There’s no sign of Kate McKinnon returning to “Saturday Night Live” this weekend. She will likely miss her third week in a row. It’s funny that the show just doesn’t make a statement about it. McKinnon is still filming her “Tiger King” series called “Joe Exotic” for NBC’s Peacock streaming service in Australia. The two time Emmy winner is needed back on “SNL” but the cast is so big that they can soldier on without her for a little while.
Luckily, if you’re in McKinnon withdrawal, she’s a steady presence in phone commercials. She’s also in a Tostito commercial with Dan Levy of “Schitt’s Creek.”
Last year, fellow “SNL” castmates Cecily Strong and Aidy Bryant each missed the first half of the season because they were off filming their own series. They made it back after the Christmas break. This year, Strong is likely to be out from before Christmas through mid February. The reason is she has scored a very prestigious job.
Strong will be performing Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner’s “The Search for Intelligent Life in the Universe” way off Broadway in a tryout at the Shed in Hudson Yards. She’s on from December 21st through February 2nd. Tomlin and Wagner have never let another actor replace Tomlin in this award winning play that will require Strong to take on many characters. It seems like she’d be perfect for it, though. If it works, conceivably Strong would have a performance piece that could not only go to Broadway but on the road forever. It will be interesting to see if Wagner and Tomlin have updated the piece at all as it’s from the early 80s.
