While you fill out the presidential transition team’s nosy job application, scrounge for Inaugural Ball tickets, or get one of those creepy coins indulging your Obamania, Saturday Night Live seems determined to sit this new administration out.
Three weeks after resorting to dragging Maya Rudolph out of sketch-comedy retirement to play Michelle Obama (and with Fred Armisen still struggling to nail his impersonation of the president-elect), NBC announced that SNL has two fresh recruits: white women. Abby Elliott and Michaela Watkins, who’ll join the cast this weekend, come to the gig with solid comedy resumes. They’re both Groundlings vets, and Elliott is the daughter of comedian Chris Elliott, and granddaughter of Bob Elliott.
What the pair aren’t, however, are particularly topical picks. Let’s put aside the fact that SNL often has trouble figuring out what to do with its black actors (Eddie Murphy famously hovered in the background of his first sketch) and rarely hires black actresses (only Rudolph, Danitra Vance, Yvonne Hudson, and Ellen Cleghorne made it to the cast in the show’s 33-year history). Are we really supposed to believe that in the two years the Obamas have been in the national spotlight SNL hasn’t been able to find actors of color who can portray them—in addition to being funny and versatile on the rest of the show?
Maybe all of this eye-rolling is premature. Maybe there’s an announcement coming soon from Studio 8H that they’ve discovered this apparently rarest of species: funny black people. We sure hope so. Otherwise, it’s going to be a long, dry four years.
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And why are they all attractive? I’m jonesin for someone that fits more into the Rachel Dratch brand of physicality.
I think the bigger problem for SNL will be that the Obamas are not funny or interesting people, so who will want to watch a satirized version of them? Bush made for easy laughs because he’s a buffoon. Clinton, Reagan, etc. were larger than life personalities with many attributes that could be magnified. The Obamas are a real snooze in comparison…
Agreed that they need more black people, but adding women was a good start. I would quickly grow tired of a Poehler-less boys’ club.
Maybe we PWs can help with some SNL casting. I would love to see Aisha Tyler agree to a recurring guest spot playing Michelle Obama.
That blonde actress is literally a dead ringer for the actress (Sophia something?)who played Beth on Moonlight. When I saw the photo I thought the actress had joined SNL.
Do we really need someone on SNL to portray Michelle Obama? I don’t remember castmembers playing Laura Bush in any sketches. I agree that Armisen needs to work on his Obama impression more, but c’mon – he’s not Darrel Hammond. I think it’s important to focus on the news at hand. It’s a GOOD thing that SNL is not only rounding out their low-on-numbers cast, but – even better – they’re casting women.
Aisha Tyler is a great idea! A funny beautiful lady who also happens to be black.
Here, here to this article:
It’s absolutely ridiculous that the show is either unable (or unwilling to find comedians of color to round out cast (black, Hispanic or, gasp, asian). The situation is especially embarrassing when it comes to women of color.
I’m not saying they need to hire token minority comics just to play the Obamas or Orprah or any other black celebrity in the news. I’m just saying there have GOT to be some minority comedians who are witty, talented and funny enough to be make it on the show and would spare us from Kenan Thompson playing almost every black character (male or female) there is.
That being said, I hope the two new additions are funny because I still enjoy watching the show and, with Poehler gone, Kristin Wiig can’t possibly play every female character.
No black actress since Ellen Cleghorne left the show in 1995? What gives??? And you can’t really count Maya Rudolph – I don’t think most people knew that she was half black, she was lighter skinned than most of the white people on the cast……….Fred Armisen’s Obama impression sucks! And now, nobody to play Michelle Obama. So is SNL going to have 2 white people play the Obamas in blackface? BOOO.
I echo Ceballos greatly. Especially on the Kenan Thompson comment. Personally, I believe the only reason why they use Kenan so much on the show now is because they feel like they don’t want to make the same mistake they did with Tracy Morgan (like Chris Rock before him), which is overlooking the one African-American performer on the show that could bring some huge laughs. So they milk whatever the hell they can out of Kenan, but obviously, he doesn’t have it in him.
Wait, you mean a liberal show that makes fun of conservatives won’t be poking fun at their new liberal president? What a shock…… (note the sarcasm) Its not like there will be anything to make fun of since the media as a whole will paint the picture that Obama can do no wrong and will do nothing short than walk on water.
SNL shouldn’t be hiring cast members to fill the roles of specific political impressions. They should just be finding the funniest fresh faces they can. That said, it would be nice if the cast was more diverse. Armisen does a fine job in what is clearly an almost impossible task. And now that the election is over, I doubt they’ll be rushing to write more Obama sketches unless something particularly satire-worthy happens.
OK, Dennis N., you cracked me up and Cardsgal, you’ve it right on the head, the Obamas are going to be uninteresting for comedians because of their gravitas.
I do think that Fred Armisen is doing a good job, though.
Donald Glover anyone?
Jim, do you remember SNL during the Clinton years?
Chris Elliott’s daughter is gorgeous! I look forward to seeing her along with those other two hotties Kristin Wilk and Amy Poehler!
SNL isn’t going to do anything to poke fun at or criticize the Great Obama. The writers have been in the tank for him since the beginning. Do they intend to keep trashing Palin for the next four years?
So, we are to assume from the article that Lorne Michaels should have spent the past two years while the Obamas were in the spotlight trying to find two african americans to portray them on his show? That is a ridiculous sentiment. Just ridiculous. Lorne Michaels needs funny people on the show period. Not black funny people. Not white funny people. Funny people period. Tina Fey can’t come back every episode and play Sarah Palin to give the show a boost.
Matt Clark: Amy Poehler’s GONE from the show, in case you haven’t heard, but they still have Kristin Wiig and Casey Wilson as far as hotties go
>…
SNL is and always has been a show that is dominated by white men. There is rarely every more than 2 or 3 women on the show at a time, regardless of color. So let’s at least celebrate the fact that (gasp!) they’ve finally hired some more women, bringing the cast to an astonishing high of FOUR women!
And yes, Armisen’s Obama is terrible, truly terrible. Get someone else to play him, and you know, actually satirize him and make him funny. It will especially be better if they actually hire a black comic to do it too. But maybe that’s just a pipe dream…
*ever
“Lorne Michaels needs funny people on the show period.”
That is not the only thing he needs. He also needs ratings (and advertisers). A more diverse cast who would, in turn, create a greater variety of sketches that appeal to a broader audience could increase the audience for a show that was failing miserably before the election.
Not to mention that diversity in hiring is just the right thing to do in any industry.
Check out this guy! He does a pitch perfect Obama, but he’s also very versatile with other characters:
His name’s Christopher B. Duncan.
Wow. Abby looks exactly like her father.
Armisen is half Italian and Venezuelan. Technically that counts as color. As for Michelle Obama, the person who said that Laura Bush was never really portrayed all of the time was correct. I think that the only first lady ever really fully portayed was Hillary Clinton?
Thanks, mydove! Oh my, that sounded creepily endearing…
To Alan: I’m glad we’re moving away from casting “token” African Americans by only including genuine “dark” ones in our casting suggestions. Screw Maya Rudolph and her Mulatto ethnicity, right? What SNL really needs are some pedigree Africans, right? Right? umnohowboutWRONG.
I really doubt that Obama is going to give SNl a lot of material. He’s not the funnest person to make fun of.
I trust Lorne with his casting choices. These two will fit in well after a few months.
What I would like to see is SNL taking over MADtv’s job of parodying pop culture. SNL has been ultra political for the last 6 years and it’s not particularly sustainable (especially with a Dem president). Now that MADtv is gone suddenly any and every pop culture element will be available for parody.
On a side note: When will Jorma Taccone be added to the cast. He’s been a writer for quite a while and we know he’s a good actor. God knows it’ll be good to have some new younger actors in the cast.
OK I’ve ranted enough.
- izi
The women on the show are the funniest cast members right now, and I hate that Maya Rudolph isn’t there and Amy Poehler is leaving.
As two people suggested below, Aisha Tyler would be a GREAT addition, if she’s up for it. And I have to say, Armisen has greatly improved as Obama since his horrible first performance.
I agree with the posters who said having someone to play Michelle isn’t that important. The Obama’s just don’t seem to have much about them to poke fun at. That said, SNL DOES need more people of color–as long as they are funny! I always thought Cleghorne was a hoot..even though she didn’t often get a lot to do. “You think I won’t cut you???”
This is beyond stupid. SNL hired a few new female cast members because Amy Poehler left. It just has nothing to do with Obama. I know its shocking that things are happening in this country that don’t revolve around Obama, but its true.
“Maybe all of this eye-rolling is premature.” Yes, it is. Tom Brazelton is dead-on. SNL needs funny people, not affirmative action.