proving ground for new talent. The network purchased the series, but further scripts did not move forward. They became involved with Super Midnight Movie Club, a club hosted by screenwriters Dan Harmon and Rob Schrab, which evolved into Channel 101, a non-profit hosting monthly short film festivals. Their first submission, Ignition TV Buzz Countdown, was voted back after its premiere, but ended after two episodes. Their second Channel 101 series, The 'Bu, is a parody of Fox's The O.C. and was enormously successful at the screenings, running for eight episodes. It was pivotal in their early successes, demonstrating to television executives their popularity among tastemakers and a younger audience. Samberg's former producer at Spin City passed along the trio's demo reel to the United Talent Agency, which would lead them to their first major television deal. Mainstream success at Saturday Night Live (2005–08) Early sketches and "Lazy Sunday" Following their success with The 'Bu, The Lonely Island secured a pitch meeting with Fox's then-president Gail Berman. There, the trio showed executives the video for "Just 2 Guyz", which received a positive reception. Following their deal with Fox, they produced a pilot titled Awesometown, over which the network passed. MTV and Comedy Central also passed on the series. Consequently, they began to question whether their material was humorous enough for a wide audience. They subsequently released two versions of the pilot on their website, the Fox-edited version and a "director's cut". Their increasing profile within Los Angeles comedy circles led to a writing job at the 2005 MTV Movie Awards, hosted by then-current Saturday Night Live cast-member Jimmy Fallon. Fallon's praise, in addition to word of mouth spreading to others at SNL, among them Tina Fey and creator Lorne Michaels, led the trio to audition for the series in mid-2005. For his audition, Samberg impersonated a 1980s jogger, commenting on the recession. SNL hired the trio in late August, with Taccone and Schaffer as writers and Samberg as a featured player. Samberg was the second new cast addition that season, alongside The Second City alumnus Bill Hader. Their debut episode premiered on October 1, 2005. Schaffer and Taccone had been on the writing staff for nearly three months, yet to this point, they had only two live sketches that survived the dress rehearsal process and aired. By Thanksgiving, the duo felt antsy, and decided to produce a parody of "The Whisper