Saturday Night Live season 22
 |
| Saturday Night Live | |
|---|---|
| Season 22 | |
 | |
| No. of episodes | 20 |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | September 28, 1996 – May 17, 1997 |
| Season chronology | |
The twenty-second season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between September 28, 1996, and May 17, 1997.
This season is notable for the host selection. Seven of the 20 hosts were former cast members. They included Dana Carvey, Robert Downey, Jr. (the second of three season 11 cast members to come back and host the show, joining Damon Wayans [who hosted during the show's 20th season] and, later in season 23, Jon Lovitz), Phil Hartman, Chris Rock, Martin Short (who hosted before with Steve Martin and Chevy Chase on the show's 12th season, and the only cast member out of the seven to not have worked under Lorne Michaels, as Short was a Dick Ebersol cast member), Chevy Chase, and Mike Myers. This would mark Chase's final time hosting before getting banned (returning much later for numerous guest appearances).
Cast
Many changes happened before the start of the season. David Koechner and Nancy Walls were both let go after one season with the show. David Spade left the show on his own terms.
Ana Gasteyer and Tracy Morgan were hired to replace David Koechner and Nancy Walls.
Chris Kattan was promoted to repertory status, while Colin Quinn and Fred Wolf remained as featured players.
This would be the final season for Mark McKinney and Fred Wolf. Wolf would leave his position as featured player and co-head writer after the season's first three episodes. Also, this is the final season to show the Dolby Surround and NBC captioning during the opening montage.
Cast roster
|
Repertory players |
Featured players
|
bold denotes Weekend Update anchor
Writers
Robert Carlock and Stephen Colbert join the writing staff in this season.
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Host | Musical guest | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 407 | 1 | Tom Hanks | Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers | September 28, 1996 |
| 408 | 2 | Lisa Kudrow | Sheryl Crow | October 5, 1996 |
| 409 | 3 | Bill Pullman | New Edition | October 19, 1996 |
| 410 | 4 | Dana Carvey | Dr. Dre | October 26, 1996 |
| 411 | 5 | Chris Rock | The Wallflowers | November 2, 1996 |
| 412 | 6 | Robert Downey, Jr. | Fiona Apple | November 16, 1996 |
| 413 | 7 | Phil Hartman | Bush | November 23, 1996 |
| 414 | 8 | Martin Short | No Doubt | December 7, 1996 |
| 415 | 9 | Rosie O'Donnell | Whitney Houston | December 14, 1996 |
| 416 | 10 | Kevin Spacey | Beck | January 11, 1997 |
| 417 | 11 | David Alan Grier | Snoop Doggy Dogg | January 18, 1997 |
| 418 | 12 | Neve Campbell | David Bowie | February 8, 1997 |
| 419 | 13 | Chevy Chase | Live | February 15, 1997 |
| 420 | 14 | Alec Baldwin | Tina Turner | February 22, 1997 |
| 421 | 15 | Sting | Veruca Salt | March 15, 1997 |
| 422 | 16 | Mike Myers | Aerosmith | March 22, 1997 |
| 423 | 17 | Rob Lowe | Spice Girls | April 12, 1997 |
| 424 | 18 | Pamela Anderson | Rollins Band | April 19, 1997 |
| 425 | 19 | John Goodman | Jewel | May 10, 1997 |
| 426 | 20 | Jeff Goldblum | En Vogue | May 17, 1997 |