Back in May, Bill Hader appeared on Seth Meyers’ Late Night and mentioned that he had finally gotten a chance to meet his hero: beloved Dateline host Keith Morrison—who is known for the playful, singsongy way he narrates graphic true crime stories. Hader likened it to meeting The Beatles, squealing like a little kid when he finally met Morrison, but that was really all of the story he was willing to share on Late Night. Thankfully, a longer account of the meeting aired on Sunday Today this morning on NBC, with host Willie Geist first surprising Hader with a visit to the Dateline editing bay for a little video chat with Morrison.
Or was it? Yes, in true Keith Morrison Dateline fashion, there was a little twist. Shortly after talking on video, Morrison actually showed up, causing Hader to start giggling like a kid who just met Santa. As it turned out, the gleeful cheer he gave on Late Night was not far from the truth at all, with Hader repeatedly breaking down in laughter just from hearing Morrison talk. Hader talked about his favorite Dateline episodes and asked Morrison if he ever just accuses the people he’s interviewing of being guilty, which a bemused Morrison doesn’t seem to know how to respond to. Still, he seems aware of why people love his narration so much, with him and Hader cutting a Dateline promo at the end that features both of them playing up the classic Kieth Morrison tone as much as possible. Whether you follow Dateline or not, it’s a delight.