Cheat Sheet: Get to Know the 5 New Faces of 'SNL'
This story first appeared in the Sept. 20 issue ofThe Hollywood Reporter magazine.
Live from New York: It's an all-new Saturday Night! With the departures of Bill Hader, Fred Armisenand Jason Sudeikis -- plus Seth Meyers' planned midseason exit to take over for Jimmy Fallon as host of NBC's Late Night -- SNL creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels has undertaken one of the most ambitious overhauls in the NBC sketch show's 38-year history.
"This was the most public search for talent that I've seen," says one comedy veteran of the hunt, which reached far beyond the Los Angeles-Chicago-New York circuit to such alt-comedy hotbeds as Portland, Ore., and Boston. Adds the insider, "Everyone was talking about it, and everyone was aware of it." The result: Five new faces will join SNL's cast this year, the most for a single season since 1995, when Will Ferrell made his debut.
