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Is Saturday Night Live new tonight, March 16?

By Daniel George

LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS -- Episode 785 -- Pictured: (l-r) SNL's Colin Jost and Michael Che during an interview with host Seth Meyers on January 21, 2019 -- (Photo by: Lloyd Bishop/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS -- Episode 785 -- Pictured: (l-r) SNL's Colin Jost and Michael Che during an interview with host Seth Meyers on January 21, 2019 -- (Photo by: Lloyd Bishop/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images) /
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Saturday Night Live season 44 has adopted a “two weeks on, one week of” scheduling in the 2019 half. Will that trend continue for March 16?

It’s been a very odd season for Saturday Night Live. They’ve never really hit a stride for more than an episode or two at a time, with highlights such as John Mulaney’s second hosting stint in roughly 10 months dragged down by inconsistent writing and wooden performances for Idris Elba. The two solidly consistent parts of the show have been the musical guest spots and Weekend Update.

A variety sketch show buoyed by Colin Jost and Michael Che telling topical humor jokes and playing straight men to wacky Weekend Update characters is not a strong one, as the political satire has not nearly been as biting and the comedy has been rather mundane this season. When Kyle Mooney has a pre-recorded sketch about a new cast member who keeps getting cut from the show is cut from the show, you can see the cruel fate of irony working against SNL.

The sad part is that I’m not sure how it gets better before getting much worse. Kenan Thompson, a monument to steady, underappreciated character actor brilliance, is likely leaving the show after his pilot got picked up earlier in the year, and who knows among Aidy Bryant, Kate McKinnon, Cecily Strong may also leave this year after all of which expired their initial seven-year contract (McKinnon is on season eight).

More problematic for Saturday Night Live is that their future is sketch beyond their established talent. Of all their talent in years five and six of their contracts, Beck Bennett and Kyle Mooney aren’t really leading players, Pete Davidson and Leslie Jones are best nowhere near live sketch comedy, and Michael Che and Colin Jost are too busy writing the show at large.

There’s no Saturday Night Live airing tonight, as the next three episodes will bring us closer to the end of a tumultuous season. There are great guests coming down the pipeline, however, with Sandra Oh leading musical guest Tame Impala on March 30, Kit Harington to make millions of Game of Thrones references to Sara Bareilles in promos for April 13 and Emma Stone hosting for musical guests and K-pop sensations BTS.