Saturday_Night_Live_(season_26)
Saturday Night Live season 26
Season of television series
The twenty-sixth season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between October 7, 2000, and May 19, 2001.
Quick Facts Saturday Night Live, No. of episodes ...
| Saturday Night Live | |
|---|---|
| Season 26 | |
| No. of episodes | 20 |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | October 7, 2000 (2000-10-07) – May 19, 2001 (2001-05-19) |
| Season chronology | |
| List of episodes | |
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This season featured satire of the 2000 U.S. presidential election, including the Republican and Democratic primaries, the campaigns of Vice President Gore, Texas Governor George W. Bush, and Ralph Nader, the Florida election recount, and the Bush v. Gore case that came before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Before the start of the season, longtime cast members Tim Meadows,[1] Cheri Oteri,[2] and Colin Quinn[3] all left the show. Meadows had been on the show for 10 seasons since 1990, while Oteri and Quinn had both been on for five seasons since 1995. The show added two new featured players: SNL head writer Tina Fey and Second City comedian Jerry Minor.[4] Fey had been a writer on the show since 1997 and began as the show's head writer in 1999. Rachel Dratch and Maya Rudolph remained featured players. Minor was let go following this season.
This would be Molly Shannon's final season on the show.[5] Leaving mid-season, she surpassed Victoria Jackson as the show's longest-serving female cast member (Amy Poehler would surpass Shannon's record seven years later).
Chris Parnell was fired at the end of this season, but then rehired midway through the next season. Executive producer Lorne Michaels would later admit he made a mistake in firing Parnell.[6]
With Colin Quinn's anchor seat on "Weekend Update" empty, Lorne Michaels decided to go back to the format used in the late 1970s with two anchors. Jimmy Fallon and head writer Tina Fey were picked to anchor the segment together.[7]
This season also marked the first time since Season 14 that John Goodman didn't host at all. He had previously hosted at least one episode per season for a ten-year stretch.
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Repertory players
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Featured players
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bold denotes "Weekend Update" anchor
Main article: List of Saturday Night Live writers § season 26
Jim Downey rejoins the writing staff this season. James Anderson, who went on to write for SNL for decades, joins the writing staff as a new writer.
Main article: List of Saturday Night Live episodes
More information No. overall, No. in season ...
| No. overall | No. in season | Host | Musical guest(s) | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 486 | 1 | Rob Lowe | Eminem | October 7, 2000 (2000-10-07) | |
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| 487 | 2 | Kate Hudson | Radiohead | October 14, 2000 (2000-10-14) | |
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| 488 | 3 | Dana Carvey | The Wallflowers | October 21, 2000 (2000-10-21) | |
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| 489 | 4 | Charlize Theron | Paul Simon | November 4, 2000 (2000-11-04) | |
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| 490 | 5 | Calista Flockhart | Ricky Martin | November 11, 2000 (2000-11-11) | |
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| 491 | 6 | Tom Green | David Gray | November 18, 2000 (2000-11-18) | |
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| 492 | 7 | Val Kilmer | U2 | December 9, 2000 (2000-12-09) | |
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| 493 | 8 | Lucy Liu | Jay-Z | December 16, 2000 (2000-12-16) | |
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| 494 | 9 | Charlie Sheen | Nelly Furtado | January 13, 2001 (2001-01-13) | |
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| 495 | 10 | Mena Suvari | Lenny Kravitz | January 20, 2001 (2001-01-20) | |
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| 496 | 11 | Jennifer Lopez | Jennifer Lopez | February 10, 2001 (2001-02-10) | |
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| 497 | 12 | Sean Hayes | Shaggy | February 17, 2001 (2001-02-17) | |
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| 498 | 13 | Katie Holmes | Dave Matthews Band | February 24, 2001 (2001-02-24) | |
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| 499 | 14 | Conan O'Brien | Don Henley | March 10, 2001 (2001-03-10) | |
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| 500 | 15 | Julia Stiles | Aerosmith | March 17, 2001 (2001-03-17) | |
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| 501 | 16 | Alec Baldwin | Coldplay | April 7, 2001 (2001-04-07) | |
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| 502 | 17 | Renée Zellweger | Eve | April 14, 2001 (2001-04-14) | |
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| 503 | 18 | Pierce Brosnan | Destiny's Child | May 5, 2001 (2001-05-05) | |
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| 504 | 19 | Lara Flynn Boyle | Bon Jovi | May 12, 2001 (2001-05-12) | |
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| 505 | 20 | Christopher Walken | Weezer | May 19, 2001 (2001-05-19) | |
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More information Title, Original air date ...
| Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|
| "2000 Presidential Bash" | November 3, 2000 (2000-11-03) | |
| The special included election material from this year and years past. Rachel Dratch, Will Ferrell and Darrell Hammond hosted the special while doing a number of different impressions. This special also featured cameo appearances from George W. Bush, Al Gore, Jesse Ventura, George H. W. Bush, Barbara Bush and Dana Carvey. | ||
| "Thursday Night Live (1)" | February 1, 2001 (2001-02-01) | |
| "The Culps' Mandatory Drug Awareness Assembly" sketch from this episode was included in the prime-time special "SNL Mother's Day Special 2001" as well as the clip show "The Best of Will Ferrell". | ||
| "Thursday Night Live (2)" | February 8, 2001 (2001-02-08) | |
| "The Best of Molly Shannon" | March 20, 2001 (2001-03-20) | |
| The special included material featuring Molly Shannon during her stint on the show. Sketches include "Mary Katherine Gallagher," "Leg Up," "The Courtney Love Show," "Pretty Living," "Delicious Dish," "Rockettes Auditions," "Monica Lewinsky in Congress," "Fanatic" (film), "Blind Date At The Airport," "Veronica and Co.," "Dame Elizabeth Taylor," and "Jeannie Darcy". | ||
| "Mother's Day Special 2001" | May 13, 2001 (2001-05-13) | |
| The first SNL Mother's Day special since 1993, the episode featured the cast and their mothers talking about their favorite sketches aired on the show. Sketches included "Behind the Music: Rock & Roll Heaven", "TRL: Gemini's Twin", "Mango vs. J.Lo", "The Weakest Link" and more. This special contained a special tribute to singer-songwriter Minnie Riperton, who was the mother of cast member Maya Rudolph. | ||
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Main article: The Ladies Man (2000 film)
Based on Leon Phelps' popular sketches, The Ladies Man film was released on October 13, 2000. The film's star Tim Meadows left Saturday Night Live at the end of the previous season but returned to promote the film in the first episode of this season. Cast members Will Ferrell and Chris Parnell and former SNL cast member Mark McKinney co-starred in this film. The movie was panned by critics and flopped at the box office.
- "Meadows leaves the "SNL' nest". Tampa Bay Times. October 19, 2000. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
- "Whatever happened to Cheri Oteri from…". Chicago Tribune. April 14, 2002. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
- "Colin Quinn has to prove himself fast with series". New York Daily News. March 8, 2002. p. C5. Retrieved April 23, 2024 – via Reading Eagle.
- Wright, Megh (September 25, 2012). "Saturday Night's Children: Jerry Minor (2000-2001)". Vulture. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
- "Shannon to Exit 'SNL'". People. Archived from the original on March 2, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
- Izadi, Elahe (August 9, 2016). "The weird ways people have been fired from 'Saturday Night Live'". Washington Post. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
- Gray, Ellen (December 30, 2000). "Head writer: Timing helped her land job". The Vindicator. Knight Ridder Newspapers. p. B13. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
- Wilstein, Matt (October 2, 2019). "Tom Green Has One Big Regret About Drew Barrymore and 'Saturday Night Live'". The Daily Beast. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
- Carter, Bill (February 13, 2001). "XFL Game Intrusion on 'Saturday Night Live' Roils NBC Executives". The New York Times. Retrieved February 3, 2017.