History of Saturday Night Live (2010–2015)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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)

Weekend Update

This article is about the history of Saturday Night Live from 2010 through 2015.

2010–2011 season[]

The 2010–11 season of Saturday Night Live began September 25, 2010 with host Amy Poehler and musical guest Katy Perry. Before the start of the new season, four new cast members were added to fill the gap left behind by Will Forte (who quit the show after eight years), Jenny Slate (who was fired after her first season on the show), Abby Elliott (who was promoted to repertory player), and Bobby Moynihan (also promoted), improv comedians Paul Brittain and Vanessa Bayer, former MADtv and The Amanda Show cast member Taran Killam, and stand-up comic/impressionist Jay Pharoah.

Opening montage[]

The opening montage remained the same as the previous season's, but with Will Forte and Jenny Slate removed. Scenes with Vanessa Bayer (sitting at an outdoor cafe), Paul Brittain (riding a bike down Midtown), Taran Killam (playing table tennis), and Jay Pharoah (showing off his breakdancing moves) were added.

Bumper format[]

The commercial bumpers remained mostly the same as the previous season. All references of SNL's 35 years on the air were removed. Some bumpers showcased the host or musical guest(s) moving.

Cast[]

Notes[]

  • Will Forte, who had been with the show since 2002 and completed 8 seasons, announced on August 26, 2010 that he would be leaving the show.[1] Featured player Jenny Slate was let go from the show after only one season.[2]
  • Abby Elliott and Bobby Moynihan were promoted to repertory status, becoming the first featured players to be promoted since the 2006–07 season.[3]
  • The show hired four new cast members: Chicago improv comedians Vanessa Bayer and Paul Brittain; stand-up comic/impressionist Jay Pharoah; and comedic actor Taran Killam of The Groundlings. Killam became the second actor to have been a cast member on both MADtv and SNL, the first being Jeff Richards who joined SNL in 2001 and departed in early 2004.[2]
  • Former cast member Amy Poehler hosted the season premiere. Poehler was the fourth female former cast member of SNL to return as a host, the third to have worked under Lorne Michaels, and the second one to have been a Weekend Update anchor.[4] She was also the 26th former cast member to return to host.
  • With this season, Jeff Bridges surpassed Sigourney Weaver's record for longest gap between hosting appearances (Weaver's gap was 24 years between her first appearance in 1986 and her second appearance in 2010;[5] Bridges has a 27-year gap between his first appearance in 1983 and his second appearance in 2010).[6]

2011–2012 season[]

The 2011–12 season of Saturday Night Live premiered on September 24, 2011, with host Alec Baldwin and musical guest Radiohead.

Opening montage[]

The opening remains the same as the last two seasons. However, as of the Channing Tatum/Bon Iver episode, featured player Paul Brittain is no longer shown in the featured player montage, as he left the cast after the Daniel Radcliffe/Lana Del Rey episode. New featured player Kate McKinnon was added to the featured player montage as of the Sofia Vergara/One Direction episode.

Bumper format[]

Cast[]

Notes[]

  • Featured player Kate McKinnon (a former cast member on Logo's The Big Gay Sketch Show) joins mid-season, making her first appearance in April, on the episode hosted by Sofia Vergara. McKinnon is SNL's first openly gay female cast member, the third lesbian cast member hired (after Denny Dillon in 1980, though she wasn't open when she was on the show,[7] and Danitra Vance in 1985, though Vance's sexual orientation wasn't known until she died in 1994), the second cast member hired to be openly gay (after Terry Sweeney, who like Danitra Vance, was also from the 1985–86 season), and the second white lesbian cast member hired (after Denny Dillon).[8] McKinnon is also the first cast member from The Big Gay Sketch Show to be a cast member on SNL (and the second cast member from The Big Gay Sketch Show to cross over to a mainstream sketch comedy show. Erica Ash, from MADtv's 14th and final season on FOX, is the first).

2012–2013 season[]

The 2012–13 season of Saturday Night Live premiered on September 15, 2012, with host Seth MacFarlane and musical guest Frank Ocean.

Opening montage[]

The opening montage introduced in the season 38 premiere features still photos of each cast member interspersed among a New York City background. The cast photos are edited to look like separate images merging to form one picture. The photo of the host features it over a crowded street, while the photo of the musical guest is over the Brooklyn Bridge. As of the Joseph Gordon-Levitt/Mumford & Sons episode, the opening was slightly modified, Jason Sudeikis and Kate McKinnon's photos were also changed and the photos of the host and musical guest had switched places. (photo of the host behind the Brooklyn Bridge, the musical guest behind the city street).

Bumper format[]

The bumper format for this season is similar to that of the 2006–07 season. The guests' pictures are heavily shadowed with variously colored silhouettes behind them. The bumpers also do not utilize many colors; the typical colors being black, white, blue, and yellow with the occasional red and green.

Cast[]

2013–2014 season[]

The 2013–14 season of Saturday Night Live premiered on September 28, 2013, with host Tina Fey and musical guest Arcade Fire.

Opening montage[]

The opening montage is the same as last season's, only Cecily Strong's photo was changed, Bill Hader, Fred Armisen, Tim Robinson (who is now on the writing staff), and Jason Sudeikis have been removed (and later, Seth Meyers after the Melissa McCarthy/Imagine Dragons episode), and the new cast members were added, starting with Kyle Mooney, Beck Bennett, Noël Wells, John Milhiser, Michael Patrick O'Brien (credited as "Mike O'Brien"), and Brooks Wheelan on the Tina Fey/Arcade Fire season premiere episode, Sasheer Zamata on the episode with Drake as host and musical guest, and Colin Jost on the Jim Parsons/Beck episode.

Bumper format[]

The bumper format remains the same as last season's. Some bumpers showcase the musical guest(s), or host, moving.

Cast[]

Notes[]

  • On May 12, 2013, NBC announced that Weekend Update anchor Seth Meyers (who had been a cast member since 2001, and Weekend Update anchor since 2006), would be the new host of Late Night in 2014, succeeding Jimmy Fallon as he takes over as the new host of The Tonight Show.[9] Meyers remained as Update anchor for the first half of the season, then left in February 2014, to host his incarnation of Late Night.[10] On September 16, 2013, it was announced that Cecily Strong would be Meyers' co-anchor on Weekend Update.[11]
  • Six new cast members have been hired, Upright Citizens Brigade performers Beck Bennett, John Milhiser, Kyle Mooney, and Noël Wells, stand-up comedian Brooks Wheelan (who originally was hired as a writer until Tim Robinson was chosen instead), and four-year writer Michael Patrick O'Brien (credited as "Mike O'Brien"). This is the highest number of cast members hired since season 21 (1995–96) and, with the addition of Sasheer Zamata, this season has the most female cast members with seven, surpassing the number of six in the 1991–92 (season 17) cast.[12]

2014–2015 season[]

The 2014–15 season of Saturday Night Live premiered on September 27, 2014, with host Chris Pratt and musical guest Ariana Grande.

Opening montage[]

The opening montage introduced in the season 40 premiere is in the same vein as the 2009–12 opening, in which we see the cast members engage in various locations of New York City. In addition, there is a completely new logo as well as a revamped theme song, which is a hybrid of the 2009 and 2012 themes.

Bumper format[]

The bumper colors for this season are mainly black and white with occasional lighter colors. Also, some bumpers feature photos of the host and musical guest either hanging around Studio 8H or outside NBC Studios. Those photos are also black and white either with hints of color or without.

Cast[]

Notes[]

  • Former writer Michael Che, returns to SNL to co-anchor Weekend Update, replacing Cecily Strong, who remains on the show. Che had initially left the show at the end of last season to be a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.[13]

References[]

  1. ^ Barrett, Annie (August 26, 2010). "'Saturday Night Live': Will Forte reportedly leaving on amicable terms. 'Vagisil!'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  2. ^ a b Itzkoff, Dave (September 7, 2010). "'Saturday Night Live' Cast Adds Four and Loses One More". New York Times. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  3. ^ Frucci, Adam (August 15, 2012). "Abby Elliott Is Not Returning to 'SNL'". Splitsider. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  4. ^ Ryan, Mike (September 26, 2010). "Introducing the SNL Scorecard: The Good, Bad and Ugly of Saturday Night". Movieline. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  5. ^ Adalian, Josef (December 30, 2009). "'Avatar' Alert: Sigourney Weaver Hosting 'SNL'". The Wrap. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  6. ^ Ross, Robyn (November 18, 2010). "Roberto De Niro, Paul Rudd, Jeff Bridges to Host Saturday Night Live in December". TV Guide. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  7. ^ "Denny Dillon Reflects on Saturday Night Live's Infamous 6th Season". 12 August 2020.
  8. ^ Woodtke, Jordyn (March 30, 2012). "'SNL' Casts First Openly Gay Female". Hollywood Life. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  9. ^ Levin, Gary (May 12, 2013). "Seth Meyers named NBC's 'Late Night' talk host". USA Today. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  10. ^ Busis, Hillary (May 16, 2013). "Seth Meyers will return to 'SNL' this fall, leave for 'Late Night' in 2014". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  11. ^ Luoma, Sarah (September 16, 2013). "'SNL': Cecily Strong to co-anchor Weekend Update with Seth Meyers". Digital Spy. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  12. ^ Abramovitch, Seth (September 11, 2013). "Cheat Sheet: Get to Know the 5 New Faces of 'SNL'". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  13. ^ Feldman, Josh (April 28, 2014). "SNL Writer Michael Che Joins Daily Show as Newest Correspondent". Huffington Post. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
Retrieved from ""