For many aspiring comedians, becoming a cast member of popular sketch comedy show “Saturday Night Live” is truly an honor—an outstanding accomplishment that identifies an individual as talented, funny, and simply entertaining. Saturday Night Live, more commonly known by its abbreviation, “SNL,” is considered just a step before the big leagues; a place in which actors and actresses are given the opportunity to showcase their talents in hopes of being discovered, whisked away to Hollywood, and cast as the lead role in movies. Well, it might not always work out that way, but the New York-based program certainly helps to get one noticed. For longtime cast members Kristen Wiig and Andy Samberg, the show served as a platform that helped propel their careers into the next level— for they have both been asked to star in several comedies fabricated by the brilliant minds in Hollywood. Now that the two have chosen to leave SNL in order to pursue their own careers, fans of SNL are forced to wave goodbye to a few old friends and favorite sketches.
As fans say “farewell” to Wiig, they must realize that they are also saying goodbye to her countless alter egos. Making appearances in almost every skit, Wiig was a vital asset to the show, seeing as though she brought humor to each sketch by assuming the roles of her many zany personas. She was Penelope, the annoying, meddling party guest who always tried to one-up the others with impressive—yet utterly unbelievable—facts about herself. Wiig also made appearances on the “Weekend Update with Seth Meyers,” playing Kath from the holiday singer-songwriter-duo “Kath and Garth.” Paired with co-star Fred Armisen, the two would appear on the news segment to promote their new holiday albums—all of which were nonexistent and ad libbed live. Finally, there was Gilly, the mischievous and clearly insane elementary-aged schoolgirl who never failed to both anger the adult characters and leave viewers in hysterics. Wiig graduated from SNL at the end of this season—literally. Her send-off was a sketch modeled to represent a college graduation ceremony. Kristen Wiig, now known fondly as “that girl in ‘Bridesmaids’,” is beginning to make a name for herself as an actress. Unfortunately for NBC, however, this leaves SNL one fantastic cast member short.
Andy Samberg was yet another to leave SNL this past season. Channeling his inner politician, Samberg assumed the role of Republican candidate Rick Santorum for the majority of SNL’s 37th season. He entertained the audience when impersonating the easily irascible action film star Nicolas Cage during his segment of “Get in the Cage” on the “Weekend Update.” Samberg also played a large role in the show’s digital shorts, performing songs as the lead singer in the fictional pop group “Lonely Island.” In videos such as these, he sang alongside Rihanna, Justin Timberlake, Justin Bieber, T-Pain, and more. Among Samberg’s most memorable collaborations were “Lazy Sunday,” “Lazy Sunday 2,” and “Ronnie and Clyde”—a rap in which Rihanna robs a bank and is accompanied by a shy sidekick named Ronnie (Samberg). With the comedian leaving SNL to promote his new movie “That’s My Boy,” the show will lack not only idiotic and raunchy humor, but also the notorious—and hilarious— musical stylings of Andy Samberg.
Joining the extensive list of SNL graduates (such as Will Ferrell, Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, Tina Fey, and Maya Rudolph, to name a few), Kristen Wiig and Andy Samberg are destined to become successful comedians—all thanks to their comical endeavors as cast members on “Saturday Night Live.”
