Saturday Night Live (season 38)

Saturday Night Live (season 38)
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	21
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	September 15, 2012 – May 18, 2013
Season chronology

The thirty-eighth season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between September 15, 2012 and May 18, 2013.

Also airing this season were two election-themed episodes of Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday, which aired on September 20, 2012 and September 27, 2012.^[1] 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.^[2]

Cast

Before the start of the season, many cast changes occurred. Kristen Wiig and Andy Samberg, both cast members since 2005, decided not to return following the end of the previous season.^[3][4] As well, before the start of the season, Abby Elliott, who had been a cast member since 2008, was let go after four seasons on the show.^[5] Vanessa Bayer, Taran Killam, and Jay Pharoah were upgraded to repertory status.

To fill the void, the show hired three new cast members – Chicago improvisers Aidy Bryant, Tim Robinson, and Cecily Strong – as the replacements. 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 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".^[6]

Longtime cast member Bill Hader, on the show since 2005, announced on May 14, 2013 that this season would be his last.^[7] In addition to Hader, this would also be the final season for Fred Armisen, who had been with the show since 2002,^[8] and for Jason Sudeikis, who had been a cast member since 2005, as well as previously writing for the show since 2003.^[9] 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.

Repertory players Fred Armisen Vanessa Bayer Bill Hader Taran Killam Seth Meyers Bobby Moynihan Nasim Pedrad Jay Pharoah Jason Sudeikis Kenan Thompson

Featured players Aidy Bryant Kate McKinnon Tim Robinson Cecily Strong

bold denotes Weekend Update anchor

Writers

Seth Meyers and Colin Jost are the season's co-head writers. Prior to the start of the season, Upright Citizens Brigade Theater performers Josh Patten and Neil Casey joined the writing staff.^{[10] [11]}

Episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Host	Musical guest(s)	Original air date	Ratings/ Share
725	1	Seth MacFarlane	Frank Ocean	September 15, 2012	4.8/12[12]
Frank Ocean performs "Thinkin Bout You" and the second half/single version of "Pyramids". John Mayer plays guitar on both songs. In the opening monologue, MacFarlane utilizes his character voices of Peter, Stewie, and Brian Griffin, and Glenn Quagmire from Family Guy, and Roger Smith from American Dad!. He also did the voices of George Takei, Droopy the Dog, Marty McFly, and Kermit the Frog. Aidy Bryant, Tim Robinson, and Cecily Strong's first episode as cast members.[6] Starting with this episode, Jay Pharoah takes over impersonating President Barack Obama from Fred Armisen.[13] Psy appears in the "Gangnam Style" sketch alongside Bobby Moynihan's impersonation.
726	2	Joseph Gordon-Levitt	Mumford & Sons	September 22, 2012	5.0/12[14]
Mumford & Sons performs "I Will Wait" and "Below My Feet" and appears in the Song Memories sketch in which the band performs "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" as a Beatles tribute band.
727	3	Daniel Craig	Muse	October 6, 2012	4.5/11[15]
Muse performs "Madness" and "Panic Station." Chris Parnell reprises his Jim Lehrer impression in the cold open. Caroll Spinney appears as Big Bird on Weekend Update.
728	4	Christina Applegate	Passion Pit	October 13, 2012	4.6/11[16]
Passion Pit performs "Take a Walk" and "Carried Away." Usain Bolt appears in the cold open and "The Californians" sketch.
729	5	Bruno Mars	Bruno Mars	October 20, 2012	5.4/14[17]
Bruno Mars performs "Locked Out of Heaven" and "Young Girls." Tom Hanks appears in the cold open, introduces Mars' first number and appears in the "Merryville Brothers" sketch.
730	6	Louis C.K.	fun.	November 3, 2012	5.0/12[18]
fun. performs "Some Nights" and "Carry On."
731	7	Anne Hathaway	Rihanna	November 10, 2012	5.0/12[19]
Rihanna performs "Diamonds" and "Stay."
732	8	Jeremy Renner	Maroon 5	November 17, 2012	5.1/12[20]
Maroon 5 performs "One More Night" and "Daylight." Additionally, Adam Levine appears in "The Stand-Off" sketch, which was pre-recorded. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie appears on Weekend Update. This episode contains a cartoon, entitled "Cool Drones", animated by Augenblick Studios.
733	9	Jamie Foxx	Ne-Yo	December 8, 2012	4.6/11[21]
Ne-Yo performs "Let Me Love You (Until You Learn to Love Yourself)" and "She Is." 2 Chainz appears during Foxx's monologue. Dermot Mulroney appears in the "Dylan McDermott or Dermot Mulroney" sketch. Charlie Day appears in the "Maine Justice" sketch.
734	10	Martin Short	Paul McCartney	December 15, 2012	5.1/12[22]
Paul McCartney performs "My Valentine" with Joe Walsh on guitar, "Cut Me Some Slack" with the surviving members of Nirvana (Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, and Pat Smear), and "Wonderful Christmastime." McCartney also appears in the "Pageant Auditions" sketch. Paul Shaffer, Kristen Wiig, Jimmy Fallon, Tom Hanks, Samuel L. Jackson, and Tina Fey appear in the opening monologue. Alec Baldwin appears as Tony Bennett in the "Tony Bennett Show" sketch. Jackson and Carrie Brownstein appear in "What Up with That?", in which Martin Short reprises his Jackie Rogers, Jr. character. At the beginning of the show, in lieu of the traditional opening skit, the New York City Children's Chorus performs a rendition of "Silent Night" in remembrance of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that occurred a day earlier. The choir also joins McCartney on "Wonderful Christmastime."
735	11	Jennifer Lawrence	The Lumineers	January 19, 2013	4.9/12[23]
The Lumineers performs "Ho Hey" and "Stubborn Love."
736	12	Adam Levine	Kendrick Lamar	January 26, 2013	5.0/12[24]
Kendrick Lamar performs "Swimming Pools (Drank)" and "Poetic Justice" and appears in the SNL Digital Short. Andy Samberg, Cameron Diaz, and Jerry Seinfeld appear in the opening monologue. Samberg also appears in the SNL Digital Short. Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone, and Danny McBride appear in the SNL Digital Short. Levine's Maroon 5 bandmate Mickey Madden appears in the "Band Face-Off" sketch.
737	13	Justin Bieber	Justin Bieber	February 9, 2013	4.9/12[25]
Justin Bieber performs the acoustic version of "As Long as You Love Me" and "Nothing Like Us." Whoopi Goldberg appears in the opening monologue and introduces Bieber's first performance.
738	14	Christoph Waltz	Alabama Shakes	February 16, 2013	4.6/12[26]
Alabama Shakes performs "Hold On" and "Always Alright."
739	15	Kevin Hart	Macklemore and Ryan Lewis	March 2, 2013	4.8/12[27]
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis perform "Thrift Shop" with Wanz and "Can't Hold Us" with Ray Dalton. Longtime announcer Don Pardo was unavailable due to a broken hip. Instead, he is impersonated by former cast member Darrell Hammond.
740	16	Justin Timberlake	Justin Timberlake	March 9, 2013	5.9/15[28]
Justin Timberlake performs "Suit & Tie" with Jay-Z and "Mirrors." Paul Simon, Steve Martin, Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, Martin Short, Alec Baldwin, Tom Hanks, Candice Bergen, and future cast member Mike O'Brien appear in the "Five-Timers Club" opening monologue. Aykroyd and Martin reprise the characters "The Festrunk Brothers" in the "It's a Date" sketch. Short, Martin, and Chase also introduce Timberlake's second number as the Three Amigos. Andy Samberg appears in "It's a Date" and "Maine Justice". "It's a Date" was written by Samberg along with former SNL writers Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone of The Lonely Island.[29]
741	17	Melissa McCarthy	Phoenix	April 6, 2013	4.8/12[30]
Phoenix performs "Entertainment" and a medley of "Trying to Be Cool" and "Drakkar Noir." Dennis Rodman appears in the cold opening. Peter Dinklage appears on Weekend Update.
742	18	Vince Vaughn	Miguel	April 13, 2013	4.6/12[31]
Miguel performs "Adorn" and "How Many Drinks?". Steve Jones appears in the "History of Punk" sketch.
743	19	Zach Galifianakis	Of Monsters and Men	May 4, 2013	4.4/11[32]
Of Monsters and Men performs "Little Talks" and "Mountain Sound". Nikolaj Coster-Waldau cameos in the "Game of Game of Thrones" sketch. Galifianakis's co-stars from The Hangover series, Bradley Cooper and Ed Helms, appear in the Jennifer Aniston lookalike sketch. Jon Hamm appears in the pre-recorded edited version of the Darrell's House sketch.
744	20	Kristen Wiig	Vampire Weekend	May 11, 2013	4.6/12[33]
Vampire Weekend performs "Diane Young" and "Unbelievers". Jonah Hill and Maya Rudolph appeared in the opening monologue. Maya Rudolph appeared in "The Californians." Kristen Wiig reprised her roles as Gilly in a pretaped portion of the monologue, Kareena (of The Californians), Kat (of Garth and Kat) on Weekend Update, the Target Lady, and Dooneese, one of the Finger Lakes singers.
745	21	Ben Affleck	Kanye West	May 18, 2013	4.7/12[34]
Kanye West performs "Black Skinhead" and "New Slaves". Affleck's wife, Jennifer Garner, appears in the opening monologue. Amy Poehler returns to Weekend Update for a segment of "Really?!? with Seth & Amy" and resumes her co-anchor duties. Anderson Cooper appears on Weekend Update for a pre-taped sketch involving recurring character Stefon. Aimee Mann, J. Mascis, Kim Gordon, Steve Jones, Michael Penn, and Fred Armisen's Portlandia co-star Carrie Brownstein appear in his goodbye, "It's a Lovely Day", sketch. Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Tim Robinson, and Jason Sudeikis' final episode as cast members.[7][8]

Specials

Title	Original air date	U.S. viewers (millions)
"Saturday Night Live Christmas"	November 28, 2012	7.36[35]
A collection of memorable holiday-themed sketches from past and present eras. Sketches include: "Santa's My Boyfriend", Jimmy Fallon's Christmas song monologue, "Turner Classic Movies presents: This, You Call a Wonderful Life", "The Mark Jensen Family Christmas Special", Garrett Morris' performance of "Winter Wonderland," "Glengarry Glen Santa's Workshop," "Steve Martin's Holiday Wish," Weekend Update: Adam Sandler's ""The Chanukah Song" from the season 20 episode hosted by Roseanne Barr, "Homelessville Mascot vs. Salvation Army Santa," Robert De Niro's monologue from season 30 (featuring an appearance by Kermit the Frog), "TV Funhouse: Christmastime for the Jews," Weekend Update: Stefon's Christmas Clubs from the season 37 episode hosted by Katy Perry, John Malkovich's monologue from season 34, the "Dick in a Box" Digital Short from the season 32 episode hosted by Justin Timberlake, "Consumer Probe," "Michael Buble's Holiday Duets," "The Vogelchecks' Christmas," "Martha Stewart's Topless Holiday Special," "Robert Goulet's Christmas Special," Weekend Update: Drunk Uncle Rambles About the Holidays, "What Up with That?" from the season 35 episode hosted by James Franco, "NPR: Schweddy Balls", "Mary Katherine Gallagher in the School Choir," and "Seasons Greetings From Saturday Night Live" from the season 26 episode hosted by Lucy Liu.

Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday

The third season of Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday, a limited-run series based on Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" sketch, has aired in conjunction with this season. The specials focused on the United States presidential election. The show was hosted by Seth Meyers, Update's then current host.^[1]

Title	Original air date	U.S. viewers (millions)
"Season 3, Episode 1"	September 20, 2012	5.15
"Season 3, Episode 2"	September 27, 2012	4.67

References

1. O'Connell, Michael (July 24, 2012). "TCA 2012: NBC Resurrecting 'Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2012-07-26.
2. Martin, Douglas (July 19, 2012). "Tom Davis, Comedian and 'SNL' Sketch Writer, Dies at 59". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-07-20.
3. "Andy Samberg is Now Officially Leaving Saturday Night Live". Vulture. Retrieved 2012-06-01.
4. "Kristen Wiig gets a rousing sendoff from 'SNL' on its season finale after 7 years in the cast". Associated Press. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
5. "Exclusive: Abby Elliott on Her New Movie, A Role on 'How I Met Your Mother,' and Leaving 'SNL'". Elle. Retrieved 2012-10-12.
6. ""Saturday Night Live" Adds Three to Cast" (Press release). NBC Entertainment. 10 September 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
7. Itzkoff, Dave (May 14, 2013). "Good Night and Good Luck". The New York Times. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
8. "Talking to Fred Armisen About 'SNL', 'Portlandia', And Being Part of A Comedy Collective". Splitsider. June 28, 2013. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
9. Ng, Philiana (July 24, 2013). "Jason Sudeikis Not Returning to SNL". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
10. Frucci, Adam (2012-08-21). "UCB's Josh Patten Hired as a Writer at 'SNL'". Splitsider. Retrieved 2012-11-11.
11. Frucci, Adam (2012-09-06). "UCB's Neil Casey Hired as a Writer at 'SNL'". Splitsider. Retrieved 2012-11-11.
12. Kondolojy, Amanda (September 17, 2012). "'Saturday Night Live' Season Premiere With Seth MacFarlane Delivers Above Average Ratings". TV By The Numbers.
13. Warner, Denise (September 12, 2012). "Lorne Michaels: Jay Pharoah to take over Obama job on 'SNL'". Inside TV. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
14. Bibel, Sara (September 24, 2012). "'Saturday Night Live' With Joseph Gordon-Levitt Delivers Above Average Ratings". TV By The Numbers.
15. Bibel, Sara (October 7, 2012). "'Saturday Night Live' with Daniel Craig Delivers Above Average Ratings". TV By The Numbers.
16. Bibel, Sara (October 14, 2012). "'Saturday Night Live' With Christina Applegate Delivers Average Ratings". TV By The Numbers.
17. Bibel, Sara (October 21, 2012). "'Saturday Night Live' With Bruno Mars Delivers Above Average Ratings". TV By The Numbers.
18. Bibel, Sara (November 4, 2012). "'Saturday Night Live' With Louis CK and Musical Guest fun Delivers Above Average Ratings". TV By The Numbers.
19. Kondolojy, Amanda (November 11, 2012). "'Saturday Night Live' With Anne Hathaway and Musical Guest Rihanna Falls From Previous Week". TV By The Numbers.
20. Bibel, Sara (November 18, 2012). "'Saturday Night Live' With Jeremy Renner and Musical Guest Maroon 5 Up From Last Week". TV By The Numbers.
21. Bibel, Sara (December 10, 2012). "'Saturday Night Live' With Jamie Foxx and Ne-Yo Delivers Average Ratings". TV By The Numbers.
22. Bibel, Sara (December 16, 2012). "'Saturday Night Live' With Martin Short and Paul McCartney Delivers Above Average Ratings". TV By The Numbers.
23. Kondolojy, Amanda (January 20, 2013). "'Saturday Night Live' Matches Its Highest Local People Meter Score Since November 3". TV By The Numbers.
24. Bibel, Sara (January 27, 2013). "'Saturday Night Live' With Adam Levine and Kendrick Lamar Delivers Above Average Ratings". TV By The Numbers.
25. Bibel, Sara (February 10, 2013). "'Saturday Night Live' With Justin Bieber Delivers Average Ratings". TV By The Numbers. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
26. Kondolojy, Amanda (February 17, 2013). "'Saturday Night Live' With Christoph Waltz and Alabama Shakes Down From Last Week". TV By The Numbers. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
27. Kondolojy, Amanda (March 3, 2013). "'Saturday Night Live' With Kevin Hart and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Up From Last New Episode". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved March 3, 2013.
28. Bibel, Sara (March 10, 2013). "'Saturday Night Live' With Justin Timberlake is Top Episode Among Adults 18-49 Since January, 2012". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
29. The Lonely Island (March 10, 2013). "The Dudes made a sketch for SNL". Twitter.
30. Bibel, Sara (April 7, 2013). "'Saturday Night Live' With Melisssa McCarthy and Phoenix Delivers Average Ratings". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
31. Kondolojy, Amanda (April 14, 2013). "'Saturday Night Live' With Vince Vaughn and Miguel Delivers SNL's Second Highest Rating in Five Months". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
32. Kondolojy, Amanda (May 5, 2013). "'Saturday Night Live' With Zach Galifianakis and Of Monsters and Men Down From Last Original". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
33. Kondolojy, Amanda (May 12, 2013). "'Saturday Night Live' With Kristen Wiig and Vampire Weekend Up From Last Week". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
34. Kondolojy, Amanda (May 19, 2013). "'Saturday Night Live' With Ben Affleck and Kanye West Even With Last Week". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
35. Bibel, Sara (November 29, 2012). "Wednesday Final Ratings: 'Arrow' and 'The X Factor' Adjusted Up; 'Supernatural' and 'Suburgatory' Adjusted Down". Zap2it. Retrieved December 7, 2013.