The thirty-eighth 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 September 15, 2012, and May 18, 2013.
Also airing this season were two
election-themed episodes of ''
Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday'', which aired on September 20, 2012, and September 27, 2012.
Two months before the season premiere, original writer and occasional featured player
Tom Davis died after a two-year battle with throat and neck cancer.
Cast
Prior to the start of the season, longtime cast members
Kristen Wiig and
Andy Samberg, both of whom had been on the show for seven seasons since 2005, decided not to return following the end of the previous season. Following Samberg and Wiig's departures,
Abby Elliott was let go after four seasons on the show since 2008.
Vanessa Bayer,
Taran Killam, and
Jay Pharoah were all upgraded to repertory status, while
Kate McKinnon remained a featured player.
To fill the void, the show hired three new cast members – Chicago improvisers
Aidy Bryant,
Tim Robinson, and
Cecily Strong – as the replacements for Wiig, Samberg, and Elliott. According to the official press release, "Bryant trained at the iO Chicago, Annoyance Theatre and she was also part of the ensemble that performed on the Second City E.T.C Stage. Robinson also trained at the Second City, he performed on their Mainstage and was also part of their National Touring Company. Like Robinson, Strong had also performed as part of the National Touring Company and trained at the iO Theater".
This was the final season for longtime cast members
Fred Armisen,
Bill Hader, and
Jason Sudeikis.
Armisen had been on the show for 11 seasons since
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
, Sudeikis had been on for nine 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 ...
, and Hader had been on for eight since 2005. This would also be the only season for featured player
Tim Robinson, who would leave his spot in the cast to instead join the writing staff the following season.
Cast roster
Repertory players
*
Fred Armisen
*
Vanessa Bayer
*
Bill Hader
*
Taran Killam
*
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
*
Nasim Pedrad
*
Jay Pharoah
*
Jason Sudeikis
*
Kenan Thompson
Featured players
*
Aidy Bryant
*
Kate McKinnon
*
Tim Robinson
*
Cecily Strong
bold denotes Weekend Update anchor
Writers
Seth Meyers and
Colin Jost are the season's co-head writers. Prior to the start of the season,
Upright Citizens Brigade Theater performers Josh Patten and
Neil Casey joined the writing staff.
This was also the final season for longtime writer
Jim Downey (who had been writing for the show on-and-off since
1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...
), as he retired at the end of the season, after 30 cumulative years with the show.
Episodes
Specials
''Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday''
The third season of ''Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday'', a
limited-run series based on ''Saturday Night Lives "
Weekend Update" sketch, has aired in conjunction with this season. The specials focused on the
United States presidential election. The show was hosted by
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 ...
, ''Update''
's then current host.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saturday Night Live season 38
38
Saturday Night Live in the 2010s
2012 American television seasons
2013 American television seasons
Television shows directed by Don Roy King