We haven’t heard any rumblings from Kate McKinnon this season about re-upping with “SNL” on NBC. Last year, in May, she made renegotiation noises as early as May.
But the silence looks like it can be explained, Kate’s “Tiger King” miniseries– in which she plays Carole Baskin– has landed at NBC and across all Universal properties including Peacock and USA Network. So NBC Universal has stepped up. And that would mean McKinnon wouldn’t be leaving “Saturday Night Live.”
That’s a relief because even though the whole “SNL” cast is terrific right now, Kate is the stand out. Also, losing her in the election year would be terrible.
Of course, McKinnon was dealt a couple of blows she had no control over recently. Her characters– imitating Elizabeth Warren and Kellyanne Conway– are not going to be part of the election centrally. Warren wasn’t chosen for VP, and Conway is leaving the spotlight after tonight. Maya Rudolph will likely be playing Kamala Harris.
But McKinnon can pivot and do almost anything. Like Kristen Wiig, she’s a star. But even “SNL” stars will have a hard time this fall as nothing is in production. So staying at “SNL” is a good move. She’s still got Ruth Bader Ginsburg and lots of possibilities.
We haven’t heard the usual “I can’t do this anymore” squawk from Alec Baldwin either. I’m sure he’s been recompensed for staying to play Donald Trump. And hopefully Joe Biden will be portrayed by Jason Sudeikis.
