The twenty-ninth season of '' Saturday Night Live'', an American

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and is ...

series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between October 4, 2003, and May 15, 2004.

History

This season marked the debut of a brand new stage for the host's monologue and the musical guest performing stage. Instead of the wrought-iron fire escape motif with the blinking "ON AIR" light, the stages are now modeled after

Grand Central Terminal Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...

(right down to the spherical clock).

Cast

Before the start of the season, longtime cast members

Chris Kattan Christopher Lee Kattan () (born October 19, 1970) is an American actor and comedian. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1996 to 2003. He played Doug Butabi in '' A Night at the Roxbury'', Bob on the first four seasons of '' The ...

and Tracy Morgan, who had both been on the show since 1996, departed the show on their own terms, and Dean Edwards, who had been a featured player since 2001, was let go following the finale. Despite Kattan and Morgan's departures, the two would make guest appearances in several episodes throughout the season and Morgan would later host in 2009 and 2015. Before the season started, Will Forte,

Seth Meyers Seth Adam Meyers (born December 28, 1973) is an American comedian, writer, producer, actor, and television host. He hosts ''Late Night with Seth Meyers'', a late-night talk show on NBC. Prior to that, he was a cast member and head writer for NBC ...

, and Jeff Richards were all promoted to repertory status, while Fred Armisen remained a featured player. The show added two new African-American cast members: stand-up comedian Finesse Mitchell and Kenan Thompson, a former child star from the Nickelodeon comedy shows '' All That'' and '' Kenan & Kel''. Thompson became the first ''SNL'' cast member to be born after the show's premiere in 1975 (Thompson was born in 1978). Thompson eventually became the longest-tenured cast member in the show’s history. This was the final season for both Jeff Richards and

Jimmy Fallon James Thomas Fallon (born September 19, 1974) is an American comedian, television host, actor, and writer. He is known for his work in television as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' and as the host of the late-night talk show ''The Ton ...

(who decided to leave the show after the final episode). In an interview at the time, Richards said he left to branch out into other projects, though he later mentioned that his substance abuse was a factor.

Cast roster

Repertory players * Rachel Dratch *

* Tina Fey * Will Forte * Darrell Hammond *

Chris Parnell Thomas Christopher Parnell (; born February 5, 1967) is an American actor and comedian. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1998 to 2006 and played the role of Dr. Leo Spaceman on ''30 Rock''. In animation, he voices Cyril Figgis ...

* Amy Poehler * Jeff Richards (final episode: January 17, 2004) *

Maya Rudolph Maya Rudolph (born July 27, 1972) is an American actress, comedian, and singer. In 2000, she became a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''), and later played supporting roles in the films '' 50 First Dates'' ...

* Horatio Sanz Featured players * Fred Armisen * Finesse Mitchell * Kenan Thompson bold denotes " Weekend Update" anchor

Writers

Future cast member Jason Sudeikis and stand-up comedian J.B. Smoove were hired as writers this season.

Episodes

Specials

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saturday Night Live season 29 29 Saturday Night Live in the 2000s 2003 American television seasons 2004 American television seasons Television shows directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller