Saturday Night Live season 27 explained

Season Number:27
Bgcolour:
  1. 223062
Image Alt:The title card for the twenty-seventh season of Saturday Night Live.
Num Episodes:20
Network:NBC
Prev Season:season 26
Next Season:season 28
Episode List:List of Saturday Night Live episodes

The twenty-seventh season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between September 29, 2001 and May 18, 2002.

Eighteen days before the season started, the September 11 terrorist attacks took place in New York. The season premiere (hosted by Reese Witherspoon) went on as scheduled, with a special cold open featuring Rudy Giuliani, the Mayor of New York City at the time, along with firefighters from the FDNY and police officers from the NYPD, declaring that despite the terrorist attack, New York City will run as normal and Saturday Night Live will go on as planned (with Lorne Michaels asking Giuliani "Can we be funny?" and Giuliani replying "Why start now?").

Three weeks into the season the show faced another scare when anthrax was found in the GE Building (from where the show is broadcast).[1] The scare caused most of the cast and crew, as well as that week's guest host Drew Barrymore, to evacuate the building.

Cast

Before the start of the season, longtime cast member Molly Shannon, who had been on the show for seven seasons since 1995, departed midway through the previous season on her own terms,[2] and featured player Jerry Minor[3] and longtime cast member Chris Parnell were both let go from the show after the finale. However, Parnell was hired back to the show midseason in the episode hosted by Jonny Moseley,[4] [5] becoming the second cast member to be hired back to the show after being fired, the first person being Jim Belushi in 1983.[6]

Four new cast members were hired to the show this season: stand-up comic Dean Edwards, Chicago improviser Seth Meyers, Amy Poehler of the Upright Citizens Brigade comedy troupe,[7] [8] and stand-up comic/impressionist Jeff Richards, who was previously a cast member on the rival sketch show MADtv.[9] Rachel Dratch, Tina Fey, and Maya Rudolph were all upgraded to repertory status at the beginning of the season, and Poehler was promoted to repertory status mid-season.

Will Ferrell was absent from a number of episodes because he was filming Old School. This would also be the final season for both Ferrell[10] and Ana Gasteyer.[11]

Cast roster

Repertory players

Featured players

bold denotes "Weekend Update" anchor

Episodes

See main article: List of Saturday Night Live episodes.

Notes and References

  1. News: SNL Goes on Despite Anthrax Scare . 23 April 2024 . ABC News . October 15, 2001.
  2. News: Shannon to Exit 'SNL' . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110302164722/http://www.people.com/people/article/0%2C%2C618945%2C00.html . 2011-03-02 . 2024-04-23 . People.
  3. Web site: Wright . Megh . 2012-09-25 . Saturday Night’s Children: Jerry Minor (2000-2001) . 2024-04-23 . Vulture . en.
  4. Web site: Graham . Mark . 2010-01-14 . Archer’s Chris Parnell Talks Well-Endowed Cartoon Characters, Being Fired From SNL Twice . 2024-04-23 . Vulture . en.
  5. Web site: Rawden . Jessica . 2015-02-19 . How Chris Parnell Got Un-fired From Saturday Night Live . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20150223003508/https://www.cinemablend.com/television/How-Chris-Parnell-Got-Un-fired-From-Saturday-Night-Live-70168.html . February 23, 2015 . 2024-04-23 . CinemaBlend . en.
  6. Web site: Hoglund . Andy . 2021-07-14 . Jim Belushi Has Always Been an Outsider . 2024-05-27 . Vulture . en.
  7. Web site: Logan . Lizzie . Fox . Jesse David . 2021-03-01 . The History of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s Best Friendship . 2024-04-23 . Vulture . en.
  8. News: March 25, 2007 . Poehler . April 23, 2024 . Toledo Blade . 9G.
  9. News: August 16, 2001 . Sean Hayes to the rescue; In other people news… . Sarasota Herald-Tribune . 2A . Sarasota.
  10. News: Bark . Ed . Will Ferrell announces end of 'Saturday Night Live' stint . C8 . 23 April 2024 . Sun Journal . Knight Ridder Newspapers . May 9, 2002.
  11. Web site: August 21, 2002 . Ana Gasteyer leaves Saturday Night Live . 2024-04-23 . EW.com . en.