Saturday Night Live (season 41)

Saturday Night Live (season 41)
The title card for Saturday Night Live – season 40, showing New York skyscrapers.
Country of origin United States
Release
Original network NBC
Original release October 3, 2015 (2015-10-03) – present

The forty-first season of the NBC comedy series Saturday Night Live premiered on October 3, 2015, during the 2015–2016 television season[1] with Miley Cyrus serving as both host and musical guest.[2]

Cast

After two consecutive seasons with higher-than-average levels of cast turnover, no major changes occurred prior to Season 41; the entire cast of the 2014–2015 season returned.[3] Before the start of the season, comedian Jon Rudnitsky joined the cast as a featured player.[4] Beck Bennett, Colin Jost, Kyle Mooney and Sasheer Zamata were upgraded to repertory status, while Michael Che, Pete Davidson, and Leslie Jones remained as featured players.

Cast roster

Repertory players
Featured players

bold denotes "Weekend Update" anchor

Writers

Before the beginning of the season, six new writers joined the staff: Upright Citizens Brigade performers Fran Gillespie, Sudi Green, and Will Stephen; former Late Show with David Letterman writers Paul Masella and Chris Belair; and stand-up comedian Dave Sirus.[5]

Colin Jost, a cast member on the show and anchor of Weekend Update, who served as a writer since 2005 (and as co-head writer in 2012), was relieved of his position as co-head writer, although he remains on the writing staff. Rob Klein and Bryan Tucker continue as co-head writers.[6]

Episodes
No.
overall 		 No. in
season 		 Host(s)  Musical guest(s)  Original air date  Ratings/
Share 
7881Miley CyrusMiley CyrusOctober 3, 2015 (2015-10-03)4.5/11[7]

Miley Cyrus performs "Karen Don't Be Sad" and "The Twinkle Song".

Hillary Clinton appears in the Hillary Clinton Bar Talk sketch as Val. Darrell Hammond appears in the same sketch as Bill Clinton. Hillary Clinton also introduces Cyrus's first musical performance.

The Flaming Lips appears as Cyrus' backing band for her first performance.

Jon Rudnitsky's first episode as a cast member.[8]
7892Amy SchumerThe WeekndOctober 10, 2015 (2015-10-10)3.9/10[9]
The Weeknd performs "The Hills" with Nicki Minaj and "Can't Feel My Face," and also appears on Weekend Update during a bit titled "The Weeknd Update".
7903Tracy MorganDemi LovatoOctober 17, 2015 (2015-10-17)4.2/11[10]

Demi Lovato performs a medley of "Cool for the Summer" and "Confident" for her first set and "Stone Cold" for her second, also appearing in the "Astronaut Jones" sketch.

Alec Baldwin and Larry David appear in the cold open as Jim Webb and Bernie Sanders, respectively.

Baldwin, Tina Fey, Jane Krakowski, Jack McBrayer, and Morgan all reprise their 30 Rock roles in the opening monologue. Fey also appeared on Weekend Update.

Fey and Tim Herlihy received writing credits for this episode.[11]
7914Donald TrumpSiaNovember 7, 2015 (2015-11-07)6.6/16[12]

Sia performs "Alive" and "Bird Set Free".

Larry David returns as Bernie Sanders in the cold open. David also appears as himself in the opening monologue.

Darrell Hammond reprises his Trump impersonation in the opening monologue.

Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump appears in the White House sketch.

Martin Short appears as Ed Grimley in the Drake sketch.

The choice of Trump was controversial and a number of Latino groups petitioned to have his invitation to host rescinded.[13]
7925Elizabeth BanksDisclosureNovember 14, 2015 (2015-11-14)4.0/10[14]

Disclosure performs "Magnets" with Lorde and "Omen" with Sam Smith.

Mike O'Brien appears in the "Uber for Jen" pre-taped sketch.

Cecily Strong begins the show with a tribute to France in light of the November 2015 Paris attacks while speaking in both English and French. In addition, the SNL logo in the bumpers is colored blue, white, and red, the colors of the French flag. The stage lights after Sam Smith's performance and before Lorde's are also in those same colors.
7936Matthew McConaugheyAdeleNovember 21, 2015 (2015-11-21)4.6/12[15]

Adele performs "Hello" and "When We Were Young".

J.J. Abrams, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Emma Stone, Michael Bublé, and Jon Hamm appear in a pre-recorded Star Wars sketch.
7947Ryan GoslingLeon BridgesDecember 5, 2015 (2015-12-05)4.1/10[16]

Leon Bridges performs "Smooth Sailin'" and "River."

Mike Myers appears in the opening monologue.
7958Chris HemsworthChance the RapperDecember 12, 2015 (2015-12-12)3.8/10[17]

Chance the Rapper performs "Somewhere In Paradise" with Jeremih and "Sunday Candy" with Jamila Woods.

The Social Experiment backs Chance the Rapper on both of his performances.

Will Ferrell appears in the cold open as George W. Bush.
7969Tina Fey & Amy PoehlerBruce Springsteen & the E Street BandDecember 19, 2015 (2015-12-19)5.1/13[18]

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band perform "Meet Me in the City" and "The Ties That Bind" and are later joined by Paul McCartney and the cast for "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town."

Darrell Hammond portrays Donald Trump in the cold open, replacing Taran Killam (who himself appears as Ted Cruz). Jimmy Fallon was originally planned to appear as Trump in the cold open, as well as himself on Weekend Update, but was unable to at the last minute.[19][20]

Maya Rudolph appears in the StarVista sketch and reprises her role as Jodi Deitz on Bronx Beat.

Amy Schumer appears in the pre-recorded "Amy and Tina's Dope Squad" segment. Robert Downey, Sr. and Gayle King also appear in it, but don't speak any lines.
79710Adam DriverChris StapletonJanuary 16, 2016 (2016-01-16)3.0/15 (adults 18-49)[21]

Chris Stapleton performs "Parachute" and "Nobody to Blame."

Darrell Hammond again plays Trump in the cold open.

Fred Armisen appears to pay tribute to the late David Bowie who died six days earlier. A clip of Bowie performing "The Man Who Sold the World" from season 5 is then shown.

Liev Schreiber appears in a pre-recorded Golden Globes sketch.
79811Ronda RouseySelena GomezJanuary 23, 2016 (2016-01-23)5.0/12[22]

Selena Gomez performs a medley of "Good for You" and "Same Old Love" for her first set and "Hands to Myself" for her second. She also appears in the opening monologue and the "Bland Man" sketch.

Darrell Hammond and Tina Fey return as Donald Trump and Sarah Palin, respectively, in the cold open.
79912Larry DavidThe 1975February 6, 2016 (2016-02-06)5.1/12[23]

The 1975 performs "The Sound" and "Love Me".

Bernie Sanders appears as a passenger in the "Steam Ship" sketch and helps introduce The 1975's first song.

Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson appear as Derek Zoolander and Hansel McDonald on Weekend Update.
80013Melissa McCarthyKanye WestFebruary 13, 2016 (2016-02-13)4.4/11[24]

Kanye West performs "High Lights" with The-Dream, El DeBarge, Kelly Price, Young Thug and ASAP Bari and "Ultra Light Beams" with The-Dream, Kelly Price, Chance the Rapper and Kirk Franklin. He also appears in a pre-recorded Kyle Mooney film.

Darrell Hammond appears as Bill Clinton in the cold open.

Von Miller appears as himself on Weekend Update.

Natalie Morales, Dylan Dreyer and Al Roker appear in the pre-recorded Kyle Mooney film "Kyle vs. Kanye".
80114Jonah HillFutureMarch 5, 2016 (2016-03-05)TBD
Confirmed on air.

References

  1. ↑ "Saturday Night Live Season 41 Episode 01". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Saturday Night Live Taps Tracy Morgan, Miley Cyrus and Amy Schumer as Hosts". Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  3. ↑ Wright, Megh (August 31, 2015). "The Entire ‘SNL’ Cast From Last Season Is Returning". Splitsider. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
  4. ↑ Gajewski, Ryan (August 31, 2015). "'Saturday Night Live' Adds New Castmembers for Season 41". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Meet 'Saturday Night Live's Six New Writers". Splitsider. splitsider.com. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Colin Jost Is No Longer a Head Writer at ‘SNL’". Splitsider.
  7. ↑ Dixon, Dani (October 4, 2015). "'Saturday Night Live' Season Premiere with Miley Cyrus Nearly Even with Last Season's Premiere". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Jon Rudnitsky joins Saturday Night Live as a featured player: See his best sketches, stand-up - EW.com". Entertainment Weekly's EW.com.
  9. ↑ Porter, Rick (October 11, 2015). "'Saturday Night Live' with Amy Schumer dips slightly, still tops night". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  10. ↑ Porter, Rick (October 18, 2015). "Tracy Morgan's 'Saturday Night Live' return gets a ratings bump". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Saturday Night Live (TV Series) Tracy Morgan/Demi Lovato (2015) Full Cast & Crew". IMDB. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  12. ↑ Kissell, Rick (November 8, 2015). "Donald Trump Lifts 'Saturday Night Live' Ratings to Near Four-Year High". Variety. Michelle Sobrino. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
  13. ↑ Daniel González (October 22, 2015). "Campaign to dump Donald Trump from SNL gains steam". Arizona Republic. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  14. ↑ Porter, Rick (November 15, 2015). "'Saturday Night Live' ratings fall back into line with season averages". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  15. ↑ Porter, Rick (November 22, 2015). "‘Saturday Night Live’ hits second-highest ratings of the season". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  16. ↑ Porter, Rick (December 6, 2015). "‘Saturday Night Live’ ratings dip but in line with season average". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
  17. ↑ Porter, Rick (December 13, 2015). "‘Saturday Night Live’ with Chris Hemsworth dips to season low". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
  18. ↑ Porter, Rick (December 20, 2015). "‘Saturday Night Live’ with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler ends 2015 on high note". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
  19. ↑ http://screencrush.com/snl-donald-trump-jimmy-fallon-darrell-hammond/
  20. ↑ http://notreadyforprimetimepodcast.libsyn.com/episode-76-adam-driver
  21. ↑ Porter, Rick (January 17, 2016). "‘Saturday Night Live’ hits 2-year high in adults 18-49 overnights". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  22. ↑ Porter, Rick (January 24, 2016). "‘Saturday Night Live’ with Ronda Rousey scores above average ratings". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
  23. ↑ ""Saturday Night Live" Ties for the #1 Telecast of the Night on the Big 4 Networks in 18-49". The Futon Critic. February 7, 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  24. ↑ ""Saturday Night Live" Was the #1 Non-News Telecast of the Night on the Big 4 Networks". The Futon Critic. February 14, 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
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