With Saturday Night Live season 43 frontloading most of the season’s episode to avoid the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, the SNL schedule is all messed up.
Even though last season saw Saturday Night Live firing on all cylinders in the early beginnings of a politically divisive time, SNL has not been keeping up with the pace this year. Despite a standout name here or there from the newest batch of Featured Players, it’s mostly the 2016 guys like Mikey Day and Alex Moffat taking that next leap forward, while Heidi Gardner stands alone alongside the middling Chris Redd and the barely-present Luke Null. Plus, it doesn’t help that there have only been two episodes that aired between March 18 and May 5.
This is not a good time for Saturday Night Live to lose its momentum, as plenty of cast members are entering the sixth and seventh years of their seven-year contracts. Kate McKinnon could possibly leave after seven strong years, with Cecily Strong and Aidy Bryant closing out their sixth years in 2018. Meanwhile, Kenan Thompson has been subtly skewering his longevity as a cast member in sketches all season.
When Saturday Night Live undergoes drastic casting changes, there’s usually a group of cast members that take up leadership of the show’s direction while Lorne Michaels and company look for a host of fresh talent. However, because the cast members currently leading the pack are so close to possibly leaving the show, there’s a possible talent vacuum looming.
I was a fan of Kyle Mooney and Beck Bennett since the YouTube days, but they’ve clearly been left to their own Digital Short devices. Michael Che and Colin Jost are killing it on Weekend Update, but that’s its own beast. Aidy Bryant and Cecily Strong may hold things down for another year, but both have stretched their legs and might be ready for comedy vehicles of their own. Leslie Jones is better on Update than as a sketch player.
Can Saturday Night Live afford to struggle during such a time when satire opportunities are booming? Heidi, Mikey and Alex might be ready to take that step forward, but there’s a ton of questions looking around the corner.
These are the kinds of thoughts you have when you realize that Saturday Night Live is not new tonight. Instead, it’s a repeat of one of the worst episodes of the season, as Sam Rockwell is hosting with musical guest Halsey. SNL will be back on May 5, when Donald Glover will host and bring his alternate persona, Childish Gambino, as the musical guest.