Tina Fey: Even Will Ferrell's jokes bombed!

Tina Fey recently shared insights into the unpredictable nature of comedy, noting that every success is often preceded by failures. Speaking on the New Heights podcast, Fey, a veteran of Saturday Night Live, recalled a particularly memorable instance where a sketch starring Will Ferrell, intended to be about a character resembling Gabe Kaplan, completely failed to land.

Fey described the sketch as exceptionally funny during the table read. However, during dress rehearsal, the audience did not grasp the resemblance to the 'Welcome Back, Kotter' star, leading to zero laughs. This experience of the sketch bombing and being pulled from air served as a reassuring reminder for Fey that even immensely popular performers like Ferrell could face such public setbacks.

Will Ferrell himself has spoken about this sketch, famously telling Andy Cohen that it 'got zero laughs.' Years later, Seth Meyers offered Ferrell a chance to revisit cut material on 'Late Night,' where the sketch was performed again. Despite the revised performance, Ferrell humorously noted its resemblance to a 'novice college improv troupe,' with a modern audience less familiar with Gabe Kaplan.