SNL
At the Emmy Awards in September, the show's creator and executive producer, Lorne Michaels, admitted that SNL was headed for a period of reshuffling. By dint of its longevity and evolving ensemble cast, Saturday Night Live doesn't stay the same for very long . The series featured a record 21 cast members last year, before major players including Kate McKinnon, Pete Davidson, Aidy Bryant, and Kyle Mooney left in May, followed later by Alex Moffat, Melissa Villaseñor, Chris Redd, and the relative newcomer Aristotle Athari. The show has previously lost more formidable talent in fewer numbers, but the departures marking the start of its 48th season feel seismic.
Fans began to fear the fate of the Emmy-winning series after an exodus of eight cast members at the end of Season 47. Missing from this season's opening credits (noted: updated show font and design) are Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, Pete Davidson , Chris Redd, Kyle Mooney, Melissa Villaseñor, Alex Moffat and Aristotle Athari — with the loss of McKinnon being particularly lamented.
SNL quickly called attention to that flux last night with a sketch within a sketch from the first-time host Miles Teller and the cast member Andrew Dismukes. Playing Peyton and Eli Manning, the actors commented on the cold open—a purposely campy political sketch featuring Donald Trump trapped at Mar-a-Lago during Hurricane Ian—via their Monday Night Football series Manningcast.
Unfortunately for everyone who enjoyed the ad at AMC theaters, SNL is where memes go to die—a sign of their overexposure while slapping it with a definitive “take” that millions more will see. That take for much of the sketch is that Kidman has a funny accent, while the rest more or less lines up with a hyperbolic version of how regular folks reacted to the commercial—saluting, cheering, and treating Kidman with reverence.
![VIDEO] Saturday Night Live Season 47 Episodes — Best, Worst Sketches | TVLine](https://tvline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/snl-season-47-best-worst-episodes-sketches.jpg?w=620)
SNL writers have apparently read all of the mean Twitter comments about the show's current state. Criticisms like “Oh good, Trump sketch. Way to mix it up," and "Where's the balance politically? They're making Trump-Columbus jokes, meanwhile Joe Biden's lost his damn marbles."
The failed fake Trump sketch is the formula of the previous SNL era, relying heavily on impersonations of Trumpian figures for its relevance. With the exit of McKinnon, it's difficult to see how those roles will be filled. The sketch provided at least one immediate answer: There is no replacement. Instead, Heidi Gardner did and the over-the-top vampiric impersonation of South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R). A political figure no one, except the citizens of South Dakota, is thinking about. Leading to a telling exchange between Teller's Peyton and Dismukes's Eli.
SNL operates first and foremost as a group effort, but it's always done best—in terms of both ratings and cultural cachet—when there are clear stars elevating the ensemble and the very feel of comedy. It's why we laud Dana Carvey, Will Ferrell, Wiig, Hader, and McKinnon. Although the show clearly wanted to focus on Yang's wry talent, he wasn't the only one to buoy the episode. The cast stepped up together, achieving a noticeably playful premiere.
What this season will bring—tonally, comedically, and critically—remains to be seen.
