For seven years, Seth Meyers’s office at “Saturday Night Live” bore the mark of a moment of frustration. After a sketch he had penned was replaced by another piece, he reacted with what he called “door-slamming petulance.” In a fit of anger, he flung open the dressing room door so forcefully that the handle punctured the wall. Michael Shoemaker, a producer who has become one of Meyers’s closest collaborators, chose not to repair the damage.

“I want you to see it every day,” Shoemaker told Meyers, recalling the moment. “It serves as a reminder of how trivial that incident was.”

Shoemaker’s advice to Meyers was straightforward: “Stop it.” He then quoted Meyers’s father, emphasizing the need to reflect on personal accountability when things go awry: “When something goes wrong, think about what you could have done better.”

This petty outburst may seem at odds with the image Meyers has cultivated over his two-decade television career—13 years on “SNL,” the last eight of which he anchored Weekend Update, followed by a decade as the charming and witty host of “Late Night With Seth Meyers.” He struck a similar appealing note in his 2019 stand-up special, “Lobby Baby,” which humorously addressed the unexpected birth of his second child.

However, as Meyers’s new HBO special, “Dad Man Walking,” is set to debut on Saturday, the notion of him as an antagonist—even in a light-hearted way—starts to resonate. The special tackles parenting and the uncomfortable truth that “good parents sometimes really dislike their children’s behavior,” according to Meyers. While the grumpy tone may seem like a departure, it actually highlights a long-existing aspect of his personality.

“Dad Man Walking” represents Meyers’s ability to channel his more irritable traits into constructive outlets. Although he has faced challenges controlling these impulses in the past—such as the infamous hole in the wall—he has now learned to harness them for his benefit. This very tension inspired both the content of “Dad Man Walking” and the motivation behind creating the special.

“I do these specials to demonstrate something no one has ever asked me to prove,” he shared over breakfast in Manhattan’s West Village. “That I can also do stand-up, since I don’t think people see me that way.”

Having spent 25 years as a prominent figure at NBC is as close to job security as one can find in entertainment. Given this, he admitted, “It’s sometimes amusing to be driven by a totally irrational ‘nobody believed in me’ feeling.”

This urge to disprove his imaginary critics, alongside the writers’ strike, spurred him to collaborate with John Oliver at the Beacon Theater in Manhattan last year. During these monthly performances—set to continue into 2025—Meyers developed the material for “Dad Man Walking,” although he initially worried about audience reception.

“John is just as you’d expect him to be if you enjoy ‘Last Week Tonight,’” Meyers remarked. “I was concerned that I wasn’t presenting the Seth they know from ‘Late Night.’” This meant revealing a side of himself that he termed the “little bit of [expletive] in me.”

Oliver was already familiar with this side of Meyers, showcased during their late-night group podcast, “Strike Force Five,” which they created during the Hollywood strike to raise funds for out-of-work staff. Alongside Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, and Jimmy Fallon, Meyers and Oliver were the jokesters, injecting humor with their quips.

“He appears to be a really nice and polite person, but he possesses a sharp wit that he can unleash at will,” Oliver noted. “It’s like playing tennis with a friend—you think you’re having a friendly exchange until suddenly he smashes it right past you. It’s like, ‘Oh, you could do that whenever, huh?’”

If the special’s frustrated tone might surprise “Late Night” fans, it wouldn’t be unfamiliar to Meyers’s three children. He recounted a car ride where he was having a disagreement with his middle child, Axel, who was being particularly difficult. Ashe, his eldest, turned to her friend and gleefully remarked, “Oh watch, my dad’s about to lose it.”

In “Dad Man Walking,” Meyers loses his cool numerous times. (At one point, he even considered titling it “White Man Walking,” based on a joke in the special about walking with his blond sons, but director Neal Brennan cautioned that it would be a “catastrophic” choice.)

Meyers’s frustrations with his kids range from the practical to the trivial—like his irritation with their dice-rolling habits. (“We’re in a breakfast nook, not the craps table at the Bellagio,” he imagines saying.) He also highlights the contrasting parenting styles between him and his wife, Alexi Ashe, who is involved in vetting his material. She once told him, “I don’t mind how harsh you make me sound, just make sure I’m always right.” He humorously obliges, portraying himself in the special as “the home dope.”

Brennan remarked, “He’s adept at acknowledging, ‘Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big problem too.’” John Mulaney, a close friend and former collaborator, noted that when Meyers talks about his marriage, it’s as if he’s “almost reveling in tension.”

When I mentioned to Mulaney that seeing this less likable side of Meyers made me appreciate him more, he responded with a chuckle, “That old trick.” When I relayed this to Meyers, he humorously mimicked Mulaney’s tone, saying, “Baby, I invented that move!”

Meyers truly shines when he impersonates others, whether it’s reenacting his father’s frustration over his refusal to wear orthodontic headgear as a child or capturing the awkwardness of getting ice cream with President Biden while reporters questioned him about the war in Gaza.

Shoemaker, now an executive producer for both “Late Night” and “Dad Man Walking,” stated that Meyers enjoys incorporating such performative elements into his stand-up because “he’s a secretly brilliant impressionist.” Yet, not everyone agrees with that sentiment.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t go that far,” remarked Lorne Michaels, Meyers’s boss at “SNL” and “Late Night,” mimicking Meyers’s voice. “But he’s good enough.”

In the demanding environment of “SNL,” creative grumbling is a form of camaraderie. Andy Samberg, who worked alongside Meyers for seven years, said, “There’s nothing more delightful than when Seth is playfully bothered about something and starts rolling with it.”

However, when Meyers took on the “Late Night” role in 2014, he realized that such banter could be counterproductive as the show’s host. He recalled entering the writers’ room and seeing everyone freeze, as he was no longer just part of the group venting, but the leader who had to manage his feelings, including significant anxiety about the new position.

“It didn’t feel like a promotion,” he admitted. “I was anxious it wouldn’t work out.”

Shoemaker noted that when Meyers joined “Late Night,” they devised a strategy to foster an anger-free environment. When Meyers feels overwhelmed, he and Shoemaker retreat to an office that overlooks Rockefeller Center’s iconic Christmas tree, where they can whisper their frustrations in private. “You want to know what else drives me crazy? This [expletive] thing!” Shoemaker exclaimed quietly, demonstrating the technique. This approach allows Meyers to express and release his frustrations without burdening the rest of the team.

“A fearful staff never produces their best work,” Meyers explained. “Or at least, that’s what we’re experimenting with, and so far, it’s working well.”

Others working on “Late Night” suggest that despite any initial worries about his role, Meyers has fostered a positive, productive atmosphere—something not guaranteed in late-night television.

“He’s incredibly mindful of his time, which means you only get his best,” said Amber Ruffin, a writer and performer on “Late Night” who has worked on several projects with Meyers. “Many bosses expect the job to consume your life, but Seth and Shoe want you to enjoy a great life outside of work.”

Michaels commented, “He’s an honorable guy.” Speaking about their relationship, he added with his characteristic deadpan tone, “I love Seth. Or I care deeply about Seth, or whatever people say nowadays. He’s definitely a significant part of my life.”

Now entering his tenth year as the host of “Late Night,” Meyers has no intention of stepping down, but he understands he won’t be an endlessly affable host and leader forever. This realization fuels his interest in projects like “Dad Man Walking.”

“When it’s time to move on, I don’t want to be asking, ‘What’s next for me?’” he expressed regarding “Late Night.” “I want to be able to say, ‘So I’ll continue doing these things now.’”

For now, he will carry on with the monthly shows at the Beacon with Oliver and seek new opportunities to expand the “Late Night” brand. In one hectic week in September, he managed to deliver four NBC shows within two days, which included two episodes of “Late Night,” a special edition of the show’s boozy “Day Drinking” segment featuring Kevin Hart, and an hour-long live version of “A Closer Look,” the show’s popular news segment following the presidential debate.

The live show didn’t entirely go as intended—it ran long, and when Meyers attempted to quicken the pace, he miscalculated, finishing with extra time.

“I was visibly frustrated with myself,” he reflected on an aspect that likely went unnoticed by most. But for now, his office walls remain intact.