Scot Bertram

Will Ferrell Says Goodbye, Amy Poehler Says Hello, and Chris Parnell Gets a Reprieve

When Will Ferrell joined Saturday Night Live in 1995, the show was on the ropes. Adam Sandler and Chris Farley had been fired and SNL was on the brink of cancelation.

But then Lorne Michaels brought on Ferrell and fellow Los Angeles-based Groundlings Cheri Oteri and Chris Kattan and suddenly the show once again had life. These new cast members, coupled with Season 20 holdover Molly Shannon, revived the show, putting it on solid ground for when Ferrell and Shannon left within a season of each other.

As Ferrell and Shannon exited, the show replenished itself by bringing in unknowns like Maya Rudolph, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, and Jimmy Fallon. So it remains in good hands when Ferrell leaves after Season 27.

Among the issues we discuss in the Season 27 episode:

• Did the show properly honor what happened on 9/11? (which occurred right before the season started)
• Why is the show beginning with a political cold open every week?
• What makes the Tina Fey/Jimmy Fallon Weekend Update work so well?
• Why can’t the show find anything meaningful for Tracy Morgan to do?

We discuss all these topics and much more on this week’s episode of Wasn’t That Special. Please subscribe and join us for a trip through every year of SNL. And consider joining at the Executive Producer level, where you get a whole load of extra commentary and clips that will help you become an SNL expert.