficult Decision to Leave Saturday Night Live

"It was a big choice. For me, it was like, I can't actually endure it anymore. But I didn't want to leave," Samberg told the host and comedian. "Physically and emotionally, like I was falling apart in my life." The actor left SNL quietly after the season 37 finale in May 2012 confirming weeks later of his decision. He admitted his first breaking point came after his longtime friends and Lonely Island collaborators Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, who started with the cast member in 2005, left when their writing contracts were up after five years.

Schaffer and Taccone departed to direct movies 20th Century's The Watch (2012) and Rogue's MacGruber (2010), respectively. Lonely Island produced several memorable shorts like "Lazy Sunday," "I'm on a Boat," and the Emmy-winning "Dick in a Box" that paired Samberg with Justin Timberlake. "I was basically left in charge of making the shorts, which I never pretended like I could do without them," Samberg said, revealing other series creative partners couldn't fill the void left by the two. "We made stuff I'm really proud of in those last two years, but there's something about the songs that I can only do with Akiva and Jorm. It's just how it is; we're just a band in that way."

Despite SNL being Samberg's dream, the actor was exploring other ventures like sitcoms where he consulted with alum like Amy Poehler, who went on to star in NBC's Parks and Recreation. "I had talked to Poehler and other people that had already gone. I was like, once I go when I have an idea, I can't just do it," he recalled. "The craziest thing about working there is once you get going, if you're just in the shower and you have an idea that s*** can be on television in three days, which is the most intoxicating feeling." As one of the most popular castmates, SNL was reluctant to see Samberg go. "They told me straight up, 'We prefer you would stay,' and I was like, oh, that makes it harder," he said. "But I just was like, I think to get back to a feeling of like mental and physical health, I have to do it. So I did it, and it was a very difficult choice." For more on Samberg's thoughts on his career since SNL, you can check out the full interview on Peacock.

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