A few months ago, I found a certain strain of videos entering my Facebook algorithm. Usually, it’s the generic stand-up or how-to’s that have enough going on in the thumbnail to make you click on it, but not enough to really make the next two minutes all the better for it. This isn’t to say that I haven’t found a lot of entertainment from there, but the endurance is often lacking even 30 minutes after I have moved further down the feed.
The videos in question were from a place more reliable than a comedian doing crowd work. A lot of them were in relation to a recent 50th anniversary special for the sketch series Saturday Night Live, which, on top of inspiring a Jason Reitman-directed movie in 2024, seemed to be having a small renaissance. I’m not one of those who ever argues it’s not funny anymore. In my opinion, their turnaround for comic actors remains very high. Then again, I’m someone who actively appreciates what Pete Davidson is doing and have especially clicked on his SNL bits when they do pop up on YouTube. However, I wouldn’t say that I cared to watch a full episode going back to before I was in my 20s.
In theory, there’s nothing wrong with this, given that Saturday Night Live is designed to be consumed in chunks. Groups like The Lonely Island have perfected the idea of rewatchability, but that isn’t to suggest that I’ve seen a lot of Andy Samberg sketches outside of that fact. With the 50th anniversary, my understanding is that it was a mix of old and new with decades of talent returning for a night of celebration. As can be expected, there were plenty of chuckles when I put those videos on, finding the weirdest combination of actors taking to the stage to do what they did best.
This is all to say that the algorithm, for a time, thought this meant that because I watched two or three 50th anniversary videos that I wanted to see a lot of their new stuff. Like most people, I think there was hesitancy to give it a chance because a lot of the people were new, and I wasn’t sure if the styles would gel with my sensibility. Even if I’ve come to find figures like Sarah Sherman endearing on her game show Human vs. Hamster, there wasn’t that real push. I think it stems from a general move away from sketch comedy on my part. I don’t know why, but I’m at a point where I admire people who do comedy in that form more than actually consume it.
Sure enough, I turned to the “Weekend Update” numbers because they have always felt the most accessible. The news anchor’s jokes are direct, and the supporting characters are simple interview gags that would be easy to parse. For better or worse, Saturday Night Live videos on Facebook tend to trim sketches down to “the highlights,” and it sometimes makes them absurd but not always comprehensible. I get the sense that it’s fun without ever having fun. With “Weekend Update,” I get the smaller moments that are usually in and out in under two minutes.
If you want to owe my newfound attention to the program on anyone, I’d probably blame Jane Wickline. Among the many funny faces, there she was doing a handful of songs that reminded me of artists like Demetri Martin and Nick Thune, who took a bare bones, socially awkward approach on a portable keyboard with lyrics that sound like they were crafted on the fly. While I also enjoyed the Sabrina Carpenter gag, the one I have returned to a few times is her parody of the trolley problem by way of a Valentine’s Day date. Unlike other comedians who would probably polish the bit, she has this perfect balance of a song that’s about to derail (no pun intended), only to have punchlines emerge from left field and bring everything together.
I can’t explain why, but I have always loved the disaffected, deadpan style of comedy that others like Aubrey Plaza originally did. Wickline’s portfolio seems a bit too small to say she’s my favorite of the new cast, but everything I’ve seen has suggested that there’s a cast there doing something different. They have their own vibe. Even if Keenan Thompson is still there for reasons that confuse me, it still has all the reliable mechanics in place.
Which is all to say that the months have passed by. As I revisit the trolley problem video every few weeks, I have long thought… should I try and watch Saturday Night Live? I think in general I’ve found value in escapism and not having everything be so serious lately. As late-night has been brought into question in recent months, I wonder what we expect our media to produce. These are, after all, comedians. Even if I feel like SNL has lacked the vitality to match the political moment, that’s more of a grapevine-level take than one based on thorough week-in-week-out research. What would I get if I tuned in? Are there other people on par with Sherman and Wickline waiting for me?
That is why, as last Saturday marked the premiere episode, I am contemplating performing the challenge of watching a full season. Given that I currently have Peacock and NBC will likely have it on demand, there’s an accessibility that I don’t need to worry about. While I am sure that I won’t care for a lot of the musical acts and the sketches are going to have a strong ratio of hits and misses, is there any value of tuning in and remembering what it’s like to laugh? Part of me worries it’s regressive and adding another obligation to an already busy schedule. And yet, I wonder… is Saturday Night Live still enjoyable?
As mentioned, I haven’t watched a full season in decades. I’d even argue that the only ones I had watched front to back were the DVD box sets I bought in high school for the first three seasons. Even then, I know that the show used to have some value in my life, and I would tune in on Saturday night when I had nothing better to do. Very little necessarily resonated that was outside of larger cultural zeitgeist, but again I have to wonder… is there something there?
I’m going to see if I find time this week to tune in. My method of watching TV has generally been to stay on top of things until I’m not. If I forget something for two weeks, the odds are that I will forget for five, and then the show becomes too intimidating to watch altogether. I often have to hunker down and just watch a lot over one week (I’m currently experiencing that with Peacemaker). I think that’s the folly of Saturday Night Live, which is as much about entertainment as it is timeliness. Will there come a point where I watch six hours of SNL in one week and get really tired of these guys?
That’s what we call overthinking. For now, I want to say that this is an idea that I am personally grappling with. I keep seeing the ad on Peacock as I head over to their Halloween section, and it keeps seeming appetizing. I’m not saying it as a fan of Bad Bunny or anything. It’s just the symbolic escapism that I want because the world is dark. I want to laugh and try to get some joy out of this year. Personally, it’s had plenty of positives. However, I think the larger narrative will not be favorable to the past 10 months, especially on a federal and state level California-wise.
More than anything, I wonder what’s there. People still show up for tapings every week. The talent keeps moving on to (largely) quality work. Hell, I keep seeing Leslie Jones at Sparks games. There’s a culture there that seems appealing. I don’t know if I am trying to tap into something regressive in my mind and recapture what the show was, but I hope that there’s still something to laugh about. I get that it might not be what I want, but hopefully, it could be what I need to remember that sometimes it’s okay to just joke around and have fun once in a while.
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