| Season Number: | 34 |
| Bgcolour: |
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| Image Alt: | The title card for the thirty-fourth season of Saturday Night Live. |
| Num Episodes: | 22 |
| Network: | NBC |
| Prev Season: | season 33 |
| Next Season: | season 35 |
| Episode List: | List of Saturday Night Live episodes |
The thirty-fourth season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between September 13, 2008, and May 16, 2009.
This season is notable for its take on the 2008 presidential election, which saw the show's ratings rapidly increase and multiple award wins.
See main article: Saturday Night Live parodies of Sarah Palin. SNLs coverage of the 2008 presidential election caused ratings to increase rapidly. The season premiere opened with Tina Fey playing Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin (alongside a pregnant Amy Poehler as Hillary Clinton) in a "non-partisan message on sexism".[1] The phrase "I can see Russia from my house!" was coined by SNL producer Mike Shoemaker during this sketch.[2]
The show won a Peabody Award for its political satire in 2009.[3] Tina Fey won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her portrayal of Sarah Palin. The show also won a Writers Guild of America Award for Comedy/Variety Talk Series.[4] [5]
The entire cast of the previous year returned for season 34. Added to the cast was Upright Citizens Brigade Theater performer Bobby Moynihan.[6] [7]
Longtime cast member Amy Poehler went on maternity leave during the season, after giving birth to her son hours before the October 25, 2008 episode hosted by Jon Hamm.[8] Shortly after Poehler's leave, the show added two new female cast members; Abby Elliott, daughter of former SNL cast member Chris Elliott, and Michaela Watkins, a performer with The Groundlings both joined the show as featured players on November 15, 2008.[9] Poehler, who had joined in 2001, returned for the December 6 episode hosted by John Malkovich, and made her final appearance as a cast member the following week, December 13, hosted by Hugh Laurie.[10] [11] Poehler announced it would be her final show at the end of Weekend Update. Seth Meyers continued to anchor Weekend Update on his own for the remainder of the season. At the time of her departure, Poehler's eight season run was SNL's longest for a female cast member, having surpassed Molly Shannon and Rachel Dratch.
It was the also the final season for longtime cast member Darrell Hammond, who was the last remaining member to have joined in the 1990s. Hammond had been on the show for fourteen seasons.[12] Hammond also departed holding the distinction of the longest tenured cast member until fellow Season 34 member Kenan Thompson surpassed him in 2017. Hammond made multiple cameo appearances in later episodes and replaced the long-running Don Pardo as announcer, following Pardo's death in 2014season 40.[13] Featured players Watkins and Casey Wilson were both let go following the end of the season.[14]
Repertory players
Featured players
bold denotes Weekend Update anchor
Seth Meyers became the sole head writer for the season.[15]
Paula Pell, who had been co-head writer for the previous two seasons, returned to her previous role as writing supervisor. Pell first joined the show as a writer in 1995.
The other former co-head writer, Harper Steele left the show prior to the start of the season. Steele was a writer for thirteen seasons, holding the position of head writer for the previous four.
Additionally, John Mulaney was hired as a writer for the season.