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Saturday Night Live season 36

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Saturday Night Live
Season 36
The title card for the thirty-sixth season of Saturday Night Live.
No. of episodes22
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseSeptember 25, 2010 (2010-09-25) –
May 21, 2011 (2011-05-21)
Season chronology
← Previous
season 35
Next →
season 37
List of episodes

The thirty-sixth season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between September 25, 2010, and May 21, 2011.

Longtime announcer Don Pardo announced that he would pre-record his parts from his home in Arizona rather than perform live in New York City.[1]

Cast

[edit]

Prior to the start of the season, longtime cast member Will Forte left the show after a total of eight seasons from 2002 to 2010. Featured player Jenny Slate was let go from the show after one season.[2] Abby Elliott and Bobby Moynihan were both upgraded to repertory status, while Nasim Pedrad remained a featured player.

Following Forte and Slate's departures, the show hired four new cast members: ImprovOlympic alumni Vanessa Bayer and Paul Brittain, stand-up comic and impressionist Jay Pharoah, and comedic actor Taran Killam of The Groundlings.[3] Killam is the second cast member after Kenan Thompson to be a cast member on a Nickelodeon kids' sketch show (The Amanda Show) and the second cast member after Jeff Richards to be a cast member on MADtv.[4]

Cast roster

[edit]

bold denotes Weekend Update anchor

Writers

[edit]
Main article: List of Saturday Night Live writers § season 36

In August 2010, Michaels hired Second City Theater writers Tom Flanigan and Shelly Gossman.[5] Portlandia co-creator Jonathan Krisel joined the staff as a writer, producer, and creative collaborator on several Digital Shorts. Heather Anne Campbell, a performer from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Los Angeles, was also added to the writing staff.[6] Sarah Schneider, a regular writer and performer for CollegeHumor, was a guest writer for the last five episodes of the season before joining full-time for season 37.[7]

This was also the final episode for longtime writer/Lonely Island member Akiva Schaffer (a role he had been in since 2005), as he left the show, after six years, but would contribute to SNL Digital Shorts over the following season.[8]

Additionally, this was the final episode for longtime Weekend Update writer Doug Abeles (who had written for the segment since 2001), as he left the show after 10 years[9]; as well as Simon Rich (who previously joined the writing staff in 2007), as he left after four years.[10]

Episodes

[edit]
Main article: List of Saturday Night Live episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		HostMusical guest(s)Original air dateRatings/
Share
6811Amy PoehlerKaty PerrySeptember 25, 20105.3/13

6822Bryan CranstonKanye WestOctober 2, 20104.8/12

6833Jane LynchBruno MarsOctober 9, 20104.8/12

6844Emma StoneKings of LeonOctober 23, 20104.5/11

6855Jon HammRihannaOctober 30, 20104.6/11

6866Scarlett JohanssonArcade FireNovember 13, 20104.7/12

6877Anne HathawayFlorence + the MachineNovember 20, 20104.7/12

6888Robert De NiroDiddy-Dirty MoneyDecember 4, 20105.0/12

6899Paul RuddPaul McCartneyDecember 11, 20105.3/13

69010Jeff BridgesEminem & Lil WayneDecember 18, 20104.9/12

69111Jim CarreyThe Black KeysJanuary 8, 20117.8/18

69212Gwyneth PaltrowCee Lo GreenJanuary 15, 20115.1/12

69313Jesse EisenbergNicki MinajJanuary 29, 20115.1/12

69414Dana CarveyLinkin ParkFebruary 5, 20115.6/13

69515Russell BrandChris BrownFebruary 12, 20115.0/12

69616Miley CyrusThe StrokesMarch 5, 20115.4/13

69717Zach GalifianakisJessie JMarch 12, 20114.8/12

69818Elton JohnElton JohnApril 2, 20115.0/12

  • Elton John and Leon Russell perform "Hey Ahab" and "Monkey Suit", as well as a post-show encore performance of "The Bitch Is Back",[17] though only John is credited as the official musical guest.
  • Will Forte appears in the "ESPN Classic" sketch, reprising his role as Greg Stink.
  • Tom Hanks appears in the "ESPN Classic" sketch, as Michael Caine in the "Knights of the Realm" sketch, and in the SNL Digital Short. Hanks also introduces John and Russell's first performance.
  • Carmelo Anthony appears in the "ESPN Classic" sketch, the SNL Digital Short and introduces John and Russell's second performance.
  • Jake Gyllenhaal appears on Weekend Update.
69919Helen MirrenFoo FightersApril 9, 20114.7/12

70020Tina FeyEllie GouldingMay 7, 20115.3/15

70121Ed HelmsPaul SimonMay 14, 20114.9/12

70222Justin TimberlakeLady GagaMay 21, 20117.0/17

Specials

[edit]
TitleOriginal air date
"The Women of SNL"November 1, 2010
A collection of past and present sketches highlighting SNL's female cast members, shown as a parody of The Real Housewives reality series. Rachel Dratch, Nora Dunn, Tina Fey, Ana Gasteyer, Jan Hooks, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Laraine Newman, Cheri Oteri, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Molly Shannon and Kristen Wiig appeared in new material made exclusively for the special.[19] Andy Cohen made a cameo as the host the special. Originally this special was supposed to air in the previous season but was scrapped and replaced with a special about the history of Saturday Night Live in the 2000s. NBC re-aired the special on May 18, 2014.
"Saturday Night Live Backstage"February 20, 2011[22]

A documentary showing the creation of a typical Saturday Night Live episode.

Originally a special celebrating the 35th anniversary of the show was planned but was scrapped and replaced with this special instead.[20][21]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Ward, Coley (September 9, 2010). "Pardo to voice 'SNL' from Tucson". The Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. Archived from the original on September 28, 2010.
  2. ^ Itzkoff, Dave (September 7, 2010). "'Saturday Night Live' Cast Adds Four and Loses One More". The New York Times. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  3. ^ Yelles, William (September 7, 2010). "'Saturday Night Live' Adds Four to Cast, Loses One". TheWrap. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  4. ^ McGlynn, Katla (August 27, 2010). "New 'SNL' Buzz: Paul Brittain, Taran Killam, Vanessa Bayer To Join Cast". HuffPost. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  5. ^ "Second City's Tom Flanigan Hired By 'Saturday Night Live'". HuffPost. August 25, 2010. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  6. ^ "Meet two more new writers for SNL's 36th season: Heather Anne Campbell and Tom Flanigan". The Comic's Comic. August 29, 2010. Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
  7. ^ Frucci, Adam (August 10, 2011). "CollegeHumor's Sarah Schneider Hired as a Writer at SNL". SplitSider. Archived from the original on May 14, 2012. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  8. ^ "Andy Samberg says 'SNL' run took a 'heavy toll' on his health: 'You're not sleeping'". Los Angeles Times. July 12, 2024. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  9. ^ "Alec Baldwin/Radiohead". Saturday Night Live. Season 37. Episode 1. September 24, 2011. Event occurs at Closing credits. NBC.
  10. ^ Gamerman, Ellen (November 3, 2014). "A Hamster's Take on His Bratty Owner". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  11. ^ "SNL Transcripts: Jon Hamm: 10/30/10: Greetings from American America: Dog in Purse". SNL Transcripts. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  12. ^ "Watch: Arcade Fire on "Saturday Night Live"". Pitchfork. November 14, 2010. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
  13. ^ "Watch: Arcade Fire return to SNL, bring friends". Consequence of Sound. November 14, 2010.
  14. ^ "Host Russell Brand and Musical Guest Chris Brown Make SNL Debuts on February 12". NBC. February 1, 2011. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012.
  15. ^ ""SNL" Roars Into March With Host Miley Cyrus and Musical Guest The Strokes on March 5". The Futon Critic. February 28, 2011. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
  16. ^ Seth Meyers [@sethmeyers] (March 12, 2011). "Many thanks to Bobby Moynihan and Christine Nangle for writing me into my first sketch in 2 years" (Tweet). Retrieved January 10, 2022 – via Twitter.
  17. ^ "Elton John: The Bitch Is Back". Saturday Night Live. NBC. Archived from the original on April 6, 2011. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
  18. ^ "Primetime Emmy Award Database". Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  19. ^ "The Women of SNL". TVSquad.com. October 7, 2010. Archived from the original on October 8, 2010. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
  20. ^ Gorman, Bill (May 16, 2010). "NBC Unveils 2010–11 Primetime Schedule". TV by The Numbers. Archived from the original on November 19, 2010. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
  21. ^ "Toonces Is Back: OnStar Texting Cat Is The New Driving Cat". Jalopnik.com. September 15, 2010. Archived from the original on September 16, 2010. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
  22. ^ "Saturday Night Live Backstage". The Futon Critic. December 16, 2010. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
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