Tag Archives: SNL cast

Leslie Jones joins the cast of ‘SNL’

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.

‘SNL’ adds comedian Michael Che to co-anchor Weekend Update [Update: New featured player added]

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]

‘SNL’ season 39 cast locked in (6 new members!), Cecily Strong to co-anchor ‘Weekend Update’

Later this month Saturday Night Live kicks off its 39th season and fans of the late-night sketch comedy show are bracing for a major overhaul in terms of talent. After veterans Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, and Jason Sudeikis moved on from the show last season, SNL creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels was tasked with finding a new crop of potential stars who have the comedic chops to rock Studio 8H.

This August report has been confirmed: Beck Bennett, Kyle Mooney, Noël Wells, John Milhiser, and SNL writer Michael Patrick O’Brien are all being added to the cast. Also confirmed is stand-up comedian Brooks Wheelan, a contributing writer at CollegeHumor. A grand total of six new comics are joining the SNL cast this season, and Lorne Michaels is well aware of the importance of finding the right mix of people to fill his cast.

“You can’t be famous before you’re famous,” he told The New York Times. “It’s one thing to be on a stage in Chicago or L.A.; it’s another thing to be standing in 8H. It’s like standing in Yankee Stadium. They can all play baseball, but this is something different. And the weight of all that was just more palpable to me this summer, more than ever before.”

In addition to confirming the six new cast members, Michaels dropped an even bigger bomb: in only her second year on the show, breakout featured player Cecily Strong is joining Seth Meyers at the Weekend Update desk as co-anchor. Famous for her Weekend Update character “The Girl You Wished You Hadn’t Started a Conversation With at a Party,” Strong will join Meyers at the desk in the upcoming season premiere. Michaels makes it seem like the decision was an easy one: “Cecily, from the first show, was right there,” he said. “She exploded.”

If all goes according to plan, Strong will take over as the sole Weekend Update anchor when Meyers departs SNL to host Late Night when Jimmy Fallon departs his show to run The Tonight Show. Michaels hopes, however, that Meyers will stay in his seat for the entirety of this transition season before relinquishing his title to Strong. Technically Meyers can pull double duty–Late Night only shoots Monday through Thursday leaving Friday and Saturday open for Meyers to write and anchor. As it stands, Meyers is poised to leave SNL in late February when his own late night show takes off.

Elsewhere, last year’s rookie Tim Robinson is stepping off the stage to contribute behind the scenes in the writer’s room and Colin Jost and Rob Klein will share the head writer title, the job formally held by Meyers.

SNL premieres September 29 on NBC with host Tina Fey and musical guest Arcade Fire.

[Via NYT]

‘SNL’ adds three featured players, Jason Sudeikis staying on (for now)

As we inch ever so close to the 38th season premiere of Saturday Night Live, it’s been confirmed that three new featured players will take the place of the departed Kristin Wiig, Andy Samberg, and Abby Elliot. They are Aidy Bryant, Tim Robinson, and Cecily Strong and they all hail from Chicago’s Second City improv comedy club.

In other SNL news, although the most recent reports had Jason Sudeikis eyeing an exit from the late-night NBC show, head honcho Lorne Michaels informs us that the actor will remain on the show “at least until January” so that he can reprise his roles as presidential candidate Mitt Romney and Vice President Joe Biden as we head into election season.

And there’s one more thing: Michaels has shared that featured player Jay Pharoah will be replacing Fred Armisen as President Obama on the show this season. In an interview with the New York Times Michaels said, “Jay has been doing Obama in his act this summer, and Jay is coming into his own. I just thought it might be time to shake it up.”

SNL returns to NBC’s lineup this Saturday night (9/15) at 11:35PM with host Seth MacFarlane and musical guest Frank Ocean.

[Via EW; NYT 1, 2]

SNL update: All cast members returning, Alec Baldwin to host season 37 premiere

At the Television Critics Association press tour Lorne Michaels announced that all of his Saturday Night Live cast from last season will be returning this September. Last year newcomer Jenny Slate was dropped and Taran Killam, Paul Brittain, Vanessa Bayer, and Jay Pharoah joined the funny crew led by current movie stars Kristin Wiig and Jason Sudeikis. Though it hasn’t been made official yet, we can expect the 2010 newbies to remain as featured players and 2009 entrant Nasim Pedrad to fold into the main cast. Though Killam, Brittain, and Pharoah didn’t receive much screen time last season, I’m glad the NBC honcho is giving this bunch another chance to shine in Studio 8H. During their roles sprinkled throughout the season they proved to have potential and I can’t wait to see the new material they tackle this year. Auditions to fill up more featured players spots are happening this month.

In related SNL news, NBC announced that 30 Rock star Alec Baldwin will host the season 37 premiere. This marks the record-breaking 16th time he’s hosted the long-running show. Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids) will play host in episode 2.

Saturday Night Live returns September 24 on NBC.

Update: Radiohead and Lady Antebellum have been penned in as the first two musical guests of the season.

[Via HuffingtonPost; EW 1, 2]