The Future of Saturday Night Live

Saturday Night Live has been the pinnacle of sketch comedy on mainstream television for nearly five

decades. Since its inception, the show has aired nearly 1000 episodes, making it one of the longest running programs in the US. In its almost 50 years, the show has produced a plethora of incredible talents that are now household names in comedy: Adam Sandler, Tina Fey, Eddie Murphy, Will Ferrell, Amy Poehler, Seth Myers, Maya Rudolph and Bill Hader, just to name a few. Even cast members from recent memory have become superstars -- Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Pete Davidson, Michael Che, and Kenan Thompson being prime examples. SNL’s legacy of iconic cultural moments, superstars, and beloved recurring characters far surpasses pretty much any other show (of course there are exceptions, but in terms of the sketch comedy genre, SNL reigns supreme). 

Yet in recent years, the show seems to have fallen off of its pedestal. The sketches seem less exciting and vibrant, the jokes feel forced, and complaints about the surplus of political content abound. If you’re a fan of the show, and you know other people who are fans, you’ve probably heard something along the lines of “SNL hasn’t been good since the ‘90s.” While it’s true that the show’s golden age was definitely around the ‘90s-2000s, this statement isn’t 100% accurate. Yes, there were a lot of hilarious sketches and cast members in that era, but there were definitely unfunny jokes and segments as well. And right now, while a lot of portions are cringe or bland, there have been parts that had me cackling with glee. But sadly, these funny sketches feel few and far between. But why? What is causing SNL to feel so uninspired? Why is it no longer funny? And will the show be able to survive this rough patch?

The biggest issue in my mind right now is that SNL is trying too hard to be relevant. A lot of people have said that the show is “too political,” which is true, but I think it’s just a byproduct of their desperation to stay in the mainstream. Far too many of the sketches employ a comedic device called “referential humor,” which simply means utilizing (usually current) events in pop culture or the general consciousness. It’s the type of comedy that most talk shows and late-night shows use, especially politics-focused ones like Seth Meyers or Stephen Colbert. Referential humor is not inherently bad. The problem with it, especially on network television, is that there is very little that can actually be done with the material. Because the show broadcasts to all audiences, there are a lot of people with conflicting viewpoints, beliefs, and backgrounds that may tune in. Major television networks are notorious for playing it safe with their content by enforcing strict molds on their shows and ensuring that the views expressed are, for the most part, mild and not potentially offensive. It makes sense as a business model -- to make a profit, they market to the most people, and so when things are well-liked they keep doing them, and to avoid turning people off from the programming, they keep everything fairly neutral, or at least ensure the expressed viewpoints are ones that the majority of the audience will share. 

When a show like SNL, which broadcasts on NBC, tries to use referential humor, they have to stick to the rules the network has laid out for them. Because of this, they aren’t really able to make any meaningful or cutting social commentary about their references. Often it just amounts to the most surface-level “this is a thing that happened.” In my opinion, they should save those jokes and sketch-concepts for Weekend Update, because that’s what the whole segment is based on. Update has been able to make edgier jokes about current events, and also it’s just a better medium, because we aren’t expecting a fully fleshed-out five minute sketch about one thing. Also, when SNL makes these sketches with current events, it just comes across as a desperate reach to stay relevant and relate to a younger audience.

The other big issue with this season especially is the mass exodus of some of the funniest cast members, people who have been carrying the show on their backs for a while now. Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, Pete Davidson, Kyle Mooney, and more recently Melissa Villaseñor, Chris Redd, and Alex Moffat. This took a massive toll on the show, because although the writing has felt pretty bland for a while now, the aforementioned former cast members were able to make most of the sketches at least somewhat funny. The previous season’s finale, hosted by the hilarious Natasha Lyonne, was quite strong as an episode, and the sendoff to each cast member, especially Kate McKinnon’s, was very moving. However, it was also a little foreboding, because I couldn’t help but wonder if the show would be able to handle its strongest players leaving. Granted, some great cast members stayed behind, but I was fairly certain that they wouldn’t be able to fill the shoes of the others, and in my opinion some definitely need to go (cough cough, Kenan Thompson, cough cough). The cold open of our current season’s premiere set the tone for the next few episodes by trying to make light of the fact that they were currently in a rough patch. The sketch itself was a little bit unnerving because we’re not used to seeing SNL do self-referential humor, so it had a shaky start. Once I got used to it though, it wasn’t horrible. But the rest of the season so far has not been up to snuff. The new cast members haven’t really made an impression on me, and I don’t anticipate a lot of them staying much longer. Often SNL will have a good wave of new members followed by a bad one, and I think this wave is the latter. I’m hopeful that they’ll improve in another season or two, assuming the show is still around to do a few more. 

There are a lot of problems right now, but the last big one I want to highlight is the hosts. SNL needs to stop using people with little to no comedic experience to host the show. The predictable pattern that most of the hosts fall into during their opening monologue is “my name is ______ and I’m so excited to be here…allow me to plug the recent show/movie I was in/song I wrote to let you know why they picked me to host this show…I’ve been watching SNL since my childhood…this is a funny story about my childhood…we’ve got a great show for you tonight, (musical guest) is here! Stick around, and we’ll be right back!” It just feels so formulaic, like a mad lib or something. Sometimes they vary it up with a song, which is never funny, but the format generally stays the same. Personally, I think it would be a lot better if they had veteran actors or actual comedians hosting the show -- obviously there are only so many, but in the episodes where experienced comics, like John Mulaney, Bill Burr, and various former cast members are hosting, the whole show just feels more alive. 

I would like to highlight some things I think SNL has done right in the past few seasons, because it isn’t all bad. For one, some casting and writing decisions have been very good choices. James Austin Johnson, who joined season 47, is a brilliant impressionist who somehow made Trump funny again with his hilarious word-association monologues. Weekend Update has consistently been strong, often the funniest portion of every episode. Also, new cast member Sarah Sherman has had some great appearances on Update, and it seems like they’re gearing up to have her as a permanent fixture on it, which would be great. Bowen Yang and Ego Nwodim, two other newer cast members, have also been consistently killing it, often carrying multiple sketches an episode. And Andrew Dismukes has provided the dry, deadpan humor that the show has lacked for a very long time. In terms of hosting, SNL has made the very smart decision of having actual experienced comedians for the last two episodes. Say what you will about Amy Schumer, but the notoriously disliked comic had probably the funniest episode of the whole season so far, maybe because she knows how to do sketch comedy. Dave Chappelle, although a constant source of controversy, also had a very strong episode. His 15 minute opening monologue, despite towing the line very frequently with Kanye West jokes, was well delivered and a welcome respite from the formula we’re so used to. I got excited during it because I thought he was going to do stand-up between some of the sketches since he kept getting on stage to say something before, but alas he did not. It would have been great if he did, though, as that was how SNL originally operated, and since Chappelle is such a seasoned comedian, it would definitely have worked in the show’s favor. 

So what’s next? SNL is going through a rough patch, but will they be able to overcome it? They certainly have before. The problem now is that the show has garnered a reputation of being beyond its glory days, so everything now feels a little like borrowed time. There have been rumors that this is the last or second-to-last season. It wouldn’t be a shock to me if they ended on season 50; since they’re so close now, it might feel like the perfect milestone to close out one of the most iconic television programs of all time. I would hope not, because I do truly believe the show has the potential to improve, but with so many cast members -- even current ones -- exploring other career opportunities, there is definitely a marked lack of interest in keeping the show going. It’s hard to imagine what would fill the void if SNL were to be taken off the air -- there are other sketch comedy shows, but none can even come close to the legacy, prestige, and mainstream fame that SNL has. NBC already has The Tonight Show that airs right after SNL, so it’s pretty unlikely that they would add another nighttime talk show in that slot. They could potentially add a regular TV show, but since This is Us ended and Manifest moved to Netflix, the network hasn’t boasted any stand-out hits. Also, the 11:30 EST start time is not ideal for a standard show. They could theoretically add another news program, but NBC already has several late night news segments. The final alternative in my mind would be revamping SNL or replacing it with a different show based upon the same concept. There would likely be budget cuts, a reworked writing team, and possibly a new cast. Personally, I don’t think that would work -- SNL has enough of a legacy that trying to rebrand it would make no sense for the network. Viewers would not want to tune in for a different show of the same concept when they don’t know if it’ll actually be better or not. The name “Saturday Night Live” carries enough weight that I think there are only two real possibilities: either the show is taken off the air entirely and replaced with something totally different, or NBC makes a number of alterations but keeps the brand the same. Whatever happens, SNL desperately needs to change and improve their current style, otherwise the show won’t be around much longer.