“Part of a kind of trilogy”: Saturday Night Live writer Mikey Day commented on Peter Dinklage’s Space Pants sketch in recent interview

In the world of Saturday Night Live, some sketches become instantly memorable for their sheer absurdity rather than sophisticated humor. Such was the case with "Mafia Meeting," better known to fans as "Space Pants," from Peter Dinklage's April 2016 hosting gig.

Saturday Night Live writers Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell crafted this oddball sketch before Day joined the cast as a performer. Day shared a surprising connection between this sketch and others in a March 30, 2025, NBC Insider interview, noting:

"We consider it part of a kind of trilogy,"

Adding another memorable character to SNL's collection of colorfully-dressed weirdos who derail otherwise serious situations.

Mikey Day and Peter Dinklage’s Saturday Night Live sketch explained

The 2016 Saturday Night Live sketch opens with a classic mob movie setup. Bobby Moynihan plays Gianni, a mafia boss confronting two young men (Davidson and Jon Rudnitsky) who owe him money.

As guns come out and tension builds, the nightclub's musical act takes the stage—Dinklage as Jonathan Cummings (or "Comets," depending on the source), sporting a platinum blonde wig and those titular pants covered in cosmic imagery.

What follows is Dinklage fully committing to an increasingly ridiculous performance. His jerky dance moves and repetitive lyrics about his galactic legwear gradually capture everyone's attention, including the hardened gangsters.

"Boys and girls, I think you'll find that my pants will blow your mind! Look at my pants with the eyes in your face: My legs are covered in outer space," Dinklage's character declares with complete conviction.

Punctuating each line with:

"Space pants! Space pants! I am wearing: Space pants!"

Davidson's perfectly timed reaction—"What is this?"—serves as both comic relief and audience surrogate, acknowledging the sketch's deliberate strangeness.

Just when viewers think the concept couldn't get more bizarre, pop star Gwen Stefani joins Dinklage on stage, wearing her own celestial shorts. Their duet elevates the absurdity while effectively saving Davidson and Rudnitsky's characters from their dire situation.

Day recalled approaching Stefani about participating in the sketch.

"She was so nice—like far surpassed any expectation! Just so cool," he told NBC Insider.

The No Doubt frontwoman's willingness to embrace the ridiculous premise added star power to what might otherwise have been a forgettable skit.

Behind the creative process of Mafia Meeting

According to Saturday Night Live's Mikey Day, the inspiration came from a specific genre trope. He said in the NBC Insider interview,

"Watching any gangster film where they're always having an intense conversation, and then in the background there's always a woman in a red dress—like, Fabulous Baker Boys-style, singing music that you never really pay attention to."

This observation led to the natural question:

"What is the worst possible, most distracting act that could be on the stage instead?"

The answer became the foundation for "Space Pants."

Day praised Dinklage's commitment to the role, noting the actor

"was down to clown—he was so cool, and he got it immediately."

This willingness to fully embrace the absurd concept proved essential to the sketch's success.

Day considers "Space Pants" part of an unofficial trilogy of Saturday Night Live sketches featuring "weirdos in colorful outfits distracting people." The first was "FBI Simulator" with Larry David as Kevin Roberts, an orange-suited oddball. The final entry became one of SNL's biggest viral hits—Tom Hanks as David S. Pumpkins in "Haunted Elevator."

This connection suggests a winning formula: put a respected actor in ridiculous attire, have them behave inexplicably, and watch as nearby characters struggle to maintain focus on more serious matters.

While not as universally known as David S. Pumpkins, "Space Pants" maintains cult status among SNL aficionados. The sketch exemplifies how the show thrives on bizarre ideas that somehow work when performed with absolute conviction.

For fans of Dinklage, Stefani, or simply absurdist comedy, "Space Pants" stands as a testament to Saturday Night Live's willingness to venture into weird territory, creating memorable moments that defy explanation but somehow work—even if nobody quite knows why.

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Saturday Night Live airs live on NBC every Saturday at 11:30 p.m. ET.

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