Saturday Night Live began its sixteenth season on September 29, 1990, with an episode hosted by Kyle MacLachlan with musical guest Sinéad O'Connor, and ending on May 18, 1991, with an episode hosted by George Wendt with musical guest Elvis Costello.
This was the first season without Nora Dunn and Jon Lovitz as regular cast members since season 11. Replacing them were new hires Chris Farley and Chris Rock, who were placed into a new "middle" cast category, separated from the featured and repertory cast. Rob Schneider, Julia Sweeney, David Spade, Adam Sandler, and Tim Meadows joined mid-season as featured players or "middle" category players.
This would be the final season for longtime cast members Dennis Miller, Jan Hooks, and A. Whitney Brown. Miller (who also departed at the end of the season after six years since 1985) was at the time the longest running anchor of Weekend Update, having done the job for six full seasons, until Seth Meyers broke the record in season 38. However, Miller still holds the record as the longest solo anchor of Weekend Update as Meyers was paired with Amy Poehler in his first three seasons on Weekend Update and Cecily Strong in his final season on the show. Miller was also (briefly) the longest-running SNL cast member in history following his departure, as he was the first cast member to stay on the show for more than five seasons (although this record would Hooks (a cast member for five years since 1986) left on her own terms at the end of the season, and Brown (a writer for six years since 1985, and featured cast member for five since 1986) left the featured cast mid-season, and left the writing staff at the end to move on to other acting opportunities.
Their fellow castmate Phil Hartman had planned on leaving the show alongside them, but was convinced to stay on
Cast[]
S16
Opening sequence used for seasons 16-19, showing the middle cast category.
Starting this season, the cast was divided into three groups. A middle group was created; these cast members were shown in video clips like the repertory cast (as opposed to still photos, which were and had been used for featured players). This new category would be introduced with the word "with", though "with" was sometimes used to introduce the repertory players (Don Pardo variously used "with" or "starring"). The first members were two new cast members, Chris Farley and Chris Rock; Tim Meadows and Julia Sweeney were placed into this group mid-season.
Repertory[]
 Dana Carvey |
 Phil Hartman |
 Jan Hooks |
 Victoria Jackson |
 Dennis Miller |
 Mike Myers |
 Kevin Nealon |
Also starring[]
 Chris Farley |
 Tim Meadows |
 Chris Rock |
 Julia Sweeney |
Featured[]
 A. Whitney Brown |
 Al Franken |
 Adam Sandler |
 Rob Schneider |
 David Spade |
Changes[]
- Rob Schneider: First October 27
- David Spade: First November 10
- Julia Sweeney: First November 10
- Adam Sandler: First February 9
- Tim Meadows: First February 9
- A. Whitney Brown: Last Credited March 16
Gallery[]
Logo was used for the first-half of season 16.
Births[]
- Bowen Yang (November 6, 1990)
- Devon Walker (February 13, 1991)
- Lauren Holt (March 12, 1991)
- Aristotle Athari (July 28, 1991)
Episode Guide[]
| Preceded by: Season 15 |
Season 16 (1990— 1991) |
Followed by: Season 17 |
| Seasons | |
|---|---|