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Actions and comments from SNL cast during Season 46 finale hint at possible departures

M

Mikey Radio

One constant about Saturday Night Live through the years has been cast departures and changeover. On Saturday, a number of the longest tenured and better known among the current cast seemed emotional and dropped subtle hints throughout the show that this past weekend's installment may have been their last. Even if so, the show will go on as they say. Over the past 4 decades a number of times people have said "Once xyz cast member leaves, this show is done" or "SNL will never be the same without xyz cast member" and yet Lorne Michaels and company always find new talent to keep it all going. Personally it's been years since I've watched full episodes at the times they air, but I do on occasion read the reviews a few days after an episode has aired, and will check out the supposed best sketches on YouTube.

www.esquire.com

Pete Davidson, Kate McKinnon, Cecily Strong, Aidy Bryant and Kenan Thompson Might Be Leaving 'SNL'

The 'Saturday Night Live' veterans all hinted at potential departures in last night's season 46 finale.
www.esquire.com www.esquire.com
 
If this was Kenan Thompson's last episode, and it was known, he should've had a bigger sendoff. He is the longest tenured cast member in history. When Will Ferrell left, the last episode was wrapped around him.
 
I wonder how many “it isn’t funny” folks aren’t in the target audience…perhaps by a long shot.

Setting aside humor, like all art, having subjective perception, I recognize that me not getting or enjoying much of the humor is a function of me being outside the main audience.
 
It's always interesting, because one often reads opinionated comments that SNL hasn't been funny since the original cast, or since Eddy Murphy, or Akroyd and Belushi, or since the mid-1980s - but if you look back to those older episodes, while there are some sketches and characters that many still fondly remember even from the late '70s, there were plenty of duds even back then as well. I think it'd be difficult to have a sketch comedy show that's been on for that many decades and keep it fresh and mass appeal to everyone throughout several several years, even as the original viewers age, tastes in comedy and what's funny definitely change and evolve over time, more fresh and topical subjects may not be fully understood by some viewers, political sketches, regardless of which end of the spectrum they target will always be a turnoff to some, etc. then on top of that, to try and make every sketch and segment for 1 1/2 hours every week funny and entertaining to most every one of their viewers.

IMO I personally liked MadTV better back when it was on. I found that it was just "funnier", the comedy was more edgy, and some of the bits were brutally honest depictions, to the point of "OMG, I can't believe they just DID that sketch...But hey, it was pretty hilarious"!

All that said, someone's still watching SNL:
www.vanityfair.com

‘Saturday Night Live’ Completes Season as Top-Rated Entertainment Show on Television

A win 46 years in the making!
www.vanityfair.com www.vanityfair.com
 
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Mikey Radio said:
It's always interesting, because one often reads opinionated comments that SNL hasn't been funny since the original cast, or since Eddy Murphy, or Akroyd and Belushi, or since the mid-1980s - but if you look back to those older episodes, while there are some sketches and characters that many still fondly remember even from the late '70s, there were plenty of duds even back then as well. I think it'd be difficult to have a sketch comedy show that's been on for that many decades and keep it fresh and mass appeal to everyone throughout several several years, even as the original viewers age, tastes in comedy and what's funny definitely change and evolve over time, more fresh and topical subjects may not be fully understood by some viewers, political sketches, regardless of which end of the spectrum they target will always be a turnoff to some, etc. then on top of that, to try and make every sketch and segment for 1 1/2 hours every week funny and entertaining to most every one of their viewers.

IMO I personally liked MadTV better back when it was on. I found that it was just "funnier", the comedy was more edgy, and some of the bits were brutally honest depictions, to the point of "OMG, I can't believe they just DID that sketch...But hey, it was pretty hilarious"!

All that said, someone's still watching SNL:
www.vanityfair.com

‘Saturday Night Live’ Completes Season as Top-Rated Entertainment Show on Television

A win 46 years in the making!
www.vanityfair.com www.vanityfair.com
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Hulu is running seasons 1-5 and 30-the present. I only watched the original shows sporadically, so I went back to season 30 and kept going until I caught up. Before I ran out of episodes, Peacock started offering the whole series and I was about to start on that but my wife suggested going back to the beginning, so I stayed with Hulu for awhile longer. I just started season five and will switch to Peacock after that and pick up seasons six through 29. I was able to see the first six seasons on Netflix earlier and the beginnings of some other seasons, until they yanked them. I have to say that for the most part, I have thoroughly enjoyed the last 17 years and revisiting the first five confirms earlier comments about the original show.
 
If you compare the early years with the current shows, you'll notice that the size of the regular cast is about triple the size of the original cast. That's not including the "featured" extra cast members and the occasional returning past cast members. If four or five leave this year, it won't have the same impact as when that same number left in the early days. They can handle it. And even if Pete Davidson leaves the cast to do a movie for a year, he'll likely come back to guest host. Or something like that. If the show needs a particular person to fill a particular role, they have access to the NYC acting community, which at times includes Alec Baldwin or Robert Di Nero. What I' saying is I'm not totally broken up if a few regulars leave.
 
Another thing is our memories of early SNL are often from the edited versions, such as the half-hour version on Nick at Nite or the hour long reruns on various cable networks, or from "best-of" videos. The dross got cut out on those shows, and they look much better than the original full versions of the shows.
 
installLSC said:
Another thing is our memories of early SNL are often from the edited versions, such as the half-hour version on Nick at Nite or the hour long reruns on various cable networks, or from "best-of" videos. The dross got cut out on those shows, and they look much better than the original full versions of the shows.
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Also, prime time reruns on NBC can come from any decade and are only an hour long. I've been watching those since 2013 when they started, though at first they were just the previous week's episodes. I also started watching the entire new episodes when I realized I could just record them.
 
I think which regulars has the greater impact. Kate McKinnon for example would be a blow. Not insurmountable by any means, but perhaps a tougher one than some other regulars.
 
installLSC said:
Another thing is our memories of early SNL are often from the edited versions, such as the half-hour version on Nick at Nite or the hour long reruns on various cable networks, or from "best-of" videos. The dross got cut out on those shows, and they look much better than the original full versions of the shows.
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the episodes on Peacock are considered, even skits without music rights issues are cut, complete episodes on granny quality on archive.org
 
I wouldn't want to see Aidy, Cecily or Pete leave. I've heard Kenan is leaving but I don't want him to. Beck and Yang are two others I'd like to see stay around.
 
Considering September begins this week and the new season of SNL typically airs in late Sept./early Oct. there should be some news about returning cast members, departing ones, and incoming fresh, newer talent in the coming days.
 
Season Premier of SNL Season 47 will happen on Oct. 2. That gives Lorne Michaels and company a few more weeks to finalize contracts for the returning cast, and ink the paperwork for new talent to appear on the show:

deadline.com

‘Saturday Night Live’ Sets Season 47 Premiere Date As Talks Continue Over Cast Returns

Saturday Night Live has booked its return. The venerable late-night NBC sketch-comedy series will premiere its 47th season on October 2, in line with last year’s launch, which aired on October 3. D…
deadline.com deadline.com
 
The SNL Cast for the upcoming 2021-22 season (Season 47) will be nearly unchanged from last year. Beck Bennett who notably parodied Mike Pence and Vladimir Putin is leaving after 8 seasons. Lauren Holt also departs. The rest of the cast remains the same and there will be 3 new additions.

www.thewrap.com

‘SNL’ Season 47: Beck Bennett and Lauren Holt Exit; Pete Davidson, Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant and Cecily Strong All Return

Plus, meet the show's three new featured players
www.thewrap.com www.thewrap.com

variety.com

Beck Bennett Leaves ‘SNL’ as Cast Veterans Set to Return, Along With Three New Featured Players, for Season 47

Beck Bennett, the versatile “Saturday Night Live” player who has won notice for his impressions of Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence over eight seasons…
variety.com variety.com
Cast members Beck Bennett and Lauren Holt have exited “SNL,” while the NBC variety sketch series will be retaining this ensemble lineup for the 2021-22 season: Aidy Bryant, Michael Che, Pete Davidson, Mikey Day, Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner, Colin Jost, Kate McKinnon, Alex Moffat, Kyle Mooney, Ego Nwodim, Chris Redd, Cecily Strong, Kenan Thompson, Melissa Villaseñor and Bowen Yang, featuring Aristotle Athari, Andrew Dismukes, James Austin Johnson, Punkie Johnson and Sarah Sherman.
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OK, cue the "SNL hasn't been funny for years" or "SNL hasn't been the same since the departure of XYZ cast" comments....Now! :)
 
Mikey Radio said:
The SNL Cast for the upcoming 2021-22 season (Season 47) will be nearly unchanged from last year. Beck Bennett who notably parodied Mike Pence and Vladimir Putin is leaving after 8 seasons. Lauren Holt also departs. The rest of the cast remains the same and there will be 3 new additions.

www.thewrap.com

‘SNL’ Season 47: Beck Bennett and Lauren Holt Exit; Pete Davidson, Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant and Cecily Strong All Return

Plus, meet the show's three new featured players
www.thewrap.com www.thewrap.com

variety.com

Beck Bennett Leaves ‘SNL’ as Cast Veterans Set to Return, Along With Three New Featured Players, for Season 47

Beck Bennett, the versatile “Saturday Night Live” player who has won notice for his impressions of Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence over eight seasons…
variety.com variety.com

OK, cue the "SNL hasn't been funny for years" or "SNL hasn't been the same since the departure of XYZ cast" comments....Now! :)
Click to expand...
I actually thought the season finale was quite good.
 
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