The thirty-eighth season of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'', an American

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...

series, originally aired in the United States on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

between September 15, 2012, and May 18, 2013. Also airing this season were two

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

-themed episodes of ''

Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday ''Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday'' is an American limited-run series broadcast on NBC. It is a political satire news show spin-off from ''Saturday Night Live'', featuring that show's ''Weekend Update'' segment. It initially ran for t ...

'', which aired on September 20, 2012, and September 27, 2012. Two months before the season premiere, original writer and occasional featured player Tom Davis died after a two-year battle with throat and neck cancer.

Cast

Prior to the start of the season, longtime cast members

Kristen Wiig Kristen Carroll Wiig (; born August 22, 1973) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. First breaking through as a performer with the Los Angeles comedy troupe The Groundlings, Wiig achieved stardom in the late 2000s for her ...

and

Andy Samberg Andy Samberg (born David A. J. Samberg; August 18, 1978) is an American comedian, actor, musician, writer and producer. He is a member of the comedy music group the Lonely Island, along with childhood friends Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone. ...

, both of whom had been on the show for seven seasons since 2005, decided not to return following the end of the previous season. Following Samberg and Wiig's departures,

Abby Elliott Abigail Elliott (born June 16, 1987) is an American actress and comedian. She was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2008 to 2012, and has starred on the Bravo comedy ''Odd Mom Out'', the NBC sitcom '' Ind ...

was let go after four seasons on the show since 2008.

Vanessa Bayer Vanessa Bayer (born November 14, 1981) is an American actress and comedian. She was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2010 to 2017, for which she was nominated for an Emmy. She co-created, co-executive pr ...

Taran Killam Taran Hourie Killam (born April 1, 1982) is an American actor and comedian. He first garnered attention for his brief stint on the Fox comedy series ''MADtv'' during its seventh season between 2001 and 2002, followed by his wider success as a ca ...

, and

Jay Pharoah Jared Antonio Farrow (born October 14, 1987), better known by his stage name Jay Pharoah, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2010 to 2016. In 2015, he was ...

were all upgraded to repertory status, while

Kate McKinnon Kate McKinnon Berthold (born January 6, 1984) is an American actress and comedian. She was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2012 to 2022, where she became known for her character work and celebrity im ...

remained a featured player. To fill the void, the show hired three new cast members – Chicago improvisers

Aidy Bryant Aidy Bryant (born May 7, 1987) is an American actress and comedian. Bryant is most notable for being a cast member on the NBC late-night sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' for ten seasons, joining the show for its 38th season in 2012, ...

, Tim Robinson, and

Cecily Strong Cecily Legler Strong (born February 8, 1984) is an American actress and comedian. She was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2012 to 2022. She is the longest-tenured female cast member in the show's histor ...

– as the replacements for Wiig, Samberg, and Elliott. According to the official press release, "Bryant trained at the iO Chicago, Annoyance Theatre and she was also part of the ensemble that performed on the Second City E.T.C Stage. Robinson also trained at the Second City, he performed on their Mainstage and was also part of their National Touring Company. Like Robinson, Strong had also performed as part of the National Touring Company and trained at the iO Theater". This was the final season for longtime cast members

Fred Armisen Fereydun Robert Armisen (born December 4, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, musician, and writer. With his comedy partner Carrie Brownstein, he co-created and co-starred in the IFC sketch comedy series '' Portlandia''. He also co-created ...

Bill Hader William Thomas Hader Jr.''Finding Your Roots'', January 26, 2016, PBS. (born June 7, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and director. He was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 20 ...

, and

Jason Sudeikis Daniel Jason Sudeikis ( ; born September 18, 1975) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. In the 1990s, he began his career in improv comedy and performed with ComedySportz, iO Chicago (Improv Olympic), and The Second City. I ...

. Armisen had been on the show for 11 seasons since

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, Sudeikis had been on for nine since

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, and Hader had been on for eight since 2005. This would also be the only season for featured player Tim Robinson, who would leave his spot in the cast to instead join the writing staff the following season.

debuted his

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

impersonation this season, taking over the role from Armisen.

Cast roster

Repertory players *

Seth Meyers Seth Adam Meyers (born December 28, 1973) is an American comedian, television host, writer, actor, and producer. He hosts ''Late Night with Seth Meyers'', a late-night talk show on NBC. Prior to hosting Late Night, he was a cast member on NBC's ...

Bobby Moynihan Robert Michael Moynihan Jr. (born January 31, 1977) is an American actor and comedian. He was a cast member and writer for the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2008 to 2017. Outside of ''SNL'', he has also voiced Louie Duc ...

Nasim Pedrad Nasim Pedrad (; born November 18, 1981) is an American actress and comedian. She was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy and variety series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2009 to 2014. She later went on to star in the Fox sitcoms '' Mulaney'' ( ...

Kenan Thompson Kenan Thompson (; born May 10, 1978) is an American actor and comedian. He has been a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' since Saturday Night Live season 29, 2003, making him the longest-tenured cast member in the ...

Featured players *

* Tim Robinson *

bold denotes

Weekend Update ''Weekend Update'' is a ''Saturday Night Live'' sketch and satirical news program that comments on and parodies current events. It is the show's longest-running recurring sketch, having been on since the show's first broadcast and been featu ...

anchor

Writers

Starting with this season, writing supervisor

Colin Jost Colin Kelly Jost (; born June 29, 1982) is an American comedian, writer, and actor. Jost has been a staff writer for the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' since 2005, and co-anchor of '' Weekend Update'' since 2014. He also serv ...

(who has been writing for the show since

) is named as the show's co-head writer, alongside

(Jost had previously been writing supervisor for the past three seasons). Additionally, prior to the start of the season,

Upright Citizens Brigade Theater The Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) is an improvisational and sketch comedy group that emerged from Chicago's ImprovOlympic in 1990. The original incarnation of the group consisted of Amy Poehler, Matthew Walsh, Matt Besser, Ian Roberts, Adam ...

performers Josh Patten and

Neil Casey Neil Casey (born July 28, 1981) is an American actor, writer, and comedian. Casey served as a writer for the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2012 to 2013, and the Comedy Central series '' Inside Amy Schumer'' in 2014, receiv ...

joined the writing staff (though this would be Casey's only season with the show). Also, starting with this season, Marika Sawyer (who had been writing on SNL since

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

) is named as the show's co-writing supervisor, alongside

Bryan Tucker Bryan H. Tucker is an American actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He has been a senior writer for the TV program ''Saturday Night Live'' since 2018. Early life Bryan H. Tucker was born and raised in Chesterfield County, Virginia. After graduati ...

. This was also the final season for longtime writer Jim Downey (who had been writing for the show on-and-off since

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

), as he retired at the end of the season, after 30 non-consecuive years with the show. Downey is the longest-tenured writer in the show's history.

Episodes

Specials

''Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday''

The third season of ''Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday'', a

limited-run series In television programming, a limited-run series (or simply limited series) is a Television program, program with an end date and limit to the number of episodes. For instance, The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' definition specifies a "pr ...

based on ''Saturday Night Lives "

" sketch, has aired in conjunction with this season. The specials focused on the

United States presidential election The election of the president of the United States, president and Vice President of the United States, vice president of the United States is an indirect election in which citizens of the United States who are Voter registration in the United ...

. The show was hosted by

, ''Update'''s then current host.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saturday Night Live season 38 38 Saturday Night Live in the 2010s 2012 American television seasons 2013 American television seasons Television shows directed by Don Roy King