What Mikey Day Watches (and Reads) With His Son

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If you ask a child who Mikey Day is, they probably won’t mention his work on Saturday Night Live, his appearance on Abbott Elementary, or even his work as a spokesperson or writer (including the movie Home Sweet Home Alone). They’ll likely only know him as the host of the popular Netflix baking show, Is It Cake?

Day explains that whenever he meets children aged 4 to 9, they’ve almost certainly seen his show, Is It Cake? He’s even had several Saturday Night Live hosts with kids that age tell him they need to take a picture with him because their children are big fans. He finds this level of recognition pretty amazing.

Day believes the show’s success is largely thanks to children. He explains that while adults might have lost interest after the first season, kids who love something really commit to it. This continued enthusiasm allows the show to keep going.

Just in time for Thanksgiving and family movie nights, new holiday episodes of Is It Cake? are now available on Netflix. We chatted with Day about what he enjoys watching, playing, and reading with his 13-year-old son, Abbott.

Classic movies of the ’80s and ’90s

Things are really different now with the internet and streaming services. I’m not even sure my son has ever watched a typical TV show the way I did growing up. My son’s mother and I try to introduce him to classic films, but we have to make it a special event. We’ll tell him in advance, like, “Sunday is movie night, and we’re all watching a film together for two hours,” because kids today are so used to quickly switching between things online that sitting still for that long can seem like a huge commitment.

We recently watched Back to the Future, Gremlins, The Princess Bride, and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. Back to the Future was the biggest hit, and we ended up showing all three movies in the series. It’s my favorite, so I think he was already inclined to enjoy the first one, and he did! Surprisingly, he actually said the third movie was the best – I think he especially liked the scene with the flying train.

I also showed him scenes from the movie Spaceballs – I’d just mentioned it, and then he asked to watch the whole thing.

The Jurassic Park franchise

My son recently became a big fan of the Jurassic Park movies, starting with Reborn after seeing the ads this summer. He’s eager to watch the whole series, and I’m trying to show them to him in what I consider the best order. We began with the original film, then moved on to Jurassic World, and we’ll eventually get through them all.

One Piece

My son discovered an anime series called One Piece all on his own, and he’s really into it. I try to watch with him, but it can be overwhelming – it’s just very loud! It’s similar to the videos he watches of people playing games online; everyone seems to be constantly shouting.

I didn’t really get into anime when I was younger. I probably would enjoy it more now if I had, but my son really loves it.

He’s dressed up as characters from One Piece for Halloween several times, which I really enjoy—it reminds me of when I was obsessed with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I attempted to show him the TMNT movie from the 90s—it had a huge impact on me as a child—but I think he was a bit too young to appreciate it then. Perhaps he’d enjoy it more now.

MrBeast

My son is a huge fan of YouTube, and he often makes funny connections, like wondering if his favorite YouTubers will ever host Saturday Night Live. I actually met MrBeast when he was backstage at SNL and quickly introduced myself. When I told my son about it, he was much more excited about meeting MrBeast than about anyone else I encountered. Even though you meet a lot of celebrities at SNL, that brief interaction with MrBeast was the highlight for him.

Roblox and Brawl Stars

We sometimes play games together, but we have different preferences – I prefer console games and he likes mobile games. I’ve tried playing Roblox with him and enjoy some games on there, though I make an effort to play what he likes. We used to play Lego Ninjago together, but now he’s into mobile games like Brawl Stars, which I don’t really enjoy. I often suggest new games I find, like Split Fiction, and he’s always polite, but usually says he’s not interested or suggests playing another time. It feels like he gently turns down my suggestions.

It makes sense, considering he’s thirteen. I’m not sure I spent much time watching things with my dad when I was in eighth grade either.

There’s a Monster at the End of This Book

I have fond memories of reading the Sesame Street book, There’s a Monster at the End of this Book, when I was a child, and I later shared that joy by reading it to my son repeatedly when he was young. It was a special experience for both of us.

We also had a storybook version of Back to the Future that I read him long before he saw the movie.

I attempted to introduce my son to Harry Potter, even though I hadn’t read the books myself growing up. I think we started too soon, though – the books were just too complicated for him at that age. He basically told me, “Dad, I’m four and I’m not interested!” We probably would have had more success if we’d waited until he was a bit older and ready for it, but we didn’t quite time it right.

He does love to read, though. He just finished all the Hunger Games books, so that’s cool.

Airplane! and Defending Your Life

I used to show my son short clips from the movie Airplane! so often that I finally decided to let him watch the whole thing. He really enjoyed it and still thinks it’s hilarious.

I also showed Albert Brooks the movie Defending Your Life, which I think doesn’t get enough credit. He really enjoyed it, and it’s actually one of my all-time favorite films, so it was great to share it with him.

I’m planning on letting my son watch The Office (the British version) when he’s older, as it’s my all-time favorite show. I just don’t want to introduce it to him too soon – maybe when he’s in high school would be a good time.

Saturday Night Live

He’s seen some sketches from Saturday Night Live through my work, but he doesn’t go out of his way to watch the show. Occasionally he’ll watch if something’s on, but it’s not something he plans to watch every week. I’ll sometimes show him specific sketches—like a Mario Kart sketch with Pedro Pascal that he really enjoyed—and he tends to watch more during election years because his mom follows politics closely and discusses it a lot, so he likes to be familiar with the candidates and issues. But I think he just experiences the show differently than most people.

When I was a kid, I’d record Saturday Night Live off of Comedy Central. They’d usually show shorter, hour-long versions of the episodes, which were confusing because sometimes the guests would be dressed as characters I hadn’t seen. My son has even visited the studio, but for him, SNL is just what I do for work, and I’m okay with that.

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2025-11-25 16:56