Happy birthday to Seth Meyers who turns 37 today! Have a good 'un, sir!

It has been announced that SNL featured player Jay Pharoah will appear on NBC's New Year's Eve with Carson Daly. Pharoah, along with Bono & The Edge, Jimmy Fallon, Brian Williams, Antoine Dodson and Greyson Chance, will stop by the NYE special for an interview. Last year's special attracted 9.3 million viewers, so it is quite the platform for Pharoah!
NBC's New Year's Eve with Carson Daly airs December 31, beginning in primetime at 10.00 -11.00PM ET and continuing from 11.30PM to 12.30PM ET.

A Very Special Christmas Message

Wishing all my readers a very merry Christmas! 
2010 has been a great year for my blog - |I had the opportunity to interview the likes of Bobby Moynihan, Alex Baze and Michael Patrick O'Brien, my traffic increased significantly and I've gained a loyal following. 
Thank you for all your continued support and look out in 2011 for lots of great stuff.
Have a good one!

Amy xo

 A Somewhat Obsessive Guide to All 36 Seasons of SNL Streaming on Netflix | Splitsider

So, hundreds of SNL episodes are finally available to stream and watch on Netflix. To celebrate this, comedy site Splitsider has compiled a comprehensive list of historic/memorable episodes to watch. Now, not all SNL episodes are available on SNL - seasons 26-30 are still unavailable - but there's still tons of material to wade your way through and this guide is super helpful. Check it out here.

SNL - Midseason Review (Season 36 Episodes 1-10)

So, now that 2010 is drawing to a close and SNL has offered us ten episodes of season thirty-six, I think it’s high time that I complile my top ten favourite sketches of the season. Without further ado, here are my top ten sketches of season thirty-six thus far.

1. Les Jeunes de Paris - If forced to pick my favourite sketch of the season thus far, this would probably be it. Not to get too pretentious about things, but I just felt like this was comedy in its purest form - all physical and visual. Just an incredibly well-executed and joyful sketch, featuring a nice interplay between host Emma Stone and featured player Taran Killam. 
2. “Sex Ed” Vincent - This was a taped infomercial which featured Paul Brittain front and center playing his character Sex Ed Vincent, an amateur sex educator. Long a stalwart of the Chicago improv scene, Sex Ed Vincent’s debut on SNL was hilarious and really solidifed Paul Brittain’s status as a “one to watch”. 
3. Back To The Future Screen Tests - I mean, this was absurdly good and showcased so many of the cast’s impressions, including Bill Hader’s dead-on impression of Alan Alda, Taran Killam’s impression of Pee-Wee Herman, Jay Pharoah’s impression of Eddie Murphy - the list goes on. Everyone was on their game here and it was tremendous and fun to watch.
4. Stars of Tomorrow - A hilarious send-up of child actors starring Vanessa Bayer and Scarlett Johansson front and center. When will an eleven year old girl performing Bubba’s monologue from Forrest Gump not be funny? Never, that’s when. And this sketch was never not funny.
5. Wikileaks - TMZ - Firstly, I’ll go on the record to say that I think Hader as Assange is absolute gold. I loved this sketch and I think it’s easily the best cold open of the season, in that it kind of killed two birds with one stone - satirising Julian Assange and Harvey Levin’s TMZ operation. Everything was so on point - from the schlubby guys in the TMZ newsroom to the paparazzi voiceovers in the clips to Hader as Assange. Just brilliant.
6. Visiting The Queen - This is the sketch which featured Anne Hathaway as the soon-to-be princess Kate Middleton visiting Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip who, behind closed doors, are a couple of old geezers. I’m sure this has been done before and possibly done better, but in light of the royal engagement, I thought this was very simple and well-executed. Fred Armisen just slayed me as “Debra” as did Hader as Prince Philip who, at one point, calls in a servant just to tell him to “piss off”. Who are these people? Characters from Sexy Beast? Loved it.
7. Mega-Mart - Infomercial for a super sale, “12 Minute Madness” on Black Friday. Kind of in the same vein as Kickspit Underground Rock Festival and just as hilarious. That Kirk Douglas would be hidden somewhere in a store, for customers to find him, touch him and win an iPad will never not be funny to me. Also - “DJ Thunderthrust”.
8. The Ladies Who Lunch - This was such a wonderful lady-centric sketch from the season premiere with Amy Poehler which featured Kristen Wiig as a lady whose hats are consistently upstaged by her friend’s even tinier hats. It was so absurd and ridiculous and a reminder that the ladies should all collaborate on sketches more often.
9. Stumblin’ - A musical reworking of 9 To 5 with Andy Samberg and Paul Rudd flailing and stumbling all around New York City with a cameo from Paul McCartney performing a tiny harmonica solo. I don’t think I need to explain why I loved this so.
   
10. The Bjelland Brothers - I could see that some people might have really disliked this sketch or found the refrain, “I sent a bottle of sparkling apple juice to your house/Did you get it?” to be annoying or irritating. Me? I found it to be wonderfully silly and charming.

OTHER NOTABLE MENTIONS -

• Every appearance by Stefon on Weekend Update has been superb. “Eleven Little Richards.” Okay.
• Watching Jay Pharoah’s appearances in sketches and on Weekend Update has been like watching the birth of a comedy star. His Thanksgiving Rap Medley where he debuted his impressions of Drake, Jay-Z and Notorious B.I.G was the tops. Pharoah has surpassed Hader as the best impressionist on the show - no easy feat and one that ought to be acknowledged and lauded.
• The Miley Cyrus Show is probably my favourite new recurring sketch.

Check Out First Still from Portlandia

Check out this still from the debut episode of Portlandia. Entitled "Farm" the episode will feature Portlandia stars Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein as well as guest star Jason Sudeikis.

Promos for Portlandia (VIDEO)

Fred Armisen's new IFC series, Portlandia, will debut January 21 at 10.30/9.30c and IFC has posted a promo video as well as a clip from the show entitled "Dream of the 90s" - which is kind of an absurdly catchy song. Both videos are embedded after the jump.

Portlandia is Armisen's collaboration with Carrie Brownstein and is a sketch comedy series based in the hipster haven of Portland. 

Jeff Bridges/Eminem & Lil Wayne - Thoughts

Post your thoughts on tonight's edition of SNL after it airs! How did The Dude fare sketch-wise? What about Eminem/Lil Wayne? Any surprises for the Christmas show? Favourite sketch? MVP of the show?

Comment, comment, comment.

Seth Meyers to join cast of "I Don't Know How She Does It"

Seth Meyers to join cast of "I Don't Know How She Does It"

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that SNL star Seth Meyers is to join the cast of the upcoming film adaptation of the bestseller "I Don't Know How She Does It". The film, which will star Sarah Jessica Parker in the lead, is a comic tale of a high-powered finance type struggling to balance each aspect of her life - personal, professional etc. Also set to star are Mad Men star Christina Hendricks, Olivia Munn, Pierce Brosnan and Kelsey Grammar. No word yet on what Meyers' part entails.

Both Vanessa Bayer and Jay Pharoah were cited as being among the best performers of 2010 by The New Yorker. From The New Yorker -

"Vanessa Bayer and Jay Pharaoh on “Saturday Night Live.” They are the two newest cast members to the venerable show, and the most interesting they’ve had in a while. Bayer’s take on a sickly sweet and craven child actor, not to mention her Miley Cyrus, are quickly becoming must-sees for anyone interested in brazen cluelessness, while Pharaoh, if given the right material—a bit of color-blind comedy, say, instead of blacking it up for the show’s writers, who have always dealt with race in a more or less stereotypical way—could evolve into an artist."

Illustration - Puny

Trailer - Paul (2011)

Embedded below is the first full-length trailer to the upcoming sci-fi comedy Paul which stars, among others, Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader. Enjoy!

SNL Backstage - Jeff Bridges Shaves His Beard (VIDEO)

Jim Carrey to host SNL

NBC announced today that Jim Carrey will be 2011's first host of SNL with musical guest The Black Keys. Carrey, who is currently filming Mr. Popper's Penguins, will tread the boards of Studio 8H on January 8.

Snooki Meets Snooki

Snooki, meet Snooki.

Star of Jersey Shore, Snooki, met her SNL counterpart on Tuesday while shooting scenes for MTV New Year's Bash in New York.

There are no words. This is too perfect.

Jeff Bridges/Lil Wayne & Eminem Promo #1