SNL in the Media

[VCRTracking]

Great stories from Dana Carvey meeting Paul and Linda McCartney at Lorne Michaels' house just after he got hired.

 

 

[Jody]

On 9/20/2016 at 10:13 AM, peeayebee said:

Fair enough, but as the quote above from the SNL book says, Lorne thought her "style encompassed everything “Saturday Night” should avoid. It lacked subtlety and nuance; it was…too smug, especially when the performers broke out laughing in mid-sketch, doubling over at the hilarity of themselves. From then on, many an idea would be derisively dismissed on the 17th floor with the words, 'That’s Carol Burnett.'" But I can agree that he may have liked her comedy but just didn't think that style would work for his show.

 

            I think that is true. I think every body is too busy laughing at Tim Conway Where As Kate And Aidy bring every thing to A Halt which is Annoying and makes The Sketch be boring and NOT GOOD !

 

[Jody]

On 8/22/2014 at 12:51 PM, ajsnaves said:

What I think is telling about the Sandler v. Farley are the clips they chose.  What has made the Lunch Lady song funny to me is not Sandler, but Farley's dancing.  Without Farley, that song goes nowhere.

 

I think there are many people that could give Murphy or Murry a run for their money. In fact, I would put Gilda ahead of Murry.  But I think people like Phil Hartman, Dana Carvey, or Bill Hader are just as funny as Eddie Murphy.  What I want to know is how the hell did Rob Schneider get past Jan Hooks, or Darryl Hammond (Who I find very funny) get past Maya Rudolph.

 

            First of all, the name is Bill Murray ! I think they took Rob Schneider because of Copy Meister OR what ever the Character is and Jan Hooks who is extremely good does not have A Specific Character that stands out except Maybe Candy Sweeney of the Sweeney Sisters ! Darryl Hammond probably for Sean Connery Or even Bill Clinton ! Personally, I think Maya is Very Funny Especially when she does The National Anthem !

[Bruinsfan]

Lorne objected to someone's comedy being too smug, yet employed Dennis Miller for six years?

[Jody]

On 6/30/2020 at 12:50 PM, Bruinsfan said:

Lorne objected to someone's comedy being too smug, yet employed Dennis Miller for six years?

           Lorne thought Carol Burnett was too smug because he thinks that she thinks the Comedy Should go all out for Belly Laughs and she is not subtle ! How ever, Kristen Wiig was never subtle either !

On 9/11/2017 at 12:27 PM, Princess Sparkle said:

In case anyone is curious, here are the episodes the nominated actors submitted:
-Alec submitted the Melissa McCarthy episode
-Vanessa submitted The Rock's episode
-Leslie submitted the Tom Hanks episode
-Kate submitted the Dave Chapelle episode, which is also the episode they chose to submit for Best Variety Sketch series

Vanessa and Kate picked great episodes to showcase themselves; Leslie didn't do a ton in the Tom Hanks episode, but I'm guessing she picked it because she did her piece on internet trolls during WU. For Alec, I'm actually baffled he didn't pick the episode he hosted, especially because his episode was great. 

       Maybe, Lesley submitted Tom Hanks because of Black Jeopardy ! Remember how Astonished they thought Doug was and Kenan said you're alright Doug !

[JZL]

Jost is on Marc Maron's WTF podcast 7/13.

[vb68]

The plan as of right now is to get back into the studio for Fall.

We called it in the Speculation thread that they are following Jimmy Fallon's example.

And yeah, they want to get going with the political sketches.

Edited July 20, 2020 by vb68

[mtlchick]

Emmy nominations were just announced.  PDF is here:

https://www.emmys.com/sites/default/files/Downloads/72nd-nominations-list-v1.pdf?q=1

The highlight: Brad Pitt playing Dr Fauci got a nod.  Because hey, 2020! 

[vb68]

1 hour ago, mtlchick said:

The highlight: Brad Pitt playing Dr Fauci got a nod.  Because hey, 2020! 

Love it.

But actually the highlight for me is that Cecily is finally nominated! Nobody deserves it more! Big congrats to her! Stanning hard for her and Kenan for wins. And for Eddie in guest. And if Maya can win for playing Kamala Harris, that's just fine with me too.

[SoMuchTV]

2 hours ago, vb68 said:

Love it.

But actually the highlight for me is that Cecily is finally nominated! Nobody deserves it more! Big congrats to her! Stanning hard for her and Kenan for wins. And for Eddie in guest. And if Maya can win for playing Kamala Harris, that's just fine with me too.

Looks like Maya has some tough competition in her category, including somebody named "Maya Rudolph" in some show called "The Good Place"  🙂

 

[Trini]

https://www.emmys.com/shows/saturday-night-live

Nominations:

Quote

OUTSTANDING VARIETY SKETCH SERIES - 2020
Saturday Night Live - NBC

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES - 2020
Kenan Thompson as Various Characters - Saturday Night Live

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES - 2020
Kate McKinnon as Various Characters - Saturday Night Live
Cecily Strong as Various Characters - Saturday Night Live

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES - 2020
Adam Driver Host - Saturday Night Live
Eddie Murphy Host - Saturday Night Live
Brad Pitt as Dr. Anthony Fauci - Saturday Night Live

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES - 2020
Phoebe Waller-Bridge Host - Saturday Night Live
Maya Rudolph as Senator Kamala Harris - Saturday Night Live
Maya Rudolph as The Judge - The Good Place

OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY SERIES - 2020
Saturday Night Live "Host: Eddie Murphy" - NBC - Don Roy King, Directed by

OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN/LIGHTING DIRECTION FOR A VARIETY SERIES - 2020
Saturday Night Live "Host: John Mulaney" - NBC

OUTSTANDING MUSIC DIRECTION - 2020
Saturday Night Live "SNL At Home #1" - NBC

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION DESIGN FOR A VARIETY, REALITY OR COMPETITION SERIES - 2020
Saturday Night Live "Host: Eddie Murphy, Host: John Mulaney" - NBC

OUTSTANDING TECHNICAL DIRECTION, CAMERAWORK, VIDEO CONTROL FOR A SERIES - 2020
Saturday Night Live "Host: Woody Harrelson" - NBC

OUTSTANDING COSTUMES FOR A VARIETY, NONFICTION OR REALITY PROGRAM - 2020
Saturday Night Live "Host: Eddie Murphy" - NBC
 

 

[heatherchandler]

27 minutes ago, Trini said:

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION DESIGN FOR A VARIETY, REALITY OR COMPETITION SERIES - 2020
Saturday Night Live "Host: Eddie Murphy, Host: John Mulaney" - NBC

I'm glad Mulaney's episode is up for something, but I don't recall the lighting being special.

[vb68]

1 hour ago, heatherchandler said:

I'm glad Mulaney's episode is up for something, but I don't recall the lighting being special.

I was really surprised he's not up for Guest Actor. His episode was stellar again this year.

Also surprised that they had nothing nominated in the "original song lyrics" category.

3 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

Looks like Maya has some tough competition in her category, including somebody named "Maya Rudolph" in some show called "The Good Place"  🙂

 

She's also nominated in the voice-over category for Big Mouth, so she has multiple chances this year. I was just keeping it SNL-related.  

[WendyCR72]

Well, SNL is on Peacock as it was promised. But it is not the full library. It is seasons 23 to 45 and some Best Ofs. Unsure if/when other seasons will be available, but I do hope it is not too long a wait. I'd love to see more of the "silver era" as it is sometimes known, with Carvey, Hartman, etc.

[Bruinsfan]

16 hours ago, vb68 said:

Also surprised that they had nothing nominated in the "original song lyrics" category.

Yeah, Bowen Wang singing "Profiled Asian" had me rolling on the floor, and he did a pretty good job musically as well as being hilarious. Could it be that's not eligible because it was set to a pre-existing melody?

[Pete Martell]

I hope not being nominated for writing might lead them to restructure (there are only a few writers I would let go but I think it needs to be restructured, particularly with Jost and Che on their way out), but not holding my breath. 

There are a few things I wish had been nominated (like  David Harbour), but I'm thrilled for Cecily Strong (finally), and Adam Driver kicked a lot of ass in that last hosting stint. 

[Jody]

On 7/28/2020 at 6:36 PM, vb68 said:

I was really surprised he's not up for Guest Actor. His episode was stellar again this year.

Also surprised that they had nothing nominated in the "original song lyrics" category.

She's also nominated in the voice-over category for Big Mouth, so she has multiple chances this year. I was just keeping it SNL-related.  

 

          John Mulaney WAS Nominated For Guest Host, But He Did NOT Win ! Adam Sandler was also Nominated For Guest Host, But I Don't Think He Won Either ! I AM Sorry, Because I Have A Horrible Memory So I Can Not Remember who did Win For Guest Host, But I Think It Was A Different Show Than Saturday Night Live ! By The way, Cecily Was Not Even On The List That I Saw Where Kate Was On ! Also, I Only Read About Maya On The Good Place And I Did Not even See Kenan On That List !

[Lorna Mae]

I finally watched the HBO Watchmen series, and I'm sure I caught an SNL reference. Not to spoil anything, but there's a scene where someone presses a button on a remote to open a trap door and drop the person sitting in the chair on top of it into an underground lair. There was a brand name on the remote: Wilson. I can't prove that it was a deliberate callback, but they didn't have to put a brand name on it at all. 😉

[Pete Martell]

On 8/18/2020 at 11:34 AM, Lorna Mae said:

I finally watched the HBO Watchmen series, and I'm sure I caught an SNL reference. Not to spoil anything, but there's a scene where someone presses a button on a remote to open a trap door and drop the person sitting in the chair on top of it into an underground lair. There was a brand name on the remote: Wilson. I can't prove that it was a deliberate callback, but they didn't have to put a brand name on it at all. 😉

HBO confirmed it. At the time I hoped this might mean SNL would upload the ad onto Youtube, but as shown recently, updating their channel is a tall order.

https://ew.com/tv/2019/12/05/watchmen-trap-door-snl/

[vb68]

What a great catch!

[Pete Martell]

Wasn't sure where to put this as it's not quite "other projects" considering this is an SNL character. MacGruber is going to be a new series for Peacock.

https://deadline.com/2020/08/macgruber-will-forte-comedy-picked-series-peacock-ryan-phillippe-kristen-wiig-1203008985/

[vb68]

NBC has ordered a Joe Exotic show straight to series starring Kate.

I love Kate, but this doesn't appeal to me at all.

[PrairieDogBaby]

3 hours ago, vb68 said:

NBC has ordered a Joe Exotic show straight to series starring Kate.

I love Kate, but this doesn't appeal to me at all.

I love Kate too. But is anyone going to care about this tiger king anymore once this finally airs?

[Bruinsfan]

Carole Baskin will.

[Pete Martell]

This Youtube channel is an archive for an entertainment reporter named Bobbie Wygant. She had interviews with many former cast members (in their post-SNL careers, for the most part) and hosts. 

https://www.youtube.com/c/TheBobbieWygantArchive/videos

[Pete Martell]

A fun fan-made credits sequence for next season.

 

[Pete Martell]

Jared Scharff, SNL's guitarist for the last 13 years, is leaving. 

 

[vb68]

Kate has signed a new deal to return for Season 46!

In fact, the entire cast is returning with no turnover. I think a few astute posters predicted that in the speculation thread.

Edited September 15, 2020 by vb68

[Pete Martell]

3 hours ago, vb68 said:

Kate has signed a new deal to return for Season 46!

In fact, the entire cast is returning with no turnover. I think a few astute posters predicted that in the speculation thread.

When the season ended the main two I thought might want to leave were Kate and Cecily, because of the way the "dreams" sketch was put together. Then Cecily (and Aidy) suggested they wanted to return. I still wasn't sure about Kate, and it sounds like, similar to last season, it took a while to work everything out. I wonder for how many of them this is about job security during a pandemic and recession/possible depression. In an ideal world, Beck, Kyle, Aidy, Kate and Cecily, and possibly Pete, may have all wanted to leave otherwise. So now I wonder if we will get more of what I'd expected we would have gotten last season - longtime cast slowly taking a backseat for newer people to shine (newer in this case being...5 seasons...). Given that this will be the first time in many seasons Kate does not have a prominent political impression, beyond Pelosi, I'm interested in what she will do. I just hope this season will have some life to it because everything is already mournful enough without the impression the cast is saying a very long goodbye. 

I did think a few people might be let go because of budget issues, but I guess that is going to be worked out. I'm relieved as I'm 90% sure the people who would have been let go are people I would not have chosen. 

I still wish we were getting someone new to stop the staleness of a cast full of so many, many longtime cast members, but I hope they can work that out some other way (let writers have pieces on Update again - they may need longer Updates to fill time now anyway). 

If no one new joins, this will be the first season since 2007-2008 that starts with an entirely stable cast. (Maya Rudolph left after the writers' strike)

Anyway, congratulations to SNL for their fourth consecutive Variety Emmy (Don Roy King also won again for Directing).

https://tvline.com/2020/09/15/emmys-2020-winners-saturday-night-live-variety-sketch-series-snl/

Edited September 16, 2020 by Pete Martell

[vb68]

2 hours ago, Pete Martell said:

I still wasn't sure about Kate, and it sounds like, similar to last season, it took a while to work everything out.

Meaning Kate is getting paid.  It's always about the Benjamins.   Plus from the sound of it, her Joe Exotic series is part of the deal.

I'm sure most of her impressions will turn up. That's pretty much a given.

2 hours ago, Pete Martell said:

Anyway, congratulations to SNL for their fourth consecutive Variety Emmy (Don Roy King also won again for Directing).

 Wow, if I counted right, It's Don Roy King's 9th Emmy for directing SNL!

Edited September 16, 2020 by vb68

[Pete Martell]

22 minutes ago, vb68 said:

Meaning Kate is getting paid.  It's always about Benjamins.   Plus from the sound of it, her Joe Exotic series is part of the deal.

I'm sure most of her impressions will turn up. That's pretty much a given.

I was reminded of how big Kate is to the show now when I saw that her return got its own separate article (which also happened last year - not sure about the year before). I feel like when you get that 'big' you may be better off leaving, but I can see why she's not quite ready.

[formerlyfreedom]

I can definitely see why she (and others) might not leave, with the current COVID-19 pandemic situation - any of a number of them may be ready to be done, but do they have something else to go to? A bird in the hand...

[Bruinsfan]

Sitting in isolation at home for six months may do a lot to get one over any frustration or burnout with the workplace, too. For my own part I would LEAP at the chance to be back in an office that has other people to interact with if safety weren't a factor, and people less dependent on daily social interaction than me are generally referred to as "hermits" (or "angry loners").

[Just Here]

Press release (nbcumv.com):  Jim Carrey will play Biden this season.  Three new featured players.

Quote

New York Times bestselling author and two-time Golden Globe Award winner Jim Carrey to take on the role of Vice President Joe Biden for the upcoming 46th season of “Saturday Night Live.”

“SNL” will start the new season with five consecutive shows – Oct. 3, 10, 17, 24, 31.

“SNL” is planning to have a limited in-studio audience at Rockefeller Center for the upcoming season. The show will work closely with Gov. Cuomo’s team.

As part of the newly created “The SNL Scholarship Program,” “SNL” has partnered with four comedy schools – The PIT, The Second City, The Groundlings and UCB – to fund a scholarship program for students of diverse backgrounds to advance their comedy careers.

“Saturday Night Live” has added three featured players to its cast for the upcoming season:

Lauren Holt is an actor, comedian, singer and improviser. She was a house performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade theater in Los Angeles and starred in the independent web series “The Filth” as well as the short film “Parent Teacher Conference,” for which she received a Best Actress nomination at the Atlanta Comedy Film Festival.

Punkie Johnson is a comedian and writer whose recent credits include “Space Force,” “Corporate,” “Adam Ruins Everything” and “Bill Burr Presents: The Ringers.” She was a New Face at the Just for Laughs Festival in 2019 and is a proud paid regular at the world famous Comedy Store in Hollywood.

Andrew Dismukes has served as an “SNL” staff writer since season 43. He is a stand-up comedian who was selected for the 2017 New Faces Showcase at the Just for Laughs Festival and has performed at other festivals, including Comedy Central’s Colossal ClusterFest and the New York Comedy Festival.

IMDb Profiles:  Lauren Holt, Punkie Johnson, Andrew Dismukes.

Just including the below tweet because it has photos of the new players:

 

Edited September 16, 2020 by Just Here
added tweet, links

[ruby24]

What? Why? Jason Sudeikis is right there. If you're not going to have one of the regular cast members do it why not just use him, since he was always the best Biden before.

This seems like a dumb stunt. Hey look, we got a big name. Great. I can't see Jim Carrey doing a Biden that seems anything like him, so it'll just seem like Jim Carrey on stage anyway.

Edited September 16, 2020 by ruby24

[GoldenGirl90]

Hmmm, I’m having a hard time picturing what Jim Carey’s Joe Biden will look and sound like. I guess we’ll see! 

[Trini]

Carrey as Biden? Well, that's a swerve.

[Pete Martell]

1 hour ago, ruby24 said:

What? Why? Jason Sudeikis is right there. If you're not going to have one of the regular cast members do it why not just use him, since he was always the best Biden before.

This seems like a dumb stunt. Hey look, we got a big name. Great. I can't see Jim Carrey doing a Biden that seems anything like him, so it'll just seem like Jim Carrey on stage anyway.

From the Vulture interview, it seems Carrey asked, and Lorne also mentioned that being in NY was a factor (although I wonder how that will work out if Maya is Kamala). I do think that Jason may not have been able to fully play today's Biden, whereas Carrey may be able to tap into that type of energy more, but Jason is one of my favorite cast members of all time so it sucks not getting to see him again. If it isn't Jason I would have gone with a cast member. Lorne's response to that was to say that when someone is in their 70s, having a 28-year old wear makeup feels different. I can see hit point, but my suggestion would be hiring a cast member who is older and can play older roles (which SNL originally did with George Coe before they decided younger actors could just wear wigs or makeup). If Biden wins, I can't see Carrey staying 4 years, so maybe they will go a cast member or Sudeikis route in that case. 

I just wish they could try to work out Jason hosting, or something, as I want to get to see him in some capacity. If he is available.

I'm excited that we are still getting a few new cast members, although Andrew Dismukes is not the writer I thought they might hire (he tends to write most with Heidi, I think). My other thoughts are probably more suited to the speculation thread. 

[vb68]

There's more information about the upcoming season here.

Not all castmembers will be around the entire season. Aidy is filming Shrill, and it doesn't sound like Cecily will be back in the studio at all. It sounds like she'll just contribute remotely.

Anna Drezen is now a Head Writer.

Not sure how I feel about Jim Carrey. I need to see it to get a feel for it.   To be honest, these days I really think the bigger guest stars have Emmy thoughts dancing in their heads. And a chance to be relevant again.

[helenamonster]

3 new cast members with nobody leaving and Jim Carrey coming on as Biden? Guess any speculation I had about potential budget issues was wrong.

Wow, 20 cast members...anybody know offhand what the largest cast size has ever been? Wishing the best for the newbies--it's already hard enough to stand out in your first year.

Big shrug to Jim Carrey. I'm so over the cheap stunt casting (especially since it's mostly to play to an audience reaction that they will not have this fall), and wish they would give the big impressions to one of their TWENTY cast members. Seriously, why have that many people on payroll if you're not going to use them?

[vb68]

28 minutes ago, helenamonster said:

Wow, 20 cast members...anybody know offhand what the largest cast size has ever been? Wishing the best for the newbies--it's already hard enough to stand out in your first year.

From what I'm reading, Kate, Aidy, and Cecily are all going to be very limited in what they do.

[M. Darcy]

Sigh. It would be nice if Lorne would quit using others and used actual cast members as he used to do.  Phil Hartman was able to play Ronald Reagan, Barbara Bush and Bill Clinton.  And Jason was the perfect Biden. 

[cpcathy]

As one who really enjoys the celeb cameos, I’m really disappointed about Carrey as Biden. I love Jason and the joy he brought as Biden, but he must be busy and can’t come to NY.  

[mtlchick]

42 minutes ago, cpcathy said:

As one who really enjoys the celeb cameos, I’m really disappointed about Carrey as Biden. I love Jason and the joy he brought as Biden, but he must be busy and can’t come to NY.  

I have a feeling it's also an issue of possible self isolation that he would need to adhere upon arriving in New York and requiring to stay there for a while without being with Olivia Wilde and their kids.  It will be the norm for actors who live out of New York/New Jersey to do that as their shows resume production and may not be able to leave until Christmas. 

Someone on the Deadline link said something that Carrey's Fire Marshall Bill resembles Biden and now that's all I can see. I don't mind Jim Carrey, and I get why they went with him because I can't think of anyone on the current roster that can do it, but i'm surprised they are announcing him now instead of being a surprise. 

[Pete Martell]

2 hours ago, helenamonster said:

3 new cast members with nobody leaving and Jim Carrey coming on as Biden? Guess any speculation I had about potential budget issues was wrong.

Wow, 20 cast members...anybody know offhand what the largest cast size has ever been? Wishing the best for the newbies--it's already hard enough to stand out in your first year.

Big shrug to Jim Carrey. I'm so over the cheap stunt casting (especially since it's mostly to play to an audience reaction that they will not have this fall), and wish they would give the big impressions to one of their TWENTY cast members. Seriously, why have that many people on payroll if you're not going to use them?

I guess Lorne doesn't want to say it but I think he is afraid for the ratings if they don't stunt cast. If Jim hadn't approached him I do wonder if he might have considered a cast member, or tried to work out something with Jason. I also wonder if Jim would really want to do this for 4 years - Lorne talked in the interview about Tina and Alec being friends of the show, but he didn't say that about Jim, so he may not have the same expectation. 

I already mentioned this in the speculation thread but I think we're in for some departures sometime this season, particularly since a number of people will apparently barely feature in the early episodes. 

This is the largest cast size. After that it's:

Season 17 (Dana Carvey, Victoria Jackson, Siobhan Fallon, Beth Cahill, Melanie Hutsell, Mike Myers, Julia Sweeney, Kevin Nealon, Ellen Cleghorne, Chris Rock, Tim Meadows, Rob Schneider, Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, Phil Hartman, sometimes Al Franken and Rob Smigel)

Season 39 (Beck Bennett, John Milhiser, Kyle Mooney, Brooks Whelan, Cecily Strong, Kate McKinnon, Vanessa Bayer, Noel Wells, Sasheer Zamata, Seth Meyers [swap Seth out for Colin Jost midseason], Bobby Moynihan, Jay Pharaoh, Kenan Thompson, Aidy Bryant, Taran Killam, Mike O'Brien, Nasim Pedrad)

48 minutes ago, mtlchick said:

I have a feeling it's also an issue of possible self isolation that he would need to adhere upon arriving in New York and requiring to stay there for a while without being with Olivia Wilde and their kids.  It will be the norm for actors who live out of New York/New Jersey to do that as their shows resume production and may not be able to leave until Christmas. 

Someone on the Deadline link said something that Carrey's Fire Marshall Bill resembles Biden and now that's all I can see. I don't mind Jim Carrey, and I get why they went with him because I can't think of anyone on the current roster that can do it, but i'm surprised they are announcing him now instead of being a surprise. 

Jim's a pretty good actor (in my opinion) and he does have a history in sketch so I think he can do a more layered performance if he tries. The main problem is that it's probably going to be very hard to write for Biden, and political writing isn't exactly a strong suit for SNL most of the time as it is. Since he pitched the idea to Lorne hopefully he has something in mind beyond his whole In Living Color shtick. But I would rather in the long term see this given to a cast member, or to Jason Sudeikis. 

[possibilities]

I really want to see them run with the Kamala's shoes story. She looks glam in hiking boots, there's got to be an SNL angle on that. But I don't really see that being in keeping with Maya's take on Kamala. I hope they get someone else for that role, because while I enjoyed Maya's Kamala, K's image is really evolving and I don't think Maya's take still suits.

I have never seen Jim Carrey do a role without exaggerated mugging and over-reliance on mannerisms that I just don't see as relevant to Biden's persona or character. Carrey is quite political outside of his acting career, so maybe he does have a take on how to do the character, but I really can't imagine what it will look like, at the moment.

Has there been any news on the writing staff? I think that is what will really make or break the season, more than the cast. The cast is really quite capable (I know nothing about the newcomers, but I'm not worried).

[Bruinsfan]

Yeah, with the stage full of proven professionals the new kids will either do notably good work quickly like Bowen Yang or get pushed into the background of crowd scenes and then obscurity the way John Rudnitsky and Luke Null did.

[Pete Martell]

15 hours ago, possibilities said:

I really want to see them run with the Kamala's shoes story. She looks glam in hiking boots, there's got to be an SNL angle on that. But I don't really see that being in keeping with Maya's take on Kamala. I hope they get someone else for that role, because while I enjoyed Maya's Kamala, K's image is really evolving and I don't think Maya's take still suits.

I have never seen Jim Carrey do a role without exaggerated mugging and over-reliance on mannerisms that I just don't see as relevant to Biden's persona or character. Carrey is quite political outside of his acting career, so maybe he does have a take on how to do the character, but I really can't imagine what it will look like, at the moment.

Has there been any news on the writing staff? I think that is what will really make or break the season, more than the cast. The cast is really quite capable (I know nothing about the newcomers, but I'm not worried).

I don't think there have been any writing changes, aside from Anna Drezen becoming one of the headwriters. 

I don't think Maya ever got to play anything beyond a meme, so if they try to write a less one-dimensional portrayal, I think she could play it. I'm not sure they will though.

Carrey has done some fine dramatic acting, and dark comedy, so he could tap into that...hopefully we won't just get "somebody stop me." If we do then hopefully he will only be there a short time.

 

5 hours ago, Bruinsfan said:

Yeah, with the stage full of proven professionals the new kids will either do notably good work quickly like Bowen Yang or get pushed into the background of crowd scenes and then obscurity the way John Rudnitsky and Luke Null did.

Rudnitsky was an odd case as there was controversy over his tweets, some of his portrayals (like Anderson Cooper), he showed up late in a sketch (I think). Luke did get really hosed though. 

I think if this were a cast full of people who had only been around a few seasons, then the newcomers would have less of a chance, but with so many likely to leave this season, they will probably get more of a shot if they aren't lousy. 

[mtlchick]

It’s Emmys week, y’all.

 

Maya Rudolph won her first TWO Emmys; one for Guest Actress for Comedy for SNL (and she was against herself for The Good Place) one for best voice over performance for Big Mouth.  And Eddie Murphy’s long awaited return paid off as he won for Guest Actor for his hosting stint. 

[vb68]

Figured Eddie was a given. At least we can say Eddie Murphy has an Emmy for SNL. Better late than never.

I'm especially thrilled for Maya.

 I stand by what I said earlier. Hosting and playing cameos on SNL is catnip for comedic actors looking for an Emmy.

And since it was a trivia question during the broadcast tonight, Lorne Michaels has the most nominations of any individual with 108 nominations.

 

Edited September 20, 2020 by vb68