3 Reasons Why Saturday Night Live is Failing

“Saturday Night Live” seems to be going downhill but why?

“Saturday Night Live” has had its bad seasons before but as of late it seems like they may be headed for the worst. “Saturday Night Live” recently hit a ratings low with their recent episode hosted by Bill Hader according to Deadline and it seems like the past two years have been leading to this decline. So what have been the likely factors leading to the decline of “SNL?”

The Change in Cast

“Saturday Night Live” key cast members have been dropping like flies. Since 2012 cast members Andy Samberg, Kristen Wiig, Jason Sudeikis, Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Nasim Pedrad, and Seth Meyers have left the cast. Most recently Kenan Thompson decided to leave after this season which will put the tally at 8 cast members leaving the show within a 3 year span.

With cast members leaving, so did their recurring characters which left the show in the hands of many new cast members. The cast members that the show is currently comprised of have no strong established characters and many are very recent additions to the show. These cast members have been caught up in one of the worst transition periods of “Saturday Night Live” where they have very little support and need to establish entirely new characters from scratch.

While there may be some talent amongst the crew, this is going to be one of the most difficult seasons that “Saturday Night Live” has ever had for its cast.

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The Writers

Seth Meyers was both a cast member and a co-head writer for “Saturday Night Live.” While his cast role mainly consisted of being the “Weekend Update” correspondent, his role was a vital consistency to “SNL” and his role as co-head writer was even more vital. Many “Saturday Night Live” writers served their time as “Weekend Update” correspondents writing much of their own content. This made that segment seem like the sketch that set the pace for the show and there was usually a direct correlation between its success and the show’s success. With Seth Meyer’s departure, it left other co-head Writer Colin Jost to step up to the plate and so far he’s been striking out. Even Colin Jost has admitted he’s been doing poorly.

“I don’t feel like what I’ve done so far is a full realization of who I am,” says Jost. “There’s a lot to figure out in the beginning, and your personality starts coming out the more you do it.”
 
Jost says next season, viewers will see more of who he really is.

[Source: Uproxx]

With Jost’s poor performance on “Weekend Update” and the dipping ratings for “Saturday Night Live,” it makes many wonder if Seth Meyers was more of the “head” writer than “co-head.”

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The Death of Don Pardo

Don Pardo was known for his introduction of the cast and host since “Saturday Night Live’s” first episode. His voice resonated with many with his familiar welcoming message at the beginning of each show. While it may seem like a small change it may be much larger than people think.

There’s a sense of familiarity with Pardo’s voice and no matter how talented his replacement (Darrell Hammond) may be, that familiarity is forever lost. When “Saturday Night Live” started this season, viewers may have been slightly deterred from watching the show. Regardless of how small that deterrent may be, accompanied by the other factors, it could be just the push that viewers needed to stop watching.

Final Thoughts

This may be one of “Saturday Night Live’s” biggest slumps but I’ve been a fan of the show for as long as I can remember. I’m hoping that they can bounce back and that the writers and cast members can work together to create some more iconic sketches to bring the show back to its own standards. I hate to see this show fail but I will be anxiously waiting for them to break through this very tough transition period.