Who could have predicted that 2022’s comedy scene would be partially anchored by two of the most legendary (read as: oldest) talents in Hollywood? Well, Steve Martin and Martin Short probably could have. The multi-hyphenate geniuses delivered a stellar cliffhanger for Only Murders in the Building Season 2, continued their endlessly hilarious two-man stage tour around the country, and are capping the year off by co-hosting Saturday Night Live. To promote their shared SNL return, Martin and Short stopped by The Tonight Show and delivered an assembly line of roasts that took aim at everything from Jimmy Fallon’s beard to Nick Cannon’s progeny to the ongoing Good Morning America controversy involving anchors T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach.
Check out the extended video of their appearance below, which also features their SNL promo that utilizes their hilarious act involving Martin Short posing as Steve Martin’s ventriloquist dummy. (Gonna need to see them battle against Jeff Dunham in a new special at some point.)
For those who weren't able to check out the clip in its entirety, let's run through some of the highlight-worthy jokes that were tossed around. To the surprise of nobody, one of the first things out of Martin Short's mouth went from unexpectedly cringey to Golden Age Vaudeville in the same breath.
- Martin Short: James "Kanye" Fallon, we adore doing your show. You know, of all the late night shows, this is the easiest one to fall alseep to.
Jimmy Fallon instantly waved away the notion of anything Kanye-related, given the rapper's swift and controversial downfall, and also bemusedly rejected Short's joke a few seconds later that he was interested in suspending the U.S. Constitution.
Steve Martin, to his credit, roasted the Tonight Show host without implicating treason, saying Fallon's facial hair looked like a COVID facemask with a mouth hole cut out. Which then sparked Short to say it made the SNL vet look like the result of Santa Claus having a kid with an elf, saying it gave him "cool youth minister" vibes.
The comedy duo obviously took shots at one another as well, with Short calling Martin "whiter than a Mormon golf team." Fallon noted their extended partnership, which set up this extremely timely 1-2 punch.
- Steve Martin: We have been together so long, we can finish each other's careers.
- Martin Short: We're like the co-anchors on Good Morning America without the office sex.
To be sure, this wasn't the only one of Martin Short's jokes that inspired an extra second of thought to wonder exactly what was happening in his brain in that moment. For what it's worth, GMA3 anchors T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach kept their alleged romance outside of the office, though there's apparently still an official review happening at ABC.
Speaking of ripped-from-the-headlines jokes, Martin Short also offered a mini-roast for The Masked Singer host Nick Cannon and his ever-growing family.
- Jimmy Fallon: You guys have been busy.
- Martin Short: We've been busier than Nick Cannon's child support lawyer.
Which is a joke, but then considering Cannon has talked about his child support output recently himself, it's not exactly a leap in logic. Unless that lawyer is also doing a talk show circuit ahead of hosting SNL soon.
Speaking of, check out Martin Short and Steve Martin’s SNL episode on Saturday, December 10, at 11:30 both on NBC and with a Peacock subscription. Meanwhile, a Hulu subscription will put both seasons of Only Murders in the Building in your face while waiting for Season 3 to arrive, with Paul Rudd in the mix. Head to our 2023 TV premiere schedule to see what else will be hitting the small screen next year.
