For the first time in the history of “Saturday Night Live,” the long-running hit (not failing) show will air live on NBC coast to coast beginning April 15th. The final four hosts to close out season 42 were announced on Thursday. They are: Jimmy Fallon on April 15th, Chris Pine on May 6th, Melissa McCarthy will return on May 13th, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on May 20th. Viewers on the East Coast can catch the show at 11:30 p.m., while those on Central Time, Mountain Time and Pacific Time can view episodes at 10:30 p.m., 9:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., respectively.
Thanks to an unusual political climate, “Saturday Night Live” is enjoying its highest-rated season in over 20 years. Alec Baldwin drew in a large amount of viewers with his spot-on impersonations of Donald Trump. Kate McKinnon is probably set to win another Emmy for her characterizations of Hillary Clinton and Trump administration staffers Kellyanne Conway and Jeff Sessions. However, the break-out guest star arguably has been Melissa McCarthy as Sean “Spicey” Spicer. No doubt, the audience will be glued to their television sets on May 13th. However, who’s to say the actress won’t make another surprise appearance between now and then to portray the often flustered press secretary?
Part of national conversation
In a statement released to Uproxx, NBC Entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt said they thought it would be a great idea to broadcast the popular sketch comedy show in all time zones at the same time. He pointed out that many of “SNL’s” greatest moments are spoiled thanks to EST viewers who post funny moments via social media before the rest of country has a chance to see it.
Greenblatt added that this way everyone will be in on the joke at the same time. It’s not clear if this new experiment will continue on into the next season.
Bring on the news, bring on the funny
Ironically, due to the baffling comments and actions of the current administration, the writers at “SNL” don’t have much to write. The sketches are practically writing themselves. They can’t make this stuff up.
