Tag: Saturday Night Live (11-20 of 528)

May 13 2013 01:13 PM ET

'SNL': Who should replace Seth Meyers on 'Weekend Update'?

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Image Credit: Lloyd Bishop/NBC/Getty Images

The news that Seth Meyers has been tapped as the next Late Night host begs an obvious question: Who will take over the Saturday Night Live anchor job?

My first pick: Saturday Night Live writer John Mulaney. Mulaney has been a with the show for a few years, and since his pilot, Mulaney, wasn’t picked up, he could be looking for a bigger role on the late-night program. Mulaney has appeared in a few sketches before — check out his rant against Girl Scouts on Weekend Update — as well as garnered raves for his stand-up special, New In Town – so he would be a perfect fit. (A rep for Mulaney didn’t respond to EW’s request for comment.)

I don’t really see a current Saturday Night Live performer rising to “Update.” While I’d watch Bill Hader do just about anything on television, it’s unlikely that the character-driven performer would choose to give up a larger role in sketches to anchor the faux broadcast. The same goes for buzzy newcomers Kate McKinnon and Cecily Strong. Perhaps Saturday Night Live should reach out to a former cast member — Maya Rudolph is searching for a new show after Up All Night was canceled, and her two brief cameos on this past week’s broadcast show she’s just as funny as ever. Besides Rudolph, SNL should consider some of these funny ladies who didn’t get the Late Night job, such as Samantha Bee or Amy Sedaris. READ FULL STORY »

May 13 2013 10:20 AM ET

'Saturday Night Live' host poll: How funny was Kristen Wiig's homecoming?

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Image Credit: Dana Edelson/NBC

You could be forgiven for thinking that NBC accidentally aired a “Best of Kristen Wiig” special instead of a new episode of SNL this past weekend. The show’s former star brought five old recurring characters with her when she returned to host for the first time, including Gilly, Karina the Californian, Kat (of “Garth and”), the Target Lady, and, of course, tiny-handed Dooneese — making for a show that felt, at times, more like a host-less installment from 2010 than 90 minutes of new material.

But even if the episode didn’t quite deserve to be labeled a capital-E Event, Wiig was clearly thrilled to return to her old stomping ground — and it was a pleasure to see how excited her old castmates were to perform with their friend once more.

Will that be enough to help Wiig win the title of this season’s best SNL host?  READ FULL STORY »

May 12 2013 10:00 AM ET

'Saturday Night Live' recap: Kristen Wiig makes her return

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Image Credit: NBC

In hindsight, fans were bound to be disappointed. With Kristen Wiig’s eagerly anticipated return to SNL– after just a year away – many viewers were torn between wanting to see the best of her old characters and wanting to watch her expand. Unfortunately, last night we got neither. An eager Wiig brought the energy, and, especially alongside her friend Maya Rudolph, seemed to be having a great time visiting her old stomping ground, but for much of the show that enthusiasm — even during the return of characters like Dooneese — didn’t transfer to viewers at home.

The episode started with a cold opener featuring CSPAN coverage of the Benghazi hearings, with the central premise that many felt these were a shameless ratings grab as opposed to an actual search for truth. The decision to have ratings-gold Jodi Arias (a spot-on Nasim Pedrad) and Ariel Castro (Bobby Moynihan) “testify” was a great way to bring the three newsworthy stories of the week together. The best part was that unlike many a decent SNL sketch, it didn’t go on too long, allowing viewers quick access to Wiig. Her monologue could have been many things: A retread of old characters, a joke-y round up of what she’s been up to this year. Instead, we got an “I’m So Excited” parody with lyrics like, “Even though I’ve been away awhile now/ I still know camera one from camera two,” as Wiig paraded around the studio and realized that maybe she didn’t remember things quite as well as she’d hoped. The highlight was special guest Maya Rudolph, who stole both moments she was in: First, Wiig busted her making out with Jonah Hill (also cameoing), and then at the end of the number, the visibly pregnant star got her dance moves on alongside Wiig. Someone Gif that, stat. (Unfortunately, the monologue –which also featured a Gilly sighting — isn’t yet available online.) READ FULL STORY »

May 11 2013 05:00 PM ET

Kristen Wiig hosts tonight's 'Saturday Night Live' -- talk about it here!

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Image Credit: Dana Edelson/NBC

Kristen Wiig makes her much-anticipated first return to Saturday Night Live tonight after leaving at the end of last season. After a week of weird last time with Zach Galifianakis, Wiig’s fans are likely hoping the show goes two-for-two on the zany front, allowing Wiig to bring back some of her favorites such as Penelope or Target Lady. (Sorry, but in my opinion the Gilly drink with Justin Timberlake was more than enough of that character this season.)

Much like Timberlake earlier this year, it’ll be interesting to see if the show plays like a DVD repeat of The Best of Kristen Wiig or if, together with the writers, Wiig creates some new crazy ladies to add to her diverse repertoire. Both the Jodi Arias trial and Charles Ramsey seem ready for the Saturday Night Live treatment. I can see her taking her standard silliness and battling against Nancy Grace (Kate McKinnon) for parking lot coverage of the trial or something like that.

Wiig will be joined by musical guest Vampire Weekend, who will be making their third trip to the late-night show promoting their upcoming album Modern Vampires of the City. Besides the band, will any famous faces appear alongside Wiig? In her send off, Mick Jagger dropped by to wish her well. She’s been a busy film lady since her last time in Studio 8H — perhaps new co-stars Darren Criss or Matt Dillon will drop by? Or maybe fellow one-year-out grad Andy Samberg will premiere a new Lonely Island video? They’ve got a new album out June 11, and this week kicked off their first video. Talk about the show in the comments below, and check back tomorrow morning for a full recap.

Read more:
Kristen Wiig returns to ‘Saturday Night Live,’ busts a move in new promos — VIDEO
‘Saturday Night Live’ host poll: Zach Galifianakis does it his way — VOTE
‘Saturday Night Live’ recap: Keep Zach Galifianakis weird

May 8 2013 10:04 AM ET

Kristen Wiig returns to 'Saturday Night Live,' busts a move in new promos -- VIDEO

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Saturday Night Live Hall-of-Famer Kristen Wiig returns home to host the show this Saturday with musical guest Vampire Weekend. If the new promos are any indication, we’re all in for a treat. Wiig’s Garth & Kat partner Fred Armisen played along for her promos, which involve everything from reliving some of Wiig’s most famous characters (Jump-roping Rhonda!) to Armisen slapping her across the face for abandoning the show.

Other revelations: Wiig and Armisen have some wicked dance moves, and it wouldn’t be the craziest thing in the world for Olivia Newton-John to make a surprise appearance this Saturday. (Is it the Christmas show already?) But the moral of Wiig’s return is simple: You never know what you got till it’s gone. Now DANCE! (But, please… don’t make her sing.)

Watch Kristen Wiig’s SNL promos below! READ FULL STORY »

May 6 2013 06:43 PM ET

Zach Galifianakis stars in fake '70s cop show in cut dress rehearsal 'Saturday Night Live' sketch -- VIDEO

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Image Credit: Dana Edelson/NBC

Who can say why certain Saturday Night Live sketches don’t make the final live cut?

Zach Galifianakis’s show this past week had plenty of oddball material, so maybe that’s the reason Kanish, starring Galifianakis and Bill Hader-as-Judd-Hirsch in a fake ’70s crime show dragged down by technical errors, didn’t air. Happily, the dress rehearsal version of the sketch was posted online, so fans can watch Hader and Galifianakis give the sketch their cheesy crime show best — if only their punchlines didn’t keep getting cut off and the freeze frames weren’t so awkward.

Check out a retrospective on Kanish, a fictitious program “which ran from early 1977 until late early 1977,” below: READ FULL STORY »

May 6 2013 10:32 AM ET

'Saturday Night Live' host poll: Zach Galifianakis does it his way -- VOTE

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Image Credit: Dana Edelson/NBC

With only two episodes remaining in this season’s Saturday Night Live, our year-long contest to honor the show’s best guest host is racing around the final turn towards the finish line. Zach Galifianakis made his case over the weekend with a delightfully weird show that reveled in the comic’s zaniness and signature mock outrage. The star of The Hangover movies had some help — with cameos from his Hangover buds, a Game of Thrones stud, and even Jon Hamm — but Galifianakis more than pulled his own weight. Now that he’s hosted SNL three times, he’s earned the right to be on the show’s short list of go-to guests, especially after the double-dose of “Darrell’s House.” (No bonus points for web exclusives in our competition, but this cut sketch of the “Kanish” was just what the doctor or–)

Justin Timberlake and Melissa McCarthy continue to dominate the voting, and Vince Vaughn performed well enough to eliminate Seth MacFarlane, who was threatening to go wire-to-wire after hosting this season’s premiere. Vaughn has his work cut out for him, since Galifianakis is sure to draw a fair amount of support this week, and Kristen Wiig is on-deck. The Bridemaids star returns to host for the first time since her emotional last dance signaled her departure from the show last May after seven seasons. Even Timberlake should be worried… READ FULL STORY »

May 5 2013 10:00 AM ET

'Saturday Night Live' recap: Keep Zach Galifianakis weird

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Image Credit: NBC

In a culture saturated by best and worst lists, it’s easy to fall into the trap of labeling everything you see either “brilliant” or “awful.” Sometimes, though, entertainment is solidly middle-of-the-road — and that was certainly the case with Zach Galifianakis’s third SNL hosting stint. It never soared to the heights of his first few outings, but it was a solidly funny night that featured a few inspired moments — and, perhaps more importantly, only one outright clunker of a sketch. That’s a pretty good batting average as far as Saturday Night Live goes.

The night got off to a slow start with another Fox & Friends cold open. As funny as Bobby Moynihan’s dumber-than-dirt commentator can be — I loved how he thinks the “W” in WNBA stands for “worse” — the sketch itself is the very definition of low-hanging fruit (“hey, those guys on Fox News sure are conservative!”). And if the funniest thing about a bit is the stream of one-liners that quickly scrolls by as it ends, it may be time to reevaluate the rest of what’s happening onscreen.

But when Galifianakis actually took the stage, he set the tone for a night that would be kookier and more surreal than the average SNL installment — if not generally funnier.  READ FULL STORY »

May 4 2013 11:55 PM ET

'SNL': All this week's 'Fox & Friends' corrections

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Once again, Saturday Night Live opened with a sketch that poked fun at Fox News’s Fox & Friends — and ended with a fast-moving scroll that listed a few things the show’s fact-checkers wanted to set straight before going to break. As always, the corrections were topical (“Jason Collins was not turned gay by a Washington Wizard”), totally random (“New York exists outside the mind of Billy Joel”), and everything in between.

Here’s the full list:

Kentucky Derby losers are not turned into Ikea meatballs.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev did not accidentally blow up vowels in his own name.

The chupacabra does not deliver presents on Cinco De Mayo.

President Obama does not want to take away T-shirt guns.

Most women have only two breasts.

READ FULL STORY »

May 4 2013 06:00 PM ET

Zach Galifianakis hosts tonight's 'Saturday Night Live' -- Talk about it here!

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Image Credit: NBC

When Andy Samberg and his Lonely Island crew left Saturday Night Live at the end of last season, the show lost one of its greatest resources — not only because the gang’s Digital Shorts were precisely engineered to go viral, but also because the guys’ specific brand of whimsical goofiness was so completely, delightfully different from the talk show parodies and fake game show sketches that SNL often relies upon.

Thankfully, this week’s host happens to be both a big-name actor and a master of whimsical goofiness  — and if Zach Galifianakis’s third hosting stint is anything like his first two, it’ll definitely be worth staying up to watch.

READ FULL STORY »

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