History of Saturday Night Live (2015–2020)

Saturday Night Live is an American sketch comedy series created and produced by Lorne Michaels for most of the show's run. The show has aired on NBC since its inception in 1975.

2015–2016 season

The 2015–2016 season of Saturday Night Live began on October 3, 2015, with host and musical guest Miley Cyrus, and concluded on May 21, 2016, with host Fred Armisen and musical guest Courtney Barnett.

Bumper format

Various old bumper formats return. Each host has several bumper shots on a solid color faded background, where their image may be repeated or given other various picture effects. Each host also has one or two photos of him or her in costume around NBC Studios. The musical guest for each episode has two bumper photos on solid colored backgrounds.

Cast

The entire cast returned from last season. This season has a cast of 16 members, including five African American cast members (the most to ever be in the cast at once). As in previous seasons, the cast is separated into a most established repertory company, and a newer featured company. Jon Rudnitsky was the only new addition to the cast prior to the season premiere. Four cast members (Beck Bennett, Colin Jost, Kyle Mooney, and Sasheer Zamata) were upgraded from featured to repertory.

• The third episode, hosted by Tracy Morgan, was the comedian's first large comedy appearance since suffering head injuries from a near fatal car crash.^[1]
• The announcement of Donald Trump returning to host on the fourth episode drew controversy for several reasons:
  • Hispanic and Latino organizations called for Trump to be removed as host due to controversial comments he had made regarding immigration. An online petition was formed requesting his removal.^[2]
  • Trump's hosting was filed with the Federal Communications Commission in regards to the equal-time rule. Although no candidate has ever requested an appearance on Saturday Night Live due to equal-time, concerns were raised over whether SNL qualified for an exception to the rule as a live entertainment program.^[3]
• Amy Poehler and Tina Fey co-hosted the season's December 19 episode, marking the first time an episode has featured multiple hosts since 2004 (the season 29 episode hosted by Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson),^[4] as well as the first time two female cast members have hosted, and the first time since season 12's Christmas episode hosted by Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, and Martin Short that two former cast members have hosted.
• Tina Fey and Amy Poehler received a historic co-nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a comedy for their roles as co-host of the Christmas episode, which they ultimately won.^[5]

Problems with election coverage

As usual during election seasons, SNL has placed particular emphasis on the 2016 presidential election. Given the unusually large field of candidates, some impressions of candidates shift or have shifted based on who remains in the race.

On the Democratic side, Kate McKinnon is the show's current Hillary Clinton. McKinnon debuted as Clinton in Season 40, Episode 15 (though she previously portrayed an actress portraying Clinton).^[6] While they remained in the race, cast members Taran Killam and Kyle Mooney portrayed Martin O'Malley and Lincoln Chafee, respectively, both debuting in Season 41, Episode 3. Former candidate Jim Webb was portrayed by Alec Baldwin, also debuting in the aforementioned episode. Larry David has made recurring appearances to portray Bernie Sanders.

There was media speculation as to who would play whom for the upcoming election prior to the season.^[7] The casting was made problematic because many of the candidates were played by the same impressionists prior to the election. Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, and Rand Paul had all been portrayed by Taran Killam. Chris Christie was portrayed by Bobby Moynihan, who had also played Cruz. Mike Huckabee and Jeb Bush were both portrayed by Beck Bennett. Additionally, Pete Davidson and Colin Jost were not considered by speculators to be generally desired for the job, since neither was an impressionist. Carly Fiorina had been portrayed by McKinnon on one occasion, while Ben Carson was portrayed by Kenan Thompson. No one on the current cast had portrayed John Kasich.

More issues further complicated the matter. Just prior to the start of the season, SNL announced that Killam would be portraying Donald Trump for the upcoming election,^[8] which meant that Killam would be portraying four of the candidates in the main Republican race. SNL ultimately was forced to wait until their ninth episode to tackle a Republican debate, when the field was sufficiently narrowed.

For the December 19 episode, the first to feature a debate, several impressions were ultimately moved permanently to new cast members. Jimmy Fallon was initially offered the role of Trump on a recurring cameo basis, but a last-minute change resulted in announcer Darrell Hammond portraying him as he had done for fourteen seasons in the cast.^[9] Killam ultimately portrayed Cruz, while Moynihan portrayed Christie. Rubio was played by Davidson, Bush by Bennett, and Paul by Kyle Mooney. Cecily Strong and Jay Pharoah portrayed Fiorina and Carson, respectively, while Colin Jost acted as a stand-in for Kasich, with no lines. Rudnitsky portrayed debate moderator Wolf Blitzer.^[10]

The following episode, on January 16, featured another debate, with a slightly smaller Republican field. Carly Fiorina had been demoted to the earlier undercard debate, and while Paul and Kasich remained on the mainstage, SNL chose not to include them in the sketch. Trump, Cruz, Christie, Rubio, Bush, and Carson were all portrayed by the same people that portrayed them in the earlier episode.^[10]

Despite Hammond's acclaimed impression, speculation remained as to whether he was playing the role because he was needed (as Killam was playing Cruz) or because his impression was superior.^[11] The show ultimately confirmed that Hammond was going to be portraying Trump indefinitely; the following week, he appeared alongside Tina Fey's Sarah Palin in a sketch without Killam, confirming that he would continue to play Trump even if Killam were available (for the time being).^[12] Killam, in turn, was confirmed as the show's indefinite Cruz, in a sketch where he portrayed him when Moynihan was not present.^[13]

2016–2017 season

Season 42 was indirectly confirmed via advertising plans from NBC's sales division. The announcement revealed that the program will contain 30% less advertisement time in the coming season.^[14] Additionally, select NBC advertising clients will be given the opportunity to have their brand appear in promotional sketches, called "pods". Six of these pods will air each season.

The season premiered on October 1, 2016, with host Margot Robbie and musical guest The Weeknd, and concluded on May 20, 2017, with host Dwayne Johnson and musical guest Katy Perry.

Cast

On June 24, 2016, Lorne Michaels announced that Michael Che and Colin Jost would continue as the anchors of "Weekend Update".^[15] Both were featured on SNL special editions of "Weekend Update" for the Democratic and Republican Conventions.

It was also announced that Michael Che, Pete Davidson, and Leslie Jones would all be upgraded from featured players to repertory status.^[16]

This was also the final season for cast members Bobby Moynihan, Vanessa Bayer and Sasheer Zamata.^[17]

The above-named changes kept the cast membership for this season at 16 members, with four African American cast members and one Hispanic cast member. As in previous seasons, the cast is listed in two separate groups: repertory and featured players.

Election coverage

On September 28, SNL announced that while Kate McKinnon would return as Hillary Clinton for its parodies of the 2016 presidential election, Alec Baldwin would play the role of Donald Trump, replacing Darrell Hammond, who continues as the show's announcer.^[18]

2017–2018 season

During the last episode of Weekend Update Summer Edition (on August 24, 2017), it was confirmed that SNL had been renewed for season 43, and would debut on September 30, 2017, with host Ryan Gosling, and musical guest Jay-Z, and concluded on May 19, 2018, with host Tina Fey and musical guest Nicki Minaj.

As was the case in the previous two seasons, this season had a cast of 16, with four African-Americans (Thompson, Jones [the only African-American female cast member of this season], Che, Redd) and one Hispanic (Villaseñor). As usual, the cast in listed in two separate groups: repertory and featured.

Due to his return for a 15th consecutive season, Kenan Thompson became the show's longest-running cast member, surpassing the previous record of 14 seasons set by Darrell Hammond.

Notes

• On September 26, it was announced that Heidi Gardner of The Groundlings, Luke Null of iO Chicago (the second cast member to have been born in the 1990s, though Pete Davidson is still the youngest cast member, as Null was born in 1990 while Davidson was born in 1993), and stand-up comedian Chris Redd from Second City would be added to the cast. Redd was originally announced as joining the cast the previous season, but did not end up doing so. On that same day, the return of the remaining cast members from Season 42 (repertory and featured) was confirmed as well.^[19] It was also announced that Sam Jay, Gary Richardson, Erik Marino, Andrew Dismukes, Steven Castillo, Claire Friedman and Nimesh Patel would all join the writing team.^[20]
• On August 15, 2018, it was announced that Luke Null would not be returning for the show's 44th season.^[21]

2018–2019 season

Prior to the premiere of the 44th season of Saturday Night Live, Ego Nwodim was announced as a new featured player for the show.^[22] The season premiered on September 29, 2018, with host Adam Driver and musical guest Kanye West, and concluded on May 18, 2019, with host Paul Rudd and musical guest DJ Khaled.

There are 16 cast members, with five African-Americans (Che, Jones, Nwodim, Redd, Thompson) and one Hispanic (Villaseñor). The cast is listed in two separate groups: repertory and featured.

Notes

• Despite mounting rumors that this would be the last season for Kenan Thompson,^[23] Thompson insisted he would not be leaving SNL anytime soon.^[24]
• On August 27, 2019, it was also announced that Leslie Jones would not return to SNL for the next season, after having been a cast member since the 40th season.^[25]

2019–2020 season

The 45th season of Saturday Night Live premiered on September 28, 2019, with host Woody Harrelson and musical guest Billie Eilish, and concluded on May 9, 2020, with host Kristen Wiig and musical guest Boyz II Men.

On August 27, 2019, NBC announced that Leslie Jones would not be returning to SNL after five years, in favor of focusing on her movie career and other projects coming up. It was also announced that Kate McKinnon would be returning for her eighth full season on SNL.^[26]

On September 12, 2019, NBC also confirmed the hiring of three new featured players: Bowen Yang, previously a staff writer for the show who appeared on last season's episode hosted by Sandra Oh as Kim Jong-Un; Chloe Fineman, both a regular performing at the Groundlings and a New Face at the 2018 "Just for Laughs" Festival in Montreal; and Shane Gillis, a stand-up comedian who was recognized as a New Face at the 2019 "Just for Laughs" Festival. However, almost immediately, Gillis' hiring was met with backlash after video clips of him making racially and sexually offensive remarks (including anti-Asian slurs against 2020 election hopeful Andrew Yang) had surfaced, and he was subsequently fired just four days later, less than two weeks before the season began (ironically, Gillis would host SNL five years later on February 24, 2024).^[27]

On September 24, 2019, it was confirmed that featured players Heidi Gardner and Chris Redd would be upgraded to repertory status this season.^[28]

This season has 17 cast members, with four African-Americans (Thompson, Che, Redd, Nwodim), one Latina-American (Villaseñor) and one Asian-American (Yang).

On March 16, 2020, the season was put on hiatus due to the then-rising COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown of most non-essential businesses and public venues. The show returned on April 11, 2020, under the name SNL Stays at Home (which lasted for three episodes) and featured low-budget short films and Zoom-based sketches done in or around the homes of the cast members. The first episode was hosted by Tom Hanks with musical guest Chris Martin, the second episode had no host (but did have a special appearance by Brad Pitt) with Miley Cyrus as musical guest, and the third episode was hosted by Kristen Wiig with musical guest Boyz II Men.

Notes

• With the departure of Leslie Jones (b. 1967) from the show, Kenan Thompson (b. 1978) again became the oldest current cast member. Because of this, the show has come full-circle in the demographic changes to the cast. In 2003, Thompson was then the show's youngest cast member (being 25 years old at the time) and was, at that time, the first cast member to have been born after SNL's 1975 premiere. Also, with Jones' departure, this will be the first season of the show in which all the cast members have birth dates after Saturday Night Live's premiere in 1975.
• Bowen Yang is now the fourth Asian cast member hired (after Rob Schneider, Fred Armisen, and Nasim Pedrad), the third male Asian cast member hired, the first full-blooded East Asian-American cast member (the East-Asian cast members the show has had before were part-Asian. Rob Schneider is Filipino and Jewish-American while Fred Armisen is German, Korean, and Venezuelan), and the first one to be Chinese.
  • Yang is also the third gay male cast member after Terry Sweeney (from the 1985-1986 cast) and John Milhiser (from the 2013-2014 cast), the fifth homosexual cast member hired (joining Terry Sweeney, Danitra Vance, John Milhiser, and Kate McKinnon), the second homosexual person of color after Danitra Vance, the first homosexual male of color, and the first East Asian male homosexual.
  • With Yang hired and McKinnon still on the show, this is the third time in SNL history that a homosexual male and a lesbian cast member appeared at the same time (the first two times were in 1985 with Sweeney and Vance and in 2013 with McKinnon and Milhiser).
  • Yang (born 1990) is also the third cast member to have been born in the 1990s, after Pete Davidson (born 1993) and former cast member Luke Null (who, like Yang, was also born in 1990).
  • Yang is also the seventh cast member to be born outside of North America (Yang was born in Queensland, Australia before his family moved to Quebec and then Colorado), joining Tony Rosato (who was born in Italy before his family emigrated to Canada), Pamela Stephenson (born in New Zealand and now has Australian citizenship), Morwenna Banks (who was born in England), Horatio Sanz (who was born in Chile), Nasim Pedrad (who was born in Iran) and Sasheer Zamata (who was born in Japan), and the second after Sasheer Zamata to be born in another country, but not be a native to that country (Zamata was born in Japan because her father was in the military and he and his wife moved around).
• Chloe Fineman (born July 20, 1988) is the new youngest female member of the current cast, as she was born four months and ten days after Ego Nwodim (born March 10, 1988), though Nwodim is still the youngest African-American cast member overall (beating out Chris Redd, who was born March 25, 1985) and the youngest African-American female overall (beating out former cast member Sasheer Zamata) and in the current cast.
• The hiring of Shane Gillis was met with online backlash after videos and podcast clips resurfaced of him making racist, sexist, Islamophobic, and homophobic remarks. Because of this (and Gillis trying to defend his use of those words and not apologizing for any of it), Gillis was let go before the start of the season, making him the second cast member after Emily Prager to be hired as a cast member, but not appear in an episode and the second after Catherine O'Hara to be hired on the show and immediately let go (though O'Hara quit before she appeared on SNL whereas Gillis was fired).
• After being featured players for two years, Heidi Gardner and Chris Redd were upgraded to repertory status.^[29]
• Some milestones this season include:
• Billie Eilish became the youngest season premiere musical guest (at age 17) and the first celebrity born in the 2000s to appear on SNL.
• Chance the Rapper returned to host SNL for the 2nd time and his 3rd musical guest appearance on October 26, 2019 for the Halloween show.
• Kristen Stewart returned to SNL to making her 2nd hosting stint on November 2, 2019, with musical guests Coldplay.
• On November 23, 2019, Will Ferrell hosted SNL for the fifth time, becoming the fourth former cast member to enter the Five-Timers Club after Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, and Tina Fey.
  • For the first time in several years, Ferrell's Five-Timer's milestone was neither acknowledged on-screen or marked in any special way (though when they showed his picture as the host of the episode in the opening credits, he was in a leather chair, smoking a pipe with a robe that says "5" on it, meaning that his induction into The Five-Timers' Club was at least acknowledged, even if there was no sketch about it).
  • Also, on November 23, 2019, Weekend Update with Colin Jost and Michael Che became the longest-running iteration of Update with 112 shows and counting, surpassing Weekend Update with Dennis Miller, which had 111 installments between 1985 and 1991.
• Former Ebersol-era cast member Eddie Murphy hosted on December 21, 2019, his third time hosting and his first appearance in 35 years,5 months, and 19 days breaking the record for longest span of time between solo hosting appearances, set by Jeff Bridges in 2010 at 27 years.^[30] Murphy also surpasses Mick Jagger's 34-year span between hosting appearances, who hosted with The Rolling Stones in 1978 and as a solo host in 2012. Murphy last hosted the show in December 1984 during the show's tenth season (which, coincidentally, was a Christmas episode), though he did make an appearance on SNL's 40th anniversary special. Murphy is the third cast member, after Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Martin Short, from Dick Ebersol's tenure as showrunner to host an episode under Lorne Michaels' tenure. Murphy is also the first and only African-American from that era to host, as well as the first Jean Doumanian-era cast member to host a Lorne Michaels episode, making Murphy one of five cast members (joining Bill Murray, Brian Doyle-Murray, and fellow Jean Doumanian cast members Denny Dillon and Yvonne Hudson) who appeared on the show in some capacity (whether as a host, a cast member, or in a cameo appearance) under all three showrunners (Lorne Michaels, Jean Doumanian, and Dick Ebersol).
• As of January 26, Kate, Aidy, and Cecily are the first female cast members to have officially been on the show for eight full seasons. Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph left during what would've been considered their eighth full season, as they both left mid-season, during different times.
• RuPaul became the first drag queen to host on February 8, 2020. This was also his first appearance on the show since 1993 during the Charles Barkley/Nirvana episode, when he cameoed (in drag) on the game show sketch, "What's That?", where contestants try to identify the genders of androgynous people.
• As mentioned in his monologue, John Mulaney's third time hosting (on February 29, 2020) marked the first time SNL has ever aired on a leap day.
  • Mulaney is also, as of his third time hosting, the most frequent former SNL writer (who was never hired as a cast member) the show, beating Larry David.
• On March 16, 2020, the season was put on hold indefinitely due to the COVID-19 outbreak, which resulted in the postponement of an episode originally planned to air on March 28 (which would have been hosted by John Krasinski, with musical guest Dua Lipa). Two additional episodes which were scheduled to air during the first two Saturdays in April, and which had hosts and musical guests booked (but not publicly announced) were canceled as well.
  • This is the first time since season 33 that a season of the show has been put on hold. The last time was due to the 2007-08 Writers' Strike.
  • This will also be the first time since season 33 for which SNL had less than the standard 20-22 episodes that have been typical in recent years. The season will conclude on May 9 with a total of 18 episodes.
  • The other 8 seasons which had less than the standard number of episodes are seasons 6, 9, 10, 11, 13, 24, 31, and 33 (though this is the first season to be cut short due to a global crisis. The previous seasons listed were cut short due to writers' strikes and the show's budget being cut, or, in the infamous case of seasons six and eleven, because of network intervention over the show's quality).
  • This also breaks a seven-season streak of 21 episoded-seasons in a row.
  • For the first time since 2010, the season ended with a group (in this case Boyz II Men) as musical guest
• The season returned on April 11, 2020, in a new format called Saturday Night at Home, where the cast members upload low-budget sketch videos they created themselves.
• Kristen Wiig is now the sixth and latest former cast member to have hosted the season finale, after Dan Aykroyd, Will Ferrell, Andy Samberg, Fred Armisen and Tina Fey.
• On May 9, 2020, Wiig is the second former female cast member, to host a season finale after, Fey.

References

This page was last edited on 16 April 2024, at 00:51