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Season of television series
Saturday Night Live
Season 35
The title card for the thirty-fifth season of Saturday Night Live.
No. of episodes22
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseSeptember 26, 2009 (2009-09-26) –
May 15, 2010 (2010-05-15)
Season chronology
← Previous
season 34 Next →
season 36
List of episodes

The thirty-fifth season of Saturday Night Live (also branded SNL 35), an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between September 26, 2009, and May 15, 2010.

A total of 22 episodes were broadcast during the show's eight-month-long season, which included a two-week break in February due to the 2010 Winter Olympics. The season was accompanied by three prime-time episodes of Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday and three prime-time SNL clip shows.

This season introduced a new opening montage, which was shot using the Canon EOS 5D Mark II and Canon EOS 7D digital SLR cameras. Typical elements are recorded at thirty frames per second (fps), with slow-motion sequences shot at sixty fps, both in full 1080p high definition.

A notable moment of the season was when an internet campaign was created to get actress Betty White to host an episode of the show. The campaign was started in early 2010 on Facebook and the group was called "Betty White to Host SNL (please?)!" The campaign was successful, and White became the oldest person ever to host the show. For White's episode, Lorne Michaels brought back former cast members Rachel Dratch, Tina Fey, Ana Gasteyer, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph and Molly Shannon. The episode garnered the show's highest ratings in over a year. with a rating of 5.8 in the 18–49 rating, demographic and with 12.1 million viewers overall.

Cast

Prior to the start of the season, Darrell Hammond, who was the last cast member from the 1990s, left the show. At the time, Hammond became the longest-running cast member with a total of 14 seasons, though he would later be surpassed by Kenan Thompson in 2017. Following Hammond's departure, featured players Michaela Watkins and Casey Wilson were both let go from the show after the finale of the previous season. Wilson had been on the show for two seasons, while Watkins had been on for only one. To account for the absences of Watkins and Wilson, the show brought in two new female featured players as replacements, comedian and writer Nasim Pedrad of The Groundlings and stand-up comic Jenny Slate. Abby Elliott and Bobby Moynihan remained as featured players.

This would be the final season for longtime cast member Will Forte, who had been on the show for 8 seasons since 2002. This would also be the only season for Slate, who was let go at the end of the season.

Cast roster

Repertory players

Featured players

bold denotes Weekend Update anchor

Writers

Main article: List of Saturday Night Live writers § season 35

Second City theater performer Mike O'Brien joins the writing staff. He would join the cast for the show's thirty-ninth season.

Additionally, starting with this season, writers Colin Jost (who has been writing for the show since 2005), Emily Spivey (who had been writing for the show since 2001), and John Mulaney (who was hired at the start of the previous season in 2008), were named as this season's writing supervisors, replacing Paula Pell (who took a brief leave of absence).

Starting with the Tina-Fey hosted episode, Pell (who had been a writer on the show since 1995, and was gone for most of the season) returns to the writing staff. This episode would also be the last for longtime writer Spivey, as she left the show following this episode, after nine years as a writer.

Also, starting with the following Ryan Phillipe-hosted episode, Bryan Tucker (a writer for the show since 2005) is named as the new co-writer supervisor, alongside Jost and Mulaney.

Season 35 would also prove to be the final season for fellow longtime writer/Lonely Island member Jorma Taccone (who had been a writer since 2005), as he left the show after five years. He would make contributions to select Lonely Island sketches.

This was also the final season for another longtime writer, John Lutz (who had been with writing staff since 2004), as he left the show after 6½ years.

Episodes

Main article: List of Saturday Night Live episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		HostMusical guestOriginal air dateRatings/
Share
6591Megan FoxU2September 26, 2009 (2009-09-26)4.6/11

  • U2 performs "Breathe", "Moment of Surrender" and "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)".
  • A new opening sequence, which mentions SNL's 35 years on-air, debuts with this episode.
  • During the "Biker Chick Chat" sketch, Slate accidentally says, "You stood up for yourself, and I fuckin' love you for that." Most of the sketch before and after consisted of everyone saying "Friggin'," "frickin'" or "freakin'". Slate quickly holds her breath after realizing her mistake.
  • Brian Austin Green cameoed in the Transformers Digital Short.
  • Nasim Pedrad and Jenny Slate's first episode as cast members.
6602Ryan ReynoldsLady GagaOctober 3, 2009 (2009-10-03)4.7/12

6613Drew BarrymoreRegina SpektorOctober 10, 2009 (2009-10-10)4.6/11

6624Gerard ButlerShakiraOctober 17, 2009 (2009-10-17)4.8/11

6635Taylor SwiftTaylor SwiftNovember 7, 2009 (2009-11-07)5.0/12

  • Taylor Swift performs "You Belong with Me" and "Untouchable."
  • Amy Poehler returned to do another "Really?! with Seth and Amy" during Weekend Update. Poehler also introduced Swift's second performance.
  • Kenan Thompson introduces Swift's first musical performance.
6646January JonesBlack Eyed PeasNovember 14, 2009 (2009-11-14)4.7/12

6657Joseph Gordon-LevittDave Matthews BandNovember 21, 2009 (2009-11-21)4.3/11

6668Blake LivelyRihannaDecember 5, 2009 (2009-12-05)4.4/12

  • Rihanna performs "Russian Roulette" and "Hard" and appears in the SNL Digital Short.
  • Young Jeezy performs with Rihanna for her second song.
  • On this episode's installment of Weekend Update, Abby Elliott appears as actress-singer Brittany Murphy, following a report about Murphy's alleged firing from a recent film. This portion of Update was cut from reruns in light of Murphy's death later that month.
  • The episode contains a notorious sketch that makes fun of domestic abuse.
6679Taylor LautnerBon JoviDecember 12, 2009 (2009-12-12)5.1/12

66810James FrancoMuseDecember 19, 2009 (2009-12-19)4.4/11

66911Charles BarkleyAlicia KeysJanuary 9, 2010 (2010-01-09)4.4/19

67012Sigourney WeaverThe Ting TingsJanuary 16, 2010 (2010-01-16)5.4/14

67113Jon HammMichael BubléJanuary 30, 2010 (2010-01-30)5.0/12

67214Ashton KutcherThem Crooked VulturesFebruary 6, 2010 (2010-02-06)5.3/13

67315Jennifer LopezJennifer LopezFebruary 27, 2010 (2010-02-27)6.3/15

  • Jennifer Lopez performs "Until It Beats No More" and "Starting Over".
  • Kristen Wiig introduces Lopez's first musical performance.
  • Kenan Thompson introduces Lopez's second musical performance.
67416Zach GalifianakisVampire WeekendMarch 6, 2010 (2010-03-06)5.0/12

67517Jude LawPearl JamMarch 13, 2010 (2010-03-13)4.5/11

67618Tina FeyJustin BieberApril 10, 2010 (2010-04-10)5.7/14

67719Ryan PhillippeKe$haApril 17, 2010 (2010-04-17)5.2/13

67820Gabourey SidibeMGMTApril 24, 2010 (2010-04-24)4.7/12

67921Betty WhiteJay-ZMay 8, 2010 (2010-05-08)8.8/21

  • In early 2010, an online campaign was created on Facebook to get White to host an episode of the show. The group was called Betty White to Host SNL (please?)! The movement was sparked by White's appearance in a Snickers commercial aired during Super Bowl XLIV. Because of this, White is the first person to ever host based on an internet movement created by fans. The commercial itself aired during one of the commercial breaks.
  • With this episode, White, at age 88, is the oldest person ever to host the show, surpassing Miskel Spillman, the winner of SNL's "Anyone Can Host" contest in 1977.
  • For the first set, Jay-Z performs a medley of "Public Service Announcement", "On to the Next One", "99 Problems", "'03 Bonnie & Clyde", and "Empire State of Mind," featuring back-up singer Bridget Kelly. During "99 Problems", Jay-Z's band samples "Points of Authority" by Linkin Park. For the second set, Jay-Z performs "Young Forever" with Mr Hudson, which he dedicated to White.
  • Former SNL cast members Rachel Dratch, Tina Fey, Ana Gasteyer, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph and Molly Shannon appear throughout the show. Gasteyer and Shannon reprised their characters from The Delicious Dish sketches. Shannon also reprised her character Sally O'Malley during Weekend Update. Rudolph reprised her impression of Whitney Houston during Weekend Update. Fey and Poehler returned to Update as well, to participate in Really!?!.
  • This episode was nominated for seven 2010 Emmy Awards.
  • White won an Emmy for Guest Actress in a Comedy for hosting.
  • This episode was re-aired on January 1, 2022 as a tribute to White, as she had died the previous day on December 31, 2021.
  • TV Ratings: 14.952 million viewers
68022Alec BaldwinTom Petty and the HeartbreakersMay 15, 2010 (2010-05-15)5.8/14

  • Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performs "I Should Have Known It" and "Jefferson Jericho Blues", two songs from their 2010 album Mojo. Petty appears in the SNL Digital Short.
  • Steve Martin made a filmed cameo appearance in the opening monologue.
  • Will Forte and Jenny Slate's final episode as cast members.

Specials

TitleOriginal air date
"Saturday Night Live Presents: A Very Gilly Christmas"December 17, 2009 (2009-12-17)

Holiday-themed sketches from past episodes are aired, including Adam Sandler's "The Hanukkah Song", Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg's "Dick In A Box" Digital Short, Delicious Dish and many more.

Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin make guest appearances.

Kristen Wiig hosts as her character Gilly, with Will Forte, Kenan Thompson, Bobby Moynihan and Abby Elliott reprising their roles as the sketch's supporting characters.
"Saturday Night Live Presents: Sports All-Stars"January 31, 2010 (2010-01-31)

Will Forte and Jason Sudeikis host the show as Pete Twinkle and Greg Stink, their recurring ESPN Classic sports announcer characters.

Sketches featuring appearances by professional athletes including: Peyton Manning, Derek Jeter, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, Charles Barkley and others are shown (most of which previously appeared in last year's SNL clip show special about sports-related sketches).
"Saturday Night Live in the 2000s: Time and Again"April 15, 2010 (2010-04-15)

The special featured insight on the show during the 2000s: topics discussed include Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey as the new Weekend Update anchors after the departure of Colin Quinn, how SNL became popular for its spoofs on the 2000 United States presidential election, how the show's humor survived the 9/11 attacks and the anthrax scare, Will Ferrell's departure at the end of season 27 and the search for a replacement cast member to play George W. Bush, SNL's shaky years between seasons 28 and 30 due to Jimmy Fallon's and Horatio Sanz's cracking up on camera, Jimmy Fallon's departure from the show, Amy Poehler teaming up with Tina Fey for Weekend Update, the hiring of Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, and Kristen Wiig, and SNL regaining its popularity with the Digital Shorts, its return from the WGA strike of 2007–2008, the introduction of new fan-favorite hosts like Justin Timberlake and Jon Hamm, and the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election.

Fred Armisen, Alec Baldwin, Rachel Dratch, Abby Elliott, Jimmy Fallon, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Will Forte, Bill Hader, Darrell Hammond, Chris Kattan, Marci Klein, John McCain, Seth Meyers, Lorne Michaels, Tracy Morgan, Bobby Moynihan, Chris Parnell, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Andy Samberg, Horatio Sanz, Akiva Schaffer, Molly Shannon, Michael Shoemaker, Jason Sudeikis, Jorma Taccone, Kenan Thompson, Justin Timberlake, Christopher Walken and Kristen Wiig gave insight in the special.

Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday

Main article: Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday

The second season of Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday, a limited-run series based on Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" sketch, aired in conjunction with this season. The show is hosted by Seth Meyers, Update's current host, and former Update co-host Amy Poehler. Like the sketch, the show is a parody of local news broadcasts and satirizes contemporary news stories and figures. As of June 2010, three episodes have aired. An additional three episodes were scheduled to air in spring 2010, but were scrapped.

Episode number Original airdate Notes
Episode 1 September 17, 2009
Episode 2 September 24, 2009
Episode 3 October 1, 2009

MacGruber film

The first SNL film since 2000's The Ladies Man, MacGruber was released on May 21, 2010. The film, starring SNL cast members Will Forte and Kristen Wiig and former cast member Maya Rudolph, is based on the "MacGruber" sketches from the show. It received mixed reviews from critics and, in spite of a wide initial release, was a box office bomb. After a two-week opening commitment during which it was shown in 2,546 theaters, it was dropped from all but 177 theaters starting in its third week.

References

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