Splitsider

Now that we’ve looked at some of the highlights from the past season of SNL, let’s talk about the cast. One thing that often fails to get mentioned is the comedic powerhouse we have in the current ensemble. Save for an occasional low-drama tweak (Paul Brittain was let go from the show in February; Kate McKinnon added in April), there has been relatively low turnover throughout the past few seasons — a sign that Lorne is pretty happy with the way things are going. As he should be! Not since Phil Hartman have we seen performers so clearly suited for sketch comedy the way Kristen Wiig and Bill [...]

New York Daily News reports that Jason Sudeikis told a group of people at the SNL finale after-after-party "he wasn't sure about staying or leaving." It also notes that Jason was taken aback a bit by the special treatment Kristen Wiig received at the end of the finale. He reportedly left the set during the credits, possibly out of frustration and possibly out of sadness. If you watched the finale it seemed completely certain that Wiig would be leaving and Andy Samberg as well, as the closing line of "Lazy Sunday 2" reflected; however, Jason was mostly missing from the episode. Since he plays both Romney and [...]

This post is brought to you by Milk. Who needs imitations when you can have the real thing? Check out gotmilk.com. Workplace-centric sitcoms have been a TV fixture since the days of Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore, when it was discovered that basing a show around a group of oddballs who are forced to work together can be a successful formula for scoring laughs. As with most shows and movies, entertainment is the top priority, not realism, and that’s very much the case with the workplace comedy, where accurately depicting a job environment takes a backseat to amusing audiences.

With that [...]

Late Friday night, Vulture reported that Sony Television (the company that produces Community) had hired David Guarascio and Moses Port (previously of Happy Endings) as the new showrunners of Community, leaving Dan Harmon with a diminished role. Their justification was partially about creative differences (Sony and NBC wanted Community to at least try to appeal to more people) and partially about what it was like working with Harmon. A person close to the show explained, "Dan is brilliant at ideas, but he's terrible at [management]." Specifically, Harmon is given a lot of the blame for much of Community's writing and production staff turnover. The flipside of course is that Harmon [...]

I decided to forgo charting and graphing this week because with a finale there should be some big picture discussion, not some big pictures. But I really just want to talk about one very short scene in particular, which I think can be used as a barometer on where you stand on 30 Rock Season 6.

About a third of the way through last night's episode, Liz walks onto the TGS set, where a crewmember is prepping a bunch of plants, for a sketch about plants, I guess. Said crewmember proceeds to place one of these plants, a baby plant, into a stroller. In of itself the symbolism of [...]

Unpopular Opinions is a bi-weekly column in which a writer takes a stand against popular opinion, whether it's asserting the true merit of a supposedly guilty pleasure or dissenting against the universally lauded.

Earlier this year, after a hard-fought tournament, you decided that Community's "Remedial Chaos Theory" was the best sitcom episode ever. There is no way to say for sure with these things but maybe it's true; maybe when you zoom out completely, the dynamism and ambition of "Chaos" wins. However, in the context of this one season, I'd argue, and will argue for a bunch of words below, that "Chaos" loses out to another very ambitious [...]

Now that Season 37 of Saturday Night Live has come to a close, let’s talk about some of the highlights from the past 22 episodes.

What struck me most about this season was the apparent hunger for new hit sketches. While the show’s tendency to recycle worn sketch premises lives on, Seth Meyers and his writing staff have eased back a bit from tentpoling the lineup with pieces from seasons past, occasionally striking gold with a new premise, and hustling to bring it back as soon as possible. J Pop America Fun Time Now, Drunk Uncle, Lord Wyndemere, Bein’ Quirky with Zooey Deschanel, Piers Morgan Tonight, and The Californians [...]

OK, here’s what we know: Dan Harmon, the creator of Community, won’t be returning to his baby next season because…well, that’s the question, isn’t it? On his Tumblr (I love 2012), Harmon wrote, "A few hours ago, I landed in Los Angeles, turned on my phone, and confirmed what you already know. Sony Pictures Television is replacing me as showrunner on Community…Why’d Sony want me gone? I can’t answer that because I’ve been in as much contact with them as you have. They literally haven’t called me since the season four pickup, so their reasons for replacing me are clearly none of my business." So, really, like [...]

Poorly! 30 Rock and all of the Communitys brought in a 1.3 18-49 rating (at least they're consistent?). In comparison, last week The Office did a 2.3 and Parks & Recreation a 1.7. This matched a series low for the Greendale 7. In real numbers, less than 3 million people watched all of it. Just a reminder of how many people can watch a TV program, American Idol topped off at almost 16 million last night. However, now that both shows have been renewed, this news is less depressing and more something that should brushed off one's shoulders. Brush away everybody, we're almost at our goal of #twelveseasonsandathemepark.

Cool cool cool cool. "Cool cool cool, cool cool — cool." Cool cool! Cool cool cool cool Buzzfeed cool. Cool, cool cool cool (cool). Cool, cool cool cool?

Ken Levine is a TV writer that has worked on some of the most acclaimed sitcoms there are: M*A*S*H, Cheers, The Simpsons, Frasier, and Becker (just kidding about the last one). He took over as showrunner of M*A*S*H when creator Larry Gelbart left. This gives him a unique perspective on the whole Dan Harmon situation so he wrote a must-read blog post about it. He still has hope for the show as he writes:

Shows tend to survive without the original creative force. Even WEST WING when Aaron Sorkin was sacked. Even MASH when Larry Gelbart quit. MASH is a perfect example. If they could replace the genius [...]

A.V. Club is giving 30 Rock the episode-by-episode interview treatment. Today, showrunner Robert Carlock walks through pivotal episodes "Pilot", "Jack The Writer", "Tracy Does Conan", and "Sandwich Day".

When your show has become a cultural icon, I imagine it’s difficult to just be a “good comedy show.” SNL season finales carry a special burden — they must feature an appropriately iconic host (Steve Carell in 2008, Will Ferrell in 2009, Alec Baldwin in 2010, Justin Timberlake in 2011, and now Mick Jagger in 2012), end the season on a memorable note to keep people buzzing over the summer, and provide a proper send-off to any cast members that might be leaving the show. That’s all on top of being strong, stand-alone episode… a feat in and of itself.

This year’s finale seemed to prioritize two objectives — [...]

Season three of Community, which seems like it began 17 years ago, due in no small part to a hiatus that momentarily shook the world (a.k.a. the Internet), began with a song. Well, to be fair, it actually started with Jeff literally soaring above the clouds, but semantics.

In less than 60 seconds, “Finally Be Free” accomplishes everything that's so great about the show, and laid out a template for the rest of the season: it was an exaggerated, amusing view of reality, but with enough of an emotional core to keep things grounded, sung by a diverse group of people who love each other and are hoping to [...]