Working from home, SNL-style
Published on May 6, 2020The show must go on!
The show must go on!
Likely the only Peabody Award-winner ever nominated for a songwriting Emmy, Saturday Night Live senior writer Bryan Tucker ’93 guesses how many Emmy nominations he’s received over the years — “13 or 14?” However, success did not come immediately for Tucker.
A Carolina journalism major, Tucker spent five years on the road in the 1990s withSelected HilarityOpens in new window, an improv group formed at Carolina.
Tucker, who has supported dozens of UNC Hussman students directly over the years through the Tucker Family scholarship programs he and his wife Rachael — a 1996 Carolina grad — have established at Carolina,advises would-be comedians and comedy writers, “One unfortunate thing you should know is, for most people, the beginning sucks.”
But Tuckercredits those long daysOpens in new windowdoing 500 improv shows around the country with paving the way for future success. His first year or two breaking into the comedy scene in New York also prepared him to do Emmy Award-winning writing forThe Chris Rock Show. When comedians Neil Brennan and Dave Chappelle asked him to contribute ideas to their first season ofThe Chappelle Show, it led to Tucker becoming the third writer in that show’s second season.
