Three Heads At The Real 'SNL' Finally Roll
Perhaps sensing a chance to finally seize back some of the attention lavished on Aaron Sorkin's behind-the-scenes-at-SNL drama Studio 60, nonfictional late-night variety show strongman Lorne Michaels made public some behind-the-scenes drama at the actual, constantly churning SNL, announcing that longtime cast members Chris Parnell, Horatio Sanz, and Finesse Mitchell won't be back for the new season. (But unlike the recently departed Tina Fey and quickly demoted and recast Rachel Dratch, it doesn't appear that they've got gigs on NBC's other behind-the-scenes-at-SNL series, 30 Rock, to cushion their departures.) For those looking to keep their scorecards up-to-date, surviving the annual, bloody player-purge are Fred Armisen, Will Forte, Bill Hader, Darrell Hammond, Seth Meyers, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Andy Samberg, Jason Sudeikis, Kenan Thompson and Kristen Wiig, with Meyers potentially taking over Fey's Weekend Update chair. The story gives no indication how Michaels plans to eventually fill the Straight Man, Fat, Ethnic-Enough Guy, and The Other Black Guy roles vacated by Parnell, Sanz, and Mitchell, but the cost-cutting network probably prefers that he find a single, shape-shifting Groundling who will work for scale to plug those holes in the pared-down ensemble.