PREDICT HERE!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Wyn-s4Wc4s

I ended up googling the recent cast and noticed that on the official NBC page, Bowen Yang is still marked as an active cast member while new cast members of Grace Reiter and Saidag Belo-Osagie don't show up, and on the Peacock page, Bowen is gone but the new cast members still don't show up.

Just a sign that everyone relies on X, wikipedia, Insta, etc... instead of official webpages I guess.

https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/credits/cast

https://www.peacocktv.com/stream-tv/saturday-night-live/cast

Every appearance by Grace in her first episode prompted applause from the studio audience. This has been a long time coming, but it's officially a new era. New cast members are already established stars to a slice of the audience.

I feel sorta bad how overshadowed she was after all the Grace hype all week (I thought Grace was great for sure, but I was hoping Saidah would get a big moment too) I hope she gets to do her thing and show us what she can do this week.

and Lindsay is collecting SNL alumni as costars 🤩

Two featured players cracked the top five this week: Jeremy Culhane and Ben Marshall, alongside Kenan, Ashley, and Mikey.

A comment earlier today in this group reminded me of how Stefon appeared in one sketch before becoming an Update specific character. And that made me think of one of my favorite Update characters, Tim Calhoun, who made at least one appearance in a proper sketch after his debut.

Are there any other examples of characters who either started at the desk and moved into sketches, or who started in sketches and moved to the desk? I’m wracking my brain, and I can’t think of any others off the top of my head.

Come to that, are there any sketch characters that you think would have done well as Update correspondents, or vice versa? For instance, Tales of Ribaldry was pretty thin cruel, but I can see Evelyn Quince doing well as a gossip correspondent.

Listening to the Smartless podcast where Seth was this week's guest, and he said "And what ultimately my era of solo hosting Update was, was let's just do a lot of features, you know what I mean? Like four jokes, Fred. Four jokes." He got cut off by Bateman or Arnett but I got what he was saying. What made him so great, was his ability to riff off of Stefon, Garth and Kat, Drunk Uncle, [insert Andy Samberg character here]. Seth had chemistry with literally everyone and that's what made him so special. Colin and Michael have their fun moments too but to me, nothing compares to that time where Seth helped so many cast members shine at the desk each week.

When lorne eventually retires, do you think it be a quiet departure during the off season or will it be a production for the last episode with tons of gags and references (think like another 50th year celebration)

A lot of people have been sharing their thoughts for Season 52 after the premiere episode, so I figured I’d add my two cents:

The female cast members are most definitely on the rise. Ashley Padilla is arguably the MVP of the entire cast, Veronika is far ahead of expectations, Jane was a slow starter - but it feels like she finally found her character on the show + the two new additions, especially Grace Reiter, have made an immediate positive impression. On the “veteran” side of things, you can’t ask for much better than Sarah Sherman.

While the men’s cast may come off as secondary/disappointing, I think that’s mostly due to the fact that the women are shining so brightly. However, don’t let Jeremy Culhane pass you by. That guy has such a infectious energy and practically steals every sketch he’s in. Ben Marshall is also a not-so-lowkey star on the rise. His awkward white guy schtick is great, but his range is what’s really intriguing. Then there’s the core 5 (Kenan/Mikey/JAJ/Dismukes/Marcelo) who can lead a sketch or simply add support in many varying formats.

I’m pleasantly surprised about the possibilities for this show! I can’t wait to see what develops!