No one has been officially counting, but Kevin Nealon has logged a lot of miles in service of his fans. Nealon’s popular podcast Hiking With Kevin recently released its 200th episode. That’s a lot of steps.
The former Saturday Night Live cast member, who formed one of the most popular casts in the history of the show in the 1980s and early 1990s, is the witty host of the program Hiking With Kevin, which can be seen on YouTube, Spotify, and elsewhere. While the premise and production values are simple, the comedy is as offbeat and hilarious as you would expect from Nealon.
The YouTube channel for Hiking With Kevin has nearly 400,000 subscribers, with more than 250 videos available.
Recent guests that helped Nealon reach the 200-episode mark include Tiffany Haddish, Cristina Mariani, Carrot Top, and Adam Ray. In the show, Nealon meets his guests in the hills of Hollywood or another southern California locale for a hike. He films the podcast with a handheld selfies stick and the help of a drone that doesn’t always behave the way he wants.
Past guests include former SNL writer and Nealon pal Conan O’Brien, Tom Hanks, Bill Burr, Sherly Crow, Jack Black, and Donnie Osmond. While many of his guests are actors, Nealon has a soft spot for comedians. Paul Reiser, Jeff Ross, Tom Popa, Dane Cook, and the legendary Lily Tomlin have made appearances, all clad in casual clothes and comfortable hiking shoes to get themselves up and down the rolling hills of Beverly.
Hiking With Kevin was an early success in the celebrity host space, arriving in 2018. In 2019, it was nominated for a Shorty Award. It came to be after Nealon recorded a brief segment of a hike he was having with actor and friend Matthew Modine in 2017.
A total of 11 former SNL cast members have guested on Hiking With Kevin:
- Dana Carvey
- Will Forte
- Al Franken
- Colin Jost
- Taran Killam
- Tim Meadows
- Adam Sandler
- Molly Shannon
- Sarah Silverman
- David Spade
- Melissa Villaseñor
Guests seem to enjoy the opportunity to show a different side of themselves and get the exercise. “When Kevin Nealon tells you to ‘take a hike,’ you take the hike,” comedian Jeff Dunham said after his appearance on Hiking With Kevin this year.
“When I hike with these people, they’re really forthcoming,” Nealon told The Hollywood Reporter in 2024. “You’re outside, you don’t have an audience in front of you, you don’t have these bright lights. As you’re hiking, you become more casual and open and you have your endorphins going.”
Nealon spent nine seasons on SNL (Seasons 12-20) from 1986 to 1995. He was anchor of Weekend Update for three seasons (Seasons 17-19). His most memorable character is probably Subliminal Man. Nealon came to the show in Season 12, the second season in Lorne Michaels’ return to the show. Season 11 had been a disaster, but Michaels welcomed one of the greatest rookie classes ever in Season 12: Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, Jan Hooks, Nealon, and Victoria Jackson. That group helped form a core that produced the so-called “Second Golden Era” of SNL. Those five were all cast members together for five seasons.
