Season 11 is the eleventh season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between November 9, 1985, and May 24, 1986. The season premiered on November 9, 1985, hosted by pop sensation and singer-songwriter Madonna with musical guests Simple Minds, and ended on May 24, 1986, hosted by actress Anjelica Huston and American Major League Baseball (MLB) second baseman and manager, Billy Martin with musical guests George Clinton and The Parliament Funkadelic. This season marked the return of original producer Lorne Michaels as showrunner after a five-year hiatus. Michaels hired new cast members, but instead of his usual approach of recruiting from comedy clubs and improv groups, he cast established names such as Randy Quaid, Anthony Michael Hall, Robert Downey, Jr., and Joan Cusack.[2] Due to their relative inexperience in comedy, the new cast failed to connect with audiences.
The show also featured a frustrated writing crew (including future Simpsons writers Jon Vitti, George Meyer and John Swartzwelder), who did not know how to write sketches for such an eclectic cast. The season was plagued by harsh criticism, low ratings, and rumors of a possible cancellation. NBC president Brandon Tartikoff planned to cancel SNL after its season finale in May 1986; Michaels, however, pleaded with Tartikoff to let the show go on. Most of the cast was let go for the following season, with only Nora Dunn, Jon Lovitz and Dennis Miller along with featured player A. Whitney Brown returning, making it one of the more notable cast overhauls alongside season 6 and season 20. For this season only, the original 1975 version of Bay City Rollers' "Saturday Night" from seasons 1-8 was used as the show's opening theme.
Cast Changes[]
With Dick Ebersol's cast and writers gone, Michaels hired Academy Award nominee Quaid, best known for his work in The Last Detail and National Lampoon's Vacation; as well as Joan Cusack and Robert Downey, Jr.[8] Part of the reasoning that Michaels chose younger performers was due to SNL's original audience, which comprised baby boomers, now nearing middle age, meaning that producers and NBC executives needed to appeal to a younger audience.[9]
Chicago-based performance artist Danitra Vance was added along with stand-up comedians Dennis Miller and Damon Wayans, and improv comedians Nora Dunn [10] and Jon Lovitz.[11] Terry Sweeney, a comedic performer who had made a name for himself playing Nancy Reagan in Off-Broadway revues and who had been a writer on season 6 of SNL,[1] was added to the cast, making him the first openly gay actor on network television.[12] Don Novello returned as a featured player sporadically throughout the season, often reprising his popular Father Guido Sarducci character. A. Whitney Brown was also added to the cast midway through the season, performing his "The Big Picture" segment on Weekend Update, and Al Franken returned in the finale. Miller became the new anchor for Weekend Update.[1] Despite the season's negative reception, Lovitz would gain popularity with characters like the Pathological Liar and Master Thespian.[2]
Chris Elliott, then a performer and writer on Late Night with David Letterman, auditioned for the cast this season and was offered the job. He turned it down in order to remain at Letterman,[13][14] though he would later join the SNL cast for one season in 1994. According to a recent interview with short-term cast member Dan Vitale, actress Anjelica Huston was nearly hired as a cast member this season.[15] Huston, a friend of Lorne's, was begged to join the show as a cast member; instead she co-hosted the season finale with Billy Martin.
Vitale and Wayans were fired during the season, Vitale due to substance abuse and Wayans following his portrayal of a character as flamboyantly gay out of frustration from a string of small roles.
The other cast members were dropped after a season of poor reviews, with the exception of Brown, Dunn, Lovitz, and Miller.
Cast[]
Repertory Players[]
Title Cards (episode 5-12; 14-18)
Featured Players[]
Title Cards (Episodes 1-4)
Repertory Players
Featured Players
Notes[]
- Dan Vitale: Only November 23 and February 8
- Don Novello: First November 23
- A. Whitney Brown: First March 15
- Damon Wayans: Last March 15; returned May 24
- Sam Kinison was introduced as featured May 17; this was likely a mistake, as he appeared as a special guest on several previous episodes (and no other featured players were listed on that episode)
- Al Franken: Only May 24
- The first episode hosted by Tom Hanks is the show's 200th episode.
Episodes[]
Notes[]
S11
Opening sequence, both versions
S11-E13
Opening only used for episode 13; March 22, 1986
† Penn and Teller were guests on these episodes
‡ Sam Kinison was a guest on these episodes
Gallery[]
For the December 14 and December 21, 1985 episodes only
Births[]
- Sasheer Zamata (May 6, 1986)
- Brooks Wheelan (August 21, 1986)
[]
| Preceded by: Season 10 |
Season 11 (1985— 1986) |
Followed by: Season 12 |
| Seasons | |
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