{"id":210021,"date":"2025-10-08T21:19:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T21:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/210021\/"},"modified":"2025-10-08T21:19:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T21:19:08","slug":"mikey-day-talks-snl-is-it-cake-and-that-emmys-cold-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/210021\/","title":{"rendered":"Mikey Day Talks \u2018SNL,\u2019 \u2018Is It Cake?\u2019 and That Emmys Cold Open"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tHeidi Gardner had a parting gift<\/a> for SNL<\/a> \u2014 well, really, it was just for Mikey Day<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tDay, now in his 10th season of Saturday Night Live<\/a> (as a performer \u2014 he started as a writer three years prior) and his fourth or fifth season (depending what you count) of Is It Cake<\/a>? on Netflix, doesn\u2019t have time to decorate his office at 30 Rock. Or maybe he just doesn\u2019t care. Last season, Gardner, his fellow SNL cast member for eight seasons, decided to do something about it.<\/p>\n

\n\tGardner was not especially concerned with Day\u2019s taste so much as she was out to embarrass him. So she hung Christmas lights, random Tiger Beat-type posters of \u201890s stars and one strategically placed, well-worn Kansas City Chiefs hat.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAnytime my door was open and people would walk by in the hallway, I\u2019d need to explain to them, \u2018This is all ironic! This is all ironic!\u2019 Especially last season because there were so many celebrities here all the time (for the 50th),\u201d Day told The Hollywood Reporter. \u201cYou had, like, Tom Hanks walk by \u2014 I\u2019m like, \u2018Let me explain the Tori Spelling poster\u2026\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSNL season 51 premiered this past weekend with host Bad Bunny<\/a>; four days later, Netflix debuted (in full) its four-part Is It Cake? Halloween special, featuring guest judges like Kevin Nealon, Pete Holmes, Ron Funches and Whitney Cummings, among others. Is It Cake? has a pretty silly premise \u2014 contestants try to guess if something is, indeed, cake \u2014 but its following is no joke. All three of the show\u2019s official seasons have made Netflix\u2019s Top 10 list for at least a few weeks.<\/p>\n

\n\tDavid S. Pumpkins, the inexplicable Halloween character co-created by Day (and Bobby Moynihan and SNL writer Streeter Seidell) and famously played by Hanks on Saturday Night Live<\/a>, does not make a crossover appearance for the themed Netflix baking contest. Had he, Pumpkins surely would have went out on his catchphrase, \u201cAny questions?\u201d It\u2019s all good, because I had a lot.<\/p>\n

\n\tDay, who is currently pitching sketches to Saturday Night Live alum (and this weekend\u2019s host) Amy Poehler, took a break from his, well, day job, to chat with THR about both gigs \u2014 as well as the cold open that proved to be the highlight of Emmys night. Read our Q&A below.<\/p>\n

\n\t***<\/p>\n

\n\tIs It Cake? is the perfect family show. Did you seek out a project with that appeal, or did it just fall into your lap?<\/p>\n

\n\tI think the latter. I thought it was a funny premise, but I had no clue just how much kids, especially, would respond to it. I thought there would be a fun family dynamic that the show has in terms of the end game, because you\u2019re guessing at the end and that\u2019s just innately fun. Even if you don\u2019t care about cake or anything, if you see six objects and you\u2019re like, \u201cOne of them is made out of cake,\u201d I feel like your lizard brain is like, well, \u201cLet me try and suss out the imposter.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBut I was so very pleasantly surprised when \u2014 after that first season came out and kids responded to it so much, they were having Is It Cake?-themed birthday parties. I don\u2019t know how much fun I thought it would be for kids to play the game and try and guess. I also had no idea how much they would be engrossed in the baking part of it, where they\u2019re constructing the cakes. And so it was really cool. I guess it\u2019s almost like a magic trick \u2014 they\u2019re watching [the bakers] construct an illusion. So, it\u2019s been so much fun \u2014 just the amount of people who have told me, \u201cHey, I see you on SNL. You\u2019re all right, but my kids are gonna freak out when they when I tell them I met you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIt helps that kids are dumb. What they don\u2019t quite understand about these cakes is how gross the fondant is.<\/p>\n

\n\tFondant is very sweet, but it\u2019s like, too much sweet. And then a lot of them have layers of modeling chocolate on the outside.<\/p>\n

\n\tDoes modeling chocolate taste better?<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s like, just very sweet chocolate. It\u2019s like clay in terms of its sculpt-ability, but made out of chocolate. So you\u2019ve got to get through the outer layers of fondant, and then the cake inside is always delicious. I mean, a little bit is fine, but you have a lot of it.<\/p>\n

\n\tHow much cake do you eat on set?<\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019ll eat some of it, like on the show, on-camera and stuff. But since it\u2019s always around, I don\u2019t eat a lot of it. People are like, \u201cAre you just eating cake all day?\u201d I\u2019m like, \u201cNot really.\u201d I always encourage the judges to take some home. There\u2019s so much of it \u2014 some of these things are huge. They\u2019re making, like, gym bags out of cake. They\u2019re generating so much cake.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\u2018Is It Cake? Halloween\u2019 on Netflix<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Netflix<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat\u2019s the best cake imposter you\u2019ve seen?<\/p>\n

\n\tThere\u2019s been so, so many. I remember season one, Andrew made a suitcase that was pretty cool \u2014 with fake clothes. It was wild, because just seeing \u2014 like, how do you make clothes? What do they use? I\u2019m still learning a lot. I still know nothing really about this art form, but it\u2019s interesting to start to learn all the tricks they use and all the vocabulary. But I feel like every season I learn something new.<\/p>\n

\n\tSounds like you\u2019re not a baker.<\/p>\n

\n\tI have never been a baker, but I admire the art form endlessly. They\u2019re not only making good cakes \u2014 sometimes what decides who the winner will be is how good the cake is, right? But they\u2019re also like artists, sculpting and creating these things, and the painting of it is sometimes incredibly intricate. And they\u2019re also like illusionists in a way, like duplicating reality. It\u2019s so funny. It\u2019s such a fun, silly show, but it really makes you think about an object in space and what defines it, and edges and surface and the dimensions of it when they\u2019re trying to replicate it out of cake. It gets pretty cerebral sometimes.<\/p>\n

\n\tLet\u2019s talk a bit about the Halloween special specifically.<\/p>\n

\n\tHalloween is fun because you get to do all the theme stuff. It\u2019s a holiday that lends itself to this show very well, because you can make like guts and hearts and stuff. I know a lot of people do body parts and stuff. Talking to bakers, they\u2019re like, \u201cOh yeah, I made a open human heart.\u201d There are rites of passage \u2014 everyone makes a heart, everyone makes a brain.<\/p>\n

\n\tFor non-bakers, what do you see as the appeal of this show?<\/p>\n

\n\tThere is this strange satisfaction when you guess correctly. You\u2019re like, \u201cI\u2019m smart. I understand our world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tEspecially early.<\/p>\n

\n\tOh, yeah. From the jump you\u2019re just like, [confidently], \u201cIt\u2019s number one. Just look at it. Look at the corner.\u201d Sometimes it\u2019s difficult, though. Certain times, I\u2019ll be standing next to the cake \u2014 they tell me which one it is \u2014 and then I\u2019ll be next to it, ready to cut it, and I\u2019m like, \u201cWait, remind me which one it is?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tI sometimes worry for you that if you cut into [a prop] and it\u2019s a certain kind of plastic that is cut-able, but not cake.<\/p>\n

\n\tRight? And then I cut myself. Before we present it to the judges, the baker will take me through how best to cut it. Like, \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of modeling chocolate here, so you want to go at this angle.\u201d I mean, I\u2019m still not amazing at cutting cakes, which is also fantastic that I\u2019m hosting it. But usually if I\u2019m about to cut into something crazy, I\u2019ll double check. And also, if I\u2019m about to do something wrong, like 50 people from behind the cameras will start screaming. There was one time I almost cut a cake too early.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd you only get one first cut.<\/p>\n

\n\tExactly. It sounded like there was a fire in terms of the chaos: \u201cNo, no, no, no, no, no! Stop!\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s a serious operation. <\/p>\n

\n\tI know! There are several moments where I\u2019m, like, cutting into a typewriter or something, being like, \u201cWhat is happening? How is this a job?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOn most baking shows, the bakers get like two hours\u2026<\/p>\n

\n\t(Laughs) Yeah, this is, \u201cYou have eight hours!\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat do you do that whole time? What do the bakers who aren\u2019t baking do?<\/p>\n

\n\tThey will just watch and hangout and comment. I will hangout for a lot of it, and give them time calls. I do get a long break. Sometimes they\u2019ll break for the day and then start baking the next day, and I\u2019ll have some time off. But then for a lot of it I\u2019m there. And then they cut in this stuff where I\u2019m just kind of messing around with the bakers who aren\u2019t baking. So we\u2019ll do some bits. I always feel bad for the bakers not baking, because a lot of times [producers] give me a dumb prop \u2014 like a megaphone \u2014 and I\u2019m this idiot screaming while [the bakers are] doing very, very precise painting details. But everyone\u2019s always been a good sport. <\/p>\n

\n\tIt is funny going, \u201cAre you ready? You have 12 hours!\u201d I didn\u2019t realize just how long it takes for the actual baking of the inside the cake itself. And the bigger it is, the longer it takes. It seems like a lot of time, but usually the bakers will be like, \u201cFor a cake like this, this takes up at least three days\u201d or \u201ctwo days.\u201d So they\u2019re really working under the gun, whereas for me, I\u2019m like, \u201cOh, you have half a day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t(L-R) Bowen Yang, Nate Bargatze and Mikey Day speak onstage during the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards at Peacock Theater on September 14, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMonica Schipper\/WireImage<\/p>\n

\n\tIs there much crossover between your two jobs? Do you find yourself pitching endless cake sketches at SNL?<\/p>\n

\n\tYou know what? Not so much. By then, the cake is out of my system. Every once in a while someone will write an Is It Cake? joke into the monologue or something, and it\u2019s been in a couple promos. But I definitely feel like it\u2019s covered.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Emmys cold open, a version of the \u201cWashington\u2019s Dream\u201d SNL sketches, was the best part of the show. Was that [written by] you and Streeter Seidell again?<\/p>\n

\n\tYeah, and we had Mike DiCenzo, who\u2019s a writer at SNL, who helped us on the second George Washington sketch. We conscripted him to help us. <\/p>\n

\n\tThat was a lot of fun. [Emmys host] Nate [Bargatze]<\/a> was like, \u201cI want to do a Washington-type thing at the Emmys.\u201d We were just trying to think of a setup that would give it that gravitas. Washington works because what he\u2019s talking about is so stupid. He\u2019s talking to the soldier, they\u2019re literally fighting for their freedom as a nation. So we were like, \u201cOK, maybe the invention of television.\u201d We were happy with it. It was a lot of fun, but it was just overwhelming because you could talk about anything from the history of television, which is so much. You just start talking about stuff, and then you\u2019re like, \u201cWell, wait, do we hit reality [TV]?\u201d There\u2019s so many different different elements you can hit. So we just tried to keep it fun. I\u2019m just glad we got a nice dig in at the History Channel: \u201cThere is no history on the History Channel, just as there is no learning on The Learning Channel.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThat\u2019s a great joke.<\/p>\n

\n\tThere was a whole run. We also at one point had: \u201cThere is no music on Music Television?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cFor a time, and then all of a sudden none.\u201d Stuff like that.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut it\u2019s nice to hear that you liked it because it was fun to do. It was interesting doing a sketch in that kind of environment. I mean, in terms of the cue cards and the cameras, it felt the same. But then you kind of look out and there\u2019s a stage and just this massive theater. We had a lot of fun.<\/p>\n

\n\tSNL had a lot of turnover<\/a> this summer, solidifying your position as one of the show\u2019s veterans. Does that come with a certain level of responsibility for you? Are you giving the new kids<\/a> advice?<\/p>\n

\n\tI mean, it is wild to think of myself as a veteran on this show \u2014 it still doesn\u2019t compute. Like, how am I that lucky to not only be here, but to have been here for a while? I definitely will talk to the new kids in any\u2014 sometimes they\u2019ll ask questions and I\u2019ll offer up information, just usually stuff that I would have liked to know [as a rookie]. I also kind of \u2014 I\u2019ll go up behind him and be like, \u201cIt\u2019s your first goodnights!\u201d I\u2019ll play up the fun of it. It is so special. And a lot of it is so surreal. I distinctly remember my first episode on the cast \u2014 Margot Robbie was the host \u2014 like, it\u2019s very, very clear in my mind. You know those memories that are just very \u2014 you remember them very well. So I just try to do anything to make it fun for them, but it\u2019s great. It\u2019s always fun.<\/p>\n

\n\tThere\u2019s a lot of change [this year], but the first week always feels like the first week of school. There\u2019s new students, there\u2019s new classes. Things look different. People\u2019s offices change around, you know? So it\u2019s like I\u2019m in a new class. But then, you know, week two, week three, it starts to feel like, \u201cOK, we\u2019re back. This is the same.\u201d It\u2019s funny how quickly the show bonds you with the new kids. I had never met any of our new cast members. And then, you know, a week later and you start to feel like, \u201cOh, I have some new brothers and sisters now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSleep deprivation will do that.<\/p>\n

\n\tYeah, it\u2019s crazy. It\u2019s like you\u2019re all going on a tour of duty together. \u201cAlright, suit up, we\u2019re going in!\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThis interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Heidi Gardner had a parting gift for SNL \u2014 well, really, it was just for Mikey Day. Day,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":210022,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[88,120114,95955,12015,12016,92],"class_list":{"0":"post-210021","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-is-it-cake","10":"tag-mikey-day","11":"tag-saturday-night-live","12":"tag-snl","13":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=210021"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210021\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/210022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=210021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=210021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=210021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}