Sunday, November 10, 2024

“SNL” Ends Season On High Note But Possibly Last Show for Many in Cast Including Kate McKinnon, Kenan Thompson, Pete Davidson

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“SNL” ended its season, a rocky one, on a high note tonight. The show was funny and the cast was teary. But the latter may be because a lot of the cast may not return in the fall.

RATINGS UPDATE HERE

Kenan Thompson, who has his own sitcom on NBC returning in the fall, said “we’ll see you at Thanksgiving.” Which means we won’t be seeing  him in September.

Kate McKinnon, who has won Emmys and is a movie actress now, is ready to go. She teared up on the show when she described the cast as “family” during the poignant cold opening.

Pete Davidson, who seems to be cleaned up at last and out of danger, thanked the audience for letting him grow up in front of them. This may be the end for him.

Cecily Strong stole the show as Judge Jeanine Pirro in what may have been her exit sketch. It was a crowning achievement. Cecily gives me Ana Gasteyer vibes: extremely talented but not motivated for superstardom. I hope I’m wrong.

Aidy Bryant might be leaving, although her other show, called “Shrill,” was not renewed on Hulu. She’s got a good gig at “SNL” and may consider that Vanessa Bayer hasn’t been seen much since she left.

Even if all these talented people leave, “SNL” has a deep bench. Beck Bennett and Kyle Mooney are solid core players, Chloe Fineman and Bowen Yang are ready for the spotlight. Mikey Day and Alex Moffat have a lot of life left in them. And Chris Redd already seems like a star. Ego Nwodim became one this season as Dionne Warwick.

So “SNL” will survive, as it always does. And don’t forget Michael Che and Colin Jost. They’re staying, and they make the show.

Come back tomorrow at 1pm and we’ll see how tonight’s ratings went. Lil Nas X’s very gay “Montero” song may have turned a lot of people off. His second number should have been his first. It was excellent. On “Montero” it felt like he was lip synching, as if any of his fans would care.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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