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You could make a damn fine Saturday Night Live cast out of funny people who never made it out of the writers’ room. That group reads like a cast of comedy all-stars, united by the fact that nearly all of them had a miserable time on the show.

Here are five famous comics you might not have realized wrote for SNL...

1 Zach Galifianakis

The Hangover star and eventual SNL host lasted two weeks as a writer in 2000 before deciding he wasn’t cut out for the sketch grind. The concepts he pitched all landed with a thud, including an idea he had for a Britney Spears-hosted show.

Galifianakis (and America) noticed that young Spears “showed her belly button a lot,” he told Rob Lowe on his Literally podcast. That prompted an idea in which Will Ferrell would play a security guard stationed inside Spears’ navel, courtesy of the magic of green screen.

Censors are played for comic relief in Saturday Night, the new movie detailing SNL’s early days. Hey, how was she supposed to know what “golden shower” meant?

But while the show’s writers snuck a lot of questionable content past the gatekeepers, they weren’t always successful. Here are five sketches that were rehearsed but never aired — mostly because good taste prevailed…

[subtitle]1Jesus of Nashville [/subtitle]

When NBC produced a 1970s mini-series called Jesus of Nazareth, SNL writers came up with their version: Jesus of Nashville. In the SNL script compilation book Saturday Night Live, a scribble indicates it was written by J.D. and J.B. — James Downey and… John Belushi?

The book version of the script features a Censored stamp with a large red cross “crossing out” the offending words. If the fake promo had run, Dan Aykroyd would have played the eponymous savior, singing this ditty:

I got...

NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” has now won an astonishing 101 Emmy Awards, breaking its own massive record from the 1976 ceremony through 2024. As it now heads into a 50th season in a few weeks, the variety series took six trophies at Saturday’s Creative Arts Emmys and has three more nominations at Sunday’s event. It also has two more opportunities at next week’s Primetime event (Bowen Yang for supporting actor and Variety Scripted Series). The next closest show in second place is “Game of Thrones” with 59 overall.

At Saturday’s ceremony, it triumphed for hairstyling, makeup, production design and lighting design. Technically, it was technical direction category that was the 100th victory. Liz Patrick then won the 101st Emmy for Best Variety Series Directing.

Over the past 15 years, “SNL” guest actor winners have included Jimmy Fallon, Eddie Murphy, Justin Timberlake and Dave Chappelle. Best Comedy Guest Actress winners have included Tina Fey,...

Deadpool & Wolverine has created an atmosphere of intense anticipation, unlike any superhero flick in a long time, especially being a Marvel tentpole. With a wave of superhero fatigue seemingly plaguing the studio, MCU films haven’t been faring well at the theatres. But that accursed cycle is believed to end with the forthcoming movie starring Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds.

Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) | Marvel Studios

Turns out, Jackman’s epic comeback as Wolverine reportedly came close to falling to pieces courtesy of one of the most treasured MCU characters played by Robert Downey Jr.

Robert Downey Jr. Nearly Eclipsed Hugh Jackman in Deadpool 3

A new rumor, fresh from Daniel Richtman’s cauldron bubbling with insider info, claims that Robert Downey Jr. was reportedly supposed to have a cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine, only “it didn’t work out.” According to Cosmic Marvel on X, the scene was presumed to...

One of Chris Farley's best-known "Saturday Night Live" comedy sketches is "Chippendales Audition," which pits Farley against guest host Patrick Swayze in a dance-off for the ages. Farley plays "Barney" and Swayze plays "Adrian," two male striptease performers who appear before a panel of judges onstage at a Chippendales nightclub, which only has the budget for one dancer.

Farley was new to "SNL" when he appeared in "Chippendales Audition;" it was only his fourth episode, and it helped the late comedian make a name for himself early in his stint on the NBC show. However, in recent years, the famous 1990 sketch, written by Jim Downey, has come under fire for essentially fat-shaming Farley. The humor of the sketch is largely predicated on the idea that a heavyset performer like Farley would be evenly matched in a Chippendales audition against the "lean, muscular, healthy" dancer played by Swayze (who had...

Hollywood is full of mediocre comedians who get a few laughs while hosting the occasional "Saturday Night Live" episode or voicing an old, rusted tow truck in a Pixar movie, but they'll never be able to compete with the legends. We all have different opinions about who we consider to be comedy greats, but a few of my personal favorites are Richard Pryor, George Carlin, and Chris Farley. That last pick might raise a few eyebrows, but I'm more than willing to defend the man who threw himself onto coffee tables and danced with Patrick Swayze just to make others laugh -- and boy did they.

Similar to the Supreme Court's views on hardcore porn, comedic perfection is obvious when you see it. Audiences recognized it immediately in Farley. The comedian dominated any stage or set he was ever on and relentlessly attacked onlookers with unbridled, fearless comedy that left them perpetually hungry for more.

After a brief critical and commercial revival kicked off by his Oscar-winning turn in 1969's "True Grit," John Wayne fell back into the creative slump that had dogged him throughout much of the previous decade. In 1973, the star slogged through a couple of listless Westerns in "The Train Robbers" and "Cahill, United States Marshal." They were Old Hollywood tripe in an age of New Hollywood innovation. A few years prior, Wayne foolishly passed on a script about a loose-cannon cop called "Dirty Harry," which wound up serving as Clint Eastwood's transition from Spaghetti Westerns to Hollywood action flicks. It was the late-career break Wayne needed, but his taste was too old-fashioned to identify a delectable new flavor of film.

Wayne eventually found a pale imitation of "Dirty Harry" in "McQ," which, if nothing else, flaunts The Duke wielding a newfangled Mac-10 machine gun. It's mediocre, but at the time...

As of the 2021 ceremonies, NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” has now won 92 Emmy Awards, breaking its own record of 84 from 2020. The variety series took seven trophies last September at the Creative Arts Emmys and one more for Best Variety Sketch Series at the Primetime event. The next closest show in second place is “Game of Thrones” with 59 overall.

Will the 47th season of “SNL” push the program up to 100 all-time victories? The series has nine nominations for the 2022 ceremonies:

Best Variety Sketch Series

Best Comedy Supporting Actress – Kate McKinnon

Best Comedy Supporting Actor – Bowen Yang

Best Comedy Guest Actor – Jerrod Carmichael

Best Variety Series Directing

Best Music Direction

Best Production Design

Best Sound Mixing

Best Variety Series Writing

Two victories in 2021 were in the comedy guest categories, the second ones for both Dave Chappelle and Maya Rudolph hosting “SNL.” Chappelle was triumphant as Best Comedy Guest Actor. Over the past 13 years,...

As tonight’s episode of Saturday Night Live wound down, the show paid tribute to its former writer John Bowman, who died suddenly at home in California on New Year’s Eve, aged 64.

Bowman wrote on the series from1988-1989 and won an Emmy for his efforts across 20 episodes, sharing the honor with Mike Myers, Al Franken, Conan O’Brien, Bob Odenkirk, Lorne Michaels, Phil Hartman, James Downey, A. Whitney Brown, Greg Daniels, Tom Davis, Shannon Gaughan, Jack Handey, Herbert Sargent, Tom Schiller, Robert Smigel, Bonnie Turner, Terry Turner, Christine Zander and George Meyer.

Bowman also made uncredited appearances in a pair of 1988 episodes hosted by actors Danny DeVito and John Lithgow.

He was otherwise best known for co-creating and producing the ’90s sitcom Martin, writing on series including In Living Color, and leading the WGA’s negotiating committee during the 2007-08 strike.

SNL‘s photo tribute to Bowman from tonight’s show,...

NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” has now won 92 Emmy Awards, breaking its own record of 84 from 2020. The variety series took seven trophies at last weekend’s Creative Arts Emmys and one more for Best Variety Sketch Series at Sunday’s Primetime event. The next closest show in second place is “Game of Thrones” with 59 overall.

Two victories from a week ago were in the comedy guest categories, the second ones for both Dave Chappelle and Maya Rudolph hosting “SNL.” Chappelle was triumphant as Best Comedy Guest Actor. Over the past 12 years, other “SNL” guest actors to win have been Jimmy Fallon, Eddie Murphy and Justin Timberlake (see full list below). Rudolph won for playing Senator Kamala Harris and for hosting as Best Comedy Guest Actress. It was her second straight win, joining Tina Fey, Fey and Amy Poehler, Tiffany Haddish, Melissa McCarthy and Betty White.

SEE2021 Primetime Emmy winners list...

Robert Downey Sr., the counterculture filmmaker best known for his satire Putney Swope, died Wednesday, July 7th. He was 85.

Downey Sr.’s son, the actor Robert Downey Jr., confirmed his death with a post on Instagram, saying, “Last night, dad passed peacefully in his sleep after years of enduring the ravages of Parkinson’s… he was a true maverick filmmaker, and remained remarkably optimistic throughout… According to my stepmom’s calculations, they were happily married for just over 2,000 years.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Robert Downey Jr.

Robert Downey Sr., director of the countercultural satire “Putney Swope” and the father of actor Robert Downey Jr., died Wednesday in New York. He was 85.

Downey Jr. posted about his father on Instagram, writing “Last night, dad passed peacefully in his sleep after years of enduring the ravages of Parkinson’s…he was a true maverick filmmaker.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Robert Downey Jr. Official (@robertdowneyjr)

Downey Sr. also acted, and directed several other films that gained a cult following. But 1969’s “Putney Swope” was given a mainstream release and thus exposed his work to a wider audience, which was shocked (even appalled) by much of what they saw at the time. The devastating satire of Madison Avenue follows what happens when an African American activist is given a free hand at an ad agency.

“Putney Swope” made New York Magazine’s list of 10 top films of the year.

With the victories tonight by Eddie Murphy and Maya Rudolph, “Saturday Night Live” has now taken 84 Emmy Awards throughout its long history on NBC. The variety series had 78 after last year’s ceremonies and has won six this week on the virtual Creative Arts shows. The next closest show in second place is “Game of Thrones” with 59 overall.

Murphy was triumphant as Best Comedy Guest Actor four decades after starting his career on the show. Over the past 11 years, other “SNL” guest actors to win have been Dave Chappelle, Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake (see full list below).

Rudolph won for playing Senator Kamala Harris as Best Comedy Guest Actress. She joins Tina Fey, Fey and Amy Poehler, Tiffany Haddish, Melissa McCarthy and Betty White.

SEE2020 Creative Arts Emmy winners: Full list of winners in all 100 categories

Throughout the earlier nights of the Creative Arts Emmys, the show won three...

With the victories tonight by Eddie Murphy and Maya Rudolph, “Saturday Night Live” has now taken 84 Emmy Awards throughout its long history on NBC. The variety series had 78 after last year’s ceremonies and has won six this week on the virtual Creative Arts shows. The next closest show in second place is “Game of Thrones” with 59 overall.

Murphy was triumphant as Best Comedy Guest Actor four decades after starting his career on the show. Over the past 11 years, other “SNL” guest actors to win have been Dave Chappelle, Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake (see full list below).

Rudolph won for playing Senator Kamala Harris as Best Comedy Guest Actress. She joins Tina Fey, Fey and Amy Poehler, Tiffany Haddish, Melissa McCarthy and Betty White.

SEE2020 Creative Arts Emmy winners: Full list of winners in all 100 categories

Throughout the earlier nights of the Creative Arts Emmys, the show won three...

The ratings for Our Cartoon President have never been very good but it seems like this animated satirical series is pretty inexpensive to produce for Showtime. Will the numbers rise in this big election year? Will Our Cartoon President be cancelled or renewed for season four? Stay tuned.

A Showtime animated comedy, Our Cartoon President parodies President Trump, his family, and the power players of Washington, DC. The voice cast includes Tim Robinson, Jack McBrayer, William Sadler, James Adomian, Griffin Newman, Matt Rogers, Zach Cherry, Ziwe Fumudoh, Emily Lynne, Gabriel Gundacker, Jeff Bergman, Jon Glaser, Kate Berlant, Ed Begley Jr., Matt Lucas, Joe Mande, James Downey, and Anna Drezen. In season three, the momentous election year and the critical question of who could be the next Cartoon President are explored. From the Iowa caucuses and the Democratic...

Vulture Watch

Will this show trump others in the ratings? Has the Our Cartoon President TV show been cancelled or renewed for a fourth season on Showtime? The television vulture is watching all the latest cancellation and renewal news, so this page is the place to track the status of Our Cartoon President, season four. Bookmark it, or subscribe for the latest updates. Remember, the television vulture is watching your shows. Are you?  

What's This TV Show About?

Airing on the Showtime cable channel, Our Cartoon President parodies President Trump, his family, and the power players of Washington, DC. The voice cast includes Tim Robinson, Jack McBrayer, William Sadler, James Adomian, Griffin Newman, Matt Rogers, Zach Cherry, Ziwe Fumudoh, Emily Lynne, Gabriel Gundacker, Jeff Bergman, Jon Glaser, Kate Berlant, Ed Begley Jr., Matt Lucas, Joe Mande, James Downey, and Anna Drezen. In...

In today’s TV news roundup, Netflix debuted the trailer for Season 2 of “Sex Education” and Showtime announced the premiere date for Season 3 of “Our Cartoon President.”

Dates

AMC announced it will be the home of the television premiere of “El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie” on Feb. 16. Leading up to that special event is a five week “Breaking Bad” marathon that kicks off Jan. 19 with the first season of Vince Gilligan‘s critically acclaimed and Emmy Award-winning drama. The following four seasons will air through the next five consecutive Sundays.

Showtime’s animated series “Our Cartoon President” will return for its third season on Jan. 26. Season 3 aims to take a satirical look at the campaign trail to explore the critical question of who could be the next cartoon president. From the Iowa caucuses and the democratic campaigns to the impeachment inquiry, the cartoon universe will expand to include more political heavyweights,...

Add two more Emmy Awards to the extraordinary collection accumulated by “Saturday Night Live” since 1975. The veteran NBC variety program won its 77th Emmy for Best Variety Sketch Series and 78th Emmy for Best Variety Series Directing on Sunday night. That brings the show’s impressive overall total to 78 trophies for Lorne Michaels and his many team members.

SEE2019 Emmy winners: Full list of nominees and winners in all 27 categories [Updating Live]

At last weekend’s Creative Arts Awards, “SNL” won for its lighting design, makeup, production design, and for the “Creating Saturday Night Live” short form series. That pushed the number to 76 for its 44 years on the air. No guest actors prevailed, although it had many chances with Sandra Oh, Emma Thompson, Matt Damon, Robert De Niro, John Mulaney and Adam Sandler all nominated. For this week’s ceremony, they lost out for Best Comedy Supporting Actress (Kate McKinnon) and for Best Variety Series Writing.

“Saturday Night Live” may not have won Best Comedy Guest Actor or Best Comedy Guest Actress at the 2019 Creative Arts Emmys on Sunday night, September 15, but it did win enough times on Saturday to extend its all-time record. It’s the most honored program in Emmy history, and it has now won 76 times in its 44 years on the air. Scroll down to see every single award it has won thus far, with possibly more to come next weekend on September 22.

SEE2019 Creative Arts Emmy winners (Sunday): Full list of nominees and winners in all 49 categories

At Saturday night’s Creative Arts Awards, “SNL” won for its lighting design, makeup, production design, and for the “Creating Saturday Night Live” short form series. That brings the show to a grand total of 76 awards in its 44 years on the air. On Sunday night it was nominated six times for guest acting: Sandra Oh,...

From Uncork'd Entertainment comes Crown and Anchor, a raw look at the effects of childhood trauma through the eyes of two estranged cousins. The drama offers both sides of one issue, as two different characters struggle to find balance amongst the wreckage of their lives. Today, we have the exclusive trailer for this stirring relationship study, which features a hardcore soundtrack that itself stands alone as something punk fans need to seek out.

In Crown and Anchor, James Downey (Michael Rowe) is living a disciplined and straight edge lifestyle as a result of growing up with an abusive alcoholic father. His estranged cousin Danny (Matt Wells) is drowning his own trauma with drugs and booze. When their lives are forced to intersect once more, they each begin to unravel as the past returns with violent and tragic consequences.

Featuring a blistering punk/hardcore soundtrack, Crown and Anchor stars Michael Rowe...

“Saturday Night Live” won Best Variety Sketch Series at Monday’s Primetime Emmy Awards, marking the first time the long-running show has defended a series award and extending its record haul to 72, the most of any program.

Though “SNL” has been on the air for 43 years, it has only won three series awards. It took home Best Variety Series in 1976 for its first season and again in 1993 for its 18th season. After the category was split into Best Variety Sketch Series and Best Variety Talk Series in 2015, “SNL” won the former last year for its buzzy, politically charged 42nd installment. It had leading 2/13 odds to repeat this year.

See Emmy Awards: Full list of winners

“SNL”‘s 43rd season earned 21 nominations this year, including nine acting bids. It received seven statuettes at last weekend’s Creative Arts Awards, including Best Comedy Guest Actress for Tiffany Haddish.

“Portlandia” was in second with 16/1 odds.

Over the weekend, NBC’s legendary variety program “Saturday Night Live” won seven more trophies at the Creative Arts Emmys on Sunday night. It prevailed for comedy guest actress (Tiffany Haddish), variety directing (Don Roy King), music and lyrics, production design, lighting design, make-up and technical direction.

The show now has a mind-blowing 71 Emmy wins in its 43-year run, way ahead in the all-time record books for any series. The next closest series for the all-time marks held by “Game of Thrones” with 45 and “Frasier” with 37. “SNL” has got three more shots at the primetime ceremony on Monday, September 17, so how many more victories will it achieve to bump up its total haul even more? Those categories are Variety Sketch Series (where it is a virtual lock to win), Comedy Supporting Actress and Comedy Supporting Actor (with Alec Baldwin and Kenan Thompson).

SEEKenan Thompson Interview: ‘Saturday Night Live’

Among the...

Bob Odenkirk's 30-plus-year career has included a stint as an SNL writer, a groundbreaking sketch series (Mr. Show), stand-up comedy, and, most recently, Better Call Saul, the Breaking Bad prequel in which he gives a brilliant performance as "morally flexible" lawyer Jimmy McGill. And how has the 54-year-old actor's outlook changed over that three-decade span? "As a young man I was the fuckin' expert on comedy, on who was funny and who wasn't funny and who's a douchebag," he says. "I still feel those things but I don't think I'm so right.

Let's hear it for the writers!

The Writer's Guild of America held their annual awards show on Sunday night at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, where Barry Jenkins' Moonlight, The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Donald Glover's breakout series, Atlanta were among those recognized for their achievement of the written word.

Read on below to see the full list of winners.

More: John Legend, Justin Timberlake and Lin-Manuel Miranda Among 2017 Oscars Performers

Film Winners

Original Screenplay

Moonlight, Screenplay by Barry Jenkins, Story by Tarell Alvin McCraney; A24

Adapted Screenplay

Arrival, Screenplay by Eric Heisserer; Based on the Story “Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang; Paramount Pictures

Documentary Screenplay

Command and Control, Telescript by Robert Kenner & Eric Schlosser, Story by Brian Pearle and Kim Roberts; Based on the book Command and Control by Eric Schlosser; American Experience Films

Television And New Media Winners

Drama Series

The Americans, Written...

The Writers Guild Awards and the Academy writing nominees always don’t line up; many films are ineligible. This year, those included Oscar-writing nominees “Lion” and “The Lobster.”

This year, the WGA and the Academy differed dramatically. While the WGA deemed “Moonlight” and “Loving” as Original Screenplays, the Academy considered both as Adapted; only “Moonlight” landed a nomination.

At the WGA, as at the BAFTAs, Barry Jenkins’ script for “Moonlight” competed for the Original Screenplay Award against both Kenneth Lonergan’s “Manchester by the Sea” and Damien Chazelle’s “La La Land.” Unlike the BAFTAs, Jenkins emerged the winner over Lonergan, a sign of strength for “Moonlight,” which is nominated for eight Oscars.

Read More: Yes, Damien Chazelle’s ‘La La Land’ Really Will Win Director and Picture Oscars — Here’s Why

However, in the Oscars’ Original Screenplay contest, lauded playwright and Oscar-nominated screenwriter Lonergan (“You Can Count On Me,...

Update: Bill Cosby has released the following statement in regard to Eddie Murphy's decision not to lampoon him on SNL 40 (via NBC News): "I am very appreciative of Eddie and I applaud his actions."

In a Twitter monologue that gave remarkable insight into what it was like backstage at the all-star SNL 40 special, Norm Macdonald, the former Weekend Update host and the man known as Turd Ferguson, spent two hours and over 100 tweets detailing his experience from the reunion. Macdonald covered everything from writing the "Celebrity Jeopardy" sketch...

There's a lot that will seem different this weekend when the 40th season of "Saturday Night Live" premieres, with Chris Pratt as guest host. Many old faces and voices gone, some new ones just arrived, and even some on-air talent demoted But more than those cosmetic changes, what should we be expecting from the four-decade-old comedy show?

For one thing, we can expect the chaos and growing pains of last season to continue. That doesn't mean the show's in crisis; indeed, for a show that's been around so long, it's all but inevitable to muddle through periods of upheaval.

About once a decade, "SNL" seems to go through what losing sports teams call "a rebuilding year," scrapping much of the cast and starting from scratch with newbies. Unfortunately, "SNL" fans have to watch them learn on the job. We have to endure horrible seasons like the 1985-86 year or the 1994-95 stretch.

The first time Melissa McCarthy hosted Saturday Night Live, she was just coming off the enormous success of 2011′s Bridesmaids. The second time she stopped by Studio 8H, she was promoting her then-upcoming Sandra Bullock buddy comedy The Heat. This time around, though, McCarthy has no immediate projects to plug, unless you count her continuing work on CBS’s Mike & Molly. (And really, who does? Memo to Chuck Lorre: Free Melissa!)

That means the show is bringing McCarthy back largely for one reason: Simply put, she’s really great at hosting SNL. In fact, according to you guys, she...

Tonight officially marks the beginning of SNL’s next era.

Now that Bill Hader, Fred Armisen, and Jason Sudeikis are gone — on the heels of Andy Samberg and Kristen Wiig, who left in 2012 – SNL’s mid-aughts dynasty has finally taken its final bow. In its place, we’ve been left with a cast that has less collective SNL experience than any other in recent memory. Currently, the sketch show’s featured players — who include six new performers — outnumber its full cast members nine to seven. That disparity will grow even larger when Seth Meyers departs for Late Night in February...

The best and the brightest in TV came together at the Nokia Theatre this evening (September 22) for the 65th Annual Emmy Awards in Los Angeles.

Neil Patrick Harris held down the fort as the year’s Mc, entertaining the star-studded crowd with show-stopping performances and hilarious skits with “How I Met Your Mother” cast members and former Emmy hosts.

As for the winners, Claire Danes scored a big win, taking home a trophy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, while Jeff Daniels took home the prize in the Lead Actor category.

Meanwhile, Jim Parsons won his third Emmy for Lead Actor in a comedy for his role in “Big Bang Theory,” and Julia Louis-Dreyfus scored the prize for her lead role in “Veep.”

And last but not least, the cast of "Modern Family" and "Breaking Bad" were honored with Outstanding Comedy and Drama Series, respectively.

Check out the...

Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul were upset in their respective acting categories, but Breaking Bad won the night’s top prize, taking home its first Emmy for Best Drama. It was an unpredictable night in several major categories: In addition to The Newsroom’s Jeff Daniels taking home the trophy for Best Actor in a Drama and Boardwalk Empire’s Bobby Cannavale winning for Supporting Actor, Veep’s Tony Hale and Nurse Jackie’s Merritt Wever were surprise winners — Wever was so shocked that she practically ran off the stage without delivering an acceptance speech.

Not every category yielded a stunner,...

Spring Training began this week, which means Major League Baseball’s regular season is right around the corner. And while football, basketball, and hockey can get us through the cold months, nothing compares to America’s Pastime. Each baseball game is theater at its best, with the hope of greatness hung on each and every pitch. We watch for the drama and unpredictability. We suffer the losses. We celebrate the wins. But the fact is, not all wins are alike. There is another level.

Saturday Night Live is like a weekly baseball game.

What do Walter White and Phil Dunphy have in common? They’re both at the center of the TV shows most honored by the Writers Guild of America today. The group just announced the nominees for its annual awards, which will be handed out Feb. 17 at simultaneous ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York. Breaking Bad garnered five nods; Modern Family drew four. Here’s a list of all the primetime and late night series in contention for the event’s biggest prizes:

Drama Series

Boardwalk Empire, Written by Dave Flebotte, Diane Frolov, Chris Haddock, Rolin Jones, Howard Korder, Steve Kornacki,...

On Thursday night, as Joe Biden got his Irish on and Paul Ryan hydrated like a camel during their contentious vice-presidential debate, you just knew that Saturday Night Live’s writers were foaming at the mouth. In fact, when Saturday night’s show opened with a debate sketch, some of the best punchlines were verbatim quotes from the candidates themselves.

In recent years, SNL’s debate sketches have become less cartoonish and more straight-forward mimicry — mostly because the candidates are more ripe for satirical study. Four years ago, Tina Fey skewered Sarah Palin with many of the Alaska governor’s own words.

The L.A. Times ran a story Thursday morning about Jason Sudeikis' future at "Saturday Night Live," and even with the premiere of the NBC sketch show only about a month away, the 9-year veteran has yet to officially confirm whether or not he'll return to the show.

Complicating matters is the fact that he plays Gop presidential contender Mitt Romney. The show does not commonly recast presidential candidates in the middle of election cycles.

Unlike past interviews, Sudeikis spoke openly about possibly staying on the show after all. Most recently, he alluded to a potential exit in Men's Journal. Now, he seems open to staying on -- but only if given a reason to stay.

He told The Times:

"It could be some sort of title change. The least of the concerns is anything financial. I'm not buying a boat because of writing skits. It's more having a...

Hudson, N.Y. — Tom Davis, a writer who with Al Franken helped develop some of the most popular skits in the early years of "Saturday Night Live," died Thursday at age 59.

His wife, Mimi Raleigh, said he died of throat and neck cancer at his home in the Hudson Valley, north of New York City. He was diagnosed in 2009.

Davis is best known as the thinner, taller partner in Franken and Davis, the off-kilter comedy duo who performed in the early years of the show. They also were among the first writers hired for the new show in 1975 and helped create memorable work such as the "Coneheads" skit with Dan Aykroyd and what evolved into the "Nick the Lounge Singer" skit starring Bill Murray performing lounge-lizard versions of songs including the "Star Wars" theme.

Raleigh said Davis and Franken "were two of the first writers hired – with one salary."

As performers,...

Hudson, N.Y. — Tom Davis, a writer who with Al Franken helped develop some of the most popular skits in the early years of "Saturday Night Live," died Thursday at age 59.

His wife, Mimi Raleigh, said he died of throat and neck cancer at his home in the Hudson Valley, north of New York City. He was diagnosed in 2009.

Davis is best known as the thinner, taller partner in Franken and Davis, the off-kilter comedy duo who performed in the early years of the show. They also were among the first writers hired for the new show in 1975 and helped create memorable work such as the "Coneheads" skit with Dan Aykroyd and what evolved into the "Nick the Lounge Singer" skit starring Bill Murray performing lounge-lizard versions of songs including the "Star Wars" theme.

Raleigh said Davis and Franken "were two of the first writers hired – with one salary."

As performers,...

Unlike Kristen Wiig and Andy Samberg, who left "Saturday Night Live" at the end of last season, cast member Jason Sudeikis has been less clear about his future with the show. But in recent comments to Men's Journal, he sounds like he's preparing to officially announce his departure from the show sooner rather than later.

"I’ve left places before. This is very, very different," Sudeikis told the magazine, according to an excerpt published in The New York Daily News.

Although Sudeikis was widely expected to leave the show alongside Wiig and Samberg at the end of last season, he did not receive a send-off in the season finale like the other two longtime cast members. (HuffPost's Mike Ryan speculated that he was actually grimacing during Wiig's "She's a Rainbow" number.)

Unlike Samberg and Wiig, Sudeikis has also not publicly commented on whether he will remain on the show. If he stays,...

Unlike Kristen Wiig and Andy Samberg, who left "Saturday Night Live" at the end of last season, cast member Jason Sudeikis has been less clear about his future with the show. But in recent comments to Men's Journal, he sounds like he's preparing to officially announce his departure from the show sooner rather than later.

"I've left places before. This is very, very different," Sudeikis told the magazine, according to an excerpt published in The New York Daily News.

Although Sudeikis was widely expected to leave the show alongside Wiig and Samberg at the end of last season, he did not receive a send-off in the season finale like the other two longtime cast members. (HuffPost's Mike Ryan speculated that he was actually grimacing during Wiig's "She's a Rainbow" number.)

Unlike Samberg and Wiig, Sudeikis has also not publicly commented on whether he will remain on the show. If he stays,...

It's hard to remember the last time an unaired sketch on "Saturday Night Live" received as much attention as last weekend's intended cold open poking fun at President Obama.

After the right-leaning blog The Daily Caller published the script for the sketch, which mocked Obama's commemoration of the one year anniversary of Osama bin Laden's death, some speculated that the sketch was axed in favor of a Fox News parody due to political bias. But the author of the sketch, veteran "SNL" writer Jim Downey, wants the world to know that nothing could be further from the truth.

In speaking to Mediaite, Downey said that no "conspiracy" took place in cutting the sketch, but rather it was an editorial decision based on which sketch was funnier. "Comedy is so subjective. I'm sure the people who made the decision will say the piece they ran was funnier."

Typically, "SNL" performs...

It's hard to remember the last time an unaired sketch on "Saturday Night Live" received as much attention as last weekend's intended cold open poking fun at President Obama.

After the right-leaning blog The Daily Caller published the script for the sketch, which mocked Obama's commemoration of the one year anniversary of Osama bin Laden's death, some speculated that the sketch was axed in favor of a Fox News parody due to liberal bias. But the author of the sketch, veteran "SNL" writer Jim Downey, wants the world to know that nothing could be further from the truth.

In speaking to Mediaite, Downey said that no "conspiracy" took place in cutting the sketch, but rather it was an editorial decision based on which sketch was funnier. "Comedy is so subjective. I'm sure the people who made the decision will say the piece they ran was funnier."

Typically, "SNL" performs...

Saturday Night Live’s most recent cold open — a sketch that satirized Fox & Friends — was such a nonentity that EW’s recapper didn’t bother mentioning it in his postmortem. But here’s some background: According to Tucker Carlson’s Daily Caller, Saturday’s show was originally supposed to open with a sketch starring Fred Armisen as Barack Obama. The scrapped opener criticizes Obama for politicizing the death of Osama bin Laden; the opener that aired instead criticizes Fox’s on-air personalities for being too quick to slam the president.

In the rejected sketch — written by SNL veteran Jim Downey...

Earlier today, we reported on The Daily Caller's publication of a script for a Saturday Night Live sketch that was scratched from this weekend's show, a post that carried the heavy implication that the decision was politically motivated. Since then, we've contacted the writer of that sketch, Jim Downey, who tells us that he actually sent the script to Daily Caller publisher Tucker Carlson prior to Saturday's show, and insists there were no politics behind the decision to scratch the bit.

This weekend's episode of "Saturday Night Live" opened with a scathing parody of "Fox & Friends," the right-leaning morning show that airs on the Fox News Channel. But had things gone differently, the cold open would have been a monologue from President Obama (Fred Armisen), asking citizens to celebrate the anniversary of terrorist Osama bin Laden's assassination. The Daily Caller obtained the full script of the scrapped sketch.

President Obama has been accused of politicizing the death of bin Laden by both sides of the aisle for running campaign ads implying that Obama's Gop opponent Mitt Romney would not have made the call to target bin Laden. The leaked sketch portrays Obama as eagerly reminding audiences that he made the call to perform the raid.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to be at home this year, as I had to fly to Afghanistan, to remind President Karzai that, exactly one year ago,...

This weekend's episode of "Saturday Night Live" opened with a scathing parody of "Fox & Friends," the right-leaning morning show that airs on the Fox News Channel. But had things gone differently, the cold open would have been a monologue from President Obama (Fred Armisen), asking citizens to celebrate the anniversary of terrorist Osama bin Laden's assassination. The Daily Caller obtained the full script of the scrapped sketch.

President Obama has been accused of politicizing the death of bin Laden by both sides ofthe aisle for running campaign ads implying that Obama's Gop opponent Mitt Romney would not have made the call to target bin Laden. The leaked sketch portrays Obama as eagerly reminding audiences that he made the call to perform the raid.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to be at home this year, as I had to fly to Afghanistan, to remind President Karzai that, exactly one year ago,...

Mitt Romney, live from New York? The current front runner for the Republican presidential nomination has been invited by "Saturday Night Live" creator Lorne Michaels to make an appearance on the show, and Romney is considering it, the New York Times reports. "He was funny on Letterman, giving the Top Ten list," "SNL" writer Jim Downey told the Times, referring to Romney's December appearance on "The Late Show with David Letterman." On the show, Romney said the words, "What's up, gangstas -- it's the M-i-double tizzle." Reps for "SNL" and Romney did not...

Saturday Night Live writer Jim Downey has claimed that Kristen Wiig, Andy Samberg and Jason Sudeikis will likely return for at least a few episodes next season. The popular SNL cast members were rumored to be exiting the NBC series at the end of the 2011/2012 season, with Wiig later admitting that her time on the show is likely coming to an end. "Everyone has to leave... and I will say that when I do leave, it's not because I'm sick of it and not because I see something better or anything like that... When I do leave, it will be the hardest thing," Wiig revealed to Alec Baldwin's podcast. Veteran SNL write Downey has now told The New York Times that he's confident that Wiig, Samberg and Sudeikis will at least appear on a few episodes in the fall. "I'm (more)...

Mitt Romney could be appearing on Saturday Night Live. The Us Republican presidential candidate has been invited to host the sketch comedy series by the show's executive producer Lorne Michaels, according to The New York Times. "He was funny on Letterman, giving the Top Ten list," show writer Jim Downey said of Romney. Romney has yet to answer the proposal. (more)...

"Saturday Night Live" has done a number on presumed Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in the past. Jason Sudeikis has deftly and repeatedly mocked his blandness as well as his ever evolving political opinions. Well, he might just get a chance to do it in person.

The NY Times is reporting that Romney has been offered a guest spot on the show. And according to the paper, he's considering it.

"He was funny on Letterman, giving the Top Ten list," says show writer Jim Downey.

If Romney decides to appear on the program, he'll join a long list of politicos who have tried their hand at comedy. Past guests on the sketch show include Sarah Palin, Al Gore, John McCain, Rudy Giuliani and Ed Koch.

So Zappers, how do you think Romney would do on the show?...

Now that Mitt Romney's general election campaign is breathing air, will he soon be "live, from New York"? The Republican presidential candidate has been asked to host "Saturday Night Live," according to Maureen Dowd's New York Times column, published Saturday evening.

Lorne Michaels, the show’s executive producer, has offered a guest spot to Romney, who is considering it.

If recent seasons of "SNL" are any indication, the current season, the show's 37th, will see three more episodes. None of the remaining guest hosts have been formally announced, as of Saturday evening. If Romney does not host this season, he would not host until the next season's premiere in September, which is only about a month before the 2012 election.

The last time a figure in the world of politics hosted was Donald Trump's episode in 2004. That same season, Al Sharpton performed a guest hosting stint. But the...