The thirty-seventh season of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'', 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 September 24, 2011, and May 19, 2012.

Cast

The season began with minimal changes to the cast, as everyone from the prior year returned. The only major change was Nasim Pedrad being upgraded to repertory status. Vanessa Bayer, Paul Brittain, Taran Killam, and Jay Pharoah all remained as featured players. Brittain, who had joined the show for Season 36 alongside Bayer, Killam, and Pharoah, exited abruptly halfway through this season, making his final appearance on January 14, 2012. Following Brittain's departure, impressionist and writer Kate McKinnon, previously a cast member on ''

The Big Gay Sketch Show ''The Big Gay Sketch Show'' is an LGBT-themed sketch comedy program that debuted on Logo on April 24, 2007. The series is produced by Rosie O'Donnell Roseann O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American comedian, television producer, actr ...

'', joined the cast mid-season, as a featured player for the last five episodes of the season, making her debut on April 7, 2012, following a March 28, 2012, report of her being hired. McKinnon is ''SNL'''s first openly gay cast member hired since

Terry Sweeney Terry Sweeney is an American artist, actor, and writer. He was a writer and cast member of ''Saturday Night Live'' in the 1980s, co-wrote the 1989 film ''Shag'', and has written for the television ''series MADtv'', ''Hype'', and ''Tripping the Ri ...

in 1985, and the show's first openly gay female cast member (

Denny Dillon Denise Dillon (born May 18, 1951) is an American actress and comedian best known for starring as Toby Pedalbee on the HBO comedy '' Dream On'' from 1990 to 1996. Dillon was first known for her stage work and was nominated for a Tony Award on Bro ...

from the 1980–81 season was SNL's first lesbian cast member but Dillon's sexuality was not public knowledge until much later). This was the final season for longtime cast members Kristen Wiig and

Andy Samberg Andy Samberg (born David A. J. Samberg; August 18, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, musician, producer and screenwriter. He is a member of the comedy music group The Lonely Island and was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2005 ...

, both cast members since

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, as well as for Abby Elliott, who had been a cast member since

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

. Elliott was let go from the show following the finale, while Wiig and Samberg both left on their own terms.

Cast roster

Repertory players *

Fred Armisen Fereydun Robert Armisen (born December 4, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. With his comedy partner Carrie Brownstein, Armisen was the co-creator and co-star of the IFC sketch comedy series ''Portlandia''. He ...

* Abby Elliott * Bill Hader *

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 ...

Bobby Moynihan Bobby Moynihan (born January 31, 1977) is an American actor, comedian and writer who was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2008 until 2017. He also voiced Louie Duck on Disney's ''DuckTales'' from 2017 to 2021, Panda in ''We Bare Be ...

* Nasim Pedrad *

Jason Sudeikis Daniel Jason Sudeikis ( ; born September 18, 1975) is an American actor, comedian, producer, and writer. In the 1990s, he began his career in improv comedy and performed with ComedySportz, iO Chicago (Improv Olympic), and The Second City. In 200 ...

* Kenan Thompson * Kristen Wiig Featured players * Vanessa Bayer * Paul Brittain (final episode: January 14, 2012) * Taran Killam * Kate McKinnon (first episode: April 7, 2012) * Jay Pharoah bold denotes Weekend Update anchor

Writers

This season saw several new writers. CollegeHumor writer

Sarah Schneider Sarah Schneider (born September 10, 1983) is an American writer, actress, and comedian. She got her start in entertainment as a writer and actress for the comedy website CollegeHumor before becoming a writer for the television sketch comedy ser ...

was added to the writing staff, after serving as a guest writer for the last five episodes of season 36. Also added were Chris Kelly, who previously wrote for '' Funny or Die'' and ''

The Onion News Network ''Onion News Network'' is a parody television news show that ran for two seasons of ten episodes each, both during 2011, on the Independent Film Channel. History In March 2007, ''The Onion'' launched ''The Onion News Network'', a daily web v ...

'';

Zach Kanin Zachary Kanin is an American writer, producer, comedian, and cartoonist. He is a former ''SNL'' staff writer and the co-creator, producer, and writer of '' Detroiters'' and ''I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson''. Early life and educatio ...

, who worked on the '' Harvard Lampoon''; and Peter Schultz, a performer from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. This was also the last season for writer John Mulaney who had been there since 2008. The season saw the deaths of three former ''SNL'' writers. Nelson Lyon died at the age of 73 due to liver cancer; Lyon wrote for the show during its seventh season.

Mark O'Donnell Mark O’Donnell (July 19, 1954 – August 6, 2012) was an American writer and humorist. Early life Born in Cleveland, Ohio, he received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard College in 1976. He was a member of ''The Harvard Lampoon'', wher ...

, who also wrote during the show's seventh season, died of a heart attack at the age of 58 outside his apartment in New York. Tom Davis, who was one of the original ''SNL'' writers and appeared in multiple sketches over the years died after a three-year battle with throat and neck cancer.

Episodes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saturday Night Live season 37 37 Saturday Night Live in the 2010s 2011 American television seasons 2012 American television seasons Television shows directed by Don Roy King