Keel Over Beethoven, The Lonely Island Takes Center Stage

Lined up on the taupe-colored couch, the guys resemble three peas bursting from a pod. Samberg—“the goofy one”—exudes a slapstick demeanor (even when he’s just relaxing on the sofa) that immediately evokes pratfall masters like Jim Carrey and Steve Martin, with a touch of Ashton Kutcher’s Kelso of That ’70s Show. Taccone—who is slightly less spastic—sports a more conventionally boyish hairstyle and could easily pass for a member of some hot, young indie band. He’s the first to introduce himself, and so I assign him the role of “the charming one.” And Schaffer—a dead-ringer for John Lennon, with a touch of Tobey Maguire-brand earnestness and just a dash of computer geek —clearly reigns as “the judicious one.” Despite being different types, however, they’ve all been blessed with the comedy gene, and, together, share an amazing chemistry.

Feeding off each other’s energies, they gesticulate wildly, their elbows jabbing into eye sockets with fists pumping in excitement as they recount the story of their wobbly rise to celebrity. America first met Samberg and Co. back in 2001, the year they launched a comedy website called The Lonely Island. The three shared a cramped apartment in Los Angeles, Samberg remembers fondly. Busting out a sarcastic smile, he wraps his arms around his buddies and squeezes them tightly, attempting to simulate the close, nay, uncomfortable, living situation in which the three junior high friends from Berkeley, California, rolled out scores of comedy videos.

Their first project was a low-budget sitcom titled The Lonely Island. The show lasted two episodes, the second of which they adapted into a full-length pilot for Comedy Central (which ultimately got nixed). One of their next big projects was The ‘Bu, a riff on teen soap opera The O.C. The show was about young, sexy people who live in Malibu, but they call it “‘Bu,” because, according to the tagline, “When you say the entire word, it takes time, and then you wouldn’t be young anymore.” The ‘Bu’s surprising cult following earned them a shot at another television project, Awesometown. The pilot was shot for FOX before it was also unceremoniously axed—apparently, it’s still a sore spot for the guys.

“As you can see, it totally worked out,” Taccone kids.

"It was on for 10 years,” says Samberg, setting up the assist.


“It’s called Seinfeld,” Schaffer dead-pans, sending Samberg into gales of laughter.

The Lonely Island may have a few years to go before achieving a Jerry Seinfeld-like level of commercial success, but the guys have come a long way since the days of making homemade, roughly hewn musical parodies of Dr. Dre and Eminem.

While Samberg, Taccone and Schaffer tell the story of their road to success—finishing each other’s sentences and jostling for space on the couch—it’s easy to see how they’ve kept it together for the past nine years. To put it plainly, these funny guys love each other. (Their publicist brags: “They make my job so easy. Whenever you call one of them for an update, the other two are always there too.”) As I watch them stop mid-conversation, catch each others’ eyes and then erupt into a torrent of jokes, hair tousles and bromantic side-hugs, I briefly wonder what would happen if I left the room. Most likely, they would carry on, cracking jokes and acting like the junior high school buddies they once were (instead of the Emmy-award winning trio they have become). Yeah, they’re goofballs, but it is this lighthearted approach, mingled with a seemingly unending supply of genius comedic notions, that has endeared them to fans and sent them on their way to stardom.