So remember how everyone was pretty sure that Jason Sudeikis was leaving Saturday Night Live at the end of last season? Well, it turns out everyone was stupid and wrong.
“Jason is in,” Mr. Michaels, the show’s executive producer, said in an interview Tuesday night.
He was referring, of course, to Jason Sudeikis, the longtime cast member who, since the show’s finale last May, has been the subject of many rumors that he would be departing after seven seasons. Mr. Michaels said he was relieved to have the comedian back in the cast this season. [NY Times]
This is mostly good news, I suppose. Sudeikis is a reliably funny performer, sure, but more importantly, he’s handled the impressions of Mitt Romney and Joe Biden for years now, and seven weeks before the election ain’t exactly the ideal time to tinker with your show’s portrayal of 50% of the candidates. Especially when you’re already replacing Fred Armisen with Jay Pharoah in the role of Obama. I mean, you are doing that this season, right? RIGHT?!
The only downside I see here is that it kind of handcuffs their ability to press reset on everything, which might not be a terrible idea. I’m not as hard on SNL as some people, but with Kristen Wiig and Andy Samberg already leaving, they had a great opportunity to blow everything up and rebuild around cast members like Taran Killam and the new crop of women who had been stuck in Wiig’s shadow. But, hey, what do I know? I’m just a dude with a WordPress login and crapload of coffee coursing through his veins.
Anyway, as far as how long Sudeikis will be sticking around, the answer appears to be “A little while. Or more. I dunno. Stop asking so many questions.”
“Right now the idea is that Jason will go through at least until January,” Mr. Michaels said. But he did not foreclose the possibility that Mr. Sudeikis would be around for the full season. “He’s a fiercely loyal guy, both to the show and to me,” Mr. Michaels said.
Jesus, what a weird quote. The line between Lorne Michaels and a cult leader is so thin you can see through it.
