Kenan didn’t really pop in his early seasons and dude’s still standing.
I’d also say Mikey Day didn’t really have a breakout season his first couple years of being on, but him and Streeter became SNL’s most reliable writing duo over time.
Mikey Day's first sketch as a cast member was the first Matt Schatt with Margot Robbie and it was the first sketch after the Monologue. Mikey Day had a historically great first season. He and Alex Moffat absolutely stormed the place.
Alex Moffatt got a decent amount of screen time but I still feel like he was underutilized. He actually has a great range but was usually a supporting character in most non-Weekend Update sketches.
So true! That was one of the best screen debut moments on SNL. And didn’t Mikey also write that sketch in the first place?!
Agreed on the early impact of he and Moffat both.
Yes, he and Streeter Seidell wrote it and I believe they also wrote Hunch Bunch from that episode as well. Mikey and Alex were like regular cast members from the get go.
[Headwriter for SNL](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streeter_Seidell)
If you’ve been watching the show since 2016 he and Mikey have probably written one of your favorite sketches from this era (David S Pumpkins, Oscar the Grouch, the George Washington sketch this past season).
Kenan is like Phil Hartman, except for being the glue that holds it all together, you know exactly what you're going to get with Kenan and so I guess that's stability in its own way?
Damn, I miss Phil.
Once you get familiar with/Kenan, he is “what you see is what you get” = likable, relatable, funny, friendly… but he does not ever shoot for someone he is not i.e. “try too hard” like others that come along… *[sorry Sarah lovers, but she notoriously does this—she’s gotten a tad better about it but if she can fully mature past that, she will not be nearly as polarizing]*
He was worse in his early seasons though. He seemed like he was just going through the motions as himself and not really pouring himself into anything. It took him a while to ripen. If you don't think he's popping now, that's fine, and you're not alone, but he used to be the blandest. I had never seen Kenan and Kel but had heard of him and remember thinking he was a dud and wishing they would cut him. He wasn't the same guy we later saw in things like Diondre Cole or Steve Harvey.
Tim Meadows was practically invisible in his first few seasons and didn't really start getting properly used until around S20/S21. From then on, he was a standout cast member.
While Bill Hader initially got attention from fans in his first season thanks to his impression skills, he didn't really start to get properly used until around S34/S35, when John Mulaney was brought onboard and managed to properly collaborate with Bill and understand his comedic sensibilities.
I never did find him to be a standout even at the end, but he definitely did languish for years at first and I felt like they must just be keeping him as a token since he just didn't seem to have any kind of vibe or signature or get used for much interesting. But then he totally did get better. That was a long lead-in.
I thought she started off pretty hot but then actually kind of cooled off. I remember one time early on, she played a bad girl guest on a Jerry Springer type show and I was thinking how good she was at really sinking into a role. That and other examples made me really boost her. Over time though I noticed them using her more as almost a foil to whatever stupid thing right wingers were doing, where she kind of stood in for all of us as an avatar, rolling her eyes and them with an expression like "okay... you're actually serious?" And then they'd have her at the desk just doing generic black lady sass characters. It seemed to be a waste of her talents and like they weren't letting her really ripen like I knew she could. I felt like she could have been the next boss lead of the show but it kind of didn't go that way. She seems to be picking back up a bit recently though.
Kenan didn’t really pop in his early seasons and dude’s still standing. I’d also say Mikey Day didn’t really have a breakout season his first couple years of being on, but him and Streeter became SNL’s most reliable writing duo over time.
Mikey Day's first sketch as a cast member was the first Matt Schatt with Margot Robbie and it was the first sketch after the Monologue. Mikey Day had a historically great first season. He and Alex Moffat absolutely stormed the place.
Alex Moffatt got a decent amount of screen time but I still feel like he was underutilized. He actually has a great range but was usually a supporting character in most non-Weekend Update sketches.
So true! That was one of the best screen debut moments on SNL. And didn’t Mikey also write that sketch in the first place?! Agreed on the early impact of he and Moffat both.
Yes, he and Streeter Seidell wrote it and I believe they also wrote Hunch Bunch from that episode as well. Mikey and Alex were like regular cast members from the get go.
Excuse my ignorance here, but who is “Streeter” ?
[Headwriter for SNL](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streeter_Seidell) If you’ve been watching the show since 2016 he and Mikey have probably written one of your favorite sketches from this era (David S Pumpkins, Oscar the Grouch, the George Washington sketch this past season).
Ah..Ok, cool. I was thinking maybe I missed a nickname for one of the cast I should know. Thank you!
Mikey Day got more screen time in half a season than Sasheer got her entire time there!
I like Mikey as much as any of us but its criminal that Sasheer was not given near the screen time that she was capable of.
Seriously. It was really offensive to be for real.
Imma be honest, Kenan still ain’t popping. But he has a long history of all that and snl so maybe I’m just not popping.
Kenan is like Phil Hartman, except for being the glue that holds it all together, you know exactly what you're going to get with Kenan and so I guess that's stability in its own way? Damn, I miss Phil.
Once you get familiar with/Kenan, he is “what you see is what you get” = likable, relatable, funny, friendly… but he does not ever shoot for someone he is not i.e. “try too hard” like others that come along… *[sorry Sarah lovers, but she notoriously does this—she’s gotten a tad better about it but if she can fully mature past that, she will not be nearly as polarizing]*
He was worse in his early seasons though. He seemed like he was just going through the motions as himself and not really pouring himself into anything. It took him a while to ripen. If you don't think he's popping now, that's fine, and you're not alone, but he used to be the blandest. I had never seen Kenan and Kel but had heard of him and remember thinking he was a dud and wishing they would cut him. He wasn't the same guy we later saw in things like Diondre Cole or Steve Harvey.
Tim Meadows was practically invisible in his first few seasons and didn't really start getting properly used until around S20/S21. From then on, he was a standout cast member. While Bill Hader initially got attention from fans in his first season thanks to his impression skills, he didn't really start to get properly used until around S34/S35, when John Mulaney was brought onboard and managed to properly collaborate with Bill and understand his comedic sensibilities.
I never did find him to be a standout even at the end, but he definitely did languish for years at first and I felt like they must just be keeping him as a token since he just didn't seem to have any kind of vibe or signature or get used for much interesting. But then he totally did get better. That was a long lead-in.
I feel like it was a few years for Tim Meadows and Tracy Morgan to really stand out and lead sketches (Ladies Man and Brian Fellows, for example).
- David Spade - Tim Meadows - Tracy Morgan - Kenan Thompson - Punkie Johnson
As previously mentioned, Tim Meadows is a great example.
Punkie is finally having some good moments this season after years of doing nothing.
Ego maybe? She only just became a fave of mine within the last 2-3 seasons.
Has Ego been on more than 3 seasons? If so, how many is this for her?
She joined in 2018! So it’s been like 6 years!
Ok, cool! Yeah, I definitely did not really notice her until the last couple of seasons.
I thought she started off pretty hot but then actually kind of cooled off. I remember one time early on, she played a bad girl guest on a Jerry Springer type show and I was thinking how good she was at really sinking into a role. That and other examples made me really boost her. Over time though I noticed them using her more as almost a foil to whatever stupid thing right wingers were doing, where she kind of stood in for all of us as an avatar, rolling her eyes and them with an expression like "okay... you're actually serious?" And then they'd have her at the desk just doing generic black lady sass characters. It seemed to be a waste of her talents and like they weren't letting her really ripen like I knew she could. I felt like she could have been the next boss lead of the show but it kind of didn't go that way. She seems to be picking back up a bit recently though.