Comic Nate Bargatze Joked That He’s Not ‘Famous Enough’ To Host ‘SNL’

SNL may be back now that the WGA strike is over, but that doesn’t mean things are back to normal yet. There’s still another strike, involving SAG-AFTRA, that’s yet to be resolved. That means shows shows can’t bring on guests or hosts to promote new shows or movies. That’s not to say the strike is the only reason this weekend’s SNL has tapped Nate Bargatze as host. He’s a super popular comic, with a hit special on Amazon Prime! He sells out big arenas! Still, even he’s joking that maybe he’s not big enough for the show that once touted their “Not Yet Ready For Prime Time Players.”

Per The Daily Beast, Bargatze went on Late Night — which is, of course, hosted by an SNL alum — to talk about how it’s been going prepping for Saturday’s big show.

“It’s insane, dude,” Bargatze told former Weekend Update host Seth Meyers. “It’s almost like when they asked, you’re like, I don’t know if I’m famous enough to do that.” He even cracked wise about nearly turning down their offer. “I appreciate it, but there’s some other people I think y’all should go after.”

But Bargatze agreed and here we are. He pinpointed the moment when he knew his SNL hosting gig was really “happening.” It was when they called him up Sunday to talk about sketch ideas. Still, he’s worried that there will be a time when they say, “‘We’re not gonna to air this,’ like I’m just some trial show where they wanted to make sure the cameras worked.”

Joining Bargatze on the show will be musical guests The Foo Fighters, which prompted Bargatze to joke that they’ll be the main focus of the episode. “It’s gonna be all Dave Grohl in every sketch,” he joked. “I’m just kind of on the show.”

You can watch Bargatze’s self-deprecating Late Night appearance in the video above.