Brief thoughts on the current state of SNL

Chloe Troast, Timothee Chalamet and Mikey Day in the “Little orphan cassidy” sketch.

Looking back at my writing about SNL from years ago, I now feel like I was a bit harsh on the show at times. Maybe it was just disappointment about talented performers being used for the most irritating sketches possible at the expense of their range. It was also partially untreated depression and burnout. I have nothing against James Anderson or Kent Sublette personally; it’s just that a lot of the sketches I disliked turned out to be theirs, and their recurring sketches didn’t have enough variation between installments to avoid feeling like form letters. Likewise, Kenan Thompson is usually still a reliable presence in sketches, even if the writing isn’t there.

That said, I feel like this current season is where SNL actually lost me. I think part of it comes down to age; I’m no longer in the target demographic, and my body’s no longer able to handle staying up late to catch the live broadcasts, but even though I still PVR the show, most of the shows don’t really seem worth the time it takes to sit through them. It’s especially frustrating because there have still been shows that demonstrate they have the capability to do good work.

The biggest issue I have with the show now is that it’s just frequently so boring. There’s a samey quality to the sketches and performances, with everyone being stuck in their little box; I used to think that the newer writers and performers would have a bigger impact on things, but now I see that it’s the show that molds them into “the house style” when they know what to do with them. The results aren’t bad, and there are definitely a few people on the show that are always fun to watch (I’m particularly impressed with Andrew Dismukes, Sarah Sherman and Chloe Troast), but a lot of it is just forgettable and washes over me.

As well, so much on the show feels forced, like they’re more concerned about going viral, making the requisite pop culture references, and showcasing the brilliance of their makeup and technical teams (which, admittedly, are quite impressive) than actually writing a full sketch to support these things. The political writing has been particularly weak for a few years, and it feels like they’re just doing it out of obligation. James Austin Johnson’s Trump is technically good, but is written as far too lucid and self-aware compared to the real person. Having politicians spout one-liners about how awful and incompetent they are isn’t satire.

I know SNL’s just space between commercials on a television network, doesn’t have real competition, and has always been hit-and-miss, but the last few years have really felt like the show is complacent being a “television institution” instead of anything else. The production process means the cast and writers always need to “feed the machine” to some extent, but there’s just a certain spark of life that’s missing lately.

But then again, that’s just my opinion.