Season 50 (2024-25): Is Saturday Night Live Funny Again?

About this episode

The episode discusses the 50th season of Saturday Night Live, highlighting cast changes and the reliance on recycled material.

They say it couldn’t be done. (And maybe some say it shouldn’t be done.) But we got to the 50th season. Season 50 debuted with high expectations, given the historic anniversary. While some hoped for each episode to be hosted by past cast members and filled with nostalgic callbacks, the reality was more conventional. Although it featured a star-studded anniversary special and brought back several past SNL icons—including Dana Carvey, Mike Myers, Alec Baldwin, and David Spade—the season overall did not radically deviate from SNL’s recent trajectory. Three new cast members joined—Ashley Padilla, Emil Wakim, and Jane Wickline—while Punkie Johnson, Chloe Troast, and Molly Kearney departed. Ashley Padilla, in particular, was praised for her impressive rookie performance and potential to take on a larger role if veterans like Chloe Fineman or Heidi Gardner leave. A prominent feature of the season was its reliance on recycling. Sketch concepts, characters, and even formats were reused or reinterpreted. For example, a successful sketch from Season 49 featuring Nate Bargatze as George Washington was revived, albeit with diminished surprise. Similarly, a sketch mimicking the old Chris…

People in this episode

Guests: Ashley Padilla, Emil Wakim, Jane Wickline

Topics covered

• SNL 50th season
• comedy sketches
• nostalgia
• cast changes
• political satire

Keywords

• SNL
• 50th season
• comedy
• cast members
• political sketches

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Saturday Night Live

More episodes of Wasn't That Special: 50 Years of SNL Podcast

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• Live From London, It's SNL UK · March 23, 2026 · 1h 0m
• The 20 Greatest Saturday Night Live Sketches of All Time · October 20, 2025 · 1h 53m
• The SNL Cast Sees Big Changes, and Season 51 Debuts · October 7, 2025 · 48 min
• The Best (And a Few of the Worst) SNL Episodes of All Time · September 22, 2025 · 1h 50m