from online.tvguide.com
Huffington Post |
Rachel Sklar |
Posted Wednesday August 23, 2006 at 01:05 AM
SNL is suddenly a hot topic of conversation — between the departure of Tina Fey and Rachel Dratch and the debut of not one but two behind-the-scenes shows based on it ("Studio 360" and "30 Rock") — plus sudden competition on the funny front from Comedy Central, blogs and websites — the future of the 31-year old sketch comedy institution is of particular interest. The New York Post's Don Kaplan has some inside scoop today, reporting that "four cast members are about to be fired - they know who they are, but the public doesn't" (does Don? He doesn't say). He reports that Seth Meyers will probably become head writer, that Amy Poehler "is expected to be back" (duh), and that clutch old-timer Darrell Hammond and SNL digital short-meisterAndy Samberg were safe. Michaels apparently cast a wide hiring net this year "so that when the ax fell, he would already have a fresh, experienced cast ready to go." Well, someone was thinking ahead.
Our predictions for the unlucky four after the jump.
So: here is the 2005/2006 cast: Darrell Hammond, Horatio Sanz, Maya Rudolph, Rachel Dratch, Amy Poehler, Seth Meyers, Will Forte, Fred Armisen, Chris Parnell, Tina Fey, Finesse Mitchell, and Kenan Thompson. Featured players are Jason Sudeikis, Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, and Kristen Wiig. We know Dratch and Fey are out, and speculate as to the rest:
- Amy Poehler could not be safer. She's the linchpin of the show now, used to the point of overuse in some episodes (at the beginning of the season she did the unthinkable a few times — slip up — which was obviously from being shuttled between every freakin' sketch). Kaplan reports that there will be no new additions to the cast this year but if there are, look for them to come from the anointed few at the Upright Citizens Brigade, of which Poehler is founder and den mother.
- Hammond, Meyers, Armisen: Safe. Hammond is a long-term utility player and impressionist. Meyers is head writer and a close friend of Poehler's (plus a dead ringer for Anderson Cooper, which SNL has learned to use right since their don't-you-people-watch-the-news? beginning). Armisen is a hilarious, unpredictable live wire. Plus, Michaels emphasized having an experienced cast in the Kaplan article. Ergo, safe.
- Will Forte, Chris Parnell: This one is tough. Could they really get rid of either? Forte has become stronger and stronger over the years — people really seem to like that Falconer sketch, strangely — and Parnell is just so great as the stodgy businessman or concerned father, and he is one of the Lazy Sunday originals. Worth dropping a few Alexander Hamiltons for. But he was almost let go a few years ago and returned by the skin of his teeth. Who knows how the allegiances play out behind the scenes at 8H. I would hate to see him go.
- Horatio Sanz. For some reason, they love him. Not only will he stay but unfortunately he'll probably be named Weekend Anchor, which they tested out while Fey was on maternity leave. Recurring slutty character "Carol" almost entirely unfunny.
- Jason Sudeikis, Bill Hader, and Andy Samberg: Sudeikis has been getting lots of play this season as an 'everyguy' (kind of like Parnell) - he mostly plays squares (Poehler's husband in the "Carol" sketches) or fratboy ("Girls Gone Wild: Katrina"). Do they need all of Sudeikis, Parnell and Forte? "Need" is in the eye of the beholder but you've got three guys here who cover the same beat. I think one of them will have to go. (Samberg is obviously safe; Hader, his partner, is part of the SNL Digital Short package. Maybe he'll stay on as a writer?)
- Here we get into the dicey territory: the women and the African-Americans. Traditionally both have had a more challenging go of it at SNL (Fey, Dratch, Eddie Murphy notwithstanding) and as I mentioned above Poehler has had most of the meaty women's roles this year. Rudolph hasn't seemed to have as much limelight as she's had previously (where's Donatella been?) though of course she did have a little side project called giving birth. But they lost Fey and Dratch; they can't afford to give up another woman. Whither Kristen Wiig, who fulfills the need for extra women but hasn't broken out in any noticeable way? I'd say she'd be out if they were hiring anyone new. Can SNL get by with only two women? Sure - especially when they have female hosts and have Horatio Sanz in drag. I think Wiig will be gone. As for Mitchell and Thomson, my pick to go is Thomson. He's got a face-saving excuse of a movie career (Fat Albert, Snakes On A Plane) and honestly he's just not that funny (that House Music show with Dratch as his dippy friend was really, really painful, except for the faux-musical performances). I don't think that SNL needs them both, or, frankly, uses them.
So who's gone? My picks are Wiig, Thomson and Parnell, much as it hurts to say it. Fourth one is a wild card but I'd bet they switch Hader to full-time writing staff; he's just not used enough. In any case, this is wild speculation and really who knows what they will do. I just hope that whatever they do, it's funny. With so much attention and so many other hats in the comedy ring, it kind of needs to be.
