Saturday Night Live

Saturday Night Live will always be my comfort show. The longevity and influence SNL has had on the comedy scene is unmatched. It has been the catalyst for so many careers, e.g. Eddie Murphy, Bill Murray, Will Ferrell etc... The show has definitely had its ups and downs but, in taking a step back it is evident that the show has remained consistently mixed in it entire run. Not every season has had great writers or talent, some actors have been much more successful than others, and yet it has always found an audience. My favourite era of the show was the mid 2000s with Bill Hader and Andy Samberg, but most people have a a preference for whatever season they had as a teenager. The consistency of structure and crew unites all the different casts, creating a familiar image and sensibility, found in every season. There will always be a host monologue, musical guest, Weekend Update and most importantly, it will always be LIVE! The production process of a pitch meeting with the host, staying up all night on Tuesdays to write, read-through and dress rehearsal. Whether it's 1975 or 2023, everyone endures the same experience (although whether they have the aid of cocaine is certainly a difference!). The argument SNL hasnt been funny since the "insert previous ten years" is redundant. Every season of the show has been criticised for not being funny but every season of the show has produced hilarious sketches and shone a light on the new faces of comedy. In the 70s they had Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, the 80s they had Julia Louis Dreyfus and Conan O'Brien, the 90s they had Will Ferrell and Eddy Murphy, the 2000s Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, the 2010s Kate McKinnon and Vanessa Bayer and finally in the 2020s we have Bowen Yang and Marcello Hernandez. The show continues to inspire and entertain the next generation of aspiring creatives with it's ground approach to sketch comedy. It is an American institution that will always hold a very dear place in my heart.