Pete Davidson isn't sure if he's returning to SNL, actually
Davidson says he has "no idea what's going on" with the next season of SNL
TV News Pete Davidson
When Pete Davidson appeared on Weekend Update for the SNL season finale back in May, it sure did sound like the show’s large adult son might be saying goodbye. Davidson reinforced that idea a few days later during a roundtable chat for The Hollywood Reporter, where he was asked if he had any interest in beating co-star Kenan Thompson’s record 18-season run. “I’m good,” Davidson said at the time. “I’m ready to hang up the jersey.” Something may have changed for Davidson in the month since because now he seems a little less certain about his future at SNL. “Speaking for myself, I don’t know what the plan is,” Davidson said during a recent interview with Gold Derby, per EW. “Everything is kind of up in the air right now just depending on scheduling. It is my seventh year, and that’s what the contract is usually for.” He went on to suggest that it might be his time to step away from the series, which is heading into its 47th season. “It’s a big cast; there’s a lot of new guys in there, and there’s a lot of great new talent that it’s their time to shine,” Davidson said. “I have no idea what’s going on right now.”
It’s unclear if Davidson genuinely doesn’t have an answer regarding his SNL future, or if he’s walked back his previous comments as a negotiation tactic. Just this past week, it was reported that Davidson has signed on to star opposite Kaley Cuoco in the upcoming rom-com Meet Cute, his latest leading role following Judd Apatow’s The King Of Staten Island and the Hulu comedy Big Time Adolescence. Davidson’s newfound leading man status—which feels almost as improbable as his dating life—may have a little something to do with the uncertainty around his SNL return. And he’s not the only cast member rumored to be exiting the series; the emotional nature of the season 46 finale fueled speculation that Kate McKinnon, Cecily Strong, and Kenan Thompson might also depart Studio 8H. As of now, Davidson is the only cast member who’s publicly commented on a potential exit.
93 Comments
Please go away.
Should I know what this is from?
In my opinion, yes. It’s from Tombstone.
I second that emotion. Knew it right away. On the other hand. It’s like some kid from the 80s being expected to recognize one frame of a movie from the 50s. Quite the juxtaposition, Powers Boothe vs Pete Davidson
Huh. I thought the “Well… Bye.” meme was pretty well known by now. It’s a good thing that the gif is both hilarious and applicable, even if you haven’t seen Tombstone. Am I a hero for posting it? Well, that’s not for me to say, but I wouldn’t scoff at that characterization.
I may be a little biased, but yes, you should.
They need some of the veterans to actually leave the show at some point; as of now the only ones leaving are the featured players who are hired, given no airtime apart from a couple “Update” appearances and roles as “Cop #2″, and are quietly shuffled out of sight at the end of the season (Brooks Whelan, we mourn you.) Aidy and Kenan have their own shows now; what are they still doing there? Kate McKinnon’s great, but honestly, what does she have left to prove on the show? It seems like a bunch of them tried movies, they didn’t do too hot, so they’ve decided to never leave.
I would love to see Kate land a good TV show ala 30 rock/parks and rec, but she is one of the few reasons I bother to tune into SNL.If they’re happy with the regular paycheck, keep on keepin on I guess.
I don’t think it has occurred to hawkboy that some of the alums may feel a generosity of spirit toward the show that made them famous. Maybe Aidy and Kate want to see the show through a new-members transition. Maybe they love the work and the extra money. Maybe they’re just decent people. People don’t seem to get much credit any more for being decent.
The possibility has occured to me; the reality, however, is that with these 9 and 10 year + vets, they’re not helping the new cast members transition – they’re basically just hogging the airtime. Can you point to a sketch where Kenan gave Punkie Johnson or Andrew Dismukes a boost? Or Cecily Strong doing a two-hander with Lauren Holt? Kate McKinnon could be helping the new cast members along; instead she’s doing 10 minutes on Update saying “We know dis” over and over again to a chorus of wild indifference. At this point, it’s a showcase for Lorne and his close pals – instead of making new stars, he’s keeping the old ones around and bringing in big-name celebrities or SNL alumni for guest shots.
i believe she’ll be on the JOE EXOTIC show next so the skys the limit for Kate
Aidy’s show was cancelled after this last season but I think the point stands. She got 3 seasons of a tv show that she co-created and starred in.
This is what everybody says all the time but I’m thinking SNL might be a better show if they doubled down on older, experienced performers and tried to actually be good. It doesn’t have to be a cast of 25 year olds fresh out of UCB or Second City classes, it’s already completely out of touch with anything Gen Z cares about and they don’t watch network TV anyway, why not give 40 year old sketch performers at the top of their game a venue instead?
Well, it has gone that route before. There was the year that the cast included Billy Crystal and Martin Short, who were already established stars. And the year after that, they went with Randy Quaid, Robert Downey, jr and Anthony Michael Hall, who had all been in some fairly big movies at that point. Quaid had even been nominated for an Academy Award. Of course Hall was only seventeen and Downey wasn’t much older, so you can’t call that going with older, experienced performers. But it is going with known quantities, to some extent.
According to an interview last year with Dan Vitale (a featured player that year), Lorne also tried to get his friend Anjelica Huston in the cast (she would co-host the finale). The next time, and probably the last time, Lorne tried to stunt cast as an easy out, was 94-95 with Michael McKean, Janeane Garofalo, and Chris Elliott. That was a disaster – Janeane and Chris [whose work on the show actually was pretty good] had their spirits broken, and while Michael apparently got on well with everyone and had a positive experience, I think I only remember one sketch he did, maybe two, that were worth watching. And the man’s a comedy legend.
Because those people cost a lot of money.
I don’t think SNL will be better until Lorne Michaels (and perhaps the leadership under him) surrenders the reins. Even then, full creative freedom doesn’t guarantee quality, and quality doesn’t guarantee economic survival. SNL is a business and a NBC profit center at this point, that’s what is most likely to guide the show’s future with or without Michaels.
SNL being more of a show focused on anything beyond that mostly stopped in the early to mid ‘90s. I tend to put season 20 as the dividing line.
Absolutely. Just as there are lots of women and POC in the world that deserve representation, there are also people over 40 who haven’t literally disappeared just because Death is now coming for them. I get very tired of seeing 27 year olds (badly) made-up to look like senior citizens. Hire some freakin’, awesome ‘Oldies’, SNL.And talk to Che about the misogyny and the ageism, pls.
SNL did have a middle-aged cast member in their first episode (George Coe), who was let go because they decided they could just have the younger cast play old with makeup and prosthetics. Industry makeup (and SNL has a pretty good makeup department) means it isn’t as ridiculous now as it was at the time, but I do think they could use a few more older cast – if they don’t want to go through the rigors of the week (Leslie Jones, who was around 50 when she left, talked about how draining the work was at her age), then hire them for pre-tapes or special pieces.
I would say SNL has quietly moved in this direction anyway – there are Pete Davidsons or Andrew Dismukes, but the show has started casting more and more people who were in their early or mid-30s (Ego, Punkie, Mikey, Alex, Heidi, Chris, etc.). They have also changed their schedule to be more accommodating to letting people go home earlier rather than have to live at the studio. I agree that I wish they would focus more on improving quality rather than chasing trends, but this has been an issue for about 20 years now and unless Lorne or NBC change tack, I’m not sure it will go away. I would settle for them trying to find a set identity, then working on quality from there. Seeing them flail from trying to get easy shots against boomers then gen z or millennials just feels desperate and insecure, rather than hitting a, “We make fun of everyone,” appeal.
I honestly think McKinnon was about to leave, but then she was in a series of movies that didn’t do too well, which may have stalled her departure.
The media landscape has also changed. Movie theaters aren’t selling comedies in the same way anymore. McKinnon has found some success in voice work, but I don’t know what vehicle she would really take off in.
Also, due to the fact that it’s audience hasn’t contracted as much as most broadcast to shows, SNL is now one of the highest rated shows on television.https://deadline.com/2021/06/saturday-night-live-season-46-ratings-no-1-entertainment-show-dave-chappelle-chris-rock-elon-musk-1234769552/
Yeah but that was during a year when there was very little fresh entertainment and everyone’s locked in their homes on a Saturday night. A new SNL was a huge event in 2020-2021, is that going to be the case in 2022?
Ironically, they got some very low ratings during the time when people were most stuck at home, although that was due to the “at home” shows and many people clearly not being interested in watching that concept (I think some other shows also had poorly rated “at home” episodes around this time). The election was a big boost to their numbers this season and I can’t really imagine anything this coming season matching that – which is another reason I wonder if they will have to let some cast go for money reasons.
I think Kenan is a bit of a special case as he has been there for nearly 20 years and probably feels like the show is a core part of him – he has suggested he will leave once he does hit the 20 year mark. The others seem to be a combo of staying during the pandemic and seeing the show as a security blanket. Another issue is that NBC doesn’t push for mass firings now, the way they did in past years to free up budget.
Anyway, I have some really delicious leftovers from Father’s Day, but I do have some tofu and Brussels sprouts that I should really use tonight before they go bad, but I really don’t feel like cooking.
Dice tofu, marinade in (good, fermented) soy sauce for a couple of hours.(Optional: crush garlic into extra virgin olive oil, let sit for 5 minutes, strain out garlic pulp.)Steam sprouts, mix olive oil and balsamic vinegar, add to sprouts, then dump tofu on top.
I’d add sesame oil to the tofu too, not a ton or anything.
Oh yeah good call. Half a teaspoon to a teaspoon I’d say. Just enough for flavour.
While I too am flummoxed by his romantic success… I also don’t get the hate either. He’s fine. I saw his standup on Netflix, I actually liked it. He’s clearly not afraid to joke about himself, on his own terms, which is fair. There are far less talented and personally appealing people who’ve succeeded coming out of SNL. Some of them even got handed talk shows.
gotta hate something!
I think the main source of hate might be that he’s a comedian who a lot of people think sucks at being a comedian. Also, he’s dumb as hell.
If I banged Kate Beckinsale I wouldn’t be motivated to accomplish anything else in my life.
No. That’s just a personal dream, right? Please dont tell me this guy got in there.
Do yourself a favor, don’t look up David Spade’s dating history.
A week after it was announced she was dating big Pete, she went to the hospital with a ruptured cyst in her uterus. You do the math.
I cannot give that a like, even to show that I read it.
What dafuck
He’s a spoiled man-childhttps://www.inquisitr.com/5602320/pete-davidson-freaks-out-florida/
Counterpoint – filming a comedy set is a shithead move, especially when you’ve been explicitly been instructed not to. Also, describing someone who grew up blue collar in Staten Island and lost his firefighter dad to a terrorist attack at the age of 7 as “spoiled” is interesting. That kind of trauma isn’t a free pass to be a dick for the rest of your life but if he’s got issues it’s pretty understandable.
The best you’ve got is that he didn’t like people being rude during a comedy show from two years ago?
REALLY?
Being annoyed is fine and good. The childish rant is less so. From the article.
“That’s what’s f–ked up. You were the one filming. That’s right, we’re embarrassing. That’s why the world is going to end in 25 years because you’re all f–king retarded,” he ranted.“I meant it that way, idiots. You should f–king grow up. It says no phones. … You’re just supposed to just like behave. I have to have my boy patrol you guys like you’re 5 years old? That’s f–king embarrassing,” Davidson continued.He also reportedly called the audience the “r-word” and “b*tches,” as well as lambasting their privilege.But hey, if “Pete Davidson is a saint” is the hill you want to die on, have at it.
“Pete Davidson is a saint” is the hill you want to die on”When you find where I suggested that, will you let me know?
Until then I’ll just file your comment under “I don’t like a comedian and had to go out of my way to justify why.”
Some of the language is questionable but… He’s 100% correct and your attempt to say he’s an asshole actually made me like him more.People who film a comedy set are fucking assholes. It’s a distraction for the performer and the rest of the crowd, it’s recording their work without consent and at the end you get shit footage nobody wants to watch.If you’re someone who thinks it’s cool to just whip out your phone and record a set, especially when it’s abundantly clear that this is against the rules of the venue and the performer, what the fuck is your problem? It is entitled asshole behavior and should be treated as such.Have basic respect for the performer. Keep your shit turned off and in your pocket and enjoy the show. If you’re such an entitled little pissant that this is too much for you, stay the fuck home so you don’t ruin it for those of us who paid for tickets hoping to be entertained.
Fuck off, Pete was right.
uh you should probably go watch NANETTE or something for your comedy fix instead
I think maybe you linked to the wrong article, because that’s about him getting properly annoyed by assholes who don’t follow the rules for live comedy.
fuck em, florida is much more a blight on society than pete davidson
I think most of the backlash was around the Ariana Grande time when the stupider elements of the entertainment media were gushing over him blindly which caused an almost primal revulsion in us AV Club types. I know I was already sick of the guy and I didn’t even know anything about him, but I also know I think I’m a lot cooler than I am and am quick to denounce whatever the gossipers are going on about now. That’s faded, he’s shown himself to be a good comedian and OK-enough guy, time to move on to the next young good-looking dude to unfairly hate.
I don’t *hate* him, but every SNL sketch I see him in he breaks character, and that drives me up the wall. Like, I get it if it’s a once in a while kind “oops” of thing. But this fuggin guy seems almost proud of it.
He’s proof that George Costanza was correct about stunningly beautiful women being members of a secret tribe living in a forbidden city.Once your hand has been stamped, you come and go as you please.
He gets a lot of shout-outs (on Deuxmoi) for being an actually-nice celebrity that treats fans like human beings, poses for photos, etc. I don’t find him particularly funny, but I’d give him a pass for being a nice guy.
He was kind of a dick for a while, I think? But that seems to have been largely due to his mental health issues which he seems to be seriously working on, so yeah, he’s not as hateable as he once seemed.
I don’t think he’s that talented but I’m afraid to be too critical because Michael Che will say something about my mother
You mean Chevy Chase? MEDIUM TALENT!
Why don’t you fuck your wife once in a while?
He’s not funny and terrible on SNL.
My unified theory of Davidson has always been this: the dude is an alright actor, a very good standup, and a lousy sketch comedian. I like his jokes, I think he can effectively convey emotion, but he isn’t good at like, characters or impressions or anything like that. Always made him a weird fit for SNL, but I like that he brings something unique to the table.
And it’s hard for me to be a Pete Davidson hater when Jimmy Fallon exists in living memory, if we are talking about prolific, unfunny SNL cast members.
I loathe Fallon as well, but I’ll give him kudos for his puppy-like energy and enthusiasm. I find Davidson’s laconic slacker/stoner persona grating AF.
Respect!As something of a laconic stoner myself, I don’t feel like I’m in a position to cast aspersions. Glass houses and all that.
Pete Davidson hasn’t been sure he’s on SNL for a while now.
I see what you did there, and I’m still laughing.
funny, felt like he only really started to show up like 3 years ago.
I can’t say I have anything particularly against the guy – I’ve never been a fan of wasting my energy hating things that aren’t actively problematic – but I also really, really don’t get why he’s as big as he is. He’s like this generation’s Shia Lebeouf – like, he’s not wholly without talent, but he keeps getting cast in things like he’s the next George Clooney, and I just don’t see why.
Not to say Pete’s on that level or ever going to be but it took George Clooney a really long time to be George Clooney. I doubt anyone who saw him on Roseanne or Facts of Life thought he was going to be one of the biggest stars in the world. I also think he was in a lot of movies that weren’t exactly huge hits (though some of them were great and you saw why he was on the way like Out of Sight) and they were telling us this guy was a huge movie star for a while before he actually was.
Pfft. Clooney was a mega-star ever since Return of the Killer Tomatoes. I called it back then. lol
Huh? He’s not big. He gets a lot of press because of his dating history but like, he’s literally only got two movies under his belt as a lead. Everything else is small bit parts.
He’s not even big on SNL – compare his tenure with cast members with similarly longevity – McKinnon, Aidy, Cecily, Beck Bennett etc – he’s more of a featured player than a lynchpin.
Hell Bowen Yang’s been there two seasons and would already be more of a loss if he left. Don’t get me wrong, I like Pete, and the current SNL cast has very few weak links, but he’s not the most versatile performer on a show where versatility is kinda crucial.
I only started watching SNL a year ago (after decades of indifference). It’s mind-boggling that the guy has been there for 7 seasons yet still hasn’t distinguished himself in any meaningful way, unless you count Chad’s deadpan “Ok.” He’s kinda like the guy who stays in college forever because no one knows what to do with him. And he’s always stoned anyway..
Taylor Kitsch would like a word w/ you
I just hope he lives past 50. What he does professionally is secondary.
I’ve never seen his standup, which may be hilarious, but his best work on SNL was when he’s just monologuing about himself. His one notable recurring bit to me is when he just monotones “okay “ or “cool” while the latest comedienne works herself into a tizzy about something or other. I don’t despise the guy but have no idea why he’s a thing .
I honestly liked his Weekend Update segments, which was typically just five minutes of him riffing on the show and himself.
The Chad skits? Not so much.
Mmmmm, okay.
Well that saved me typing exactly that.
for me it’s the women opposite him in the chad skits that are the point
Or Benedict Cumberbatch.OK!!
Exactly right. He’s like the wall in solo raquet ball.
one is challenged to imagine a lower-effort concept than a nonplussed Davidson saying “ok”.
We want Cecily back! I need my Pirro Parodies!
I just hope wherever he ends up, he does well and is in a good place. I’m not the biggest fan of his, but I want him to overcome his struggles and find happiness.
He does not look well.
I think having a cast of thousands worked this year, and some cast members were not in episodes at all, some for several (Melissa, Cecily, even Kenan seemed to not be in one)…make that more official, like have Kenan only in 1/3, Kate only in 1/3, and at least one of them have like nobody who has been in the cast more than 4 years now. I mean, I’ve seen enough of Kate for a million years, but if I never got even one more of her and Aidy that would be a little sad (maybe just one more cat adoption skit for the road?). The problem is that with her and Kenan you do get the sense that this is the thing they are best at, and they’re really good…is Kate’s future just shitty Verizon commercials?
<<“It’s a big cast; there’s a lot of new guys in there, and there’s a lot of great new talent that it’s their time to shine,” Davidson said.>>New women too!
There is a shortage of people wanting to be waiting staff in the restaurant industry. So, at least he will be able to find work if he quits S.N.L.
He’s just too high at the moment to remember what the address is to 30 Rock
They still barely use him after 7 years. Yeah he should leave.
I am flummoxed by his success (beyond the whole thing about his dad dying on 9/11 which, whatever, more power to him for successfully turning a tragedy into part of his brand) but I also get the hate. Just look at his face.