History of Saturday Night Live (2005–2010)

Last updated

History of Saturday Night Live series:

1975–1980
(seasons 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
1980–1985
(seasons 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
1985–1990
(seasons 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
1990–1995
(seasons 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
1995–2000
(seasons 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
2000–2005
(seasons 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
2005–2010
(seasons 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
2010–2015
(seasons 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
2015–2020
(seasons 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
2020–present
(seasons 46, 47, 48)

Contents

Weekend Update

Saturday Night Live is an American sketch comedy series created and produced by Lorne Michaels for most of the show's run. The show has aired on NBC since 1975.

2005–2006 season

Saturday Night Live promised changes for the 2005–06 season, one of which was broadcasting in high-definition. [1] Lorne Michaels added four new featured players: Andy Samberg, Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig (partway through the season), and Jason Sudeikis, who was added for the last three episodes of the previous season.

Hader quickly became popular for his impersonations, such as Vincent Price, Lindsey Buckingham, Al Pacino, Alan Alda, James Carville, John Boehner, Julian Assange, and many others. Hader also created multiple signature characters. These characters included New York City correspondent Stefon, Italian talk show host Vinny Vedecci, and Hollywood gossip reporter Brady Trunk as well as many others.

Hired along with Samberg were his longtime friends and The Lonely Island collaborators Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer, who joined the writing staff. The three would create a new SNL mainstay feature in the SNL Digital Shorts, the most popular being "Lazy Sunday". Wiig, who first appeared when Jason Lee hosted, gained popularity with impersonations of Drew Barrymore, Felicity Huffman and Megan Mullally, also creating memorable characters such as the Two A-Holes (with Sudeikis) and Target Lady. Lorne Michaels extended her contract until the 2009–10 season (though she wouldn't officially leave the show until the 2011–12 season).

Leaving after this season were Rachel Dratch and Tina Fey, who had committed to working on Fey's new sitcom 30 Rock , as well as Horatio Sanz, Finesse Mitchell, and Chris Parnell, who were let go due to budget cuts. Fey had missed several episodes early in the season while on maternity leave, as had Maya Rudolph. Horatio Sanz took Fey's place on Weekend Update while she was away.

Cast

Featuring

bold denotes Weekend Update anchor

2006–2007 season

Cast changes

SNL had a smaller cast in the 2006–2007 season due to “massive budget cuts” at NBC. Lorne Michaels said that cutting staff was chosen over reducing from 20 the number of original episodes produced. [2] A separate announcement confirmed the departure of Tina Fey, who left to focus on her new show 30 Rock . [3] Rachel Dratch, one of the stars in the 30 Rock pilot (though subsequently replaced by Jane Krakowski), also did not return. [4]

In September 2006, it was announced that Seth Meyers would replace Tina Fey as co-anchor on Weekend Update. [5]

Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, and Jason Sudeikis were all promoted to repertory players at the beginning of their second season (the third for Sudeikis including his role as a featured player).

The final cast list included just 11 members, the lowest number since the 1997–1998 season, and the first time since the 1997–98 season that no featured players were hired.

Cast

2007–2008 season

The 2007–2008 season of Saturday Night Live began on September 29, 2007 with LeBron James hosting the episode and musical guest Kanye West. Production was suspended due to the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike, after which only four episodes were produced. The show's first episode after the writers' strike was aired on February 23, 2008, with former head writer and cast member Tina Fey as host. [6]

Cast

Featuring

2008–2009 season

The 2008–2009 season of Saturday Night Live began September 13, 2008 with host Michael Phelps and musical guest Lil' Wayne.

Cast

Featuring

2009–2010 season

The 2009–2010 season of Saturday Night Live began September 26, 2009 with host Megan Fox and musical guest U2.

Cast

Featuring

Notes

Related Research Articles

<i>Weekend Update</i> Saturday Night Live parody newscast

Weekend Update is a Saturday Night Live sketch and satirical news program that comments on and parodies current events. It is the show's longest-running recurring sketch, having been on since the show's first broadcast, and is typically presented in the middle of the show immediately after the first musical performance. Historically, one or two of the players are cast in the role of news anchor, presenting gag news items based on current events and acting as hosts for occasional editorials, commentaries, or other performances by other cast members or guests. In modern times, dedicated anchors are chosen among writing staff, often lead writers, in lieu of cast or featured players. Chevy Chase has said that Weekend Update – which he started as anchor in 1975 – paved the way for comedic news shows like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report.

The following is a list of recurring Saturday Night Live sketches, organized alphabetically by title. The referenced date is the date when the sketch first appeared.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seth Meyers</span> American comedian, actor, writer, and television host (born 1973)

Seth Adam Meyers is an American comedian, television host, actor, writer, producer, and podcaster. He currently hosts Late Night with Seth Meyers, a late-night talk show on NBC. Prior to Late Night, Meyers was a cast member on NBC's sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 2001 to 2014, and served as the show's head writer and anchor of their news parody segment, Weekend Update, from 2006 until his departure.

<i>Saturday Night Live</i> (season 32) Season of television series

The thirty-second season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between September 30, 2006, and May 19, 2007.

<i>Saturday Night Live</i> parodies of Sarah Palin Television comedy sketches

The sketch comedy television show Saturday Night Live aired several critically acclaimed sketches parodying then Alaskan Governor and vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin in the lead-up to the 2008 United States presidential election. The sketches featured former cast member Tina Fey, who returned as a guest star to portray Palin. Fey won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her impersonation of Palin.

"Somebody to Love" is the sixth episode of the second season of 30 Rock, and the twenty-seventh episode overall. It was written by Kay Cannon and the series' creator, Tina Fey, and was directed by Beth McCarthy. The episode first aired on November 15, 2007 on the NBC network in the United States. Guest stars in this episode include Fred Armisen, Kevin Brown, Grizz Chapman, Edie Falco, John Lutz, Maulik Pancholy, and Kristen Wiig.

<i>Saturday Night Live</i> (season 35) Season of television series

The thirty-fifth season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between September 26, 2009, and May 15, 2010.

Saturday Night Live in the 2000s is a two-hour documentary television special that showcases the years of Saturday Night Live from 2000 to 2009. It features interviews with the cast and crew from those years, and aired on NBC on April 15, 2010.

Saturday Night Live is an American sketch comedy series created and produced by Lorne Michaels for most of the show's run. The show has aired on NBC since 1975.

The following is a list of recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches introduced between October 1, 2005, and May 20, 2006, the thirty-first season of SNL.

The following is a list of recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches introduced between September 30, 2006, and May 19, 2007, the thirty-second season of SNL.

The following is a list of recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches introduced between September 29, 2007, and May 17, 2008, the thirty-third season of SNL.

The following is a list of recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches introduced between September 13, 2008, and May 16, 2009, the thirty-fourth season of the show.

The following is a list of recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches introduced between September 26, 2009, and May 15, 2010, the thirty-fifth season of SNL.

<i>Saturday Night Live</i> (season 38) 38th season of the show

The thirty-eighth season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between September 15, 2012 and May 18, 2013.

<i>The Awesomes</i> 2010s American animated TV series

The Awesomes is an American adult animated comedy television series created by Seth Meyers and Mike Shoemaker for Hulu. Meyers and Shoemaker serve as executive producers alongside Lorne Michaels. It debuted on August 1, 2013 and ended on November 3, 2015.

<i>Saturday Night</i> (2010 film) 2010 film by James Franco

Saturday Night is a 2010 documentary film directed by James Franco. The film examines the production process of the NBC late-night live television sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live. Shot over a period of six days from December 1–6, 2008, the film was originally a school assignment for Franco at New York University.

<i>Saturday Night Live</i> 40th Anniversary Special Episode of the 40th season of Saturday Night Live

"Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special" is a three-and-a-half-hour prime-time special that aired on February 15, 2015, on NBC, celebrating Saturday Night Live's 40th year on the air, having premiered on October 11, 1975, under the original title NBC's Saturday Night. It is produced by Broadway Video. This special generated 23.1 million viewers, becoming NBC's most-watched prime-time, non-sports, entertainment telecast since the Friends series finale in 2004. It is the third such anniversary special to be broadcast, with celebratory episodes also held during the 15th and 25th seasons.

Saturday Night Live is an American sketch comedy series created and produced by Lorne Michaels for most of the show's run. The show has aired on American Broadcasting television network ) since 1975.

References

  1. Kaplan, Don (April 27, 2005). "'SNL' Goes High-Def". New York Post. Archived from the original on February 17, 2015. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  2. Carter, Bill (September 21, 2006). "Bowing to Budget Cuts at NBC, 'Saturday Night Live' Pares Five Performers". New York Times. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  3. "Tina Fey Leaving 'Saturday Night Live' for Prime-Time Comedy Show". Fox News. July 22, 2006. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  4. Rosenblum, Emma (October 23, 2006). "Rachel Rolls With It". NYMag. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  5. "Meyers replacing Fey on 'SNL's' fake news desk". Today. NBC News. September 21, 2006. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  6. "Tina Fey To Host First Post-Strike Episode of 'SNL'". New York Times. February 12, 2008. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  7. White, Nicholas (March 8, 2010). "Betty White Confirms She'll Appear on Saturday Night Live". People. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  8. de Moraes, Lisa (May 11, 2010). "Facebook campaign for Betty White pays off: 'SNL' posts election-season numbers". Washington Post. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  9. Itzkoff, Dave (September 7, 2010). "'Saturday Night Live' Cast Adds Four and Loses One More". New York Times. Retrieved March 15, 2015.