Saturday Night Live (season 35)

Saturday Night Live Season 35
The Saturday Night Live title card as seen in the opening credits of the 35th season.
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	22
Broadcast
Original channel	NBC
Original run	September 26, 2009 – May 15, 2010
Season chronology
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Saturday Night Live aired its thirty-fifth season during the 2009-2010 television season on NBC. This season began on September 26, 2009 and ended on May 15, 2010.

A total of 22 episodes were broadcast during the show's eight-month-long season, which included a two-week break in February due to the 2010 Winter Olympics. The season was accompanied by three prime-time episodes of Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday and three prime-time SNL clip shows.

Prior to the start of the season, many cast changes occurred. Darrell Hammond, the last cast member from the 1990s, left the show after a record 14 seasons in the cast. Featured players Michaela Watkins and Casey Wilson were both let go from the show before the start of the season.

To fill their absence the show brought in two new featured players, Nasim Pedrad and Jenny Slate. Abby Elliott and Bobby Moynihan continued as featured players.

A notable moment of the season was when an internet campaign was created to get actress Betty White to host an episode of the show. The campaign was started in early 2010 on Facebook and the group was called Betty White to Host SNL (please?)!. The campaign was successful, and White became the oldest person ever to host the show. For White's episode, Lorne Michaels brought back former cast members Rachel Dratch, Tina Fey, Ana Gasteyer, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph and Molly Shannon. The episode garnered its highest ratings in over a year. with a rating of 5.8 in the 18-49 rating, demographic and with 12.1 million viewers overall.

This season would also be the last for longtime cast member Will Forte, who had been on the show since 2002. This would also be the only season for new featured player Jenny Slate, who was let go after the season ended.

Cast

Repertory players

• Fred Armisen
• Will Forte
• Bill Hader
• Seth Meyers
• Andy Samberg
• Jason Sudeikis
• Kenan Thompson
• Kristen Wiig

Featured players

• Abby Elliott
• Bobby Moynihan
• Nasim Pedrad
• Jenny Slate

• bold denotes Weekend Update anchor only

Writers

Main article: List of Saturday Night Live writers#Season 35

Season 35 would prove to be the final season with Lonely Island member Jorma Taccone as a writer.

Listings

The following list begins with the season premiere and includes repeats shown after the season finale but before the premiere of the 36th season.

• September 26, 2009 Megan Fox/U2 (35.1, live)
• October 3, 2009 Ryan Reynolds/Lady Gaga (35.2, live)
• October 10, 2009 Drew Barrymore/Regina Spektor (35.3, live)
• October 17, 2009 Gerard Butler/Shakira (35.4, live)
• October 24, 2009 Megan Fox/U2 (35.1, repeat)
• October 31, 2009 Ryan Reynolds/Lady Gaga (35.2, repeat)
• November 7, 2009 Taylor Swift (35.5 live)
• November 14, 2009 January Jones/The Black Eyed Peas (35.6, live)
• November 21, 2009 Joseph Gordon-Levitt/Dave Matthews Band (35.7, live)
• November 28, 2009 Gerard Butler/Shakira (35.4, repeat)
• December 5, 2009 Blake Lively/Rihanna (35.8, live)
• December 12, 2009 Taylor Lautner/Bon Jovi (35.9, live)
• December 19, 2009 James Franco/Muse (35.10, live)
• December 26, 2009 Taylor Swift (35.5, repeat)
• January 2, 2010 Joseph Gordon-Levitt/Dave Matthews Band (35.7, repeat)
• January 9, 2010 Charles Barkley/Alicia Keys (35.11, live)
• January 16, 2010 Sigourney Weaver/The Ting Tings (35.12, live)
• January 23, 2010 Blake Lively/Rihanna (35.8, repeat)
• January 30, 2010 Jon Hamm/Michael Bublé (35.13, live)
• February 6, 2010 Ashton Kutcher/Them Crooked Vultures (35.14, live)
• February 13, 2010: pre-empted for Winter Olympics
• February 20, 2010: pre-empted for Winter Olympics
• February 27, 2010 Jennifer Lopez (35.15, live)
• March 6, 2010 Zach Galifianakis/Vampire Weekend (35.16, live)
• March 13, 2010 Jude Law/Pearl Jam (35.17, live)
• March 20, 2010 Sigourney Weaver/The Ting Tings (35.12, repeat)
• March 27, 2010 Jon Hamm/Michael Bublé (35.13, repeat)
• April 3, 2010 Jennifer Lopez (35.15, repeat)
• April 10, 2010 Tina Fey/Justin Bieber (35.18, live)
• April 17, 2010 Ryan Phillippe/Ke$ha (35.19, live)
• April 24, 2010 Gabourey Sidibe/MGMT (35.20, live)
• May 1, 2010 Zach Galifianakis/Vampire Weekend (35.16, repeat)
• May 8, 2010 Betty White/Jay-Z (35.21, live)
• May 15, 2010 Alec Baldwin/Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (35.22, live)
• May 22, 2010 Tina Fey/Justin Bieber (35.18, repeat)
• May 29, 2010 Ryan Phillippe/Ke$ha (35.19, repeat)
• June 5, 2010 Charles Barkley/Alicia Keys (35.11, repeat)
• June 12, 2010 Alec Baldwin/Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (35.22, repeat)
• June 19, 2010 Betty White/Jay-Z (35.21, repeat)
• June 26, 2010 Taylor Lautner/Bon Jovi (35.9, repeat)
• July 3, 2010 Drew Barrymore/Regina Spektor (35.3, repeat)
• July 10, 2010 Jude Law/Pearl Jam (35.17, repeat)
• July 17, 2010 Joseph Gordon-Levitt/Dave Matthews Band (35.7, repeat)
• July 24, 2010 Jon Hamm/Michael Bublé (35.13, repeat)
• July 31, 2010 Ashton Kutcher/Them Crooked Vultures (35.14, repeat)
• August 7, 2010 James Franco/Muse (35.10, repeat)
• August 14, 2010 Gabourey Sidibe/MGMT (35.20, repeat)
• August 21, 2010 Zach Galifianakis/Vampire Weekend (35.16, repeat)
• August 28, 2010 Taylor Swift (35.5, repeat)
• September 4, 2010 Tina Fey/Justin Bieber (35.18, repeat)
• September 11, 2010 Peyton Manning/Carrie Underwood (32.16, repeat)
• September 18, 2010 Betty White/Jay-Z (35.21, repeat)

Primetime airings

• December 17, 2009: 8:00 SNL Presents: A Very Gilly Christmas (S.16)
• December 25, 2009: 8:00 SNL Presents: A Very Gilly Christmas (S.16, repeat)
• January 31, 2010: 9:00 SNL Presents: Sports All-Stars (S.17)
• April 15, 2010: 9:00 SNL in the 2000s: Time & Again (S.18)
• May 30, 2010: 9:00 SNL in the 2000s: Time & Again (S.18, repeat)

Specials

Special	Original airdate	Notes
SNL Presents: A Very Gilly Christmas	December 17, 2009	Holiday-themed sketches from past episodes are aired, including Adam Sandler's "The Hanukkah Song", Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg's "Dick In A Box" Digital Short, Delicious Dish and many more. Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin make guest appearances. Kristen Wiig hosts as her character Gilly. NBC re-ran this special in 2010 and again in 2011.
SNL Presents: Sports All-Stars	January 31, 2010	Will Forte and Jason Sudeikis host the show as Pete Twinkle and Greg Stink, their recurring ESPN Classic sports announcer characters. Sketches featuring appearances by professional athletes including: Peyton Manning, Derek Jeter, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, Charles Barkley and others are shown (most of which previously appeared in last year's SNL clip show special about sports-related sketches).
Saturday Night Live in the 2000s: Time and Again	April 15, 2010	The special featured insight on the show during the 2000s. Topics discussed include Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey as the new Weekend Update anchors after the departure of Colin Quinn, how SNL became popular for its spoofs on the 2000 United States presidential election, how the show's humor survived the 9/11 attacks and the anthrax scare, Will Ferrell's departure at the end of season 27 and the search for a replacement cast member to play George W. Bush, SNL's shaky years between seasons 28 and 30 due to Jimmy Fallon's and Horatio Sanz's cracking up on camera, Jimmy Fallon's departure from the show, Amy Poehler teaming up with Tina Fey for Weekend Update, the hiring of Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, and Kristen Wiig, and SNL regaining its popularity with the Digital Shorts, its return from the WGA strike of 2007-2008, the introduction of new fan-favorite hosts like Justin Timberlake and Jon Hamm, and the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election. Fred Armisen, Alec Baldwin, Rachel Dratch, Abby Elliott, Jimmy Fallon, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Will Forte, Bill Hader, Darrell Hammond, Chris Kattan, Marci Klein, John McCain, Seth Meyers, Lorne Michaels, Tracy Morgan, Bobby Moynihan, Chris Parnell, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Andy Samberg, Horatio Sanz, Akiva Schaffer, Molly Shannon, Michael Shoemaker, Jason Sudeikis, Jorma Taccone, Kenan Thompson, Justin Timberlake, Christopher Walken and Kristen Wiig provided comments for the special. Originally a special, called The Women of Saturday Night Live, was planned to air but was scrapped and replaced with the 2000s special. The special instead would be shown in the following season.
The Best of 2009-2010	September 21, 2010	The special features some of the best sketches featured in the 35th season. The Best of never actually aired on television, it was released for sale on September 21.

Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday

Main article: Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday

The second season of Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday, a limited-run series based on Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" sketch, has aired in conjunction with this season. The show is hosted by Seth Meyers, Update's current host, and former Update co-host Amy Poehler. Like the sketch, the show is a parody of local news broadcasts and satirizes contemporary news stories and figures. As of June 2010, three episodes have aired. An additional three episodes were scheduled to air in spring 2010, but were scrapped.

Episode number	Original airdate	Notes
Episode 1	September 17, 2009	Amy Poehler appears as a special guest to co-anchor Update alongside Seth Meyers. Darrell Hammond appears as former president Jimmy Carter.
Episode 2	September 24, 2009	Amy Poehler returns as a special guest to co-anchor Update alongside Seth Meyers. Former Saturday Night Live cast member Darrell Hammond appears as Bill Clinton and Megan Fox parodies the finale of the soap opera Guiding Light. Newly-hired Saturday Night Live featured player Nasim Pedrad appears for the first time in the cold open as Kathy Griffin.
Episode 3	October 1, 2009	Darrell Hammond appears as Dennis Franz and Maya Rudolph appears as Oprah Winfrey. This is the first Weekend Update Thursday episode not to feature a cold open.[citation needed]

Movies

Movie	Release date	Notes
MacGruber	May 21, 2010	The movie is based on the "MacGruber" sketches from the show. This is the first SNL movie made since 2000's The Ladies Man. SNL cast members Will Forte and Kristen Wiig and former cast member Maya Rudolph appear in the film. Before its release, the film prompted a legal dispute by Lee David Zlotoff, the creator of MacGyver. The film received mixed reviews from critics. In spite of a wide initial release, the film was a box office bomb. After a two-week opening commitment during which it was shown in 2,546 theaters, it was dropped from all but 177 theaters starting in its third week, a drop exceeded since 1982 only by Meet Dave and The Rocker.

Episodes

Episode number	Date	Host	Musical guest	Notes
659 (35.1)	September 26, 2009	Megan Fox	U2	Brian Austin Green cameoed in the Digital Short- Transformers sketch U2 performed "Breathe", "Moment of Surrender" and "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)". This episode is newly-hired cast member Jenny Slate's first appearance on SNL, and Nasim Pedrad's first full episode. A new opening sequence which mentions SNL's 35 years on-air debuts with this episode. During the "Biker Chick Chat" sketch, Jenny Slate accidentally says, "You stood up for yourself, and I fuckin' love you for that!" Most of the sketch before and after consisted of everyone saying "Friggin'," "frickin'" or "freakin'". Slate quickly holds her breath after realizing her mistake. On the October 24, 2009 rerun of this episode, a dress rehearsal version of the sketch aired instead of the live show version.
660 (35.2)	October 3, 2009	Ryan Reynolds	Lady Gaga	Lady Gaga performed "Paparazzi" and a medley of songs including "Bad Romance", "LoveGame" and "Poker Face". A new format for the introduction of the musical guest and host debuts in this episode. Elijah Wood appeared in the SNL Digital Short. Scarlett Johansson (Reynolds' then-wife) appeared in the "Porcelain Fountains" ad portraying the same Lexi character that she played during her two hosting appearances. Lady Gaga and Madonna appeared in Deep House Dish. Lady Gaga also appeared in another sketch after her second performance. Darrell Hammond appears as California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger during Weekend Update.
661 (35.3)	October 10, 2009	Drew Barrymore	Regina Spektor	Regina Spektor performed "Eet" and "The Calculation" With this episode, Drew Barrymore has hosted more than any other woman in SNL history, passing Candice Bergen.[citation needed] Justin Long appeared as Matthew McConaughey in a sketch called "Celebrity Ghost Stories". He summarized the plot of McConaughey's movie, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past.
662 (35.4)	October 17, 2009	Gerard Butler	Shakira	Shakira performed "She Wolf" and "Did It Again" Dwayne Johnson made a cameo reprising his role as "The Rock" Obama in the cold opening. This is the first episode in SNL history where a sole advertiser (Anheiser-Busch's Bud Light Golden Wheat) bought all national ad time. During this ad time, outtakes from dress rehearsal from the 1990s and 2000s were shown. James Franco appeared as himself in the sketch "What Up With That". He had no lines.
663 (35.5)	November 7, 2009	Taylor Swift		Taylor Swift performed "You Belong with Me" and "Untouchable" Amy Poehler returned to do another "Really?! with Seth and Amy" during Weekend Update. Poehler also introduced Swift's second performance. At 19 years old, Taylor Swift is now the second youngest host and musical guest to appear on SNL (after Britney Spears, who was 18 when she first hosted and performed).[citation needed]
664 (35.6)	November 14, 2009	January Jones	The Black Eyed Peas	Black Eyed Peas appeared in the Today Show sketch. They also performed "I Gotta Feeling", "Meet Me Halfway" and "Boom Boom Pow". The last song closed out the show and was played over the goodnights. Darrell Hammond cameoed as Lou Dobbs on Weekend Update.
665 (35.7)	November 21, 2009	Joseph Gordon-Levitt	Dave Matthews Band	Dave Matthews Band performed "You and Me" and "Shake Me Like a Monkey". Joseph Gordon-Levitt's opening monologue is a song and dance tribute to Donald O'Connor's "Make 'Em Laugh" number in Singin' in the Rain. Kenan Thompson and Andy Samberg starred in the SNL Digital Short with Kenan as Reba. Dave Matthews cameoed as Ozzy Osbourne in "The Mellow Show with Jack Johnson", while Bill Hader portrayed Matthews. Ironically, the character of Matthews, Ozzy, made fun of the other Matthews played by Bill Hader. Al Gore cameoed in the "What Up With That" sketch and on Weekend Update as a promotion for NBC "Green Week" and his new book. Mindy Kaling cameoed in "What Up With That" as the 2nd guest. She had no lines.
666 (35.8)	December 5, 2009	Blake Lively	Rihanna	Rihanna performed "Russian Roulette" and "Hard" and appeared in the SNL Digital Short. Young Jeezy performed with Rihanna for her second song. On this episode's installment of Weekend Update, Abby Elliott appeared as actress-singer Brittany Murphy, following a report about Murphy's alleged firing from a recent film. Elliott portrayed Murphy as not entirely in touch with reality, believing she was SNL's host that evening, and planning to retaliate against the film's director by booing the film at the theater. Murphy died unexpectedly two weeks later on December 20. NBC removed the clip from Hulu without comment. The January 23, 2010 rerun of this episode removes the Weekend Update segment with Abby Elliott as Brittany Murphy, and has a dress rehearsal version of the final sketch, "The Potato Chip Thief."
667 (35.9)	December 12, 2009	Taylor Lautner	Bon Jovi	Bon Jovi performed "Superman Tonight" and "When We Were Beautiful". This episode was dedicated to Heino Ripp, SNL's technical director from 1975 to 1983.
668 (35.10)	December 19, 2009	James Franco	Muse	Muse performed "Uprising" and "Starlight" Mike Tyson and Jack McBrayer appeared during "What Up With That", although McBrayer had no lines. This episode was selected by Kristen Wiig as her submission for the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards, although she did not win the award she was nominated for.
669 (35.11)	January 9, 2010	Charles Barkley	Alicia Keys	The start of the broadcast was delayed 35 minutes due to the Cowboys-Eagles NFC Wild Card game running long. The original airing did not start on time on the East and Central time zones. Alicia Keys performed "Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart" and "Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down" and appeared in the SNL Digital Short. In the original live airing, the "Barkley's Bank" sketch was cut off prematurely due to time. On the June 5th, 2010 rerun, a dress rehearsal version of the sketch aired instead of the live show version. Charles Barkley is now the first basketball player to host SNL more than once. This episode attracted 10.4 million viewers, and was the highest-rated episode of the season until the Betty White/Jay-Z episode four months later. At the opening credits, the featured players' names weren't announced.
670 (35.12)	January 16, 2010	Sigourney Weaver	The Ting Tings	The Ting Tings performed "That's Not My Name" and "Shut Up and Let Me Go". Darrell Hammond cameoed as Jay Leno in the cold open. James Cameron cameoed as himself in the SNL Digital Short. With this episode, Sigourney Weaver surpasses Madeline Kahn's record for longest gap between hosting appearances (Kahn's gap was 18 years between her second appearance in 1977 and her third and final appearance in 1995; Weaver has a 24-year gap between her first appearance in 1986 and her second appearance in 2010).
671 (35.13)	January 30, 2010	Jon Hamm	Michael Bublé	Michael Bublé performed "Haven't Met You Yet" and "Baby (You've Got What It Takes)" and appeared in the "Hamm and Bublé" sketch. Sharon Jones sang with Michael Bublé for his second song.
672 (35.14)	February 6, 2010	Ashton Kutcher	Them Crooked Vultures	Them Crooked Vultures performed "Mind Eraser, No Chaser" and "New Fang". Dave Grohl appeared in a sketch after Them Crooked Vultures' second performance. A parody of Twitter (called "Tooter") was cut from the live show but was made available online on NBC's Saturday Night Live website.
673 (35.15)	February 27, 2010	Jennifer Lopez		Jennifer Lopez performed "Until it Beats No More" and "Starting Over". During the "Flags of the World" SNL Digital Short, a "We Love Betty White" flag is shown, making reference to the fan led effort to get 88-year-old White to host the show for the first time. On the April 3, 2010 rerun of this episode, the "Hollywood Dish" skit was replaced with the dress rehearsal taping segment. In the dress rehearsal, Bill Hader makes a direct hit when throwing, then spitting, a milk shake at Kristen Wiig, causing both actors and host Jennifer Lopez to have a better reaction than in the original live airing. With this episode, Jennifer Lopez becomes the first Hispanic celebrity to be host and musical guest more than once.
674 (35.16)	March 6, 2010	Zach Galifianakis	Vampire Weekend	Vampire Weekend performed "Cousins" and "Giving Up the Gun". Brian Williams, Jack McBrayer, Jane Krakowski, Mehmet Oz, Anthony Anderson, and Jeremy Sisto all appeared during the SNL Digital Short, "Zach Drops by the Set". Paul Rudd and Frank Rich appeared during "What Up With That", although Rich had no lines. Galifianakis shaved his beard before the last sketch of the show, and wears a fake beard during the goodnights.
675 (35.17)	March 13, 2010	Jude Law	Pearl Jam	Pearl Jam performed "Just Breathe" and "Unthought Known" and appeared in the "Twilight Zone" Nightmare at 20,000 Feet parody. Julian Casablancas sang "Boombox" with The Lonely Island in the SNL Digital Short. Jerry Seinfeld cameoed on Weekend Update to do "Really?! With Seth and Jerry".
676 (35.18)	April 10, 2010	Tina Fey	Justin Bieber	Justin Bieber performed "Baby" and "U Smile" and appeared in two sketches. Bieber also appeared in Fey's monologue. With this episode, Justin Bieber is now the youngest male solo musical guest to appear on SNL at age 16. With this episode, Tina Fey is now the second female cast member overall to host more than once (the first being Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and the first Lorne Michaels-era female cast member to host more than once. Mark Sanchez and Steve Martin made surprise appearances during Fey's monologue. Fey reprised her impersonation of Sarah Palin on the fake commercial "The Sarah Palin Network." Fey's daughter, Alice Richmond, appeared in a bumper. Fey received a 2010 Emmy Award nomination as herself for Guest Actress in a Comedy.
677 (35.19)	April 17, 2010	Ryan Phillippe	Ke$ha	Ke$ha performed "Tik Tok" and "Your Love Is My Drug". Phillippe promoted the film MacGruber, the first new SNL movie in over a decade. However, there were no MacGruber sketches. SNL writer and stand up comic Hannibal Buress appeared as himself in a Weekend Update commentary that was cut after dress rehearsal. This is the fifth episode this season not to feature any cameo appearances.
678 (35.20)	April 24, 2010	Gabourey Sidibe	MGMT	MGMT performed "Flash Delirium" and "Brian Eno". SNL writer John Mulaney appeared as himself in a Weekend Update commentary on girl scout cookies. This is the sixth episode, the second consecutive episode, and the last one of the season not to feature any celebrity cameos.
679 (35.21)	May 8, 2010	Betty White	Jay-Z	With this episode, White, at age 88, is the oldest person ever to host the show, surpassing Miskel Spillman (the winner of SNL's "Anyone Can Host" contest) who, in 1977, hosted the show at age 80. Jay-Z performed a medley of "Public Service Announcement", "On to the Next One", "99 Problems", "03 Bonnie and Clyde", and "Empire State of Mind," featuring back-up singer Bridget Kelly. During "99 Problems", Jay-Z's band samples "Points of Authority" by Linkin Park. Jay-Z also performed "Young Forever" with Mr Hudson, which he dedicated to White. Rachel Dratch, Tina Fey, Ana Gasteyer, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph and Molly Shannon appeared throughout the show. Gasteyer and Shannon reprised their characters from the The Delicious Dish sketches. Shannon also reprised her character Sally O'Malley during Weekend Update. Rudolph reprised her impression of Whitney Houston during Weekend Update. Fey and Poehler returned to Update as well, to participate in Really!?!. A Debbie Downer sketch, a Bronx Beat sketch, a Faisal Shahzad sketch, and Pretty Living (where Gasteyer reprised her character Gayle Gleason and Shannon reprised her character Helen Madden) were all cut from the show after dress rehearsal. In early 2010 an online campaign was created on Facebook to get White to host an episode of the show. The group was called Betty White to Host SNL (please?)! The movement was sparked by White's appearance in a Snickers commercial aired during Super Bowl XLIV.[citation needed] Because of this, White is the first person to ever host based on an internet movement created by fans. The commercial itself aired during one of the commercial breaks. To commemorate for White hosting the show, GSN featured a Best of Betty White Match Game marathon. The marathon featured some of the best moments featuring White on the game show Match Game. The event lasted for seven hours and featured 14 episodes from the show, ranging from 1974 till 1979. To commemorate for White hosting the show, WE tv ran a marathon of The Golden Girls. The marathon was called It's Saturday Night with Betty White and featured episodes which revolved around Rose Nylund, the character White played on the show. The start of the June 19th, 2010 rerun of this episode was delayed 30 minutes. The rerun did not start on time in the East and Central time zones. This episode was nominated for seven 2010 Emmy Awards. White won an Emmy for Guest Actress in a Comedy for hosting.
680 (35.22)	May 15, 2010	Alec Baldwin	Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers	Will Forte and Jenny Slate's final episode as cast members. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performed "I Should Have Known It" and "Jefferson Jericho Blues", two songs from their 2010 album Mojo. Petty appeared in the SNL Digital Short. This is the first time Alec Baldwin has hosted a season finale episode of SNL and his fifteenth time hosting overall. As of the broadcast Baldwin tied the record of most frequent host with Steve Martin. Steve Martin made a cameo appearance in the opening monologue.