MOST RECENT ARTICLES BY:

Erik Voss

  1. Breaking Down Each Cast Member’s Contribution to ‘SNL’ Season 40With SNL’s 40th season wrapped up, we’re taking a look back at the past year to recall the highs, lows, and other memorable moments as the show […]
  2. The ‘Cut for Time’ Sketches of ‘SNL’ Season 40With SNL’s 40th season wrapped up, we’re taking a look back at the past year to recall the highs, lows, and other memorable moments as the show […]
  3. The Episodes of ‘SNL’ Season 40, RankedWith SNL’s 40th season wrapped up, we’re taking a look back at the past year to recall the highs, lows, and other memorable moments as the show […]
  4. The 25 Best Sketches of ‘SNL’ Season 40With SNL’s 40th season wrapped up, we’re taking a look back at the past year to recall the highs, lows, and other memorable moments as the show […]
  5. ‘SNL’ Review: Louis C.K. Gets Ballsy for the Season 40 FinaleAs we’ve seen throughout SNL’s 40th season, standup comedian hosts bring with them strong points of view that dictate the temperament of their […]
  6. ‘SNL’ Review: Mother’s Day with Reese WitherspoonDespite having only hosted SNL once before last weekend, Reese Witherspoon occupies a significant footnote in the show’s history: she hosted […]
  7. ‘SNL’ Review: Pulling Punches with Scarlett JohanssonSNL may have lost the revolutionary spirit fans claim it embraced in the 1970s, but this season has proven the show can still pack a punch of […]
  8. ‘SNL’ Review: Taraji P. Henson Almost Saves the DayDespite all the criticisms I’ve made about SNL, I should say that I love this show. And not just what I considered the glory years of the […]
  9. ‘SNL’ Review: Happy Easter, Michael Keaton!Though they may look like natural sketch comedians, character actors give us peculiar episodes of SNL. At least once per season in recent […]
  10. ‘SNL’ Review: Dwayne Johnson, Man for the JobHere’s a question I never thought I’d ask: does SNL need more men? Of course not, right? Only recently has SNL begun to shake off its “boys […]
  13. ‘SNL’ Review: Walking Tall with Chris HemsworthOne of the bigger frustrations for those of us following SNL’s 40th season is that, despite the show’s ongoing ups and downs, this current […]
  14. ‘SNL’s Uneasy Relationship with Twitter and Online CriticsLast November, SNL aired a mock promo for a hacky, whitewashed family sitcom called “The Dudleys.” In the sketch, a voiceover explains the […]
  15. ‘SNL’ Review: Business as Usual with Dakota JohnsonTwo weeks ago, SNL’s 40th anniversary reminded us what we love about this show. The routine scrutiny fell silent at the images that once […]
  16. ‘SNL 40’ Review: The Stars Come Home After 40 years, Saturday Night Live may be the only remaining “watercooler comedy” that everyone still has something to say about. Whether […]
  17. 40 Less-Iconic ‘SNL’ Sketches That We Love AnywayWith Saturday Night Live’s 40th anniversary special this Sunday, it seems everyone is posting their lists of all-time best sketches and […]
  18. ‘SNL’ Review: Finding the Rhythm with J.K. SimmonsFrom the very beginning, Saturday Night Live was considered “a writer’s show.” While other variety shows from SNL’s early years, like SCTV and […]
  19. ‘SNL’ Review: Blake Shelton Ain’t From ‘Round HereOne thing that’s forgotten about the early years of SNL was how much it was a show that anyone could host. While hosts from the old […]
  20. ‘SNL’ Review: A New Year with Kevin HartA month ago, Chris Rock wrote an essay for the Hollywood Reporter about race in Hollywood, specifically mentioning a sketch he appeared in with […]
  21. ‘SNL’ Review: Amy Adams’ Got Christmas SpiritLike anything else this time of year, it’s hard not to come away from SNL in good spirits. Traditionally, the show’s holiday episode provides […]
  22. ‘SNL’ Review: James Franco Delivers in an Episode That Doesn’tLet’s face it: over the 40 years SNL has been on the air, the majority of its sketches have not made us laugh. For every “Cowbell,” there are a […]
  25. ‘SNL’ Review: A Step Back with Cameron DiazWell, that didn’t last long. Just one week after seemingly proclaiming its transitional era to be over, SNL reaffirmed viewers’ perennial […]
  26. ‘SNL’ Review: A Season High with Woody HarrelsonFor the past two years, many viewers have described SNL as being in a “transitional phase.” This phase began with the departures of Kristen […]
  27. ‘SNL’ Review: Chris Rock Underwhelms Wherever you stand on SNL, it’s safe to say that season 40 has shown a noticeable step forward in quality from last season (regardless of […]
  28. ‘SNL’ Review: Jim Carrey Dances Like Everybody’s WatchingWhen Jim Carrey last hosted SNL in 2011 (the first episode I reviewed for this site), I worried the 1990s comedy icon best known for playing […]
  29. ‘SNL’ Review: Bill Hader’s Master ClassYou can judge how great a past SNL cast member was by the void they refill when they return to the show. Maya Rudolph’s hosting gig in 2012 […]
  30. ‘SNL,’ the Groundlings, and the Parallel Thinking ExcuseMembers of Los Angeles’ famed Groundlings theater company have made headlines by accusing SNL of lifting their sketch during last weekend’s […]
  31. ‘SNL’ Review: Sarah Silverman’s Racy ReturnSNL shifts into a different gear when a comedian hosts the show. In the early days, comic-hosts like George Carlin, Richard Pryor, and Steve […]
  32. ‘SNL’ Review: A New Hope with Chris PrattThe seasons have certainly changed at Saturday Night Live. The show’s 40th season began with an episode that hardly resembled a season […]
  33. What to Expect From ‘SNL’ Season 40SNL returns for its 40th season this Saturday, with host Chris Pratt, musical guest Ariana Grande, and pretty much the same cast – minus a […]
  34. ‘SNL’ Firing New Cast Members Displays a Show Still Deeply In TransitionWord has come down this week that SNL cast members Noël Wells, John Milhiser, and Brooks Wheelan have been let go from the show after one […]
  37. Breaking Down Each Cast Member’s Contribution to ‘SNL’ Season 39With SNL’s 39th season coming to a close, we’re taking a look at the past season with a series of posts examining the highs, lows, and other […]
  38. How ‘SNL’ Addressed Race in Season 39, as Shown in 11 SketchesWith SNL’s 39th season coming to a close, we’re taking a look at the past season with a series of posts examining the highs, lows, and other […]
  39. The 24 Best Sketches of ‘SNL’ Season 39With SNL’s 39th season coming to a close, we’re taking a look at the past season with a series of posts examining the highs, lows, and other […]
  40. ‘SNL’ Review: Andy Samberg, with a Little Help From His FriendsSNL transforms when a former cast member returns to host. The regular format is stretched to make room for a massive SNL reunion, with classic […]
  41. ‘SNL’ Review: Ladies Night with Charlize TheronWell, that was quite a turnaround. To everyone who commented on last week’s tirade against Andrew Garfield’s lackluster episode that it was […]
  42. Is ‘Saturday Night Live’ Becoming ‘Saturday Night Pretaped’?Last year, in his third time hosting SNL, Zach Galifianakis gave us a wonderful sketch called “Darrell’s House.” The sketch came in two parts. […]
  43. ‘SNL’ Review: Andrew Garfield Couldn’t Save the DayWhen I started reviewing SNL three years ago, I was proud to consider myself a defender of the show. Of course, not that the mainstream pop […]
  44. ‘SNL’ Review: Seth Rogen Half-BakedWhile watching Seth Rogen host SNL for the third time last weekend, I was reminded of two other three-peat hosts from earlier this season: Paul […]
  45. ‘SNL’ Review: Princess Anna KendrickWhenever SNL producers book a host who seems inexperienced in live comedy, they fall back on a kind of playbook. Stick to popular recurring […]
  46. ‘SNL’ Review: Louis C.K. Is Still Hilarious, In Case Anyone Was WonderingWhen Louis C.K. last hosted SNL in November 2012, there was magic in the air. A week after Superstorm Sandy walloped New York, with huge parts […]
  49. ‘Kroll Show’s Second Season Evolves Into ‘Sketch-uational Comedy’As far as character showcases go, it doesn’t get much more elaborate than Kroll Show. When Nick Kroll’s sketch series on Comedy Central […]
  50. ‘SNL’ Review: Lena Dunham, Guest Stars, and Lots of ImpressionsThis time last year, Megh Wright and I compiled a list of 10 first-time SNL hosts we’d like to see someday. The list included Stephen Colbert […]
  51. ‘SNL’ Review: Jim Parsons Broadens His Range to Nerdy GuyThe alternative comedy scene has never been very kind to Jim Parsons. He’s best known for playing Sheldon Cooper on The Big Bang Theory – the […]
  52. ‘SNL’ Review: Melissa McCarthy and a Farewell to Seth MeyersSome episodes of SNL are bigger than the host. For example, this season’s premiere spotlighted the show’s record six new cast members, while […]
  53. ‘SNL’ Review: Jonah Hill’s Award-Worthy PerformanceAnytime I begin to think Jonah Hill might be overrated, I only need watch him host SNL. Yes, it’s still pretty weird to think that the guy from […]
  54. ‘SNL’ Review: Drake Gives 2014 a Fresh StartSeason 39 has not exactly been kind to SNL. As we explained in our midseason review, the show seems to have surrendered to its “transition […]
  55. ‘Kroll Show’ Season 2: Good TV Making Fun of Bad TVThe second season of Kroll Show premieres tonight on Comedy Central, and by the looks of things, Nick Kroll has no intention of changing […]
  56. Checking in with ‘SNL’ Halfway Through Season 39We’ve reached the midpoint of SNL’s 39th season – one that has optimistically been called a “transitional year,” but one more commonly known […]
  57. ‘SNL’ Review: Jimmy Fallon’s Christmas MiracleBoy, did SNL need a win. The months following September’s successful season premiere with Tina Fey saw a mixed bag of lackluster hosts, […]
  58. Talking to Will Forte About ‘Nebraska’, ‘MacGruber 2’, and Never-Aired […]Will Forte is a busy man. Upon leaving SNL in 2010, he starred in MacGruber, a film that received mixed reviews but is nonetheless considered a […]
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