Wasn't That Special: 50 Years of SNL Podcast

Feb 28 2025 51 ep. 44 mins 39
Wasn't That Special: 50 Years of SNL Podcast artwork

A podcast covering 50 years of Saturday Night Live. With hosts Christian Schneider and Scot Bertram.

www.wasntthatspecial.com

  Comedy  Arts
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Free Episode: Andy Hoglund Talks SNL's Legacy, What's Next For the Show

Feb 28 2025 59 mins  
On this free episode, we talked with Entertainment Weekly writer Andy Hoglund about his recent Vulture article in which he interviewed 65 former Saturday Night Live cast members and writers in advance of the 50th Anniversary show. Hoglund also discusses how he got into SNL and tells some stories about he collected signatures for his SNL autograph book.You can find Hoglund’s SNL e

Season 42 (2016-17): Politics Shocks the Show Back to Life, Bayer and Moynihan Say Goodbye

Feb 24 2025 25 mins  
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wasntthatspecial.comWe have said it in prior seasons - sometimes, huge political and cultural shifts push Saturday Night Live to rise to the occasion. It happened with the Monica Lewinsky scandal in the late 1990s. It happened when Sarah Palin joined the Republican presidential ticket in 2008.And it happened again in

'Wasn't That Special' Joins WTMJ Radio to recap the SNL 50th Anniversary Special

Feb 18 2025 12 mins  
On Monday night, Wasn’t That Special co-host Scot Bertram joined WTMJ Radio host Sandy Maxx to recap the big SNL 50th Anniversary Special on NBC. Did it live up to expectations? What moments stood out? Who was missing?You can find the appearance on the WTMJ page here or listen above. Christian and Scot shared some thoughts in the chat the night of the broadcast on NBC and also pl

'Wasn't That Special' Joins WTMJ Radio to preview the big SNL 50th Anniversary Special

Feb 15 2025 19 mins  
On Friday night, Wasn’t That Special co-host Scot Bertram joined WTMJ Radio host Sandy Maxx to preview the big SNL 50th Anniversary Special on NBC. Who might attend, what might happen, and what’s the special sauce the powers Lorne Michaels’ success?You can find the appearance on the WTMJ page here or listen right here. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this w

Season 41 (2015-16): SNL Dives Into Politics and a Future President Crashes the Party

Feb 10 2025 24 mins  
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wasntthatspecial.comSince its inception, Saturday Night Live has been political. But rarely has the show delved into politics more deeply than in Season 41, when President Barack Obama had one foot out of the door, Hillary Clinton was taking a presumptive victory lap, and a group of Republicans was battling to see wh

Free Episode: The SNL 40th Anniversary Special and the Best Sketches from Seasons 26-40

Jan 28 2025 79 mins  
In this free episode, we run through the SNL 40th Anniversary Special that aired in February 2015, and list our five favorite sketches between seasons 26 and 40. (We did the same thing when SNL ran anniversary specials after seasons 15 and 25.)Enjoy this free trip through fifteen years of SNL and please join us as a subscriber!Wasn't That Special: 50 Years of SNL is a reader-suppor

Free Episode: Season 40 (2014-15): Kate McKinnon, Cecily Strong, and Vanessa Bayer Battle for the Top Spot

Jan 27 2025 152 mins  
Season 39 came as a shock to Saturday Night Live, with classic cast members Jason Sudeikis, Fred Armisen, and Bill Hader all exiting. Executive Producer Lorne Michaels brought in six new players to replace what the show had lost, but by Season 40, four of them had been scuttled.Season 40 saw some additions, such as new Weekend Update co-host Michael Che and previously uncredited wr

Season 39 (2013-14): Cast Expansion and the Search For a Center

Jan 10 2025 23 mins  
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wasntthatspecial.comWe spent a good portion of the Season 38 show explaining to you how Saturday Night Live actually improved without the presence of Kristen Wiig. Does the trend hold in Season 39 despite the departures of Bill Hader, Jason Sudeikis, and Fred Armisen?In a word, no. In a sentence, well, this is a seas

Season 38 (2012-13): Filling a Kristen Wiig-Sized Hole in the Cast

Dec 23 2024 22 mins  
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wasntthatspecial.comIt doesn’t make any sense that Saturday Night Live would actually improve when an all-time great cast member like Kristen Wiig leaves the show. We have seen what happens when a legend leaves in the past; the show’s quality dipped, for instance, when Will Ferrell left in 2002 after Season 27 wr

Season 37 (2011-12): Kristen Wiig's Swan Song, and Hello Kate McKinnon

Dec 09 2024 23 mins  
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wasntthatspecial.comIt hasn’t been that often that Lorne Michaels brings back an identical cast from the year before, but that’s exactly what happened after Season 36 and into Season 37. Everyone returns, even the cast members struggling for screen time - it is only in the 18th episode of the latter season that M