Although not at it's apex by any means, Saturday Night Live is a television institution. Like many, I don't watch it live anymore, but I do watch it. I ignore reruns for the most part, but when the new season begins each fall it's a lock to take up space on my DVR. Next season marks the 38th of the program's history and one that could be vital to the future.
Cast members Kristen Wiig, Andy Samberg, and Abby Elliott will not be returning. Jason Sudeikis, the male lead, has yet to confirm that he is returning. See my post from 3 months ago regarding tension with Sudeikis during last season's finale.
Additions to the cast will be made, in fact it's really hard to imagine them not bringing in at least 3 new members. I'm of the belief that they should bring in five or six new members on half season contracts, and throw them up against the wall. In any form, we should expect new cast additions any day now.
As it's currently constructed, if Sudeikis doesn't return, the 2012/2013 SNL cast looks like this...
Fred Armisen
Vanessa Bayer
Bill Hader
Taran Killam
Kate McKinnon
Seth Meyers
Bobby Moynihan
Nasim Pedrad
Jay Pharoah
Kenan Thompson
2011/2012 SNL Season 37 Airtime Chart
As far as the men go, Armisen is capable of picking up some slack, but with his investment to Portlandia, it's hard to see him expanding his role any. In fact, I'd expect that we see less of Armisen on SNL in both the short and long term. Bill Hader is probably overall the most talented person on the cast, and he would likely move into the male lead role if Sudeikis bolts. He is a really strong and consistently solid piece to Saturday Night Live. He's just the type of person you need going forward, especially if they try to reload with a bunch of fresh faces. Taran Killam shined last year, and is also a definite candidate to take over the lead role. The husband of Cobie Smulders (Robin from How I Met Your Mother), has proven that he can carry a load in multiple roles. Seth Meyers is the head writer of the show, and pretty much only does Weekend Update now. I like Seth Meyers, but I kind of feel like it's time for a change. Bringing in a female co-host on Weekend Update might freshen things up a bit, and also might take the load off of Meyers. I vote Nasim Pedrad, but perhaps a new hire could give that role a shot. Either way, Weekend Update needs a major re-tooling from a delivery standpoint. Too often, it's been jokes centered around photo-shopped pictures. The guests have been a high point of the show over the last couple years with the introduction of Stephon, Drunk Uncle, and Nicholas Cage to name a few. Moving on, Bobby Moynihan has proven to be a solid contributor as well. As previously stated, his character "Drunk Uncle" was a pleasant surprise towards the end of last season. He's a keeper. Jay Pharoah is the impressionist extraordinaire, but really struggles with basic acting in formulated scripts. They need to see some improvement out of him this season. His impersonations are fantastic, but he can only do the Chris Rock, Denzel Washington, or Will Smith a certain amount of times before it becomes tired. I like the guy a lot, and I love the talent, but he must improve and become useful when not doing impersonations. That leaves us with Kenan Thompson. The star of "Good Burger" has been a pretty polarizing topic among SNL fans. I think he's really improved over the last 5 years. Once he stopped trying to be Tracy Morgan, I think he adapted to different roles. Until last season's addition of Pharoah, more than anything Thompson was a victim of being the only black guy on the cast. I think he's still got a place, but hopefully they pick and choose his spots better and use him in smaller doses.
As we move to the females, I think the disclaimer is that it's hard to get a good read on any of these ladies because they were cock blocked by SNL's use of Kristen Wiig. While Wiig is a top 5 female cast member of all-time, there's no doubt that she was overused over the last few years of her SNL career. Vanessa Bayer's second year was last season, and she is most well known for her impersonation of Miley Cyrus. I don't see her as lead material, but she's a good piece to the female core. A less funny Rachel Dratch in my eyes. Next is Kate McKinnon. She was brought on in April of last season, and did a decent job in a couple different roles that were largely unnoticed. I'm looking forward to see what else she brings to the table when she's used for a full year. Nasim Pedrad is the last female currently still on the roster. To me, Pedrad is the biggest victim of the Wiig era. A lot of roles that Wiig played, could have easily been played by Pedrad as well, or at least I would have liked to see her get more time in key roles. She's in position to take over as the female lead, but that could change depending on how aggressive Saturday Night Live is with their cast additions. In any circumstance, the female roster is currently thin, and I'm hopeful that SNL will tack on 2 or 3 new female cast members in the coming weeks.
I've heard questions about whether or not SNL will be around much longer. NBC is a struggling network, and DVR's really take away any pertinent need for live programming on late Saturday nights. They need to have a strong season, and I think if they make the right additions to the cast, then it'll prove a much needed rejuvenation to the writers and older cast members. I just have a hard time being hopeful for the immediate future of the show. Losing Wiig, Samberg, Elliott, and possibly Sudeikis is a huge blow, especially in an election year. This could be the toughest test SNL has faced in the last decade, and I don't really see them passing the test with flying colors. I hope i'm wrong.
