As I watched Saturday Night Live at a buddy’s house last weekend, I couldn’t help but think one thing: SNL is back! This year SNL celebrates its 35^th anniversary and in my opinion, this year’s cast is in the prime to take their place alongside SNL legends.  Generations have grown up with different “All Star” casts.  There were the original years with John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, and Chevy Chase who were among the cast that literally started it all.  Then there was that great cast of the mid 80’s to early 90’s with Mike Myers, Adam Sandler, and Chris Farley who brought a new sort of humor that was unheard and unseen before.  Most recently there was the cast of the mid 90’s to the early millennium with classic characters by members like Will Ferrell, Jimmy Fallon, and Molly Shannon.  With recent retirees like Daryl Hammond and Tina Fey, who still make cameo appearances, and current cast members which include Kristen Wiig and Andy Samberg who are already becoming household names, this group has rekindled that swagger we all know and love about Saturday Night Live.

While generally being a well known and liked show, SNL has been plagued with clusters of years, usually about 3 or 4, with a relatively unknown cast and comparable lack of success with viewers.  With 20/20 hindsight, these have been seen as transitional years, where one great group of cast members say goodbye and a new group of faces emerge to take their place.  And what makes this cast great is simple: they are enjoyable to watch.  One thing that has made SNL so popular is reoccurring characters by the cast and with current characters such as MacGruber, a parody of MacGyver, and Penelope, the one-upper, the current cast has maintained that popular attraction.  Another genre that has become synonymous with SNL is impersonations, which the cast’s talent of shined during last year’s presidential campaign.  So one thing is for certain, this years cast does not lack the talent that made previous SNL casts great.

SNL has been known for launching the careers of numerous successful movie stars, however, today’s cast have somewhat turned that scenario on its head.  Members such as Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, and Kristen Wiig have appeared in a number of modern day films, bringing big screen success back to the small screen.  Even cast member Kenan Thompson had previous success before joining SNL, having stared in shows on Nickelodeon.  In addition, the cast is not the only part of the show that has improved over the past few years.  More popular hosts and musical guests have been appearing, due to the successful public image of appearing on the show lately.  Recent hosts and musical guests such as Justin Timberlake, Jack Black, and Beyoncé are all potential candidates to join the likes of Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin, Christopher Walken, and Tom Hanks in the famous Five-Timers Club.  This has brought a new sense of camaraderie between the show and pop culture that audiences love.

While this season’s success will depend on a couple other key elements, such as the writers, the cast will undoubtedly bring us plenty of laughs and memorable moments that will add to immense amount we already know and love from Saturday Night Live.

Tags: anniversary, comedy, Saturday Night Live