Saturday Night Live (SNL) is the longest-running sketch comedy show in the country. But is it actually comedic? It seems that in recent years, the NBC late night program has been on the decline, with lower quality writing and plummeting ratings. The show has gone through rough patches in its 47 years on the air, but it seems as though they have been suffering for much longer than usual. To make matters worse, stars like Kate Mckinnon, Pete Davidson and Aidy Bryant are not returning for the upcoming season 48. They arguably carried the show with their hilarious impersonations and impeccable comedic timing, and their absence will no doubt be felt when the show returns this Saturday, October 1st at 11:30 pm. Other favorites not returning are Alex Moffat, Kyle Mooney and Melissa Villaseñor.
I am sure I am not alone in saying that the sketches from the eras of Tina Fey, Horatio Sanz, Rachel Dratch, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph and Bill Hader have a far higher success rate compared to the ones featured today. Or do they? Former Vine star and current Youtuber Drew Gooden had a similar query and decided to test his hypothesis. Gooden watched one episode from each season of the sketch comedy show, and recorded how many times he laughed or found the sketch funny. His result? SNL is just as funny now as it was back in the day. So why does it seem as if the opposite is true?
Gooden, who posted his results in a Youtube video last year, believes it is due to the prevalence of social media. He claims that if a bit was so horribly cringey in, say, season 13, everybody could forget about it by the next morning. But in more recent seasons, Instagram reels and Youtube videos have made it nearly impossible to forget about the awful bits that the program aired.
So whether or not you find Saturday Night Live comedic or not, one thing is for certain: the show is not any less funny now than it used to be. It is simply the accessibility of the terrible sketches that make it seem as though the show has grown into an unfunny, tired program. The season premier is set to air live from New York City this Saturday, October 1st, at 11:30 pm EST.