SNL shakeup? Four new cast members, too!

I agree with you on Wiig, and I definitely think Maya Rudolph was underrated. She was a good enough actress to play the straight (wo)man in a sketch, which is underrated to me. SNL has had tons of "wild and crazy" performers who don't pan out, whereas it's much harder to get that stable, consistent talent like Rudolph, Hartman, Tim Meadows, etc. who become the backbone of sketches for years.

 

Well, if those folks leave, the returning cast looks like:

Fred Armisen: Apparently, he cracks the cast up. Too bad that doesn't translate to the audience.
Abby Elliot: Just haven't seen enough of her to go one way or the other.
Bill Hader: I think he's the best of the cast. The Vincent Price thing? Consistently funny. The Italian talk show host? Funny. He's under-used.
Bobby Moynihan: Most of the time, he's an afterthought. He's had three years to do *something* and has done nothing.
Nasim Pedrad: See Abby Elliot.
Jenny Slate: After dropping the f-bomb, seemed to weather it well. She also seems like a solid addition, but just hasn't been given much to do yet.
Kristen Wiig: Agreed. One-note. And an unfunny one most of the time.

Bottom line: If all those folks do leave, the new kids better be ready to step up.

BTW, reading that Armisen and Elizabeth Moss (Zoey Bartlet from West Wing) are getting divorced. Good for her. Rumor rags say Armisen is already hooking up with Abby Elliot.

 

I do, for a couple of reasons. First, when those folks departed, there was at least something already in the cupboard. Looking at the current cast... I don't see anywhere near the same talent.

Second, Samberg is the only reason the kids tune in to this dinosaur. He's also almost single-handedly the show's entire viral video presence. You lose him, you're suddenly skewing much older demographically, and lose any boost you get from the web. (Plus, as someone else already noted, he probably takes his Lonely Island buds with him, further depleting the writing staff.)

 

Sure, but the problem has been terrible writing for a long time, so why would it be bad to lose a bunch of the current writers?

 

Re: Cranston hosting an episode of SNL this year, Seth Meyers offered the following tweet on Thursday:

That would seem to indicate Meyers will be back.

 

Darrell Hammond saved SNL's ass during the Clinton years, probably the closest anyone ever got to the greatness that was Phil Hartman. Hartman is one of those guys who could do any role in any sketch. I can only imagine where his career would be right now.
And how great would it have been to have him guest during Bryan Cranston's appearance?

 

Getting rid of Seth Meyers is a great move. I've always thought his humor skewed a little to off mark. Maybe a new head writer can change the tone of the show and get it moving back in the right direction.

 

Moynihan is not funny. I'm a big Wiig fan, but they could use her less and get more out of her. The new guy Pharoah has some spot-on RELEVANT impersonations. There's a value SNL seems to overlook there.

 

Yeah, just saw his Obama. Spot on. He should be signed for that alone. Bonus: Less screen time for Armisen.

 

Another from the files of the Seth Meyers Twitter feed: The season premiere is set with Amy Poehler hosting and Katy Perry as the musical guest.

Katy Perry has the cache for that spot right now, but Amy Poehler? As the host of the season premiere? That seems kinda weak to me.

 

Jenny Slate is out after one season.

http://www.seattlepi.com/tvguide/426304_tvgif7.html

 

I doubt it was the sole reason, but I doubt that F-bomb helped her cause.