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Beck Bennett, the versatile “Saturday Night Live” player who was noted for his impressions of Russian President Vladimir Putin and US Vice President Mike Pence for eight seasons on the show, will be leaving the venerable late night series NBC even as she welcomes back. a number of senior actors who have hinted they might be good to go.
Kate McKinnon, Cecily Strong, Aidy Bryant, Pete Davidson, Colin Jost, Michael Che and Kenan Thompson will all return for the show’s 47th season, along with Mikey Day, Heidi Gardner, Alex Moffat, Kyle Mooney, Ego Nwodim, Chris Redd and Mélissa Villaseñor. Two star players from last season, Chloe Fineman and Bowen Yang, have been promoted to the regular cast, while another, Lauren Holt, will not be returning to the program. Andrew Dismukes and Punkie Johnson will return in their starring roles. And the show will welcome three new star players: Aristotle Athari, James Austin Johnson and Sarah Sherman.
For the past several decades, “SNL” executive producer Lorne Michaels has insisted that the cast members make the program their primary focus. But last year the rules started to change, and they will continue to do so this year. Some veteran cast members are likely to appear less frequently than usual, according to someone familiar with the program, and will have some leeway to pursue projects outside of the series. Large-scale distribution should give “SNL” a chance to fill in the gaps with contributions from some of the show’s upcoming staff.
“Thank you for 8 years of amazing people and amazing experiences that have completely changed my life,” Bennett posted via Instagram. “I had so much fun.”
“SNL” demonstrated some of its newfound elasticity last season, when Strong and Bryant were able to engage in outdoor projects like Apple’s “Schmigadoon” and Hulu’s “Shrill” while missing several episodes of “SNL” . Michaels also worked to find ways for Kenan Thompson and Chris Redd to appear on the NBC sitcom “Kenan” without missing much of “Saturday Night Live”. It helps that all of these series are produced under the auspices of Michaels’ own Broadway video.
But the show also sparked whirlwinds of speculation about the state of its cast in last season’s finale. McKinnon, Bryant, Thompson and Strong appeared in a segment in which they discussed the challenges of producing the show during the pandemic and the 2020 election, and some of their on-camera emotions sparked conjecture that they had perhaps alluded to a farewell. Davidson did the same with a “weekend segment” that highlighted how participating in the program had helped him mature. Strong added to the sentiment with a spectacular turn as Fox News host Judge Jeanine Pirro sang “My Way” from a giant wine box.
As more viewers migrate to streaming services to watch their favorite scripted dramas and comedies on demand, “SNL” has taken on new significance for NBC. Once relegated to airing after the breaking local news in a time slot that network executives did not consider to be paramount, the program is now broadcast live across the United States, which means it airs during regular hours. prime time in parts of the country. The 2020-2021 season show was the most watched entertainment program on television among viewers between the ages of 18 and 49, the most preferred demographic for advertisers.
The value of “SNL” has increased steadily in recent years. A 30-second spot on “SNL” this season and last cost around $ 180,000, according to Standard Media Index, an ad spend tracking tool. The average cost for a 30-second boom during the show’s 2015-16 season was around $ 89,500. NBC generated around $ 123 million in ad revenue from the program in 2020, according to ad tracker Kantar, up from $ 114.7 million in 2019. Major sponsors in recent years have included Apple, AbbVie, Progressive, T- Mobile and Discover.
The three new featured actors come from a wide range of projects. Sherman is known for his eyebrow-raising live shows and using costumes and special effects. Johnson has developed a reputation for prints. And Athari was once part of the “Goatface” comedy group.
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