Middle Tennessee’s Own Nate Bargatze Delivers on ‘SNL’

Over the weekend, Old Hickory native Nate Bargatze — who won “Best Comedian” in both the readers’ poll and writers’ choice portions of this month’s Best of Nashville issue — made his Saturday Night Live debut.

In addition to a strong nine-minute monologue full of Bargatze’s trademark deadpan and relatable material, the episode also featured a sketch by the name of “Lake Beach.” Featuring and co-written by fellow Nashville native (and fellow Best Comedian) James Austin Johnson, “Lake Beach” was inspired by our own Percy Priest Lake and pretty accurately depicts hot, early-fall weekends spent partying in the butt-brown water of Tennessee’s lakes.

Another episode standout is “Washington’s Dream,” which centers on the stubborn absurdity of the United States’ customary units of measurement. 

Watch Bargatze’s monologue above, and see both “Lake Beach” and “Washington’s Dream” below. Also, look back at our 2022 interviews with Bargatze and Johnson here and here. Hats off to our hometown boy for a strong debut showing.