Saturday Night Livehas been aspringboard for comedians for decades. Stars like Bill Murray, Adam Sandler, and Amy Poehler allgot their start onSNL. Some made a name for themselves with their physical comedy, like Will Ferrell, while others impressed fans with their exceptionally witty jokes, likeTed Lassostar Jason Sudeikis andMean Girls’creator Tina Fey.
The list ofSNLalumni is unprecedented,with each decade giving us its own unique troop of comedy stars. In the 2010s, the torch ofSNLpassed from Kristen Wiig, Will Forte, and Fred Armisen to players like Cecily Strong and Kate McKinnon. While some came and went and others went on to green fields, they all had one thing in common: They all got to work withGood Burgerstar Kenan Thompson.
Saturday Night Live
The longest-running sketch-comedy/satire show on television, premiering in 1975, Saturday Night Live is a weekly series that features new hosts for each episode, with a core cast of actors and comedians that rotate over time. Episodes feature several skits that are sometimes ad-libbed on the fly, with the hosts engaging in most of them, and also provide musical guest performances that cap off each night.
11Taran Killam
Cast Member 2010-2016
Taran Killam already had a background in sketch comedy before joiningSaturday Night Liveand became a solid player in his first year. Killam’s earliest memorable moment was his Brad Pitt impersonation on Weekend Update. The impression wasn’t perfect, but his body language was scary good. Killam also had some memorable sketches portraying Tim Tebow meeting Jesus andEminem releasing a Valentine’s Day songthat had to be heavily censored to perform on air.
Fun in Sketches and Hilarious on Weekend Update
One of Killam’s best recurring characters is none other than 1860snewspaper critic Jebidiah Atkinson. Since his debut in 2013, the critic quickly became a fan favorite, with an endless bag of comedic negative critiques, tearing newspapers to shreds on Weekend Update. Jebidiah will always be one of Killam’s best characters, but it’s also hard to forget the catchy and goofy dance that isThe Legend of Mokiki and the Sloppy Swish.
10Bowen Yang
Cast Member 2019-present
The newest member on this list, Bowen Yang, became the first Chinese-American and the third gay man to be a cast member on the show. But that’s not the only historic moment for Yang onSNL. During his first season on air, Yang became the first featured performer to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.
Keeping the Spirit of SNL Moving Forward
Yang’s career is still young, but he has already given comedy fans some of the best moments on Weekend Update in recent years – playing Chinese Trade Minister Chen Biao failing to convince the audience that China has control over the COVID-19 pandemic. Yang also gave us the gut-busting performanceas the iceberg that sank the Titanic, and whoever wrote the sketch that featuredYang dressing up in a Hooters outfit with Sydney Sweenydeserves a promotion.
9Leslie Jones
Cast Member 2014-2019
Like manySNLalumni, Leslie Jones started her career onSNLas a writer and worked her way into a regular cast member in 2014. At the time, Jones was 47 years old, which makes her the oldest person to joinSNLas a cast member. Even though Jones was only onSNLfor five seasons, she delivered plenty of memorable moments.
Age Doesn’t Matter on Saturday Night Live
Jones will likely be remembered for herappearances on Weekend Update. There, Jones performed several memorable stand-up comedy rants about current issues. That said, one of her best moments came in the form of herNaked and AfraidsketchwithGame of Thronesstar Peter Dinklage. Yes, it’s just as funny as it sounds.
8Jay Pharoah
Jay Pharoah, the king of impressions, quickly made a name for himself after joiningSNLin 2010. Pharaoh is the closest thing to a mockingbird we may ever see on TV. His impressions of former president Barack Obama, Denzel Washington, Eddie Murphy, andStephen A. Smith are all legendary.
The G.O.A.T. of Impressions
While he is arguably the best impressionistSNLhas ever seen, Pharaoh isn’t really remembered for his skits with other cast members. It’s almost like they didn’t know what to do with Pharoah aside from impressions. Still, he had some hilarious moments with his cast mates, including playing Apollo in a sketch about theGreek Gods trying to address the Greek bank collapse.
7Vanessa Bayer
Cast Member 2010-2017
Another member of the class of 2010, Vanessa Bayer, quickly became a fan favorite. During Bayer’s second episode, she debuted one of her first recurring sketches,starring in the Miley Cyrus Show. Her impression of Cyrus was, in her words, “pretty cool.” Bayer also had another recurring sketch,hosting The J Pop America Fun Time Showwith Terran Killam. Together, they played two obnoxious and ignorant college students obsessed with Japanese pop culture.
Featured Member Becomes Instant SNL Star
In addition to Miley Cyrus, Bayer also made a number of memorable impressions onSNL. The comic portrayed Hillary Clinton on a regular basis, and Bayer went viral for herimpression of Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green fromFriends. This impression was so popular thatSNLhonored her by inviting Jennifer Aniston on the show to confront Bayer about it in a comedic fashion.
6Michael Che
Cast Member 2013-present
In 2014, Michael Che took over for Cecily Strong as co-anchor of Weekend Update, becoming the first African-American to co-anchor the comedy newscast. Before joining Weekend Update, Che was one of the up-and-coming writers forSNL. Even while starring on Update, Che worked his way to becoming the head writer.
Putting Dark Humor in the Spotlight
Che’s defining contribution toSNLhas to be the joke swapthat he does with his co-anchor Colin Jost. For those unfamiliar, the premise is that Jost and Che would write jokes for the other person to read on air that they have never seen before. While Jost generally writes college bro humor, Che takes the opportunity to make Jost read racist jokes that always get the audience laughing like a pack of hyenas. Che also ups the ante every time they do this bit.
5Colin Jost
Cast Member 2014-present
Michael Che’s partner in crime on Weekend Update, Colin Jost, has been anchoring the comedy newscast since 2014. Like Che and Leslie Jones, Jost served as a writer for the show before being promoted to Weekend Update. Jost has also served as the show’s head writer twice.
Michael Che’s Partner in Crime
Like Che, Jost’s legacy on the show is Weekend Update’s joke swap. Many fans ofSNLconsider the bit to be the most anticipated segment on Weekend Update every year. While Jost is usually the “loser” of the joke swap, the comedian still has some memorable zingers. But without question, his best one was when he hadChe call out Kendrick Lamar after his fight with Drake. The fear in Che’s eyes was priceless, and even after he finished the joke, Che tipped his cap to Jost, who finally bested him.
4Pete Davidson
Cast Member 2014-2022
When Pete Davidson joined the cast ofSNLin 2014, he became the fourth-youngest comedian to join the cast in the show’s history. Pete was always a great supporting comic but was never really known for coming up with consistent characters or performing impressions on the show. Still, it’s worth noting that his character Chad was a fan favorite, and his impression of Adam Sandler asLittle Nickywas absolutely beautiful.
The King of Roasting Himself
Pete’s legacy on the show is definitely his appearances on Weekend Update. There, he shared his dark comedic takes on current events, but towards the end of his run, it was his jokes about his love life withA-list celebrities like Ariana Grande, Kate Beckinsale, and Kim Kardashianthat would go viral. Pete would never shy away from roasting people and himself on air. One time, he did go a little too far, but he made up for it in the funniest way possible. After makingjokes about U.S. Representative Lt. Dan Crenshaw’s eye patch,which he lost in service,SNLinvited Crenshaw on the show so Pete could apologize in person and give Crenshaw a chance to roast Pete on Weekend Update.
3Cecily Strong
Joining the cast in 2012, Cecily Strong was a star right off the bat. Even when Strong wasn’t the centerpiece of a sketch, she found ways to stand out with the screen time she was given. Strong became one of the more popular comics on the show in the 2010s, earning several Emmy nominations. She eventually went on to have the longest tenure of any female cast member inSNLhistory. Strong also earned Weekend Anchor status with Seth Meyers for a short time.
One of the Best Rookie Seasons on SNL
Some of Strong’s best skits include hostingThe Girlfriend’s Talk Showwith cast mate Aidy Bryant. Strong’s nasally impression of a teen host may be annoying to some, but when she uses teenage slang or says “awesome” to move the show along, you can’t help but chuckle. Strong also introduced us to one of her best recurring characters,The Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation with at the Party. The character was a perfect representation of ignorant activists. And with Strong’s gifted ability for political satire, this character was a hit. The character appeared five times on Weekend Update in her first season on the show. A pretty rare feat for a first year onSNL.
2Aidy Bryant
Cast Member 2012-2022
Another member of the class of 2012, Aidy Bryant, not only held her own with the bigger names in the cast, but she proved she was going to be a star herself. Like manySNLalumni before her, Bryant started as a featured player, but she became so popular with fans that she was promoted to a mainstay in her second season. Bryant would also go on to be nominated for a few Emmys during her run onSNL.
Bringing the Heat Every Weekend
Like Cecily Strong, Bryant found a lot of success in her rookie season – especially when starring inThe Girlfriend’s Talk Showwith Strong as the awkward co-host. But Bryant also had a couple of impressions of U.S. politicians that went viral. Bryant’s impression of White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, for example, was not perfect, but the way she carried herself with confidence and her comedic timing was absolutely perfect. Bryant’s impression of Ted Cruz may be one of the best cross-dressing moments inSNLhistory. Also,Bryant’s portrayal of Melanie, the girl who has a crush on her friend’s father, is also incredibly hilarious and memorable.
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Conan O’Brien and Tom Hanks bonded over their SNL experiences.
