Saturday Night Live season 36 explained

Season Number:	36
Bgcolour:	ff9200
Image Alt:	The title card for the thirty-sixth season of Saturday Night Live.
Num Episodes:	22
Network:	NBC
Prev Season:	season 35
Next Season:	season 37
Episode List:	List of Saturday Night Live episodes

The thirty-sixth season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between September 25, 2010, and May 21, 2011.

Longtime announcer Don Pardo announced that he would pre-record his parts from his home in Arizona rather than perform live in New York City.^[1]

Cast

Prior to the start of the season, longtime cast member Will Forte left the show after a total of eight seasons from 2002 to 2010. Featured player Jenny Slate was let go from the show after one season.^[2] Abby Elliott and Bobby Moynihan were both upgraded to repertory status, while Nasim Pedrad remained a featured player.

Following Forte and Slate's departures, the show hired four new cast members: ImprovOlympic alumni Vanessa Bayer and Paul Brittain, stand-up comic and impressionist Jay Pharoah, and comedic actor Taran Killam of The Groundlings.^[3] Killam is the second cast member after Kenan Thompson to be a cast member on a Nickelodeon kids' sketch show (The Amanda Show) and the second cast member after Jeff Richards to be a cast member on MADtv.^[4]

Cast roster

Repertory players

• Fred Armisen
• Abby Elliott
• Bill Hader
• Seth Meyers
• Bobby Moynihan
• Andy Samberg
• Jason Sudeikis
• Kenan Thompson
• Kristen Wiig

Featured players

• Vanessa Bayer
• Paul Brittain
• Taran Killam
• Nasim Pedrad
• Jay Pharoah

bold denotes Weekend Update anchor

Writers

In August 2010, Michaels hired Second City Theater writers Tom Flanigan and Shelly Gossman.^[5] Portlandia co-creator Jonathan Krisel joined the staff as a writer, producer, and creative collaborator on several Digital Shorts. Heather Anne Campbell, a performer from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Los Angeles, was also added to the writing staff.^[6] Sarah Schneider, a regular writer and performer for CollegeHumor, was a guest writer for the last five episodes of the season before joining full-time for season 37.^[7]

Episodes

See main article: List of Saturday Night Live episodes.

Notes and References

1. News: Pardo to voice 'SNL' from Tucson . Coley . Ward . Tucson, Arizona . September 9, 2010 . The Arizona Daily Star . https://web.archive.org/web/20100928085623/http://www.californiachronicle.com/articles/yb/149602234 . September 28, 2010.
2. Web site: Itzkoff . Dave . 2010-09-07 . 'Saturday Night Live' Cast Adds Four and Loses One More . 2024-05-22 . The New York Times . en.
3. Web site: Yelles . William . 2010-09-07 . 'Saturday Night Live' Adds Four to Cast, Loses One . 2024-05-22 . . en-US.
4. Web site: McGlynn . Katla . 2010-08-27 . New 'SNL' Buzz: Paul Brittain, Taran Killam, Vanessa Bayer To Join Cast . 2024-05-22 . . en.
5. News: . Second City's Tom Flanigan Hired By 'Saturday Night Live' . 2010-08-25. 2022-01-10.
6. Web site: Meet two more new writers for SNL's 36th season: Heather Anne Campbell and Tom Flanigan . The Comic's Comic . 2010-08-29 . 2011-03-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110727140042/http://www.thecomicscomic.com/2010/08/meet-two-more-new-writers-for-snls-36th-season-heather-anne-campbell-and-tom-flanigan.html . July 27, 2011.
7. Web site: CollegeHumor's Sarah Schneider Hired as a Writer at SNL . Adam . Frucci . August 10, 2011 . SplitSider . October 5, 2011 . May 14, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120514122307/http://splitsider.com/2011/08/collegehumors-sarah-schneider-hired-as-a-writer-at-snl/ . dead .