Season 20 is the twentieth anniversary season of Saturday Night Live (also branded as Saturday Night Live 20 1975-1995), an American sketch comedy series originally aired in the United States on NBC between September 24, 1994 and May 13, 1995. It premiered on September 24, 1994, hosted by comedian, actor, writer, producer and musician Steve Martin with musical guest Eric Clapton and ended on May 13, 1995, hosted by The X-Files star David Duchovny with musical guest Rod Stewart. This season marked the 20th anniversary of Saturday Night Live since the show premiered on October 11, 1975.
Much like the 1980–1981 season and the 1985–1986 season, NBC worried over SNL's decline in both quality and ratings and initially decided to cancel the show. According to the documentary Saturday Night Live in the '90s: Pop Culture Nation, Lorne Michaels names this season as the closest he has ever been to being fired. The cast member firings and crew turnover after this season represented the biggest involvement in the show's affairs by NBC executives since the 1980–1981 season and the biggest cast overhaul since the 1985–1986 season.
This season saw the deaths of two SNL alumni: season 11 cast member Danitra Vance (who died of breast cancer) and "Not Ready for Primetime"-era writer and occasional performer Michael O'Donoghue (who died of a brain hemorrhage after years of suffering from migraine headaches). The Sarah Jessica Parker-hosted episode featured a special appearance by Bill Murray, who introduced a clip from season 3, "The Soiled Kimono", aired in O'Donoghue's memory.
For the 20th anniversary season of Saturday Night Live, the opening montage changes again. The music has also changed slightly, but is still a rendition of the music used since 1985. This montage has a 20th Anniversary theme, and is in black and white, and it consists of the cast members' photos being projected onto various objects around New York City.
Background[]
Lorne Michaels credits this season as the closest he's ever been to being fired. The show's quality had started to slide over the past season, and the decline continued this year. The sagging ratings were also hurt by the March 1995 issue of New York magazine, which ran a cover story entitled "How 'Saturday Night Live' Became a Grim Joke". The story told, in great detail, the backstage wrangling that was occurring at SNL, detailing the expensive sets and the experience of Janeane Garofalo, who'd hated her time at SNL and finally quit in February. Rumors were already flying that other networks were smelling blood in the water and planning competing shows for the timeslot (only one materialized, Fox's Mad TV). Longtime viewers complained that certain sketches, such as "Total Bastard Airlines", were not only one-joke sketches but grating and lacking any comedy at all, and as such the ratings dive was indeed deserved.
With the negative press and looming competition, a massive change was deemed necessary. Following the end of the season, most of the cast and writers quit or were fired– longtime cast members Kevin Nealon and Al Franken quit at the end of the season, as did newer hire Ellen Cleghorne. Many familiar faces who remained were dropped, including head writer Jim Downey and actors Chris Farley and Adam Sandler. (Downey was forced out as head writer but would remain at SNL, credited as "Weekend Update Producer".) Also, director Dave Wilson, who was with the show for majority of its existence, retired at the end of the season, as did long time musical director G.E. Smith. Executive producer Lorne Michaels would later say that this season was the closest he ever came to being fired. After the season finale, Adam Sandler left Saturday Night Live to pursue a film career. In addition, SNL lost two former cast members. During the offseason, former cast member Danitra Vance died from Breast Cancer on August 22, 1994 one month before the start of the Season 20. Also, during the first half of the season, former writer and occasional performer Michael O'Donoghue died of Brain Hemorrhage on November 8, 1994. This marked the final season for the 1989-1995 Saturday Night Live logo, and it was also the show's 20th anniversary.
Cast changes[]
Preceding the season 20 premiere, longtime cast members Phil Hartman, Rob Schneider, Julia Sweeney, and Melanie Hutsell all left the show, alongside featured player Sarah Silverman and Mike Myers would leave mid-season. In their places, the show hired Late Night with David Letterman writer Chris Elliott, as well as stand-up comedians Janeane Garofalo, and Laura Kightlinger to the cast. Elliott and Garofalo were made repertory players, while Kightlinger was made a featured player. Garofalo would depart halfway through the season.
Jay Mohr remained a featured player and Norm Macdonald was promoted to repertory status this season and made Weekend Update's latest anchor, replacing Kevin Nealon, who stepped down because anchoring Update was preventing him from appearing in regular sketches.
According to said magazine, former cast member Dana Carvey was going to return to the cast this season, but ultimately did not rejoin. Although he would host the October 22, 1994 episode.[1]
As the season progressed, Morwenna Banks, Mark McKinney, and Molly Shannon were added to the cast at various points mid-season. McKinney was hired from the then-recently ended sketch show The Kids in the Hall, which was produced by Michaels, Shannon was added as a replacement for the departing Mike Myers, and Banks was intended to replace Garofalo. Joining just a few episodes before the end of the season, Banks' tenure remains one of the shortest in the show's history.
This marked the final season for longtime cast members: Kevin Nealon, Mike Myers, Al Franken, Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, and Ellen Cleghorne, as well as Jay Mohr, and Michael McKean and the only season for Garofalo, Elliot, Kightlinger and Banks. For the following season, only Norm Macdonald and David Spade would remain from the start of the season, though Spade remained specifically to integrate the new cast, appearing only as himself. Tim Meadows was initially fired but was rehired and would remain for several more years. Mid-season replacements Mark McKinney and Molly Shannon were also retained.
This was also the final season for longtime director Dave Wilson and bandleader G. E. Smith, who had been with the program since its first and eleventh seasons, respectively.
Cast[]
Repertory Players[]
 Morwenna Banks |
 Ellen Cleghorne |
 Chris Elliott |
 Chris Farley |
 Janeane Garofalo |
 Norm MacDonald |
 Michael McKean |
 Mark McKinney |
 Tim Meadows |
 Mike Myers |
 Kevin Nealon |
 Adam Sandler |
 David Spade |
Featured Players[]
 Al Franken |
 Laura Kightlinger |
 Jay Mohr |
 Molly Shannon |
Mid-season Changes[]
- Mark McKinney: First January 14
- Mike Myers: Final January 21
- Molly Shannon: First February 25
- Janeane Garofalo: Last February 25
- Morwenna Banks: First April 8
- Al Franken: Final May 6
Births[]
- Ben Marshall (May 1, 1995)
- Andrew Dismukes (June 21, 1995)
Deaths[]
- Michael O'Donoghue (November 8, 1994)
Opening montage[]
S20
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| Preceded by: Season 19 |
Season 20 (1994— 1995) |
Followed by: Season 21 |
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