Where Did That Viral Bill Hader Dancing Video Come From?
Social media sometimes seems to have a mind of its own. One day you might be seeing the first example of a new trend, and the next, you might be hit with a tidal wave of the same meme again and again across multiple different accounts. Such is the case with a very popular meme featuring "Barry" star and co-creator Bill Hader dancing in a deliberately corny manner while vibing to some electronic music.
While people across TikTok and Twitter are currently using the meme to sum up all kinds of good news situations and happy-go-lucky scenarios, the meme actually originates from an episode of "Saturday Night Live" that aired nearly a decade ago. Back in the summer of 2015, the sketch, which is called "Alan," was actually cut for time and never made it to air.
Luckily for Bill Hader and the internet, however, the sketch has found a second life online, despite missing out on airing live when it was originally supposed to. While the sketch in question is a simple one, it's definitely offbeat and weird enough for viewers to understand its appeal even outside of its standard meme format.
Bill Hader's cut sketch is getting a second chance
The "Alan" sketch on "Saturday Night Live" begins with a young couple (Vanessa Bayer and Taran Killam) returning from a date night to find that they've received a surprise gift from the man's parents. When they unwrap it, they find that Alan is a dancing robot who seems to be regularly confused or embarrassed about his own dancing.
While Bill Hader's goofy expressions and cheesy dance moves are definitely the funniest part of the scene, Bayer and Killam amp "Alan" up to 11 with their grounded takes on the bizarre piece of technology. For instance, while Killam seems put off by Alan, Bayer embraces their new house guest with excitable glee as she reads through an instruction manual.
However, the "Saturday Night Live" skit reaches its zenith when it's revealed that Alan is actually named Keith and that he's a reanimated corpse covered in living tissue. Naturally, this revelation comes with the realization that Alan has escaped from his cube and is now hiding behind the couple.
It's a bonkers ending to the sketch, but one that helps to explain why Hader's dance moves are suddenly all over our collective timelines. Furthermore, when you consider that "Saturday Night Live" won't be airing new episodes for a while, it's nice to see an underseen sketch get its due in the interim.