Tim Meadows gets a boost from improvisational work and his famous fans Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert

Chicago’s improv scene is known for launching the careers of some of comedy’s most popular superstars.

But it can also mean a mid-career boost.

Just ask Tim Meadows, a former employee of The Second City and iO Theater who returned to Chicago in the 2000s to be closer to his children after his divorce.

The opportunity to improvise regularly with Second City alumni Joe Canale and Brad Morris was a saving grace.

“I was a little depressed and questioning my talent and my career,” said Meadows, 63, who had a few film roles after a 10-season guest role on “Saturday Night Live.” “It was a kind of confirmation for me that I had talent and that the things that had happened to me in my career were not a fluke.”

Meadows, Canale and Morris are now known as Uncle’s Brother. The trio, along with Matt Walsh (of “Veep” fame), will headline iO Fest on Friday with two sold-out shows at the iO Theater.

“I think we bring different strengths to scenes when we need to,” Meadows said. “We know when it’s time to be the serious guy or when it’s time to take the lead role. We have tremendous trust in each other and support each other’s decisions on stage. And then there’s the other thing that we try to make each other laugh.”

The festival appearance comes in a big year for Meadows, who starred in the hit musical film “Mean Girls” in January. With upcoming roles in Max’s superhero TV series “Peacemaker,” a Netflix Christmas film starring Lindsay Lohan, and a new musical by Pharrell Williams and Michel Gondry, Meadows’ career is in full swing.

But he remains modest about his successes and thanks his colleagues who supported him along the way.

“I owe it all to Tina Fey,” Meadows said of the actress, comedian and author of “Mean Girls.” “I don’t know why Tina likes me so much. When I was on ‘SNL,’ she wrote one of my best sketches, which was the Census sketch with Christopher Walken. She has given me these gifts in my career. I don’t even know how to repay her or thank her.”

He also thanks Stephen Colbert for his support.

“He looked out for me in times when I didn’t have much work,” Meadows said, highlighting his role as PK Winsome on “The Colbert Report” and his appearances on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”

The two men met on the Chicago improv scene, and when Colbert briefly wrote for “SNL,” Meadows was a big supporter of his sketches. They have remained friends and often make each other laugh during Second City’s Artistic Advisory Board Meeting, Meadows said.

“And as he grew up, I would say, ‘I don’t know why this guy still wants to be friends with me,'” Meadows said. “He’s friends with the Obamas. But he still texted me on the Fourth of July and said, ‘Happy Fourth of July, Meadows.’ I thought, ‘He should be texting people more important than me.'”

Both Meadows and Colbert worked at iO (formerly ImprovOlympic), which Meadows described as “punk rock” during his time at CrossCurrents on North Wilton Street in the 1980s.

“It was almost underground,” Meadows said. “It was like a dark bar and stage. It was like CBGB in New York. When I go there now, it’s exciting to see young people continuing to learn how to do (improvisation). It’s nice to go back. I’m glad it’s still around. I hope it always will be around.”

Outside of improv, Meadows has made memorable appearances on the television series “The Office,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” and “The Goldbergs,” the latter of which inspired the 2019-20 spin-off sitcom “Schooled,” in which Meadows’ character played a major role.

Meadows is best known for his raunchy role on “SNL.”The Ladies’ Man”, which he repeated for a film in 2000.

“What I still love about it is that it’s the most subversive thing I’ve ever done,” Meadows said. “I created this character because I was calling people, businesses, radio stations to make prank calls to them. And I wasn’t a nice person when I called those people. This character comes from a guy who did and said horrible things to people on the phone. And when I brought it on the show, my big fear was that people would recognize the voice and come after me.”

Luckily for Meadows, no one noticed.

Originally from Michigan, Meadows said he now splits his time between Detroit and Chicago. He can be found in the Windy City doing yoga at some of the local studios, eating barbecue at Carson’s Ribs, listening to live music at the Green Mill or taking in a show at The Second City.

“If I come this time, I’ll watch the White Sox game against the Mariners one day,” he said.

While longtime admirers will surely appeal to Meadows in public, he’s just as likely to hear from new fans. Young people have seen him in both the 2004 film “Mean Girls” and the new adaptation, for which he said he approached his role as an older version of his original character.

He remembered a moment recently at the airport when two little girls kept looking at him and smiling. Finally, their father asked if they could take a photo with Meadows.

“It was like they had seen Mickey Mouse or something,” Meadows said. “They just beamed and said, ‘We loved you in the movie. We saw you in the first one. My dad let us see the other movie.’ … For someone who’s been in show business for 30 years to be spoken to like that by a kid, it’s touching.”