3Which Cast Members Are Leaving Saturday Night Live?

Ok, guys, this is not good news. You know how everyone always says that Saturday Night Live pretty much sucks these days? Well, it’s about to get a lot worse. Do you recognize that lady up there in that picture? Sure you do, that’s Kristen Wiig! She’s extraordinarily funny, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that she carries the whole show. If we had to pick a current star of the show, I’m sure there would be little debate that it’s this lady.

Yeah, she’s gone:

Two sources tell the new Us Weekly (on stands Friday) that several key Saturday Night Live players are following in the footsteps of SNL alums Jimmy Fallon, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler and ready to move on.

“Kristen Wiig, Andy Samberg and Jason Sudeikis are all leaving after the end of the season,” says one insider. “It will be a huge blow to the show. Without Andy’s video shorts and Kristen saving every skit, they’ll need help!”

And though a rep for Wiig, 38, and Sudeikis, 36, refutes this — telling Us, “No decisions are made until the season is over” — an insider says the timing is right, especially for the Bridesmaids star.

“Kristen was talking about leaving a while ago,” says a Wiig pal. “With her movie success, it’s no surprise.”

Meanwhile, Sudeikis has a new movie in the works, Relanxious, where he will star opposite his real-life love Olivia Wilde. In the flick (which also features SNL pal Fred Armisen) Sudeikis will play an agoraphobic looking for love.

Andy Samberg too?! The man who is partially responsible for many of my very favorite SNL skits ever? Say it ain’t so! What else, NBC? Who else could you possibly take away from us to hurt us any worse?

Oh yeah, right, there’s Jason Sudeikis too. Um, oh no! Please, don’t!

But wait, let’s think about who else we’ll still have on board. There’s Keenan Thompson and Fred Armisen, who are on their eighth and tenth seasons, respectively, and it looks as though they’re there to stay, at least for the foreseeable future. Seth Meyers is on his eleventh season, and he’s pretty good, and then there’s the fabulous Bill Hader, who has been there for seven seasons. Bill Hader could carry that show – Stefon, right? I also usually enjoy Abby Elliot and Vanessa Bayer, on their fourth and second seasons. So I guess all isn’t lost, right? There will still be some good stuff to look forward to (again, Stefon).

Besides, it’s not like Saturday Night Live will ever actually get cancelled. It won’t ever get cancelled, will it?

April 5, 2012 at 5:30 am by Emily

0No Kidding: Last Night’s SNL Was the Best in Ages

I am pretty glad I stayed up late to watch last night’s Saturday Night Live. And I do not say this lightly, because it’s a statement I seldom make.

Former castmember Maya Rudolph returned to the show as host (and in grand form!), with terrific assists from Amy Poehler, Justin Timberlake and, yes, Bill O’Reilly of all people. The episode itself was timely and topical, and better yet, it had teeth.

Let’s begin with the tremendous opening sketch.

I’m not sure whether you’ve been following the “Lin-sanity”—yeah, it’s weird for me to type that and not mean Lindsay Lohan—but there’s just something about Chinese-American basketball phenom Jeremy Lin that brings out the inner racist a—hole in everyone. (To wit: ESPN fired one of its headline writers today, and another commentator was reprimanded.)

The sketch itself is really edgy and, to be honest, you might not love it. In it, one of the sports anchors keeps digging himself into an ever-deepening grave; meanwhile, it’s inexplicably okay for the other commentators to make repeated references to Lin’s racial identity:

Rudolph’s opening monologue had tons of potential—the joke is, Rudolph diddled everyone at NBC during her SNL tenure, right down to Bridesmaids costar Kristen Wiig—but it was preeeeeetty awkward in execution. (Know who can sell sluttiness? Melissa McCarthy, that’s who.)

Amy Poehler makes her first big appearance alongside Maya Rudolph in a Very Special Episode of “Bronx Beat.” Oh, how I’ve missed this bit! I love their teased hair! And their sass! The episode is a one-two punch, too: Justin Timberlake appears in—oh, how do I even say this—a surprisingly supportive role? Like, he is not the star. At all. Mostly he stands there. It’s great.

(more…)

February 19, 2012 at 5:00 pm by Jenn

23People Really, Really Did Not Like Lana Del Rey on SNL Last Night

OK. I watched both videos and, considering this is her U.S. television debut, Lana Del Rey‘s performances on this weekend’s Saturday Night Live seem sort of fine. (For what it’s worth, Rolling Stone has previously described her live shows as “anxious.”)

But Lana Del Rey is relatively frosh, isn’t she? She was only signed to a label in 2011. She sure has an interesting sound, though, and she’s more on-key than Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, and sometimes Adele, who—please! Please don’t shoot me!—can get a little “pitchy.” I’m sorry! But it’s true!

I’m a little sad, then, that Lana Del Rey is getting completely shredded online today. I’m not even a fan of hers! But she has a voice like a sylph.

Freaking Reuters, man:

Lana Del Rey’s “Video Games” is a slow burn of a song — but it was too slow a burn for some “Saturday Night Live” viewers.

The songstress is a divisive figure for music fans, embraced by some for her modern-day torch songs and dismissed by others as a poseur. Her “SNL” performance of “VIdeo Games” and another song, “Blue Jeans,” seem to have won her few new fans.

She was given the chance to perform Saturday before even releasing her first album, and the Twitterati were brutal.

Among the unimpressed viewers was Juliette Lewis, a star of NBC’s new legal drama “The Firm,” who broke ranks with the network to criticize Del Rey.

“Wow watching this ‘singer’ on SNL is like watching a 12 year old in their bedroom when they’re pretending to sing and perform. #signofourtimes,” she tweeted.

Added actress Eliza Dushku: “Who…..is…..this wack-a-doodle chick performing on #SNL..? Whaaaa?”

(more…)

January 15, 2012 at 11:00 am by Jenn

1In SNL News: Daniel Radcliffe’s SNL Promos Unveiled; Zooey Deschanel Slated to Host Next Month

All you Harry Potter fanatics are probably thrilled that Daniel Radcliffe is due to host Saturday Night Live any minute now.

The wait is almost over! To whet your whistles, here’s Danny with SNL castmember Jason Sudeikis.

Digital Spy: Sudeikis “later encourages Radcliffe to attempt an American accent, although brands Radcliffe’s choice of phrase—”What up, dude, give me some hamburgers and pizza!”—as stereotypical.”

Hee hee. I feel like a lot of folks from the UK have an American go-to voice that is very Texas/Arkansas/Mississippi?!, and it always makes me a little paranoid, because I feel that we mostly do not sound like that. Do people think we sound like this? (Emma Thompson once described the East Coast accent as “chewy,” and I about fainted.)

In other news, Zooey Deschanel is scheduled to host the show’s February 11 episode, the Huffington Post reports.

This means that Abby Elliott will inevitably appear onscreen in a brown wig, strumming a ukulele plaintively, and then Zooey will arrive in a leather jacket, smoking a cigarette and being all disaffected, and she will snarl and tell Abby to take a hike, and that will be when the audience is supposed to laugh.

January 11, 2012 at 10:30 am by Jenn

0Just in Time for the Holidays: Last Night’s SNL with Katy Perry

Katy Perry teamed with Andy Samberg (and Matt Damon! And Val Kilmer! And even Abraham Lincoln!) for last night’s awesome SNL “Digital Short.” I didn’t LOL or anything, but Katy Perry’s facial expressions slay me. And! Val Kilmer, singing! How I’ve missed you, Val.

Anyway. The song is about meth addiction and time-travel, and I love it. Then again, I almost always laugh at jokes about meth. I think drug references are hilarious. That isn’t weird, though, right? Everybody loves those Harold and Kumar movies.

December 11, 2011 at 1:00 pm by Jenn

5Chevy Chase Names His Top Four SNL Cast Members: Who Are Yours?

When some people from TMZ asked Chevy Chase to name the funniest four people from all of Saturday Night Live, it took him some time, but he answered with Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, and Bill Murray. And I’m sorry, but no.

I never was a huge fan of the early episodes of SNL. Maybe I was too young when I watched them to get it, maybe I grew up with a different cast and that taints my view, but I’ve never understood it when people speak of the old days of this show like not a single good, funny thing was shown post-1980, and I just think that’s so sad. And I’m not saying that SNL doesn’t suck now, because it kind of does sometimes, but there have definitely been some funny moments in recent years, and the show has definitely featured some insanely funny people throughout its history.

If I had to name my top four favorite cast members, it would probably be Tina Fey, Chris Farley, Will Ferrell, and Molly Shannon, with very honorable mentions to Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, David Spade, and Phil Hartman. What would yours be?

December 6, 2011 at 5:30 am by Emily