It snuck up on us, didn't it? The end of SNL Season 38 brought along with it key staff changes, among them the upcoming departure of head writer Seth Meyers and the immediate departures of cast members Bill Hader, Fred Armisen, and (unofficially) Jason Sudeikis. Few people have shaped SNL over the past 8 years more than these men — Meyers with his leadership in the writers room and charm as Weekend Update host, and Hader, Armisen and Sudeikis as the cast's workhorses and loadbearing performers. Indeed, many pegged Season 38 as a "transitional year" in the wake of Kristen Wiig and Andy Samberg leaving the show a year ago, [...]
We're at a rest period in the middle of SNL's 38th season, and now seems like a good time to present all the Nate Silver-esque data I've been compiling over the past few months. Below are some stats from this season, including ratings, online views, cast member screen time, hosts, and top sketches, which will whet your appetite before the show returns on January 19.
Overall I've been pleased with this season. The departures of Kristen Wiig and Andy Samberg suggested the show might go through another rebuilding year, but the cast has filled in nicely, with new female cast members emerging as breakout stars, Jay Pharoah stepping up [...]
Deadline is reporting that SNL just hired Kate McKinnon as a new featured player, with her first episode being the Sofia Vergara-hosted episode on April 7th. Exciting! Kate's the first new hire in a couple of seasons, and she comes straight out of the UCB Theatre in NYC. She's been in tons of web videos over the past few years in addition to being a castmember of LOGO's Big Gay Sketch Show for three seasons, so there's plenty of material out there featuring her. Here's a little primer to get you caught up before her big SNL debut.
