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Season of television series From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The forty-first season of the NBC comedy series Saturday Night Live premiered on October 3, 2015, during the 2015–2016 television season.[1] The season premiered on October 3, 2015, with host & musical guest Miley Cyrus and concluded on May 21, 2016 with host Fred Armisen and musical guest Courtney Barnett.
Saturday Night Live | |
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Season 41 | |
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No. of episodes | 21 |
Release | |
Original network | NBC |
Original release | October 3, 2015 – May 21, 2016 |
Season chronology | |
Kate McKinnon won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her work in this season.
Various old bumper formats return. Each host has several bumper shots on a solid color faded background, where their image may be repeated or given other various picture effects. Each host also has one or two photos of him or her in costume around NBC Studios. The musical guest for each episode has two bumper photos on solid colored backgrounds.
The announcement of Donald Trump returning to host on the fourth episode drew controversy for inflammatory comments he had made regarding immigration.[2] Hispanic and Latino organizations called for Trump to be removed and online petitions protested his appearance.[3][4]
Trump's hosting was filed with the Federal Communications Commission in regards to the equal-time rule. Although no candidate has ever requested an appearance on Saturday Night Live due to equal-time, concerns were raised over whether SNL qualified for an exception to the rule as a live entertainment program.[5]
As usual during election seasons, SNL has placed particular emphasis on the 2016 presidential election. Given the unusually large field of candidates, some impressions of candidates shift or have shifted based on who remains in the race.
On the Democratic side, Kate McKinnon was the show's current Hillary Clinton. McKinnon debuted as Clinton in Season 40, Episode 15 (though she previously portrayed an actress portraying Clinton).[6] While they remained in the race, cast members Taran Killam and Kyle Mooney portrayed Martin O'Malley and Lincoln Chafee, respectively, both debuting in Season 41, Episode 3. Former candidate Jim Webb was portrayed by Alec Baldwin, also debuting in the aforementioned episode. Larry David has made recurring appearances to portray Bernie Sanders.
There was media speculation as to who would play whom for the upcoming election prior to the season.[7] The casting was made problematic because many of the candidates were played by the same impressionists prior to the election. Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, and Rand Paul had all been portrayed by Taran Killam. Chris Christie was portrayed by Bobby Moynihan, who had also played Cruz. Mike Huckabee and Jeb Bush were both portrayed by Beck Bennett. Additionally, Pete Davidson and Colin Jost were not considered by speculators to be generally desired for the job, since neither was an impressionist. Carly Fiorina had been portrayed by McKinnon on one occasion, while Ben Carson was portrayed by Kenan Thompson. No one on the current cast had portrayed John Kasich.
More issues further complicated the matter. Just prior to the start of the season, SNL announced that Killam would be portraying Donald Trump for the upcoming election,[8] which meant that Killam would be portraying four of the candidates in the main Republican race. SNL ultimately was forced to wait until their ninth episode to tackle a Republican debate, when the field was sufficiently narrowed.
For the December 19 episode, the first to feature a debate, several impressions were ultimately moved permanently to new cast members. Jimmy Fallon was initially offered the role of Trump on a recurring cameo basis, but a last-minute change resulted in announcer Darrell Hammond portraying him as he had done for fourteen seasons in the cast.[9] Killam ultimately portrayed Cruz, while Moynihan portrayed Christie. Rubio was played by Davidson, Bush by Bennett, and Paul by Kyle Mooney. Cecily Strong and Jay Pharoah portrayed Fiorina and Carson, respectively, while Colin Jost acted as a stand-in for Kasich, with no lines. Rudnitsky portrayed debate moderator Wolf Blitzer.[10]
The following episode, on January 16, featured another debate, with a slightly smaller Republican field. Carly Fiorina had been demoted to the earlier undercard debate, and while Paul and Kasich remained on the mainstage, SNL chose not to include them in the sketch. Trump, Cruz, Christie, Rubio, Bush, and Carson were all portrayed by the same people that portrayed them in the earlier episode.[10]
Despite Hammond's acclaimed impression, speculation remained as to whether he was playing the role because he was needed (as Killam was playing Cruz) or because his impression was superior.[11] The show ultimately confirmed that Hammond was going to be portraying Trump indefinitely; the following week, he appeared alongside Tina Fey's Sarah Palin in a sketch without Killam, confirming that he would continue to play Trump even if Killam were available (for the time being).[12] Killam, in turn, was confirmed as the show's indefinite Cruz, in a sketch where he portrayed him when Moynihan was not present.[13]
The third episode, hosted by Tracy Morgan, was the comedian's first large comedy appearance since suffering head injuries from a near fatal car crash.[14] Amy Poehler and Tina Fey co-hosted the season's December 19 episode, marking the first time an episode has featured multiple hosts since 2004 (the season 29 episode hosted by Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson),[15] as well as the first time two female cast members have hosted, and the first time since season 12's Christmas episode hosted by Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, and Martin Short that two former cast members have hosted. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler received a historic Emmy co-nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a comedy for their roles as co-host of the Christmas episode, which they ultimately won.[16]
After two consecutive seasons with higher-than-average levels of cast turnover, no major changes occurred prior to this season. The entire cast of the previous season returned, with Beck Bennett, Colin Jost, Kyle Mooney and Sasheer Zamata being promoted to repertory status, while Michael Che, Pete Davidson and Leslie Jones remained featured players.[17]
Prior to the start of the season, comedian Jon Rudnitsky of the Groundlings joined the show as a featured player.[18][19]
This would be the final season for longtime cast members Taran Killam and Jay Pharoah, who had both been on the show since 2010, and the only season for Rudnitsky.[20]
Repertory players |
Featured players
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bold denotes "Weekend Update" anchor
Before the beginning of the season, six new writers joined the staff: Upright Citizens Brigade performers Fran Gillespie, Sudi Green, and Will Stephen; former Late Show with David Letterman writers Paul Masella and Chris Belair; and stand-up comedian Dave Sirus.[21]
Colin Jost, a cast member on the show and anchor of Weekend Update, who has also served as a writer since 2005 (and as co-head writer in 2012), was relieved of his position as co-head writer, although he remains on the writing staff. Rob Klein and Bryan Tucker continue as co-head writers.[22]
No. overall | No. in season | Host(s) | Musical guest(s) | Original air date | Ratings/ Share | |
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788 | 1 | Miley Cyrus | Miley Cyrus | October 3, 2015 | 4.5/11[23] | |
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789 | 2 | Amy Schumer | The Weeknd | October 10, 2015 | 3.9/10[24] | |
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790 | 3 | Tracy Morgan | Demi Lovato | October 17, 2015 | 4.2/11[25] | |
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791 | 4 | Donald Trump | Sia | November 7, 2015 | 6.6/16[27] | |
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792 | 5 | Elizabeth Banks | Disclosure | November 14, 2015 | 4.0/10[29] | |
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793 | 6 | Matthew McConaughey | Adele | November 21, 2015 | 4.6/12[30] | |
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794 | 7 | Ryan Gosling | Leon Bridges | December 5, 2015 | 4.1/10[31] | |
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795 | 8 | Chris Hemsworth | Chance the Rapper | December 12, 2015 | 3.8/10[32] | |
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796 | 9 | Tina Fey & Amy Poehler | Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band | December 19, 2015 | 5.1/13[33] | |
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797 | 10 | Adam Driver | Chris Stapleton | January 16, 2016 | 3.0/15 in 18-49 (approximately 5.7 overall)[34][35] | |
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798 | 11 | Ronda Rousey | Selena Gomez | January 23, 2016 | 5.0/12[37] | |
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799 | 12 | Larry David | The 1975 | February 6, 2016 | 5.1/12[38] | |
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800 | 13 | Melissa McCarthy | Kanye West | February 13, 2016 | 4.4/11[39] | |
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801 | 14 | Jonah Hill | Future | March 5, 2016 | 4.0/10[40] | |
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802 | 15 | Ariana Grande | Ariana Grande | March 12, 2016 | 4.0/10[41] | |
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803 | 16 | Peter Dinklage | Gwen Stefani | April 2, 2016 | 4.0/10[42] | |
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804 | 17 | Russell Crowe | Margo Price | April 9, 2016 | 4.0/10[43] | |
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805 | 18 | Julia Louis-Dreyfus | Nick Jonas | April 16, 2016 | 3.9/10[44] | |
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806 | 19 | Brie Larson | Alicia Keys | May 7, 2016 | 4.1/10[45] | |
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807 | 20 | Drake | Drake | May 14, 2016 | 3.9/10[46] | |
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808 | 21 | Fred Armisen | Courtney Barnett | May 21, 2016 | 3.7/10[47] | |
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Title | Original air date | US viewers (millions) | |
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"SNL Goodnight Sweet Prince" | April 23, 2016 | 4.5/11[51] | |
A selection of Prince's performances on the show were shown in honor of his death earlier that week.[52] Included were his performances during the season 6 episode hosted by Charlene Tilton, the 15th Anniversary Special, the season 31 episode hosted by Steve Martin, and the season 40 episode hosted by Chris Rock, as well as a performance of "Let's Go Crazy" during the after-party for the 40th Anniversary Special, which has not been aired on television before. It also included replays of the recurring sketch "The Prince Show", where Fred Armisen played Prince and Maya Rudolph played Beyoncé. Included were sketches from the season 30 episodes hosted by Queen Latifah and Robert De Niro, the season 31 episode hosted by Steve Martin, and the season 32 episode hosted by Shia LaBeouf. The performances were introduced by Jimmy Fallon who hosted this special. |
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