February is all about quality over quantity in terms of appealing premieres to look out for. The new month packs two specials, one highly anticipated series premiere, and the return of the show that popularized the art of binge-watching. It’s all after the break. Continue reading TV reminder: 4 premieres to look out for in February
Here we go. Some great news for longtime fans of Saturday Night Live who might have lost faith in the late night variety show’s funny bone. SNL writer and featured guest Leslie Jones has officially joined the cast as a featured player four episodes into season 40. Audiences were first introduced to Jones’ off-kilter comedy last season when she invaded Weekend Update as an “Image Expert” and talked about black beauty; the controversial discussion projected her unique and brash delivery. SNL head honcho Lorne Michaels must have noticed the effect she had on viewers; she as brought back to the desk again this month to talk about relationships, once again proving her comedy chops. And now, she’s getting upgraded from writer/guest to full on featured player. Welcome to the cast, Leslie Jones!
She will make her official debut this coming Saturday, Oct. 25 with host Jim Carrey and musical guest Iggy Azalea. Let’s hope she’s the spark SNL has been craving ever since Wiig/Hader/Armisen/Samberg era ended.
Following the unfortunate passing of famed Saturday Night Live announcer Don Pardo at age 96, SNL head honcho Lorne Michaels named former cast member Darrell Hammond to be his official replacement. USA Today reports Hammond was the show’s longest-tenured cast member with 14 seasons under his belt. He’s best known for his impersonations of President Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, and Sean Connery. He can also impersonate the late Pardo; whenever the former announcer was diagnosed with laryngitis over the year, Hammond would sit in for him at the mic.
Hammond tells it like this: “I sat in for Don when he had laryngitis several times over the years,” Hammond says. “He was a lovely person. When he passed, they wanted me; it felt right for me to be the one to replace him. It’s been a very improbable life; I didn’t expect something like this, but it feels real good.”
Michaels also commented on his decision: “I just knew it wouldn’t be anybody who sounded like Don or replicated him. It can’t be what it was, but it could sort of be in the same tradition. And it will be nice to have Darrell around. He understands the show and will probably be helpful in ways we haven’t yet figured out.”
SNL returns tonight (9/27) on NBC with host Chris Pratt and musical guest Ariana Grande. A new opening montage will accompany Hammond’s debut.
[Via USA Today]
The Weekend Update desk at Saturday Night Live is undergoing changes, again. For SNL‘s upcoming 40th season, Colin Jost will serve as co-anchor with former SNL writer and Daily Show correspondent Michael Che. This marks the first time two men will co-anchor the desk, and Che is the first African American to do so. Outgoing co-anchor Cecily Strong, who worked on the desk with Seth Meyers and then Jost, will remain as a full-time cast member.
“Michael is a strong writer, and he’s really funny,” SNL head honcho Lorne Michaels tells The New York Times. “It struggled to find an identity last season,” he admits. “Because what had come before had been pretty brilliant.”
Keeping Jost and replacing Strong with Che is a move Michaels was confident in making. “This is about a new era, what feels appropriate for now,” he says. “That’s why we did a lot of combinations and tests, and this is kind of where we came out.”
Strong started off a bit shaky but over time she acclimated to the desk. However, she ultimately expressed her desire to pop up in more sketches and this aligned perfectly with Michaels’ vision to add Che as new Weekend Update co-anchor.
And the changes don’t stop here. According to the NYT, Michaels will “probably be making one or two more additions to the cast this season.” So stayed tuned. Previously Michaels booted Brooks Wheelan, John Milhiser, and Nöel Wells; Nasim Pedrad departed the show to star in NBC sitcom Mulaney. Michael Patrick O’Brien has returned to the writer’s room.
SNL premieres September 27 with host Chris Pratt and musical guest Ariana Grande.
Update (9/15): Deadline reports SNL is adding one and only one new featured player to its cast roster for season 40. It’s 20-year-old New York comedian Pete Davidson who was handpicked by Lorne. Davidson performed standup this past April on Jimmy Kimmel Live; get aquainted with his style of humor in this clip.
[Via NYT]
Rookies Brooks Wheelan and John Milhiser will not be making their way back to Studio 8H this fall when Saturday Night Live returns to celebrate its 40th season on air. It’s no surprise, really, since Lorne and his creative team did not give the first-year players much screen time to begin with. What is surprising, however, is that second year featured player Nöel Wells has also been given the slip. She might not have bee as strong as other female SNL cast members like Kate McKinnon and Cecily Strong, but she certainly showed promise here and there. It’s a shame we never got to see her Dana Brody.
Also exiting (after five seasons) is Nasim Pedrad who is moving on to star in the new Fox sitcom Mulaney. We won’t soon forget you, Bedelia and Shallon.
As SNL’s September premiere looms on the horizon, more casting changes are likely to be announced. Deadline reports that SNL writer turned featured player Michael Patrick O’Brien has a hazy future with the show; he may either get booted or return to writing duties behind the scenes.
Seth Meyers said goodbye to Saturday Night Live on February 1 and tomorrow, February 24, he takes over Late Night with his very own show. To celebrate Seth, his fellow SNL cast members and Weekend Update writers said their farewells and reminisced about the good times they had working with the former cast member, Weekend Update anchor, and head writer. Seth will certainly be missed, but if there’s anything to glean from this video it’s that Kyle Mooney and Beck Bennett are a comedic force to be reckoned with.
Turns out Cecily Strong won’t be manning the Weekend Update desk alone now that Seth Meyers has signed off Saturday Night Live for Late Night pastures. Replacing Meyers and co-anchoring with Strong is Colin Jost (rhymes with most) who is also SNL‘s head writer. He’s one of the masterminds behind popular Update characters like Drunk Uncle, second-hand news correspondent Anthony Crispino, and Strong’s The Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation With at a Party. Jost has big shoes to fill, and it’ll be interesting to see his rapport with Strong in the coming weeks; can they pull off the perfect comedic timing that reigned during Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey’s co-anchoring tenure?
[Via Deadline]
Can’t say this happens all the time. In the middle of its 39th season, SNL has added a new featured player to its sprawling cast of up-and-coming comics. Enter 27-year-old Sasheer Zamata; she hails from NYC and studied improv at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade. She also happens to be the first female African American in SNL‘s cast since Maya Rudolph departed the late-night sketch comedy show in 2007. Zamata made her big debut this past weekend on the show Drake hosted so well.
In addition to bringing on Zamata, SNL bossman Lorne Michaels showed his support in diversifying his show by also hiring two female African American writers in LaKendra Tookes and Leslie Jones.
Jimmy Fallon hosted Saturday Night Live with musical guest/sketch crasher Justin Timberlake last night. A rundown of my favorite sketches follows after the break. Continue reading SNL sketch round-up: December 21, 2013
Paul Rudd hosted Saturday Night Live with musical guest One Direction last night. A rundown of my favorite sketches follows after the break. Continue reading SNL sketch round-up: December 7, 2013
Josh Hutcherson of The Hunger Games hosted Saturday Night Live with musical guest Haim last night. A rundown of my favorite sketches follows after the break. Continue reading SNL sketch round-up: November 23, 2013
Lady Gaga served as host and musical guest on Saturday Night Live. A rundown of my favorite sketches follows after the break. Continue reading ‘SNL’ sketch round-up: November 16, 2013