Saturday Night Live season 35

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Saturday Night Live
Season 35
Saturday Night Live Title Card.jpeg
No. of episodes22
Release
Original network NBC
Original releaseSeptember 26, 2009 (2009-09-26) 
May 15, 2010 (2010-05-15)
Season chronology
 Previous
season 34
Next 
season 36
List of episodes

The thirty-fifth season of Saturday Night Live (also branded SNL 35), an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between September 26, 2009, and May 15, 2010.

A total of 22 episodes were broadcast during the show's eight-month-long season, which included a two-week break in February due to the 2010 Winter Olympics. The season was accompanied by three prime-time episodes of Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday and three prime-time SNL clip shows.

This season introduced a new opening montage, which was shot using the Canon EOS 5D Mark II and Canon EOS 7D digital SLR cameras. Typical elements are recorded at thirty frames per second (fps), with slow-motion sequences shot at sixty fps, both in full 1080p high definition. [1]

A notable moment of the season was when an internet campaign was created to get actress Betty White to host an episode of the show. The campaign was started in early 2010 on Facebook and the group was called "Betty White to Host SNL (please?)!" The campaign was successful, and White became the oldest person ever to host the show. For White's episode, Lorne Michaels brought back former cast members Rachel Dratch, Tina Fey, Ana Gasteyer, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph and Molly Shannon. The episode garnered the show's highest ratings in over a year. with a rating of 5.8 in the 18–49 rating, demographic and with 12.1 million viewers overall. [2]

Cast

Prior to the start of the season, Darrell Hammond, who was the last cast member from the 1990s, left the show. At the time, Hammond became the longest-running cast member with a total of 14 seasons, though he would later be surpassed by Kenan Thompson in 2017. Following Hammond's departure, featured players Michaela Watkins and Casey Wilson were both let go from the show after the finale of the previous season. Wilson had been on the show for two seasons, while Watkins had been on for only one. [3] To account for the absences of Watkins and Wilson, the show brought in two new female featured players as replacements, comedian and writer Nasim Pedrad of The Groundlings and stand-up comic Jenny Slate. [4] Abby Elliott and Bobby Moynihan remained as featured players.

This would be the final season for longtime cast member Will Forte, who had been on the show for 8 seasons since 2002. [5] This would also be the only season for Slate, who was let go at the end of the season. [6]

Cast roster

bold denotes Weekend Update anchor

Writers

Second City theater performer Mike O'Brien joins the writing staff. [7] He would join the cast for the show's thirty-ninth season.

Additionally, starting with this season, writers Colin Jost (who has been writing for the show since 2005), Emily Spivey (who had been writing for the show since 2001), and John Mulaney (who was hired at the start of the previous season in 2008), were named as this season's writing supervisors, replacing Paula Pell (who took a brief leave of absence). [8]

Starting with the Tina-Fey hosted episode, Pell (who had been a writer on the show since 1995, and was gone for most of the season) returns to the writing staff. This episode would also be the last for longtime writer Spivey, as she left the show following this episode, after nine years as a writer. [9]

Also, starting with the following Ryan Phillipe-hosted episode, Bryan Tucker (a writer for the show since 2005) is named as the new co-writer supervisor, alongside Jost and Mulaney. [10]

Season 35 would also prove to be the final season for fellow longtime writer/Lonely Island member Jorma Taccone (who had been a writer since 2005), as he left the show after five years. [11] He would make contributions to select future Lonely Island sketches.

This was also the final season for another longtime writer, John Lutz (who had been with writing staff since 2004), as he left the show after 6½ years. [12]

Episodes

No.
overall
No. in
season
HostMusical guestOriginal release dateRatings/
Share
6591 Megan Fox U2 September 26, 2009 (2009-09-26)4.6/11 [13]

  • U2 performs "Breathe", "Moment of Surrender" and "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)".
  • A new opening sequence, which mentions SNL's 35 years on-air, debuts with this episode. [1]
  • During the "Biker Chick Chat" sketch, Slate accidentally says, "You stood up for yourself, and I fuckin' love you for that." Most of the sketch before and after consisted of everyone saying "Friggin'," "frickin'" or "freakin'". Slate quickly holds her breath after realizing her mistake.
  • Brian Austin Green cameoed in the Transformers Digital Short.
  • Nasim Pedrad and Jenny Slate's first episode as cast members.
6602 Ryan Reynolds Lady Gaga October 3, 2009 (2009-10-03)4.7/12 [14]

6613 Drew Barrymore Regina Spektor October 10, 2009 (2009-10-10)4.6/11 [15]

6624 Gerard Butler Shakira October 17, 2009 (2009-10-17)4.8/11 [16]

6635 Taylor Swift Taylor SwiftNovember 7, 2009 (2009-11-07)5.0/12 [18]

6646 January Jones Black Eyed Peas November 14, 2009 (2009-11-14)4.7/12 [19]

6657 Joseph Gordon-Levitt Dave Matthews Band November 21, 2009 (2009-11-21)4.3/11 [20]

6668 Blake Lively Rihanna December 5, 2009 (2009-12-05)4.4/12 [21]

  • Rihanna performs "Russian Roulette" and "Hard" and appears in the SNL Digital Short.
  • Young Jeezy performs with Rihanna for her second song.
  • On this episode's installment of Weekend Update, Abby Elliott appears as actress-singer Brittany Murphy, following a report about Murphy's alleged firing from a recent film. This portion of Update was cut from reruns in light of Murphy's death later that month.
6679 Taylor Lautner Bon Jovi December 12, 2009 (2009-12-12)5.1/12 [22]

66810 James Franco Muse December 19, 2009 (2009-12-19)4.4/11 [23]

66911 Charles Barkley Alicia Keys January 9, 2010 (2010-01-09)4.4/19 [24]

67012 Sigourney Weaver The Ting Tings January 16, 2010 (2010-01-16)5.4/14 [25]

67113 Jon Hamm Michael Bublé January 30, 2010 (2010-01-30)5.0/12 [26]

67214 Ashton Kutcher Them Crooked Vultures February 6, 2010 (2010-02-06)5.3/13 [27]

67315 Jennifer Lopez Jennifer LopezFebruary 27, 2010 (2010-02-27)6.3/15 [28]

67416 Zach Galifianakis Vampire Weekend March 6, 2010 (2010-03-06)5.0/12 [29]

67517 Jude Law Pearl Jam March 13, 2010 (2010-03-13)4.5/11 [31]

67618 Tina Fey Justin Bieber April 10, 2010 (2010-04-10)5.7/14 [32]

67719 Ryan Phillippe Kesha April 17, 2010 (2010-04-17)5.2/13 [34]

67820 Gabourey Sidibe MGMT April 24, 2010 (2010-04-24)4.7/12 [35]

67921 Betty White Jay-Z May 8, 2010 (2010-05-08)8.8/21 [36]

  • In early 2010, an online campaign was created on Facebook to get White to host an episode of the show. The group was called Betty White to Host SNL (please?)! [37] The movement was sparked by White's appearance in a Snickers commercial aired during Super Bowl XLIV. [38] Because of this, White is the first person to ever host based on an internet movement created by fans. The commercial itself aired during one of the commercial breaks.
  • With this episode, White, at age 88, is the oldest person ever to host the show, surpassing Miskel Spillman, the winner of SNL's "Anyone Can Host" contest in 1977. [38]
  • For the first set, Jay-Z performs a medley of "Public Service Announcement", "On to the Next One", "99 Problems", "'03 Bonnie & Clyde", and "Empire State of Mind," featuring back-up singer Bridget Kelly. During "99 Problems", Jay-Z's band samples "Points of Authority" by Linkin Park. For the second set, Jay-Z performs "Young Forever" with Mr Hudson, which he dedicated to White.
  • Former SNL cast members Rachel Dratch, Tina Fey, Ana Gasteyer, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph and Molly Shannon appear throughout the show. Gasteyer and Shannon reprised their characters from The Delicious Dish sketches. Shannon also reprised her character Sally O'Malley during Weekend Update. Rudolph reprised her impression of Whitney Houston during Weekend Update. Fey and Poehler returned to Update as well, to participate in Really!?!.
  • During the goodnights, Kristen Wiig and Kenan Thompson presented two flower bouquets to White.
  • This episode was nominated for seven 2010 Emmy Awards.
  • White won an Emmy for Guest Actress in a Comedy for hosting. [33]
  • This episode was re-aired on January 1, 2022 as a tribute to White, as she had died the previous day on December 31, 2021. [39]
  • TV Ratings: 14.952 million viewers [40]
68022 Alec Baldwin Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers May 15, 2010 (2010-05-15)5.8/14 [41]

  • Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performs "I Should Have Known It" and "Jefferson Jericho Blues". Additionally, Petty appears in the SNL Digital Short.
  • Steve Martin made a filmed cameo appearance in the opening monologue.
  • Will Forte [42] and Jenny Slate's final episode as cast members.

Specials

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  • Pang, Kevin (August 14, 2009). "Second City sends another one of its own to 'Saturday Night Live'". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on December 15, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
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  • Heisler, Steve (May 24, 2011). "The Lonely Island". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
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  • Seidman, Robert (November 8, 2009). "Wanda Sykes Show premieres 100% better than Spike Feresten, but nowhere near SNL". TV By The Numbers. Archived from the original on October 16, 2011. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
  • Gorman, Bill (November 16, 2009). "Saturday Night Live w/ January Jones & Black Eyed Peas Scores 4.7 Household Rating". TV By The Numbers. Archived from the original on May 19, 2014.
  • Gorman, Bill (November 23, 2009). "Saturday Night Live, w/ Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Dave Matthews Band Scores A 4.3 Metered-Market Household Rating". TV By The Numbers. Archived from the original on October 16, 2011.
  • Gorman, Bill (December 7, 2009). "Saturday Night Live With Blake Lively & Rihanna Scores A 4.4 Household Rating". TV By The Numbers. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012.
  • Seidman, Robert (December 14, 2009). ""Saturday Night Live" Hits Season Highs With Taylor Lautner". TV By The Numbers. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012.
  • Gorman, Bill (December 20, 2009). "Saturday Night Live With James Franco and Muse Scores 4.4 Household Rating". TV By The Numbers. Archived from the original on December 25, 2013.
  • 1 2 Seidman, Robert (January 14, 2010). "Charles Barkley Leads Saturday Night Live To 10.4 Million & Best Performance In 14 Months". TV By The Numbers. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012.
  • Gorman, Bill (January 18, 2010). "Saturday Night Live With Sigourney Weaver & The Ting Tings Scores Among The Best Ratings This Season". TV By The Numbers. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012.
  • Seidman, Robert (February 1, 2010). "Saturday Night Live With Jon Hamm Down A Bit". TV By The Numbers. Archived from the original on September 10, 2011.
  • Seidman, Robert (February 8, 2010). "Saturday Night Live With Ashton Kutcher Up a Bit". TV By The Numbers. Archived from the original on May 19, 2014.
  • Gorman, Bill (February 28, 2010). "Saturday Night Live With Jennifer Lopez Second Highest Rated Of Season, Behind Only Charles Barkley's". TV By The Numbers. Archived from the original on May 19, 2014.
  • Seidman, Robert (March 8, 2010). "Saturday Night Live hosted by Zach Galifianakis scores a 5.0 Household Rating in Metered Markets". TV By The Numbers. Archived from the original on May 19, 2014.
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  • Seidman, Robert (March 15, 2010). "Saturday Night Live With Jude Law Ratings A Bit Below Average in Preliminaries". TV By The Numbers. Archived from the original on May 19, 2014.
  • Seidman, Robert (April 11, 2010). "Corrected: Tina Fey Hosted "Saturday Night Live" Scores Best Ratings Since Jennifer Lopez". TV By The Numbers. Archived from the original on October 4, 2012.
  • 1 2 "62nd Emmy Nomination List" (PDF). Academy Of Television Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 8, 2011.
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  • Seidman, Robert (April 26, 2010). ""Saturday Night Live" With Gabourey Sidibe and MGMT Ratings". TV By The Numbers. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012.
  • Gorman, Bill (May 9, 2010). "Betty White Scores! Saturday Night Live Sees Best Overnight Ratings In 18 Months". TV By The Numbers. Archived from the original on November 13, 2010.
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  • TitleOriginal release date