‘Saturday Night Live’ Is Fumbling Away Its 50th Anniversary Season
We’re seven episodes in, and Saturday Night Live has a 50th anniversary problem. The season thus far has ranged from “Okay, pretty good” (John Mulaney, Ariana Grande, Nate Bargatze) to “hit and miss” (Bill Burr and Michael Keaton) to “yeesh” (Jean Smart and last night’s episode with in-over-her-head Charli XCX.) That’s par for the course for the past decade of SNL, but months of drumroll leading into the anniversary year promised more.
Last night’s show was emblematic of the season’s mediocrity. Overall, SNL continues to suffer from the same self-inflicted wounds. These are the show’s three biggest missteps so far this season…
Recycling Old Cast Members and Guests
This bug could have been a feature. For the show’s 50th year, why not a rotating group of former SNL all-stars? It works as both fan service and a way to bring back performers who, frankly, are surer bets than current cast members.
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Instead, Lorne Michaels has assembled a shadow cast — Dana Carvey, Andy Samberg, and, until recently, Maya Rudolph — to not only play political figures but also appear in sketches throughout the night. All three are SNL Hall of Famers, but the bang the show gets from an unexpected Samberg appearance diminishes when he turns up for his sixth or seventh show of the season.
Last night, Alec Baldwin — who complained about having to do Trump week after week — showed up again to play Robert Kennedy Jr. Does Michaels owe him money? Instead, what if Will Ferrell and Cheri Oteri cameoed one week? Tina Fey and Mike Myers the next? Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader popping in for a few laughs?
There was a way to do this but turning every week into a Dana Carvey showcase wasn’t it.
Recycling Old Sketches
Nothing new here, but regurgitating old premises still feels lame. Last night saw the return of one of Season 50’s only breakout sketches — the bridesmaids’ song about Domingo, the guy the bride hooked up with at her bachelorette party. The original wasn’t that inspired, but it did catch on as a TikTok meme, meaning the show was obligated to rush it back.
The problem, as always: The first time, the Domingo reveal was an unexpected punchline. Now we’re waiting for it. Ho hum.
Last night’s episode was full of recycled ideas: Wicked auditions were a celebrity impression showcase that the show has done a dozen times. “Thanksgiving Baking Championship” was a rehash of a sketch from the Eddie Murphy show a few years back. “Shrek: The Musical” called back to a so-so bit from the Bad Bunny episode.
Sometimes, watching a new episode of SNL can feel like a rerun stitched together from old shows. In Season 47, you shrug. But with so many eyes watching in Season 50, it’s more disappointing.
The Trump Problem
Looks like we’re doing this again, huh? The show began with a Trump cold open, a staple of the show during his first administration. In real time, viewers complained about the repetitive sketches week after week. “The President behaves erratically” — yeah, we know.
It’s a trap of Michaels’ own making. Pull up a few episodes from decades past, and you might be surprised to see that the show didn’t always begin with a commentary on the week’s current events. Instead, it went with its funniest material to start the show with a bang. (What a concept.) But around the time that Will Ferrell’s George W. Bush and Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin were making headlines, someone decided that America looked to SNL to decipher its politics. What if Fey and Ferrell were just funny and that’s the reason the material landed?
Trump famously complains about SNL and the unfair treatment the show gives him. You know what would make the President-elect even angrier? Ignoring him entirely. Maybe it’s time to give that a try.