SNLAlums Will Ferrell and Harper Steele Recall Sketch About Eating a Unicorn They Regret Not Getting on Air (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

(L) Will Ferrell and Harper Steele.Photo:Getty(2)

Getty(2)

Will FerrellandHarper Steeleare reflecting on what could have been during their days onSaturday Night Live.

In an exclusive conversation with PEOPLE ahead of the iconic sketch show’s 50th anniversary, the former cast member, 57, and writer, 63, look back on a few of their sketches that regrettably never made it to air.

“We wrote a sketch together called ‘Unicorn Mountain,'” Steele recalls. “It was a funny game that we would play where I would write half the sketch and give him the other half. And Will started this sketch, and it was a four-minute kid’s show opening about a unicorn mountain, and how free and wonderful and magical [it was] and everything.”

(L) Will Ferrell and Harper Steele.Anna Pocaro/IndieWire via Getty

Anna Pocaro/IndieWire via Getty

When Ferrell handed over the draft for Steele to continue, things took a dark turn for the mystical creatures atop the mountain.

“I opened up the actual sketch on him andTracy Morganeating a unicorn, talking about how easy they are to catch,” she says with a laugh. “Because, you know, they’re so free and open and magical.”

Steele helped Ferrell create some of his most iconic characters and sketches, including Ferrell as crooner Robert Goulet. Ferrell, of course, would go on to become a movie star and Steele became head writer ofSNL.

Speaking withCBS Morningsin December 2021, Michaels addressed speculation surrounding his retirement and what that would mean for the long-running sketch show.

“Well, I think I’m committed to doing the show until its 50th anniversary, which is in three years,” he said. “I’d like to see that through. And I feel like that would be a really good time to leave.”

Lorne Michaels.Julien M. Hekimian/Getty

Julien M. Hekimian/Getty

TheKennedy Center honoreesaid “of course” the show could exist without him, and Michaels said he has “a sense of where we’re headed.” Although he didn’t mention any names for a possible replacement, he revealed that he has ideas for who could take over for him after his retirement.

Michaels added, “Here’s the point: I won’t want the show ever to be bad. I care too deeply about it, it’s been my life’s work. So, I’m going to do everything I can to see it carry on and carry on well.”

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Saturday Night Liveseason 50 premieres Saturday, Sept. 28 at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

source: people.com