Stefon: 4 Reasons Why He’s Such a Lovable Character on SNL

Stefon returned to Saturday Night Live this weekend after being gone for over a year.

When Bill Hader decided to leave the Saturday Night Live cast back in 2013, many fans and critics were saddened because the news meant that Stefon would be leaving as well.

There is just something about this particular character that makes SNL viewers get so excited!

Here are four reasons why Stefon is such a popular character on Saturday Night Live.

1. He is not a comical character, but we laugh at him anyway. Many of the other characters featured on Weekend Update are designed to be comical – delivering punchline after punchline, hoping to get a laugh from the audience. Stefon is not like that. Stefon was designed to just deliver his lines straight (or as straight as Stefon can be) without any actual punchlines. It’s the delivery of his lines overall as well as his quirky, physical mannerisms that get the most laughs.
2. Everyone has (or wants) a friend that is just like Stefon. Everyone has someone within their tight circle of friends and family that is a lot like Stefon – obnoxiously blunt, eccentric yet very resourceful. They might do things that make your skin crawl, but they seem to always know everything that is going on anytime and anywhere. If you don’t already have a friend like Stefon, chances are that you want one.
3. He guarantees laughs during the Weekend Update segment. There are some weeks where Weekend Update is not very funny at all. With the recent decline in popularity caused by the new Weekend Update anchors, Saturday Night Live desperately needed a guaranteed pick-me-up for this part of the show. Even back when Seth Meyers ran the Weekend Update desk alone, Stefon seemed to continuously bring guaranteed laughs with his act every single time.
4. Bill Hader cracks every single time he is Stefon. Over the eight years that Bill Hader was on Saturday Night Live, he was not known for cracking or breaking character very often. If anything, Hader was very skilled at causing other SNL actors and actresses to break character during a sketch. However, thanks to those lovely cue cards and a mischievous writing staff, Bill Hader is almost guaranteed to crack at least once when he is Stefon. However, his breaking of character is almost a surefire signal that whatever he is about to say next (or just finished saying) was absolutely hilarious.

Do you agree with these four reasons? Do you love Stefon? If not, why not?