Why Seth Meyers Feels Guilty About Tim Robinson's Time On SNL

If you're familiar with Tim Robinson – and are a fan of cringe comedy — you know how funny the actor-writer is as a sketch comedian. Specifically, Robinson excels as a guy who's incredibly wrong about something but doubles, triples, and quadruples down on it anyway. Apparently, this comedy didn't work on "Saturday Night Live," because Robinson joined the venerated late night show's cast in 2012 and, after one season, moved entirely to the writer's room and stopped performing on TV.

Seth Meyers, who was the head writer on "SNL" during Robinson's tenure (Robinson left in 2016) seems to think he could have helped Robinson succeed more. During an episode of "WTF with Marc Maron," Meyers said he knows how talented Robinson is and feels that he didn't do him justice. "I was at 'SNL' when he was hired as a cast member and it did not work the way anybody who is a fan of his thought it should," Meyers said. "I ... felt like I was mishandling this asset."

"Everybody knew how funny he was," Meyers continued. "At every table read, he would crush. And a lot of sketches he tried at 'SNL' — not that many, I should say — found their way into [Robinson's Netflix series] 'I Think You Should Leave.' For everybody at 'SNL' to see him have this moment, along with Zach Kanin his co-writer, it's so lovely." 

Ultimately, Meyers appears happy for Robinson's post-"SNL" success. "He's honestly the best dude in the world –- they both are," Meyers said of Robinson and Kanin. "They weirdly found their way into the zeitgeist almost beyond what 'SNL' is because it's so singular."

Before Tim Robinson got his own Netflix show, he appeared in an episode of the streamer's sketch anthology series "The Characters," where he paved the way for his current work. In one sketch, Robinson plays Sammy Paradise, a casino high roller who makes a show of his wealth before making a big bet and having a huge meltdown, admitting that he's broke and will do literally anything for money. This attitude set the stage for "I Think You Should Leave."

Alongside frequent collaborator Sam Richardson — who worked with Robinson on "Detroiters" — and numerous guest stars, Robinson has made the Emmy-winning "I Think You Should Leave" one of TV's funniest and most unique shows.

Beyond "I Think You Should Leave," the actor and writer has branched out with roles in films like "Friendship," directed by one of Robinson's collaborators, Andrew DeYoung, where he co-stars opposite Paul Rudd. Then, on the HBO series "The Chair Company," Robinson plays William Ronald Trosper, a guy who gets embarrassed at work and then ends up investigating an enormous, sprawling conspiracy theory.