Scot Bertram

SNL Struggles to Find its Breakout Star

After Will Ferrell left following Season 27, Saturday Night Live began the process of remaking itself without Ferrell’s star power on board. They brought in new cast members like Fred Armisen and Will Forte to join Jimmy Fallon, Maya Rudolph, Amy Poehler, Seth Meyers, and Rachel Dratch, but none of the sketches reached the heights they had during the Ferrell era.

That is still the case in Season 29, when it somehow feels like all the cast members are under-used. We all know of the prodigious talents of the current cast members, but the sketches are either under-written or are simply parodies of ephemeral MTV-like products like videos or reality shows.

If there is a bright light this season, it is the weirdness and originality brought to the show by Forte, now in his second season. He, and to some extent Armisen, have begun filling in the weirdness gap left when Ferrell bolted for movie stardom.

Nonetheless, there are highlights from the season, such as Justin Timberlake’s hosting debut in Episode Two. Near the end of the season, the show experiences a surge in quality, beginning with the Lindsay Lohan-hosted show. After that, Snoop Dogg shows up for another strong episode, giving viewers hope that Season 30 has more quality in store.

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.