So, she spent months diving into research, consuming every memoir, documentary, and podcast about SNL. “And then a few months passed, and I thought, ‘Oh, that screenplay that someone should write? Maybe it should be a novel, and maybe that someone should be me.’ And so, I did.”Īlthough she’d been a fan of SNL since childhood, the author knew that in order to capture this particular phenomenon, she needed to understand the world of late-night comedy inside and out. “I thought to myself, ‘Someone should write a screenplay for a romantic comedy that kind of mocks the phenomenon of SNL men dating up,’” Sittenfeld recalls. While watching Saturday Night Live episodes during the pandemic, Sittenfeld became fascinated by the multiple men of the show who’d managed to find love with A-list women - think Colin Jost and Scarlett Johansson, writer Dave McCary and Emma Stone, and Pete Davidson and … truly everyone. Because while Noah clearly has feelings for Sally, she’s fully convinced that no man that hot and famous would fall for a lowly comedy writer like her - since, after all, that kind of contrasting dynamic typically only happens in reverse, with painfully average men somehow snagging beautiful, worshipped women. Following Sally, a longtime writer at an SNL-like comedy show, as she unexpectedly falls for superstar singer Noah (think Harry Styles aged up a decade or two), the book is indeed a highly enjoyable ride, full of witty one-liners, hilariously real characters, and of course, a will-they-won’t-they flirtation so sexy and slow-burning that it’ll have you shouting in impatience for the duo to just get married already.

That desire turned into the aptly named Romantic Comedy, Sittenfeld’s seventh novel(and eighth book overall, including a 2018 short story collection), out now. And I really, desperately wanted to have fun.” … It just seemed like a really fun space to live inside. She adds, “But I wanted to write something light and fizzy, and wanted to write about people connecting, and coming together, and kissing. “It wasn’t on my bucket list to write a romantic comedy.” “I’m not sure I would’ve written this book if not for the pandemic,” she says now, speaking with Shondaland over a phone call.

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