The first time I saw The Aristocrats was an experience I’ll never forget. I saw it at the old United Artists Theater in Union Square in New York City, so, in honor of the movie turning 20 years old this week, I fired up my Prime subscription to figure out which of the many versions of the dirtiest and funniest Aristocrats jokes are my favorites.

When I saw the documentary, directed by Penn Gillette and Paul Provenza, and featuring dozens of comedians and actors, it was the first, and to date only, time I’ve ever seen people actually falling out of their chairs laughing. It was, frankly, the funniest movie I’ve ever seen in theaters. So, without further ado, a family walks into a talent agent's office and tells the seven funniest versions of The Aristocrats.

Cartman Goes Way Off The Deep End On South Park

Without question, the funniest take on the Aristocrats, in my opinion, is the ridiculously over-the-top version that Cartman tells the other South Park guys. It starts with the traditional telling of a family walking into a talent agent’s office, but by the end, there are victims of 9/11 involved. I saw this movie in New York City, so I saw firsthand just how shocking and, honestly, hilarious everyone in the theater found it, in the one city where you might expect people to think it had gone too far. It didn’t, and it ranks up there near the top with the best episodes of South Park, ever.

Bob Saget Gets Really Dirty

It’s old news that the late, great Bob Saget was an incredibly dirty comedian, defying expectations from fans of his TV shows like Full House and America’s Funniest Home Videos. I’ll admit, at the time, I didn’t know just how filthy Saget could get in his standup. I certainly understood after seeing his version of the joke, which he tells, without getting to the punchline, just minutes before hitting the stage. He does give us all the disclaimer that he doesn’t endorse or condone anything that happens in his version of the joke.

Billy The Mime Quietly Cracks Me Up

One of the most interesting takes on the joke comes from Billy the Mime, played by comedian Steven Banks. As a mime would, he performs the entire joke in silence, acting out every dirty bit of the story on the street. By this point in the movie, everyone understands the joke, and so every position and mime that Billy does lands silently, but brilliantly. At that point in the doc, there is no sound at all; only the laughter of the audience makes up the soundtrack.

Gilbert Gottfried Is The GOAT

Gilbert Gottfried was so good at telling the joke that he got two versions into the movie. The first time audiences see Gottfried, he’s sitting at a table in what looks like an office boardroom, saying the most outrageous things. In true Gottfried fashion, he’s unafraid to be as disgusting as humanly possible. With no live audience, he kills it.

The second time we see the late, great Gottfried is when we learn that his telling of the joke on stage at the Hugh Hefner Friar’s Club Roast is quite possibly what inspired Gillette and Provenza to tell the story. It was incredibly rare (and still is) to see a comedian tell the joke on stage, but Gottfried goes for it, and it’s so wonderfully dirty and hilarious that, like the audience I saw the movie with originally, it has Rob Schneider literally on the floor in laughter. It very well may be the definitive version of The Aristocrats joke.

Kevin Pollack Channels Christopher Walken

I think sometimes people forget that before he became one of the most prolific character actors in Hollywood with roles in blockbusters like A Few Good Men, The Usual Suspects, Casino, and Grumpy Old Men, Kevin Pollack started his career as a stand-up comedian. His impressions are well known from his appearances on talk shows, and one of his best is Christopher Walken. In telling The Aristocrats as though he were first told the joke by Walken himself, Pollack has one of the very best moments in the movie. It’s one of the shorter versions, but it’s outstanding.

Sarah Silverman Makes It Personal

One way to tell the joke is by putting yourself in the middle of the action, so to speak. That’s how Sarah Silverman does it. In her words, she was “an Aristocrat.” She’s not embarrassed by it, nor does she wish to make a big deal out of it, again, in her words. The things that are described as part of her own family’s act are just as outrageous as anyone else’s in the documentary, and her deadpan delivery is pitch-perfect. Her punchline, which I won’t repeat here, reportedly almost got her sued by Joe Franklin.

Eric Mead Lays His Cards On The Table

I’m a total sucker for card tricks and sleight-of-hand magic, so watching magician Eric Mead’s close-up magic version of the joke is really special. Sure, it’s not the funniest version of it in the film, but it almost certainly took the most practice. It’s brilliantly done, and it’s one I can watch over and over and still not understand how he does all the tricks.

It’s versions like Mead’s that make The Aristocrats such a great documentary, and not just a series of comedians telling increasingly dirtier versions of the joke. Like Steven Banks as Billy The Mime, or one telling I didn’t mention here, Rita Rudner telling her “clean” version (which ends with a dirty punchline), it’s the great variations that make the movie (and joke) so funny.

There are so many amazing moments in the movie I couldn’t even get to here, like Robin Williams telling it on the beach in Northern California, juxtaposed with Drew Carey telling a similar version. Mario Cantone’s impression of Liza Minnelli doing it is also amazing. There isn’t a dull moment in the whole documentary. The Aristocrats might not be for everyone, but it’ll always be one of my favorites.

We know Sarah Silverman now as a hilarious stand-up comedian with her own specials and the voice of Vanellope von Schweetz in the Wreck-It-Ralph movies (which are streaming on your Disney+ subscription). But before that, the American actress/writer had a one-season stint on Saturday Night Live before she got fired. Fortunately, Silverman talks about Conan O’Brien being “the best thing for me” after her short SNL run.

Sarah Silverman was hired on SNL at a really young age of 22, appearing in sketches like “Weekend Update” alongside Kevin Nealon and “Homegirls,” where she played a prep-school girl. But her screentime was very limited as a performer.

On The Howard Stern Show, Sarah Silverman got real that she was “thrown for a loop” when she found out from her agent that she got fired, thinking that would never happen to her. On the other hand, the School of Rock actress found a silver lining through O’Brien after he would invite her onto his talk show as a frequent guest that same year:

Based on Sarah Silverman’s story, it proves that everything happens for a reason. While SNL let the comedian go after not knowing how to use her, that sketch comedy series was her stepping stone into appearing on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. This was a great way for the upcoming comedian to showcase her talents and elevate the career she’s successfully built for herself over the decades.

Conan O’Brien also got his start on SNL as a staff writer from 1988-1991, which helped him show off his comedic writing chops and be around the TV industry. So I’d like to believe that he and Sarah Silverman's shared background on the NBC sketch comedy series created a mutual bond and respect between the two. Plus, since Silverman was a guest on O’Brien’s first major hosting gig the year it debuted, the two were part of each other’s first starts, which is a beautiful thing.

Saturday Night Live may have said goodbye to Sarah Silverman in 1993. But she made her return to the Emmy Award-winning series over two decades later, kicking off SNL40 with Chris Pratt, Woody Harrelson, Cameron Diaz, and more. The Screen Actors Guild Award nominee starred in sketches like a parody sequel of The Fault in Our Stars, “Supportive Women” spoofing female soap opera characters getting along, and more. Given the outstanding comedy career Silverman made for herself, getting to come back to SNL must have felt like a full-circle moment for her.

Sarah Silverman’s time on Saturday Night Live was short after being fired, but Conan O’Brien’s invite to his talk show, she said, ended up being “the best thing” for her career to help further make her mark. It’s always a breath of fresh air to see comedians helping to open doors for others in a tough industry. Feel free to watch Silverman’s season 19 run on SNL streaming on your Peacock subscription.

In any case-of-the-week procedural, you get a slew of guest stars popping in and out. However, in The Good Wife, the army of talent Robert and Michelle King’s show assembled to support the cast of regulars is next level. From actors we already knew and loved when the show was airing on CBS in the 2010s to performers who have since become A-list names, this list is really a who’s-who of Hollywood’s finest talents.

Pedro Pascal - Nathan Landry - 6 Episodes

These days, we know Pedro Pascal as Mr. Fantastic in the Fantastic Four or Joel in The Last of Us. However, before all that – and even before he died on Game of Thrones – he played the prosecutor Nathan Landry in six episodes of The Good Wife across Seasons 1 (Episodes 8, 13, 14 and 15) and 2 (Episodes 1 and 12).

Cristin Milioti - Onya Eggertson - 1 Episode

A handful of years before she was revealed as the mother of the How I Met Your Mother cast and over a decade before she stunned us all with her portrayal of Sofia Falcone in The Penguin, Cristin Milioti played the paranoid Onya Eggertson in Season 2, Episode 1 of The Good Wife.

Brian Tyree Henry - Randall Simmons - 1 Episode

In Season 2, Episode 2, Brian Tyree Henry plays Randall Simmons, a man Will and Alicia defend in military court. Of course, after this brief role, the actor went on to have an illustrious career as he starred in the hit show Atlanta and films like Causeway (for which he earned a 2023 Oscar nomination).

Rachel Brosnahan - Caitlin Fenton - 1 Episode

Rachel Brosnahan is Lois Lane in James Gunn’s Superman, and before that, she was The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Before those career-defining fast-talking roles, she played Caitlin Fenton, a client Alicia worked with during Season 2, Episode 6.

Michael J. Fox - Louis Canning - 26 Episodes

I think there’s an argument to be made that The Good Wife should be considered one of Michael J. Fox’s best projects. Yes, there’s Family Ties, Back to the Future and Spin City. However, his cunning and sly lawyer Louis Canning is an incredible character who he plays to perfection in 26 episodes across Seasons 2 through 7.

Ana Gasteyer - Judge Patrice Lessner - 5 Episodes

Making sure the lawyers say “in my opinion” in their various statements is Judge Patrice Lessner’s signature move, and it’s hilarious. That funny element of this character is perfect, too, considering she’s played in Seasons 1, 2, 4 and 6 by Saturday Night Live alum and comedy genius Ana Gasteyer.

Mike Colter - Lemond Bishop - 21 Episodes

Mike Colter has become a Michelle and Robert King repertory player thanks to his leading role in the show Evil, and you likely also recognize him for playing the titular Luke Cage in the Marvel series. However, before that, he played the drug lord Lemond Bishop in 21 episodes of The Good Wife between Seasons 1 and 6.

Melissa Benoist - Molly - 1 Episode

I was introduced to Melissa Benoist when she appeared on Glee. Then, The CW’s Supergirl made her a household name. However, long before all that, she had a small guest starring role on The Good Wife as Molly, Cary Agos’ first cousin, in Season 2, Episode 9.

David Oyelowo - Judge Edward Weldon - 1 Episode

From Selma to Lawmen: Bass Reeves, David Oyelowo has become well known for playing very powerful people. That was true back in 2010, too, when he played Judge Edward Weldon in Season 2, Episode 11 of The Good Wife.

Jeremy Strong - Matt Becker - 5 Episodes

Long before playing the “eldest boy” in the cast of Succession and winning an Emmy for his portrayal of Kendall Roy in the HBO hit, Jeremy Strong played pollster Matt Becker in five episodes of The Good Wife. While we’ve come to know this actor for his big roles in film and television, his early career features this fun, smaller and memorable character who appeared in Seasons 2 (Episodes 13, 15, 16 and 17) and 4 (Episode 21) of the CBS hit.

Rita Wilson - Viola Walsh - 6 Episodes

There’s a rotating cast of entertaining lawyers who pop in from time to time to be a thorn in the side of Lockhart/Gardner. This includes Michael J. Fox and Martha Plimpton’s iconic defense attorneys. It also includes Rita Wilson’s lawyer, Viola Walsh, who was featured in six episodes of the show between Seasons 2 and 6.

America Ferrera - Natalie Flores - 4 Episodes

The year after Ugly Betty ended, America Ferrera joined the cast of The Good Wife for three episodes in Season 2 (Episodes 15, 18 and 20), then popped up again during Season 5, Episode 8. She played student Natalie Flores in the show. After that, she went on to lead the comedy Superstore and played a major role in the cast of 2023’s Barbie.

Taye Diggs - Dean Levine-Wilkins - 3 Episodes

I was introduced to Taye Diggs thanks to his role as the Bandleader in one of the best musicals, Chicago. He’s also very well known for films like House on Haunted Hill, Rent, and Set It Up. So, it was fun to come see him play on The Good Wife when he appeared in Season 6, Episodes 2, 3 and 5 as the lawyer Dean Levine-Wilkins.

Sarah Silverman - Stephanie Engler - 1 Episode

Sarah Silverman had been in the comedy game for a long time before playing Stephanie Engler in Season 2, Episode 22 of The Good Wife. And she brought that sense of humor to the show while also showing off her more dramatic side while playing this client of Lockhart/Gardner.

Michael Kelly - Mickey Gunn - 2 Episodes

Michael Kelly is one of those actors who seemingly has shown up in everything. He’s a well-known character actor who has been in projects like Jack Ryan, Lioness, The Penguin, House of Cards and so much more. And in Season 3, Episodes 2 and 8 of The Good Wife he played Mickey Gunn, a political strategist who spent a lot of time verbally sparring with Alan Cumming’s Eli Gold.

Sterling K. Brown - Andrew Boylan - 1 Episode

Sterling K. Brown is a staple on television, thanks to his starring roles in This Is Us and Hulu’s Paradise. However, as he was coming up as an actor, he guest-starred on a whole bunch of network procedurals, including The Good Wife, where he played complicated eyewitness Andrew Boylan in Season 3, Episode 4.

Meghann Fahy - Shelby Hale - 1 Episode

Meghann Fahy’s leading role in Freeform’s The Bold Type introduced me to her, then she broke big because she was part of The White Lotus’ Season 2 cast. In the lead-up to all that, she guest-starred in Season 3, Episode 6 of The Good Wife as Shelby Hale.

Matthew Perry - Mike Kresteva - 3 Episodes

Matthew Perry’s Mike Kresteva proved to be a snarky adversary of Alicia in his introductory episode (Season 3, Episode 19). And seeing him come back in Season 4, Episodes 1 and 18, was always fun! Overall, while the actor brought the sarcastic sense of humor we know and love him for thanks to Friends, this show also let him show off a more dramatic side.

Kristin Chenoweth - Peggy Byrne - 2 Episodes

The Good Wife loves its Broadway guest stars, and one of their biggest gets on this front was Kristin Chenoweth. The Tony winner and Wicked alum played Peggy Byrn in Season 4, Episodes 1 and 6 and it was always fun to see her interact with Alan Cumming’s Eli Gold.

Nathan Lane - Clarke Hayden - 15 Episodes

In the beginning (Season 4), Clarke Hayden is a trustee assigned to Lockheart/ Gardner, and he worked on their horrendous financial situation. Later, he worked with the firm as a lawyer. This character who appears in 15 episodes across Seasons 4 and 5 is played by the remarkable Nathan Lane, who you most definitely know from his legendary work in films like The Birdcage, The Producers and The Lion King.

Carrie Preston - Elsbeth Tascioni - 14 Episodes

Carrie Preston’s Elsbeth Tascioni was so iconic on The Good Wife and The Good Fight that she got her own show. After starring in 14 episodes of the flagship show across every season (except Season 2) and five episodes of the spinoff and winning an Emmy for her work, the Kings created Elsbeth, a hit CBS show based around Preston’s lawyer-turned-crime-solver.

Stockard Channing - Veronica Loy - 11 Episodes

Who do you hire to play Julianna Margulies’ on-screen mother? Stockard Channing, of course. In 11 episodes across Seasons 4, 5, 6, and 7, the Grease actress appeared as Veronica Loy, the mom of our leading lady, Alicia Florrick.

Will Patton - Mike Tascioni - 4 Episodes

Elsbeth talks a lot about her ex-husband and her son. While we didn’t meet her kid, Teddy, until Elsbeth, we did meet her former spouse, Mike Tascioni, in four episodes of The Good Wife during Season 7, Episodes 15, 16, 17 and 19. He was played by Will Patton, who you likely recognize from one of the best sports movies, Remember the Titans, and shows like Yellowstone.

Parker Posey - Vanessa Gold - 3 Episodes

Who can go toe-to-toe with Alan Cumming and play his ex? Parker Posey, of course. The indie film darling played Eli Gold’s ex-wife in Season 3, Episodes 6, 15 and 20, and she was the perfect person to play this vital character in the political consultant’s story.

Da’Vine Joy Randolph - Margie - 1 Episode

Oscar winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph appeared in one episode of The Good Wife, Season 4, Episode 21, to be exact. She played Margie on the show. These days, she’s best known for her turns in The Holdover, Dolemite is My Name and Only Murders in the Building, so it’s cool to think that this CBS procedural was one of her first-ever on-screen gigs.

Gillian Jacobs - Sonia - 1 Episode

In an almost blink and you’ll miss it role, Gillian Jacobs (of Community fame) appeared in the pilot of The Good Wife as Alicia and Cary’s assistant.

Christina Ricci - Therese Dodd - 1 Episode

Before The Good Wife, we knew Christina Ricci from The Addams Family and Casper. In more recent years, she and the Yellowjackets cast are all the rage. However, for one episode in 2012, Season 4, Episode 7, to be exact, she played comedienne Therese Dodd in the hit CBS drama.

Wallace Shawn - Charles Lester - 3 Episodes

We know and love Wallace Shawn for saying “inconceivable” in The Princess Bride, and we also adore him for his roles in The Incredibles, Toy Story and more. We also know and love him for playing the Lemond Bishop’s lawyer, Charles Lester, in both The Good Wife and The Good Fight. And for the sake of this story, he was specifically in three episodes of the flagship series, appearing in Season 4, Episode 16, Season 5, Episode 13 and Season 6, Episode 22.

Kyle MacLachlan - Josh Perotti - 4 Episodes

Kyle MacLachlan is a TV legend. Obviously, Twin Peaks is what he’s best known for, and more recently, he and the cast of Fallout have made quite the splash on streaming. Between all that, he appeared in four episodes of The Good Wife (Season 4, Episodes 14 and 15 and Season 6, Episodes 5 and 6). He played Josh Perotti on the show, a federal prosecutor.

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor - Linda Underwood - 1 Episode

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor is best known for her work in movies like Origin, King Richard and Nickel Boys, and she’s reached great acclaim for them. In the earlier days of her career, though, she was featured in Season 1, Episode 5 of The Good Wife, where she played Linda Underwood.

Matthew Lillard - Rowby Canton - 2 Episodes

It’s honestly a joy to see Matthew Lillard in anything. Of course, we know him best as one of the original Ghostfaces in Scream and Shaggy from Scooby-Doo, and he’s made waves in recent years for Five Nights at Freddys. However, he can do more than genre work, as proven by his two episodes of The Good Wife (Season 5, Episode 11 and Season 7, Episode 12) where he played musician Rowby Canton.

Vanessa Williams - Courtney Paige - 4 Episodes

Vanessa Williams is well known and loved for her roles on long-lasting shows like Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives. However, she’s also a King repertory player. She appeared in four episodes of The Good Wife, Season 7, Episodes 7 through 10, as CEO Courtney Paige, and then she showed up as a totally different character years later in the spinoff series, Elsbeth.

This list is honestly barely scratching the surface of the iconic actors who have been recruited to guest star on The Good Wife. The list is honestly elite, and it’s always fun to go back and see so many performers during so many different stages of their careers.

The best Saturday Night Live stars made an impact on the classic sketch comedy series, not just because of their ability to be funny but, more importantly, their ability to act. These comedy icons would go on to prove their versatility by challenging themselves in more serious roles on both the big and small screen, going on to earn widespread praise for their craft. Here, we show our appreciation for these dramatic performances by very funny people, including some that earned these SNL stars Oscar nominations.

Kristen Wiig (The Skeleton Twins)

This one technically counts as a twofer because the eponymous siblings in the 2014 twin movie, The Skeleton Twins, are played by SNL veterans Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader. Wiig has never given a more absorbing performance than in this movie that gets honest about mental illness as Maggie Dean, who is forced to put her own mental health struggles at bay to care for her gay, suicidal brother, Milo.

Robert Downey Jr. (Oppenheimer)

Robert Downey Jr. is already better known for his dramatic roles (and playing Iron Man in the Marvel movies) than his brief SNL stint. However, many agree that his career best so far is his portrayal of Lewis Strauss in Christopher Nolan's Best Picture Oscar winner, 2023's Oppenheimer, which was his third Academy Award-nominated performance and the first to earn him the gold.

Laurie Metcalf (Lady Bird)

Laurie Metcalf is one of the better examples of an actor with a largely forgotten SNL stint, considering she only made a couple of appearances on the show during Season 6. She is far better known for playing Jackie on Roseanne and The Conners and for her heartbreaking, Oscar-nominated performance in Greta Gerwig's acclaimed 2017 dramedy, Lady Bird, as the mother of the angsty titular role.

Will Ferrell (Stranger Than Fiction)

Director Marc Forster’s 2006 film, Stranger Than Fiction, is still, essentially, a comedy but an undeniably dark one, as it follows an IRS agent named Harold Crick, who can hear the author of his life story foretelling his impending death. The role was one of the first to prove that a goofy actor like Will Ferrell had dramatic chops and his tender performance, one of the strongest of his career, would earn him a Golden Globe nomination.

Will Forte (Nebraska)

Perhaps the best thing outside of SNL to star Will Forte (in addition to the MacGruber movie and his prematurely canceled TV show The Last Man on Earth) is director Alexander Payne's Nebraska. The comedian shows a new rare side of himself in the Oscar-nominated 2013 as a David Grant, who agrees to travel cross-country with his estranged father, Woody (Bruce Dern), to claim a potentially non-existent prize of $1 million.

Eddie Murphy (Dreamgirls)

While Eddie Murphy scored a radio hit in 1985 with "Party All the Time," the moment that truly convinced the world that he was a musically talented SNL star was his performance in Dreamgirls. He received an Academy Award nomination for playing troubled R&B singer, James “Thunder” Early in the acclaimed 2006 musical.

Abby Elliott (The Bear)

Creator Christopher Storer's acclaimed FX original, The Bear, is often billed as a comedy, especially around awards season. However, real fans of the culinary series know that it is truly one of the most emotionally grasping shows of its time and Abby Elliott (daughter of fellow SNL vet Chris Elliott) has contributed to some of its strongest moments as Natalie "Sugar" Berzatto.

Adam Sandler (Uncut Gems)

While he is still beloved for comedies like Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison, both critics and audiences agree that one of Adam Sandler's best movies is the intense 2019 thriller Uncut Gems. Many believed he deserved an Oscar nomination for his performance in the acclaimed A24 movie from Josh and Benny Safdie as self-destructive Manhattan jeweler Howard Rattner.

Sarah Silverman (I Smile Back)

It was not until years after her one-season stint on SNL that Sarah Silverman became one of the biggest names in comedy with her sharp stand-up and roles in popular funny movies. However, she had never received wider and stronger critical acclaim before playing vastly against type in the 2015 drama I Smile Back as a troubled woman struggling to hide her depression and self-destructive tendencies from her husband and young children.

Bill Murray (Lost In Translation)

Many would call Bill Murray (who was part of SNL's Not Ready for Primetime Players) losing Best Actor for one of the best movies of the 2000s, Lost in Translation, at the 2004 Academy Awards one of the biggest Oscar blunders in history. His performance in writer and director Sofia Coppola’s sophomore effort as a lonely veteran actor striking up an unlikely bond with a young woman (played by Scarlett Johansson) in Tokyo is a masterclass in raw honesty and charm.

Chris Rock (Fargo)

No one was more surprised to see Noah Hawley offer Chris Rock one of the lead roles in the fourth season of his hit anthology TV show, Fargo, than the former SNL star himself. Rock – who went on to play a cop in a Saw movie called Spiral and starred in the Oscar-nominated biopic, Rustin – really turned heads with his commanding performance as Loy Cannon, who leads his 1950s-ear, Kansas City crime family with an iron fist.

Bill Hader (Barry)

When he created Barry with Alec Berg, Bill Hader knew people would think the idea of him playing a contract killer who falls in love with acting is pretty funny. That must have motivated the former SNL favorite to prove that he could bring himself to some disturbingly bleak places with his two-time Emmy-winning performance in the title role of the hit HBO series.

Kate McKinnon (Bombshell)

We genuinely believe that one of the most essential reasons why Bombshell is one of Kate McKinnon's best movies is the dynamic SNL star's performance. Her role as Fox News employee Jess Carr – a composite character based on real people involved with the real-life events that inspired the 2019 docudrama – could be written off as comic relief but she does show some real gravitas in its more somber moments.

Dan Aykroyd (Driving Miss Daisy)

Some of Dan Aykroyd's most notable cinematic efforts are actually movies based on SNL characters, namely The Blues Brothers and Coneheads. However, he would earn praise and an Academy Award nomination for his moving turn as Boolie Werthan in 1989’s beloved period drama, Driving Miss Daisy.

Andy Samberg (Lee)

When appearing on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Andy Samberg acknowledged that a movie like Lee – the 2024 biopic about World War II photographer Lee Miller, played by Kate Winslet – is unlike anything the Lonely Island member has done before. However, not only is the SNL vet a dead ringer for Miller's colleague, David Scherman, but he excels in his emotionally heavy portrayal of the man.

Maya Rudolph (Away We Go)

Director Sam Mendes' Away We Go is a sweet, tender-hearted dramedy about a couple (played by John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph) traveling the country in search of a worthy home for their soon-to-be-born child. Carrying most of the emotional weight in the film is Rudolph, resulting in one of her most wonderfully down-to-earth performances from one of SNL's goofiest female performers.

Molly Shannon (A Good Person)

Writer and director Zach Braff's A Good Person – following a young woman (played by Florence Pugh) and her post-accident road to recovery with help from her would-be father-in-law (played by Morgan Freeman) – is led to by heavy-hitting Oscar darlings. Yet, some say the heart and soul of the 2023 dramedy is Molly Shannon's performance as the mother of Pugh's character, for which she gives her most acclaimed, heartfelt dramatic performance yet.

Jay Pharoah (Unsane)

Jay Pharoah only departed from SNL a couple of years breaking into dramatic acting with director Steven Soderbergh's Unsane. The comedian and talented impressionist is electrifying in the mind-bending psychological thriller as a mental hospital patient who befriends Sawyer (Claire Foy), who claims she has been admitted against her will.

Jenny Slate (Obvious Child)

Arguably the most memorable moment from Jenny Slate's one-season SNL stint is when she accidentally dropped the F-bomb during her first show (which she confirmed had nothing to do with her exit, by the way). Years after her time at Studio 8H, the comedian amazed critics with her beautiful and heartbreaking performance in the 2014 romantic dramedy Obvious Child, in which she plays a stand-up comic dealing with an unplanned pregnancy.

Casey Wilson (Gone Girl)

Some might say that a sign of a great actor is the ability to convey all that an audience needs to know just in one's silent expressions. For proof, see Casey Wilson's performance as Amy Dunne's "friend" Noelle Hawthorne in David Fincher's Gone Girl, in which you rarely, if ever, hear her speak but are thoroughly captivated by her body language.

Anthony Michael Hall (The Dead Zone)

In 1984, the same year that Anthony Michael Hall became a teen idol with roles in hilarious, high school movies The Breakfast Club and Weird Science, he became the youngest SNL cast member, coming on at just 17 years old. Years later, he fully reinvented himself as a serious actor as the star of USA's series adaptation of Stephen King's The Dead Zone, in which he plays a man who wakes from a coma with the ability to see the future.

Christopher Guest (The Long Riders)

Christopher Guest joined the SNL cast in 1984, around the same time his career as the most trusted mockumentarian began as one of the writers and stars of This is Spinal Tap. He had shown Hollywood his more serious side years earlier by starring in The Long Riders – a fact-based Western noted for casting real-life siblings as real-life outlaw siblings, such as Guest and his brother, Nicholas, as Charley and Robert Ford.

Jane Curtin (Can You Ever Forgive Me?)

After SNL, Jane Curtin went on to play many great comedic roles – such as her two-time Emmy-winning role on Kate & Allie and an acclaimed stint on 3rd Rock from the Sun – but did not have quite many opportunities to show her more serious side. That would change in 2018 when the one-time "Weekend Update" anchor starred in the biopic Can You Ever Forgive Me? as Marjorie, who works as the agent for author Lee Israel (Melissa McCarthy).

Michael McKean (Better Call Saul)

Interestingly, Michael McKean was already an established comedy actor and had even hosted SNL before he joined as a cast member in the early 1990s. However, his reputation as a dramatic actor was never fully realized before his Emmy-nominated turn on Vince Gilligan's Breaking Bad prequel series Better Call Saul as Chuck, the delusional older brother of Jimmy McGill (former SNL writer Bob Odenkirk).

Joan Cusack (Arlington Road)

Joan Cusack became the first SNL star to earn two Academy Award nominations but both were for comedic roles, namely from 1988's Working Girl and In & Out from 1997. One might argue she deserved similar recognition for her work in 1999's Arlington Road as Cheryl Lang, who, along with her husband (played by Tim Robbins), is suspected of domestic terrorism by their neighbor, a professor (played by Jeff Bridges).

Billy Crystal (Before)

With the exception of, perhaps, the tearjerker ending of When Harry Met Sally..., it is hard to imagine Billy Crystal in a role that doesn't require him to be his signature goofy self. Thus, the comedic genius shocked audiences when he served as the star and showrunner of Apple TV+'s dark thriller Before, in which he plays a widowed child psychiatrist whose newest patient exhibits signs of psychopathy.

Janeane Garofalo (Cop Land)

Janeane Garofalo's time at SNL is largely forgotten but, luckily, did not affect her reputation as one of the smartest and most dynamic comedic actors in the 1990s. She further proved her versatility in 1997 as Deputy Sheriff Cindy Betts in James Mangold's acclaimed crime thriller, Cop Land.

Chevy Chase (Law & Order)

Chevy Chase's bread and butter on and off SNL was playing smarmy jerks. However, he really upped the ante in 2006 for his guest star appearance on Law & Order as an anti-Semitic murder suspect.

Tina Fey (A Haunting In Venice)

In addition to being the Agatha Christie surrogate in Kenneth Branagh's third Agatha Christie adaptation, you could call Tina Fey's clever writer Ariadne Oliver the comic relief of A Haunting in Venice. However, the former SNL star and one-time head writer plays the role in the 2023 mystery thriller with an earnestness that is perfectly suitable for its story and tone.

Jim Belushi (The Principal)

Jim Belushi's stint at SNL was unavoidably a constant source of comparison to his older brother, John Belushi. Luckily, he went on to have a relatively successful run with more dramatic roles, such as a man who takes a job at an anarchic high school in 1987's The Principal.

Rob Riggle (12 Strong)

Rob Riggle's brief time at SNL led to a stint on The Daily Show and scene-stealing turns in comedies like Stepbrothers and 21 Jump Street but his best role might be from 2018's 12 Strong. As he told Stephen Colbert on Late Show, he was uniquely qualified to star in the fact-based military drama, not only because he is a former U.S. Marine but because the person he is portraying, Lt. Colonel Bowers, is his actual former boss.

Randy Quaid (The Last Detail)

One of the few people to become an Academy Award nominee before becoming an SNL cast member is Randy Quaid. He earned the honor from his performance in 1973's The Last Detail as a dishonorable discharged Naval officer who is shown one last good time by his superiors (played by Jack Nicholson and Otis Young) before facing jail time.

When a performer says goodbye to the Saturday Night Live cast, it does not necessarily mean forever. Often, the sketch comedy TV show will invite an esteemed alum to appear in an episode either as a special guest or as a headliner, sometimes resulting in a hall-of-fame hosting gig. The following are some of our favorite times a former SNL star made a grand impression when they came back to Studio 8H.

Eddie Murphy

After leaving SNL in 1984, Eddie Murphy came back to host (actually his second time, having hosted while still on the cast in 1982) for an episode later that year, on which he debuted, arguably, his best SNL sketch, "White Like Me." After being honored at the 40th anniversary special, the Academy Award nominee came back to host a third time, resulting in one of the most acclaimed episodes of Season 45.

Ben Stiller

You might have forgotten that Ben Stiller was a cast member since he only lasted four episodes in 1989, which he acknowledged when he first came back to host in 1998 after becoming a bigger name in comedy. He would return to host again 2011 in, followed by a series of recurring appearances as Donald Trump's former attorney, Michael Cohen, in 2018.

Norm Macdonald

Famously, Norm Macdonald was fired from the SNL cast in 1998 for, as the NBC executives at the time claimed, not being funny. Just a year and a half later, he came back to host an episode, during which he joked in his monologue that he had not gotten any funnier but the show had gotten "really bad" since his exit.

Robert Downey Jr.

Before becoming one of the most beloved A-list actors in Hollywood, Robert Downey Jr. was one of the most heavily criticized cast members from one of the most heavily criticized seasons of SNL from 1985 to 1986. He only came back to host once in 1996, during which he proved was the supremely talented performer we know and love and, eventually, became the first former SNL cast member to win an Oscar for Oppenheimer in 2024.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Julia Louis-Dreyfus would not become a comedy icon until after her three-year stint at Studio 8H from 1982 to 1985 when she joined the Seinfeld cast as Elaine Benes. In 2006, fresh off her Emmy win for The New Adventures of Old Christine, she became the first female former SNL cast member to return as a host, which she would follow with two more gigs.

Jimmy Fallon

After a successful six years at SNL from 1998 to 2004, Jimmy Fallon would return for three hosting gigs and countless cameos. Each time the late-night TV host comes back to Studio 8H tends to be a celebrated affair, especially because there is a good chance that his friend, Justin Timberlake, will show up to participate in a new edition of "The Barry Gibb Talk Show" or some other sketch.

John Mulaney

While he was never part of the SNL cast, John Mulaney would perform a few funny segments on "Weekend Update" during his five years on the writing staff. He would later become one of the biggest names in stand-up comedy and such a beloved host that he joined the Five-Timers Club within only four years.

Dan Aykroyd

Sometimes, for a cast veteran, the key to a memorable hosting gig is to wait an exceptionally long time to come back as an SNL host, much like Dan Aykroyd did. The legendary, Canadian-American comedy star, known for sketches like “The Coneheads” and “Super Bass-o-Matic ‘76” from his tenure as a Not Ready for Primetime Player, headlined an episode in 2003, more than two decades after leaving the show.

Sarah Silverman

Sarah Silverman is actually one of several SNL cast members who only lasted one season but still ended up becoming a huge success in the end. Two decades after she was let go from the series, the acclaimed comedian hosted a funny episode from Season 40.

Martin Short

It is hard to believe that a performer like Martin Short was only an SNL cast member for one season but he has, luckily, continued to demonstrate his dynamic comedic talents through memorable hosting gigs. His first hosting gig from 1986 was shared with his Three Amigos co-stars, Chevy Chase and Steve Martin – the latter of which he would co-host with again in 2022.

Adam Sandler

Surprisingly, despite making a couple of cameos over the years, Adam Sandler would not host SNL until 2019, which resulted in an instant favorite episode in which he sang two memorable songs. The former "SNL Bad Boy's" first tune (including a Chris Rock appearance) was during his monologue and discussed how he was fired after four seasons in 1995 and the other was a tribute to Chris Farley.

Kate McKinnon

After 10 wonderful years at SNL, the great Kate McKinnon would return a year and a half later to host the last episode of 2023, which proved to be a very successful episode, and not just because it featured cameos by Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, and her Barbie director, Greta Gerwig. Also, in Season 49, she would also come back for one more appearance as alien abduction victim Colleen Rafferty to make host Ryan Gosling laugh uncontrollably once again.

Chevy Chase

Only two weeks after his final episode as an SNL cast member, Chevy Chase made a hilarious, self-mocking cameo in the cold open as himself, performing music for tips outside of 30 Rock. He would continue to return for more cameos and eventually became the first host to join the Five-Timers Club before the idea of it had been suggested by Tom Hanks.

Billy Crystal

In a unique twist on this topic, Billy Crystal was actually meant to appear on the very first episode of SNL in 1975 but was ultimately cut for time, as depicted in the 2024 movie Saturday Night. As his notoriety increased, the comedian was asked to host twice in 1984 before being hired later that year as a cast member, during which he lit up the screen with his impersonation of Fernando Lamas and other notable characters.

Tina Fey

Having served as both "Weekend Update" host and head writer near the end of her nine-year tenure, Tina Fey was a true SNL MVP but some of her most memorable moments on the show occurred after her 2006 exit. Prior to her Five-Timers Club induction, the 30 Rock creator and star made numerous appearances as Sarah Palin that earned rave reviews.

Dana Carvey

A key element to SNL's new golden era from 1986 to 1993 was Dana Carvey and his wonderful talent for impressions, which he would continue to lend to Studio 8H in the years since his exit. The Wayne's World star is one of the most frequent returning cast members, especially in Season 50 as President Joe Biden.

David Spade

Many of David Spade's funniest quotes originate from his six years on SNL in the early-to-mid-1990s. His blunt, sarcastic, and sometimes unapologetically brutal delivery of mockery at other celebrities' expense would serve him well in his hosting gigs – the first of which included a cold open featuring Brad Pitt as his therapist.

Kristen Wiig

The final episode of SNL's 37th Season was the final episode for a few notable cast members but it ended with a grand send-off purely dedicated to Kristen Wiig's esteemed seven years, which included some hilarious quotes. It was not long before the Oscar nominee was asked to bring back her famous characters as a host and her Season 49 episode saw her induction into the Five-Timers Club.

Chris Farley

After becoming one of SNL's most esteemed icons during his five-season run and proving to be a box office draw with movies like Tommy Boy, Chris Farley was at the height of his fame when he came back to host two years after leaving. However, his October 1997 episode is now remembered more somberly because, only two months later, he would pass away from a drug overdose at the age of 33.

Maya Rudolph

Maya Rudolph proved herself as an all-time great during her seven years on SNL in the 2000s. She would return for multiple hosting gigs and an innumerable amount of special guest appearances, most notably as her Emmy-winning portrayal of Kamala Harris.

Pete Davidson

For his clever "Weekend Update" commentaries, fascinating personal life, and title as the youngest SNL cast member on record, Pete Davidson was one of the series' most talked about performers when he left at the end of Season 47. He was initially meant to return as a host for the following season but, due to the Writers' Strike, he instead returned for the Season 49 premiere, which featured a viral pre-filmed bit poking fun at his post-SNL career inspired by Barbie's "I'm Just Ken."

Tracy Morgan

Impersonations of the likes of Al Sharpton and Oprah Winfrey and hilarious original characters like Brian Fellow and Astronaut Jones made Tracy Morgan a force to be reckoned with during his seven years on SNL. As a result, each of the 30 Rock cast member's returns to the Studio 8H stage as a host or guest have been warm celebrations of his best moments as a cast member.

Paul Shaffer

Starting off as a member of Studio 8H's house band, Paul Shaffer later made history as the first person to drop the F-bomb on SNL during his 1979-1980 stint on the cast. Of course, he bounced back from the incident without issue and would make cameos on the show and host an episode from 1987 after being David Letterman's bandleader greatly increased his notoriety.

Damon Wayans

One of the most infamous SNL cast firings is that of Damon Wayans, who changed the nature of a character on the fly in the middle of a broadcast in 1986. The comedian would find even greater success as a member of the In Living Color cast and, in 1995, was asked to come back as a host.

Phil Hartman

It is easy to understand why some argue that Phil Hartman is the greatest SNL cast member of all time and why, just two years after his exit, he was asked to host twice in 1996. We have no doubt we would have seen more of the Emmy winner gracing the Studio 8H stage again if not for his untimely murder in 1998 at the age of 49.

Chris Rock

The first "Bad Boy of SNL" to return as a host was Chris Rock in 1996, which was three years after his departure. At that point, the comedian had found decent subsequent success by making appearances on the show's biggest competitor at the time, In Living Color.

Jason Sudeikis

While he would make several post-exit guest appearances, Jason Sudeikis' first time hosting in 2021 was eight years after he left the show, which was actually a year later than he had intended. The gig was a big moment, given his Emmy-winning success on Ted Lasso at the time and his heartfelt opening monologue celebrating his time as a writer-turned-cast member.

Will Ferrell

Despite a hiccup or two in his early days on the cast, Will Ferrell became one of the most beloved SNL cast members of the 90s and early 2000s. His many appearances since, including five hosting gigs, have resulted in some of the show's most celebrated moments in recent years.

Amy Poehler

Amy Poehler's impeccable skills of impersonation and arsenal of uproarious characters made her seven years on SNL a one-of-a-kind era. Her many notable appearances since include co-hosting with her friend and one-time "Weekend Update" co-anchor Tina Fey in 2015 and making cameoing as Leslie Knope alongside her fellow former Parks and Recreation cast member, Aubrey Plaza, in 2023.

Darrell Hammond

One of the all-time longest-standing SNL cast members is Darrell Hammond with 14 seasons but his time at Studio 8H would not stop there after all. In addition to making special appearances – most notably in "Celebrity Jeopardy!" sketches as Sean Connery – the actor would succeed Don Pardo as the show's announcer when Pardo passed away in 2014.

Molly Shannon

Three-time Emmy nominee Molly Shannon is the driving force behind one of the most iconic SNL characters to earn their own movie, Mary Katherine Gallagher. The misfit Catholic high school student is just one character she has brought back for her numerous appearances on the show since leaving in 2001, including two hosting gigs.

Bill Murray

After Chevy Chase left in 1976, stepping in to join the Not Ready for Primetime Players was Bill Murray, who hilariously acknowledged his struggle to make an impression on SNL early on in a famous sketch. Of course, the Oscar nominee would quickly achieve wild notoriety in the 1980s, which made his subsequent five hosting gigs and additional cameos much-celebrated occasions.

When it comes to the smartest TV detectives we’ve ever seen, Adrian Monk definitely can count himself among them – right next to Columbo, Sherlock Holmes, and Luther (to name a few). For eight seasons of the USA Network series, Adrian Monk’s tendency to see all the details, often tied with his OCD, matched with his personal motivation to get “the guy” following the death of his wife, Trudy, was exciting to tune into week-to-week. All the while, major actors would often guest star. Some of which were big names before Monk, and others that have since skyrocketed into fame. 

Jeffrey Dean Morgan 

Over a decade before Jeffrey Dean Morgan became The Walking Dead’s Negan, the famed TV actor was in the Season 3 premiere of Monk, “Mr. Monk Takes Manhattan.” In the episode, Monk travels with the SFPD team to New York City to do some work in association with the murder of Trudy, but in the meantime, Monk gets embroiled in the case of a recently deceased Latvian ambassador. Morgan’s character catches the detective’s eye in connection to the ambassador’s death. 

Malcolm McDowell

The lead of Stanley Kubrick’s masterful A Clockwork Orange, Malcolm McDowell, made his way into Monk during Season 4 in a particularly great episode of the series that takes the detective into the world of fashion. In “Mr. Monk Goes To A Fashion Show,” he decides to pay a visit to the inspector of his favorite collared shirts when he notices recent inconsistencies. It leads him and Natalie to meet a British fashion designer named Julian Hodge, played by McDowell. 

Jennifer Lawrence

Did you know that Silver Linings Playbook Oscar winner, Jennifer Lawrence, was in Monk? Back in 2006, when the actress was a teenager and had not yet starred in any movies, she had a very small role as a high school mascot in the Season 5 episode “Mr. Monk and the Big Game.” Her head is covered for most of her scene, but she does take off the helmet for a moment in the episode. 

Jason Alexander 

Seinfeld’s Jason Alexander guest starred in Monk for the Season 4 premiere “Mr. Monk and the Other Detective” as another P.I. in town named Marty Eels. During Monk’s latest case, the detective begins to be overshadowed by Alexander’s character, which hilariously has Monk calling him a cheater. As Eels becomes a big competitor for Monk, it’s a blast to see Shalhoub and Alexander act together. 

John Turturro 

Monk perfectly cast the detective’s brother in 2004 by bringing in John Turturro in a fabulous guest role, that he would play in three episodes. Turturro, who is famous for being in movies with the Coen Brothers, Spike Lee and Adam Sandler played Ambrose, who suffers from severe agoraphobia and deepened Monk’s backstory. He was so memorable in the series that he earned an Emmy for “Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series” for the episode in which he debuted the character, in Season 2’s “Mr. Monk and the Three Pies”. 

Stanley Tucci

One of the strongest Monk episodes of the series is definitely Season 5’s “Mr. Monk and the Actor.” In the 2006 episode, an actor named David Ruskin is set to play Adrian Monk in a movie based on his life and comes to shadow Adrian on his cases. Stanley Tucci plays Ruskin as the actor goes a bit too method with the role of Adrian and debunks some demons regarding what it’s like to be Monk. Tucci won an Emmy for the guest role, and was actually a finalist to play Adrian Monk prior to his guest role. 

Rainn Wilson 

Just a couple years before Rainn Wilson would become Dwight Schrute on one of the best sitcoms of all time, The Office, the actor made a small guest appearance on Monk in Season 2. He played a massive baseball fan and collector as Adrian Monk looked into a case involving a star baseball player. 

James Brolin 

Longtime TV and movie actor James Brolin (who is also the father of Josh Brolin and husband to Barbara Streisand), made his way into Monk for 2005’s Vegas episode. Brolin plays a millionaire casino owner who becomes a suspect following the death of his wife, and Stottlemeyer brings in Monk to solve the case. 

Sean Astin 

In Season 5, Lord of the Rings and The Goonies actor, Sean Astin crossed paths with Tony Shalhoub’s Monk in an episode called “Mr. Monk Is At Your Service.” Astin plays a young billionaire, Paul Buchanan, whom Monk and Natalie come across amidst a visit to Natalie’s parents' wealthy neighborhood. Monk ends up going undercover as Paul’s butler to learn more about him. 

Sarah Silverman 

Famed standup comedian, Sarah Silverman, guest starred in three episodes of Monk over the years as a character named Marci Maven. She first became part of the procedural in 2004 for “Mr. Monk and the TV Star,”  where she played an obsessed fan of the star of a hit show made up for the series called Crime Lab S.F. 

Danny Trejo 

In “Mr. Monk Goes To Jail” in Season 2, Danny Trejo, of Spy Kids, From Dusk Till Dawn and Desperado (among many of his movies), also got to work alongside Tony Shalhoub’s Monk. During the episode, Monk goes undercover as the cellmate of Trejo’s character, who is a convicted quadruple murderer. As you may suspect, comedy ensues. 

Snoop Dogg 

Snoop Dogg was also in Monk for the Season’s “Mr. Monk and the Rapper,” where he played a fictional hip hop star, Murderuss. In the episode, Murderuss approaches the detective to hire him to clear his name after becoming the primary suspect in the death of another rapper. The best part? Snoop Dogg actually raps Monk’s famous “here’s what happened” segment at the end. 

Alfred Molina

Beloved character actor, Alfred Molina, has also been part of Monk for a Season 6 episode. What’s interesting about Molina, is he was actually one of the finalists to play the lead role of Adrian Monk before Shalhoub was cast. In his guest role, he played a billionaire software mogul whose beach house has a view of a nudist beach. 

Jon Favreau 

MCU actor and famed director Jon Favreau was in “Mr. Monk Goes To The Dentist,” which aired during the series’ fourth season in 2006. Favreau plays a dentist who Lieutenant Disher goes to and swears murdered someone while he was under anesthesia for a procedure. 

Carmen Electra

All-star actor, model and singer Carmen Electra can be found in the Monk episode “Mr. Monk and the Panic Room” which came out in 2004. The episode has the detective investigating a crime scene where it seems like a chimpanzee has killed his owner. The victim is a record producer and Electra plays his pop star wife. 

Craig T. Nelson 

Poltergeist and Parenthood actor Craig T. Nelson earned a very important role in Monk for its two-part finale, “Mr. Monk and the End.” He plays Judge Ethan Rickover, who was on the California Court of Appeals and has a history with Monk’s late wife, Trudy. 

Tim Curry 

In Season 1, an enemy of Monk’s was introduced as financier Dale “The Whale” Biederbeck. After the character was originated by Adam Arkin, none other than The Rocky Horror Picture Show’s Tim Curry embodied the role for a brief time in “Mr. Monk Goes To Jail.” 

Niecy Nash

Reno 911’s Niecy Nash made a guest spot in Monk in the early days for “Mr. Monk and the Girl Who Cried Wolf.” The episode follows Adrian’s first assistant Sharona as she starts to believe she’s losing her sanity when she keeps seeing a man with a screwdriver sticking out of his ear (that no one else can see). Neicy Nash plays Sharona’s friend and fellow nurse, Varla should step in to assist Monk. 

Jeffrey Donovan 

The star of Burn Notice, which also was on USA Network like Monk, turned up in the detective series in the episode “Mr. Monk and the Astronaut.” In the Season 4 episode, Jeffrey Donovan plays an astronaut who Monk is sure killed someone, but his alibi is airtight… considering he was in space when the murder occurred. 

Laurie Metcalf 

Roseanne actress Laurie Metcalf had some fun on Monk when she guest starred in the Season 4 episode “Mr. Monk Bumps His Head.” When Adrian wakes up in a small town with amnesia, Metcalf’s unhinged character uses the opportunity to convince the detective he is her husband. 

Nick Offerman 

Parks and Recreation’s Nick Offerman made an appearance in 2005’s “Mr. Monk and the Election” before he became famous for playing the very quotable Ron Swanson. Look out for the actor in his clean-shaven days during the Season 3 episode that has Natalie Teager running for the school board. 

Jane Lynch 

Before actress Jane Lynch rocked sweatsuits on Glee, she did guest for “Mr. Monk Gets Married.” In the episode, Randy Disher is concerned about his mother getting suddenly married to a man who is 30 years younger (played by Lost’s Nestor Carbonell) than him and asks Monk to look into it. This leads Monk and Sharona to pretend to be a married couple for a retreat that Lynch’s psychologist character is in charge of. 

Amy Sedaris 

The very funny Amy Sedaris was on two episodes of Monk to play Sharona’s younger sister, Gail. She first appeared in 2002’s “Mr. Monk and the Earthquake” before also being part of 2003’s “Mr. Monk Goes To The Theater.” Since she’s an actress in the series, her part in a local play that turns into a crime scene makes the second episode a particularly juicy appearance for Sedaris. 

Rachel Dratch

Saturday Night Live’s Rachel Dratch found her way into Monk for “Mr. Monk and the Missing Granny.” In the 2004 episode, Dratch’s character is stressed about the kidnapping of her grandmother and offers to help reinstate Monk to the police force if he can help find her alive. 

Howie Mandel

The Gremlins actor and game and competition show host played the role of Ralph Roberts in two episodes of Monk in 2008. Howie Mandel played the head of a religious cult called Siblings of the Sun in the Season 7 episodes. Mandel is a germaphobe in real life like Monk is.

Holland Taylor

Two and a Half Men actress Holland Taylor played Natalie Teager’s mother Peggy in two episodes of Monk. In the series, Peggy is a well-off woman who married into the Davenport Toothpaste business. She is part of 2005’s “Mr. Monk Goes To A Wedding” and 2007’s “Mr. Monk Is At Your Service.” 

Gena Rowlands

Gena Rowlands is an Academy Award nominee who starred in movies like Woman Under The Influence and Gloria in her youth before famously playing the older version of Allie in The Notebook. In Season 7’s “Mr. Monk and the Lady Next Door,” Monk becomes friendly with Rowlands’ Marge Johnson, but suspicions about her true intentions begin to grow. 

Ariel Winter

Before Ariel Winter became part of Modern Family’s Dunphy family, the actress was in Monk as an eight-year-old for “Mr. Monk and the Astronaut.” She has a small but pivotal role as the neighbor of the victim, whose place in the story leads Monk to track down the killer. 

Julie Bowen

In Season 7’s “Mr. Monk and the Bully,” Julie Bowen plays a character that Adrian Monk investigates after his childhood bully comes out of the woodwork asking for help from the detective. The Truman Show’s Noah Emmerich plays her husband and Monk’s former bully. Julie Bowen is a two-time Emmy winner for her leading role in ABC’s Modern Family. 

Eric Stonestreet

Modern Family’s Cameron Tucker was on Monk the same year the hit ABC comedy first arrived on network television. In “Mr. Monk and the UFO,” Eric Stonestreet plays a small role as a local mechanic named Boom-Boom whom Monk offends and ends up raising his estimate. 

Sung Kang 

Sung Kang, who famously played Han in the Fast and the Furious movies, also guest starred in Monk as two separate characters. First in “Mr. Monk vs. the Cobra” he plays an employee of a martial arts school they visit while investigating the death of a fictional kung fu star, Sonny Chow. Four years later, Kang stars in “Mr. Monk on Wheels” as the cousin of a criminal named John Kuramoto.

Angela Kinsey 

The Office actress Angela Kinsey had a guest role in Monk as Arlene Boras for two episodes of the series. She plays an X-ray technician who was in Alfred Molina’s episode, “Mr. Monk and the Naked Man.” She reprised her role for the 100th episode of Monk as well. 

There are some former Saturday Night Live cast members who, after making a huge impact in a short amount of time, you could tell were destined to make a name for themselves at Studio 8H, leading to a celebrated and influential career in comedy. Then, there are also performers who are now regarded as comedy legends or, at least, respected names in the craft who, for some reason or another, did not find the star-making moment they were searching for during their short stint on the show. Why don’t we give the stars you may have forgotten were on SNL the recognition they deserve because, as far as we are concerned, their unremarkable legacy from the show was not their fault.

Jenny Slate

The one best-known thing from Jenny Slate’s SNL stint is her accidental F-bomb (on her first episode), which she assured InStyle had nothing to do with her firing at the end of the season. Luckily, her stardom only increased with a scene-stealing recurring role on Parks and Rec as Mona-Lisa Saperstein, creating and voicing Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, and making a memorable appearance in the 2023 Best Picture Oscar winner, Everything Everywhere All At Once.

Harry Shearer

As the voice of multiple memorable Simpsons characters — including Ned Flanders and Mr. Burns — and one of the members of Spinal Tap, Harry Shearer is nothing short of a legend in the comedy scene. Unfortunately, his time as an SNL cast member — first from 1979 to 1980 and again in 1984 — was an unpleasant and creatively stifling one, as he revealed to IGN.

Casey Wilson

We would certainly consider SNL a career highlight for Casey Wilson, but not necessarily among the top tier. For instance, playing Penny Hartz on ABC’s short-lived, but much-loved sitcom, Happy Endings, her pivotal role in David Fincher’s Gone Girl, or hosting multiple podcasts have contributed more to her stardom.

Tim Robinson

You could argue that Tim Robinson was actually one of the saving graces for his sole season on SNL, but the show was not quite fitting for the comedian's style. His penchant for the surreal and the cringeworthy was clearly better suited for his Netflix show (and another great sketch comedy series), I Think You Should Leave, anyway.

Janeane Garofalo

Did you forget that Janeane Garofalo was on SNL? You are not the only one. The comedian's best work in the realm of sketch comedy can instead be found on the criminally short-lived '90s show, The Ben Stiller Show.

Joan Cusack

Highlights of Joan Cusack's acclaimed career include two Academy Award-nominated performances (for Working Girl and In & Out). However, very rarely is her short time at SNL from 1985 to 1986 acknowledged because, quite frankly, there was not much worth acknowledging.

Ben Stiller

It’s not that SNL never really knew the best way to use Ben Stiller but, more accurately, he realized the show was not the best use for his talents at the time. He showed his strengths by making short films for The Ben Stiller Show, but would later come back to host SNL a few times and even landed a recurring stint as Donald Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen.

Sarah Silverman

With a successful stand-up career, two Emmy wins, and a main role in a beloved animated Disney movie franchise (Vanellope from Wreck-It Ralph and Ralph Breaks the Internet), Sarah Silverman is undeniably one of comedy’s biggest names. However, she would not get to that point until years after she was fired from SNL after one forgettable season — an experience for which she is still grateful for preparing her for the industry.

Robert Downey Jr.

It might be a bewildering surprise for some to learn that Iron Man himself was, not only on SNL in the mid-1980s, but is regarded as one of the weakest cast members in the show’s history. These days, however, Robert Downey Jr.’s sense of humor is considered a signature key element of his subsequent success and he has since become the only former SNL actor to win an Oscar (for Oppenheimer).

Noël Wells

Highlights of Noël Wells’ sole season on SNL include brief celebrity impersonations and… well, that’s really about it. She was already at her funniest, however, as part of College Humor and the Upright Citizens Brigade and would also go on to have a major role on Master of None and join the Star Trek: Lower Decks voice cast, to name a few achievements.

Damon Wayans 

Damon Wayans is actually a special case, in the sense that SNL had every chance to let him fully utilize his talents, but never took the initiative. This led the actor to take matters into his own hands and go off script, which got him fired, but paved the way for him to make a name for himself in the In Living Color cast.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Although she never really became an SNL all-star during her three seasons, Julia Louis-Dreyfus certainly did make an impact on then-SNL writer Larry David, who later gave her a career-defining, Emmy-winning role in the Seinfeld cast as Elaine Benes. Following that revolutionary sitcom, she won more Emmys for leading The New Adventures of Old Christine and HBO’s Veep cast, earned the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2018, and shows no sign of stopping any time soon.

Rob Riggle

With some funny moments as a Daily Show correspondent, hilarious appearances in hit comedies like The Hangover and Stepbrothers, etc., Rob Riggle is one of modern comedy’s greatest scene-stealers. Yet, nothing from his 2004-2005 SNL stint — also his first real showbiz breakthrough after 15 years in the Marines — lent to that reputation, which might have had something to do with the pressures of being “the new guy,” as he revealed to The Daily Beast.

Laurie Metcalf 

Laurie Metcalf is less a case of SNL not figuring out how to use an actor and more a case of the show depriving her of the chance, with her only contributions to the show being a “Weekend Update” bit and a pre-taped short. Of course, she would go on to become a star after playing Jackie on Roseanne (and later The Conners) and earned an Academy Award nomination for 2017’s Lady Bird.

Christopher Guest

Christopher Guest did have a few memorable SNL moments — such as he and Billy Crystal’s recurring appearances as Willie and Frankie or when, just a few months after 1984’s This is Spinal Tap released, he and the rest of the fictional rock group showed up in character in a pre-taped segment. Speaking of, further mockumentaries like Best in Show and A Mighty Wind would prove to be his true bread and butter.

Christine Ebersole

You may recognize Christine Ebersole from Academy Award-nominated dramedies like Tootsie and Licorice Pizza, her Tony Award-winning performances in Broadway musicals 42nd Street and Grey Gardens, or starring on the CBS sitcom, Bob Hearts Abishola, as Dottie. You may not recognize her so quickly from her one season on SNL in the early 1980s, during which she served as Brian Doyle-Murray’s co-anchor on “Weekend Update” (when it was called “SNL News Break”), most notably.

John Milhiser

John Milhiser is best known for being the second openly gay male SNL member, but not much else from his time at Studio 8H. The Upright Citizens Brigade veteran has since proved his skills with a recurring role on TBS’ The Guest Book, appearing opposite fellow SNL alumni Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones in 2016’s Ghostbusters, and plenty more.

Michaela Watkins

Perhaps you and some people you know may have quoted Michaela Watkins as blogger Angie Tempura before the actor was fired from SNL in 2009. Yet, we have a feeling you recognize the comedian and former Groundlings member even better from TV shows like Casual on Hulu and CBS’ The Unicorn or movies like Wanderlust, Good Boys, and Paint, for instance.

Gilbert Gottfried

The legendary, late comedian Gilbert Gottfried — known for countless movie and TV show roles, including Iago in 1992’s Aladdin — told Joe Rogan that the intense pressure of being part of the first cast to follow the Not-Ready-For-Primetime Players made his only year on SNL “terrible.” Well, in that regard, we suppose he would be thankful that his stint has gone largely forgotten ever since.

Danitra Vance

According to Advocate, Danitra Vance — famous for being SNL’s first Black female repertory player and first gay female regular, despite not being out at the time — is also known for, almost exclusively, playing stereotypical characters on the show. After leaving on her own accord during Season 11, she went on to put her sharp satirical talents to better use before tragically succumbing to breast cancer in 1994.

Brooks Wheelan

The funniest moment from Brooks Wheelan's SNL stint sees him acknowledge just how little screen time he actually got for that one season. He bounced back from his exit pretty well, thought, with an acclaimed stand-up career, roles on movies and TV shows like Big Hero 6: The Series, and his podcast, Entry Level.

David Koechner

Arguably, the best thing to come out of David Koechner’s single season on SNL is his friendship with Will Ferrell, who debuted on the show at the same time in 1995. Koechner later worked with Ferrell again in the Anchorman movies as his most iconic character, Champ Kind, which opened doors for plenty more hilarious small-screen and big-screen appearances.

Chris Elliott

When Abby Elliott joined SNL in 2008, few realized at the time that she was the daughter of Chris Elliott and even fewer realized that made her a second generation cast member. Elliott’s talents shone brighter anyway before his 1994-1995 Studio 8H stint with appearances on Late Night with David Letterman and since as one of the funniest Schitt’s Creek characters, Roland Schitt, to name a few examples. 

Michael McKean

As the star of movies like This is Spinal Tap and Clue and a main player on Laverne & Shirley, Michael McKean was already a certified comic genius (and even hosted SNL) years before he joined the cast from 1994 to 1995. Yet, very little evidence of what made the future Better Call Saul cast member such a refreshing comedic force could be found on the Studio 8H stage.

Aristotle Athari

Aristotle Athari did have one decidedly memorable role on SNL as an improvisational lounge singer named Angelo. However, his funniest roles are still outside of Studio 8H, including his recurring role as Gabe on Silicon Valley and one-half of the titular duo from the sci-fi rom-com, Molli and Max in the Future.

Nancy Carell 

She is best known today as Steve Carell's wife, but is also his frequent collaborator, appearing alongside each other in several films and TV shows and co-creating the hilarious cop show spoof, Angie Tribeca. However, Nancy Carell's one-season stint on SNL (during which she impersonated the likes of Diane Sawyer, Sharon Stone, and Martha Stewart) is largely forgotten.

Mike O'Brien

When it came to performing in sketches, Mike O’Brien never made much of an impression — save a couple of short, faux biopics in which he played Jay-Z and Oprah Winfrey. Perhaps O’Brien’s original Studio 8H gig as a writer was where his true talented lied, which became especially evident when he created the acclaimed, yet short-lived, NBC sitcom, AP Bio.

Dean Edwards

Dean Edwards is yet another example of an SNL cast member never really given a chance to shine beyond his ability to impersonate celebrities while appearing in the cast from 2001 to 2003. Come to think of it, that has essentially been the comedian’s claim to fame outside of the show, too, having filled in as Donkey in a few Shrek spin-offs, for instance. 

Laura Kightlinger

Laura Kightlinger was among the youngest SNL cast members, having been hired at 25 years old in 1994, which is, decidedly, the most noteworthy detail about her stint. Her later career, which involved producing and making guest appearances on sitcoms such as 2 Broke Girls on CBS and NBC’s Will & Grace, is what she is better known for.

Morwenna Banks

Holding the record for shortest SNL tenure is Morwenna Banks, who was added to the cast for the final four episodes of the 20th season and was not being asked to come back. Luckily, the British comedian and actor was doing just fine before coming to New York — she found success on the U.K. sketch show Absolutely — and has been since — writing, producing, and starring in various titles and voicing Mummy Pig on Peppa Pig.

Randy Quaid

Randy Quaid was another established Hollywood talent before he joined SNL for one season in 1985, having previously earned an Academy Award nomination for 1974’s The Last Detail and originated Cousin Eddie from National Lampoon’s Vacation franchise. He never quite brought the same energy to those iconic roles, or subsequent notable performances, that he did to the show.

Lauren Holt

In late 2020, Forbes put Lauren Holt on its “30 Under 30” list for that year, which has us convinced they saw her work before she joined the SNL cast that season. Her talents are much more evident from her days in the Upright Citizens Brigade or as a found member of musical improv troupe, The Pickup.

SNL may know how to pick ‘em, but it does not always know how or when to give its cast members their moment to show the world what they are capable

The Star Trek franchise has welcomed several notable guest stars over the years, though there was one in Voyager that was so unexpected it narrowly missed my list of WTF moments from the Kate Mulgrew-led series. Comedian Sarah Silverman had a fairly sizable role in the two-part episode "Future's End," and while we knew there was a scripted kiss, the star reported decades later she shared a real-life kiss with an unexpected co-star. 

Silverman played an astronomer named Rain Robinson in the episode, and she teamed up with Tim Russ' Tuvok and Robert Duncan McNeill's Tom Paris when the Voyager crew inadvertently found themselves back in time on Earth in 1996.  The actress recently recalled the experience during an interview on Late Night with Seth Meyers, and she talked about filming her kiss with McNeill, and a real-life kiss she shared with a previously unrevealed co-star:

It's a little surprising as a fan to hear the then 26-year-old Sarah Silverman made out with the 40-year-old Tim Russ, but that might be because I'm only familiar with Russ as Tuvok. Of course, I wouldn't expect a married Vulcan who is relatively emotionless throughout the bulk of Star Trek: Voyager to make out with one of the more prominent comedians of the time. Actors are, of course, different than the people they play on television, and this probably wouldn't be that strange in an everyday setting. 

Another moment I found strange from this story that makes me want to rewatch the episode with my Paramount+ subscription is that Robert Duncan McNeill had to stand on an apple box for the kiss so he wouldn't be the same height as Sarah Silverman. The practice, in general, isn't too uncommon in Hollywood, but I'd previously assumed it was typically done when the male actor was shorter than the female actress. One thing that is strange to note is that on Google, McNeill is listed as 6' 1", and Silverman is 5' 7". One would think an apple box wouldn't be necessary for that size difference, but I digress.

Going back to her off-screen kiss with Tim Russ, he hasn't commented since Sarah Silverman's latest story, but he's been pretty busy lately. The actor reprised his role as Tuvok in Season 3 of Star Trek: Picard, and he is still talking to Voyager fans about that "Tuvix" episode. He might just be one not to kiss and tell, especially considering this was kept a secret from fans for so long. 

At the moment, it doesn't appear as though there are immediate plans for Tim Russ or Sarah Silverman to pop up on any upcoming Trek shows. The odds of the latter returning are pretty slim, I'd imagine, considering Silverman's role was a guest spot.  As for Russ, his return to the sci-fi franchise is a possibility, especially in a world where fans are still campaigning for Star Trek: Legacy.  Also, we're in an era where Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks had a crossover even though it seemed impossible, so an appearance anywhere is not out of the question for his Vulcan character. 

Until something like that happens, however, the best place to see Tim Russ as Tuvok is on Paramount+. Stream Star Trek: Voyager now, and maybe rewatch "Future's End" with a different perspective knowing what was happening behind the scenes. 

Usually, when you think of people who get their start in show business early, you think of famous child actors. However, the same could be said about SNL cast members — many of whom can say they first got hired onto the show when they were just in their mid-20s, or even younger. The following are some of the youngest performers to grace the stage Saturday Night Live yet.

Anthony Michael Hall

According to The Independent, when Anthony Michael Hall became an SNL regular in 1985, he set the record for the show’s youngest cast member at just 17 years old. By then, he was already a teen idol from starring alongside fellow Studio 8H vet Chevy Chase in National Lampoon’s Vacation and standing out in now-iconic ‘80s movie classics like Sixteen Candles and Weird Science.

Dan Aykroyd

One of the youngest members of SNL’s original run from 1975 to 1980 was Dan Aykroyd, who became a Not Ready For Primetime Player at 23 years old. His high-energy performance style and bizarre ideas — he wrote beloved sketches like The Coneheads, among others — ensured a glorious Studio 8H tenure and his lasting legacy as an esteemed comedy icon.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Despite her unforgettable, Emmy-winning performances in the Seinfeld cast as Elaine Benes and Selina Meyer in the Veep cast, an actor you may have forgotten was on SNL is Julia Louis-Dreyfus. The sketch comedy series was the multi-Emmy winner’s big break in 1982 when she was just 21.

Pete Davidson

When Pete Davidson made his “Weekend Update” debut in 2014, the then-20-year-old was aptly referred to as SNL’s “Resident Young Person” and would frequently appear in sketches as a very convincing teenager. The comedian, who left the show in 2022, would soon grow up to be one of the biggest stars of his day, from co-creating and leading his own series, Bupkis, to joining blockbuster franchises like the Fast and Furious movies and the Transformers series.

Eddie Murphy

An often credited for coming to SNL’s rescue during its struggles in 1980 was Eddie Murphy, who was the first cast member hired while still under the age of 20 (19, to be exact). With unforgettable characters like Mister Robinson or his iconic take on Gumby, he showed a voracious talent way beyond his years that soon secured his place as one of Hollywood’s brightest stars. 

Joan Cusack

As she recalled to Terry Gross on the Fresh Air podcast, Joan Cusack did not have the best experience when she was cast on Saturday Night Live from 1985-1986 (not considered the show’s best season either) at age 23. Fortunately, after becoming the first SNL actor nominated for an Oscar two times (for Working Girl and In & Out), getting the chance to act alongside her siblings (including John Cusack) multiple times, and other memorable achievements, it seems things got better for her.

John Belushi

One of the first faces that most longtime fans picture when they think of SNL is John Belushi, whom you might assume already had decades of comedic work under his belt before being hired on the show in 1975 based on his staggering talent. As it turns out, the future star of The Blues Brothers — one of the greatest SNL movies ever made — was only 26 at the time.

Jay Pharoah

A then-22-year-old Jay Pharaoh quickly made a grand impression on Studio 8H when he appeared on “Weekend Update” with a spot-on impression of Will Smith in 2010. This would be only the first of many hilarious impersonations he demonstrated week after week until he, unfortunately, was fired from SNL in 2016.

Aidy Bryant

When Aidy Bryant was first hired in 2012, the then-25-year-old would often play teenagers, such as in one of SNL’s most popular sketches on YouTube in which she plays a high school student unaware she is an adult film character. The Shrill star would continue to play younger roles throughout her decade-long SNL tenure (which was actually longer than she had intended, due to Covid).

Robert Downey Jr.

Talk about starting early — Robert Downey Jr. earned his first IMDb credit at 5 years old when his father cast him in a bizarre avant-garde drama called Pound in 1970. Fifteen years later, after the future MCU star turned 20, he joined the SNL cast for just one season, during which he realized sketch comedy was not really his game, as he revealed to Sam Jones on Off Camera later.

Jimmy Fallon

Even as the host of The Tonight Show from 2014 on, Jimmy Fallon has, impressively, looked around 24 years old the entire time. However, that was actually the age at which the skilled impressionist, whose tendency to laugh often caused some sketches to not go as planned, joined the SNL cast in 1998. 

Sarah Silverman

With two Emmy Awards, a Disney franchise (the Wreck-It Ralph movies, as the voice of Vanellope), and an acclaimed stand-up career, Sarah Silverman has done a pretty good job navigating show business. According to her interview with Perri Nemiroff for Collider Ladies Night, she credits her brief SNL tenure, from 1993 to 1994, when she was just 22 as a great help in that area.

Kenan Thompson

Kenan Thompson got his start in sketch comedy even earlier than many can say, having been cast on Nickelodeon’s All That at age 15. About a decade later, in 2003, the then-25-year-old graduated to Studio 8H and went on to become one of the longest-tenured SNL actors in the show’s history.

Chris Farley

Chris Farley is a prime example of a showbusiness icon who achieved much in little time. The high-energy comedic talent, known for characters like motivational speaker Matt Foley and, later, movies like the fan favorite 1995 classic, Tommy Boy, was hired on SNL in 1990 at 26 and passed away just seven years later.

Laraine Newman

Arguably, one of the most underrated Not Ready For Primetime Players is Laraine Newman, who might be best known as Beldar (Dan Aykroyd) and Prymaat’s (Jane Curtin) daughter, Connie, from the “Coneheads” sketches. She was also one of the original SNL cast’s youngest members, having been hired in 1975 at 23.

Chris Rock

His blistering, hilarious satirical commentaries on “Weekend Update” made Chris Rock, easily, one of the sharpest ‘90s SNL cast members. Those appearances also stood as proof that he was wise beyond his years, having joined the cast in 1990 at age 25.

Gilbert Gottfried

Before the late Gilbert Gottfried became known for movies like Beverly Hills Cop II and 1992's Aladdin (as the voice of Iago), one of his first (and lesser-known) gigs was Saturday Night Live. The comedian started his 12-episode stint as part of the cast in 1980 when he was 25.

Abby Elliot

Abby Elliott was already 7 years old when her father — future Schitt’s Creek cast member, Chris Elliott — joined the SNL cast for the 1994-1995 season. Fourteen years later, in 2008, the future member of FX’s The Bear cast became part of Studio 8H's legacy at age 21.

Damon Wayans

Years before performing bits like “Homey D. Clown” and “Men on Film” in the In Living Color cast made him a comedy all-star, Damon Wayans was hired on SNL 1985 when he was 25. As he recalled in a Weekender interview, his stint only lasted 11 episodes because he decided to go off-script while a sketch was live in progress.

Andrew Dismukes

Andrew Dismukes is one of those SNL cast members who can be seamlessly inserted into a sketch set at a high school or as a family’s teenage son. One might even be surprised to learn that the actor — who also shined as a Joker-obsessed wedding bestman in a sketch that is somehow both terrible and amazing — was as old as 25 when he joined the show in 2020.  

Ben Stiller

Five weeks after joining the SNL cast, then-23-year-old Ben Stiller quit the show, wanting to just create short films instead of perform live sketches, according to an interview with Howard Stern from 2018. The actor and filmmaker later would do exactly that on the short-lived The Ben Stiller Show — also starring non-SNL sketch comedy performer, Bob Odenkirk — but eventually came back for a few SNL hosting gigs and a recurring role as Donald Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen.

Yvonne Hudson

Yvonne Hudson officially became the first Black female SNL cast member (and third Black cast member overall after Garrett Morris and Eddie Murphy) when she was 25. According to a Vulture interview with fellow Season 6 cast member Mitchell Kriegmann, Hudson was actually Studio 8H’s receptionist before she was brought onto the ensemble in 1980, which may explain why she has no other acting credits to her name.

Marcello Hernandez

One of the underrated Marcello Hernandez’s most popular SNL sketches — which spawned a sequel featuring Bad Bunny — saw him playing a college student bringing his girlfriend (Chloe Fineman) home to his overprotective, Spanish-speaking mother (Pedro Pascal). The comic’s college days were actually not too far away from him when that bit aired during his introductory season, having been hired in mid-2022 when he was 25.

Adam Sandler

Before Adam Sandler’s movies started to really launch him toward icon status in his 30s, the comic was making a name for himself on SNL while still in his 20s. The actor behind characters like Opera Man and songs like “Lunch Lady Land” first came onto the show when he was 25 in 1991.

Ellen Cleghorne

Ellen Cleghorne, SNL’s second Black, female cast member, was hired in 1991 when she was 26 and stayed on until 1995. Outside of Studio 8H, she is known for appearing in blockbusters like Armageddon as well as several comedies featuring fellow SNL veterans, such as Little Nicky opposite Adam Sandler and Old School with Will Ferrell.

Jay Mohr

Highlights of Jay Mohr’s two-year SNL stint, which began in 1993 when he was 23, include his impressive impersonations of celebrities like Christopher Walken and Billy Idol. Highlights of the comic’s career since include his antagonistic role in Jerry Maguire, his Emmy nomination for executive producing Last Comic Standing (which he also hosted, originally), and appearing in the Air cast for Amazon.

Melanie Hutsell

Best known for playing Jan Brady in “Weekend Update” segments and Di for the Delta Delta Delta sorority, Melanie Hutsell came on to SNL as a featured performer in 1991 when she was 23. Some may also recognize her from her small appearance alongside the Bridesmaids cast, a recurring role on Netflix’s Lady Dynamite, and more.

Brad Hall

According to People, when Brad Hall joined the SNL cast in 1982, the then-24-year-old had already met his co-star and future wife, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, as students at Northwestern University. The couple would go on to work together again when he created her first follow-up to Seinfeld, Watching Ellie.

Laura Kightlinger

Laura Kightlinger was 25 when she joined the SNL cast in 1994, during the show’s 20th season. After a year, she found even greater success as a producer of sitcoms like Will & Grace and 2 Broke Girls, on which she also made guest appearances.

Gary Kroeger

Al Franken is not the only SNL cast member to go into politics later on. According to the Des Moines Register, Gary Kroeger, who was hired in 1982 when he was 25 years old, ran for Congress in his home state of Iowa in 2015.

Tom Davis

Tom Davis was actually hired at SNL as a writer during the first season when he was 23, but would not be brought on as a cast member until two years later in 1977. Before he passed away in 2012, he also made a cameo in the sort-of Christmas movie classic, 1983’s Trading Places, alongside Al Franken, helped write the Coneheads movie from 1993, and more.

Peter Aykroyd

When Dan Aykroyd and the rest of the Not Ready For Primetime Players left the show in 1980, his then-25-year-old younger brother, Peter, briefly joined the cast the following season. Also an Emmy-winning SNL writer and former member of the Second City comedy troupe, Aykroyd sadly passed away in November 2021 at the age of 66.

Sometimes the brightest SNL stars turn out to be among the youngest as well.

Some of the best talk show hosts have been celebrities, and vice versa, throughout the history of this celebrated medium. However, that doesn’t mean just anyone can hold the desk equally. Keep that in mind as you take in this list of famous celebs who tried to make a talk show happen, but just couldn’t hold their own.

Regis Philbin - The Regis Philbin Show - 1981 - 1982

Throughout the history of Regis Philbin's best movie appearances, as well as his career as a legendary talk show host, the man made a name for himself as someone who knew how to talk to people. But even with his resume of success bookending The Regis Philbin Show's 1981-1982 run, there was still room to learn as this short-lived endeavor proved.

Alan Thicke - Thicke Of The Night - 1983 - 1984

Could Alan Thicke have made Thicke of the Night last under more ideal circumstances? Maybe, but then again, any show that tried to take on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson kind of deserved to be put through the wringer. On the plus side, Thicke wasn’t too far off from starring in Growing Pains, where he’d show us his smile again.

Joan Rivers - The Late Show - 1986 - 1988

Joan Rivers’ “permanent guest host” status on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show was exactly why the comedy icon landed her own series, The Late Show. Directly competing with that NBC landmark in a live program for the Fox network, this albatross supposedly ended the long friendship between Rivers and Carson.

Pat Sajak - The Pat Sajak Show - 1989 - 1990

Being a game show host isn’t the same as being a talk show host. Just ask game show icon Pat Sajak, whose own attempts at crossover success with The Pat Sajak Show never landed. Low ratings took this show out of commission, with Sajak not even hosting the final episode of his own show. After which point the only gaffes Pat would witness were those made on Wheel of Fortune.

Dennis Miller - The Dennis Miller Show - 1992

Sometimes talk shows fail because of not playing to the right audience. In the case of SNL vet Dennis Miller, we would see him flourish through HBO’s Dennis Miller Live program between 1994 and 2002. However, the syndication market didn’t exactly pick up on the man’s unique vibe, which is more than likely why The Dennis Miller Show never made it out of 1992.

Chevy Chase - The Chevy Chase Show - 1993

One of the most infamous late-night flameouts of all time, The Chevy Chase Show saw the SNL comedy legend trying to compete in the late-night wars on behalf of the fledgling Fox network. Not only did Chase’s show fail, but it was the continuation of a long-standing curse that TV titan still encounters to this day.

Jon Stewart - The Jon Stewart Show - 1993 - 1995

"Cancellation should not be confused with failure." David Letterman imparted those words to Jon Stewart as The Jon Stewart Show was literally canceled the day of that very interview. An unsuccessful jump from MTV to syndication could be the major factor that was to blame, though Letterman’s words eventually rang true when Stewart went on to become The Daily Show’s longtime host in 1999. 

Charles Grodin - The Charles Grodin Show - 1995-1998

Charles Grodin’s expertise in playing a curmudgeon made him a popular guest on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. So one could think placing that energy behind the desk would be a recipe for success, and that’s what CNBC had hoped when debuting The Charles Grodin Show. Twenty-six episodes later, that assumption was tested, and proven false.

Keenen Ivory Wayans - The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show - 1997 - 1998

With the magnetism that propelled him to success in movies and with TV’s In Living Color, surely Keenen Ivory Wayans had the juice to turn late night on its head, right? Nope. Lasting only a few short months, The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show was out like a flash. Judging by Keenen’s claims that he wasn’t really given the free reign he’d expected with the series, it’s no surprise why.

Magic Johnson - The Magic Hour - 1998

Eight weeks was all it took for NBA legend Magic Johnson to flame out on the talk show circuit. The Magic Hour was anything but, with critics clearly not digging the man’s style when it came to holding court on TV. Save for an infamous episode with one of his staunchest critics, Howard Stern, there wasn’t much enchantment to be found here.

Martin Short - The Martin Short Show - 1999 - 2000

The bad news is that certified comedy legend Martin Short didn’t last very long as the host of The Martin Short Show. However, the silver lining to be had is the fact that this short engagement in the land of talk shows did give us one of his most memorable characters, as this was the launching pad for one Jiminy Glick. 

Queen Latifah - The Queen Latifah Show - 1999 - 2001/2013 - 2015

Sometimes it all comes down to timing and ratings, both of which seemed to be the death knell for The Queen Latifah Show in its two separate incarnations. The 1999-2001 run could be seen as ahead of its time, while the 2013-2015 run saw a promising start leading to declining ratings. 

Wayne Brady - The Wayne Brady Show - 2001 - 2004

It’s still hard to believe that the charming and quick-witted Wayne Brady couldn’t make it in daytime talk. Though the Let’s Make A Deal host is doing quite well for himself now, The Wayne Brady Show was a bit of a stumbling block on his career path. Luckily, right before the show went off the air, Wayne’s infamous Chappelle's Show sketch went to air, and it gave him a win that overshadowed the whole business.

Zach Galifianakis - Late World with Zach - 2002

Zach Galifianakis’ Late World with Zach on MTV is a particularly notable example of what happens when a talent like this Hangover star lands at the wrong time. All of the ingredients were there, as MTV let Zach be Zach; but people weren’t clued into the gag just yet, because many of Galifianakis' best movies weren't out yet. By the time Between Two Ferns kicked off though, the world was ready, and a confrontational legend was born.

Caroline Rhea - The Caroline Rhea Show - 2002 - 2003

When a notable talk show host leaves, there’s always the question of who carries on their legacy of schtick. As The Rosie O’Donnell Show came to a close, Caroline Rhea’s talk show, The Caroline Rhea Show, attempted to pass that torch to the Sabrina the Teenage Witch legend. The networks, and audiences, were not exactly supportive, and after 195 episodes, it was no more.

Sharon Osbourne - The Sharon Osbourne Show - 2003 - 2004

Before Sharon Osbourne's "embarrassing" departure from The Talk, she struck it out on her own to try and parlay some of her reality TV fame into a chat show. And yet, The Sharon Osbourne Show didn't last, as the show failed to land a following, leaving Sharon to let it die a quiet, un-renewed death. 

John McEnroe - McEnroe - 2004

Tennis is a grueling sport, but talk shows can be even more of a battlefield if you’re not careful. John McEnroe learned that the hard way during a handful of months in 2004, when his series McEnroe went from a critically panned debut to a critically panned finale. Even his most dedicated fans have probably overlooked it, with a mere mention of the series prompting many exclamations of, “You can’t be serious!”

Megan Mullally - The Megan Mullally Show - 2006 - 2007

Sometimes our preconceptions get the better of us, and shows like The Megan Mullally Show suffer as a result. As audiences were taken aback by Mullally failing to be her Will & Grace character in real life, there was nowhere to go but down for this daytime talk show.

George Lopez - Lopez Tonight - 2009 - 2011

If it wasn’t for Conan O’Brien, Lopez Tonight may have had a healthy run on TBS. Though it seemed his hiring could have boosted George Lopez’s show, the only shake-up it got was being moved into a later time slot, with weakened ratings. However, this all happened with O’Brien trying to avoid any sort of bad blood along the way, with the host even paying tribute to this slain series on its final night of air.

Wanda Sykes - The Wanda Sykes Show - 2009 - 2010

Following in the footsteps of Joan Rivers’ The Late Show and Chevy Chase’s The Chevy Chase Show, Fox really wanted to make late-night happen with comedian Wanda Sykes. Unfortunately for the network, The Wanda Sykes Show was such a disappointment that it hasn’t even tried to mount another original program in that later evening block since. 

Katie Couric - Katie - 2012 - 2014

A staple of NBC’s Today, seeing Katie Couric go to daytime talk felt like a lateral move. Moving to ABC to do so was certainly the most shocking turn of it all, at least until Katie was mutually canceled by its star and overseers. What started as a good run soon fell into a slump, leaving this enterprise grounded by 2014.

Bethenny Frankel - Bethenny - 2012 - 2014

How’s this for a story? The Real Housewives of New York alum Bethenny Frankel tried to kickstart her talk show Bethenny, only for it to initially get shelved. Fate seemed to smile on the entrepreneur as the show was revived for a run between 2012 and 2014. Only 170 episodes would be produced before the hammer came down, freeing Frankel up for appearances on shows like Shark Tank. 

Kris Jenner - Kris - 2013

It wasn’t cancellation that ended Kris’ brief 2013 run, as the talk show fronted by Kris Jenner was only being tested when it aired. Coincidentally the most notable episode was its finale, which saw Kanye West showing off the first photos of her granddaughter North. Ratings spiked, but it couldn’t save this ship from sinking. 

Khloé Kardashian - Kocktails With Khloé - 2016

A TV show where the host drinks with their guests? Not a bad move, especially when someone with clout like Khloé Kardashian could get the concept greenlit for cable. Unfortunately for Kocktails with Khloé, the show struck out after 14 episodes; more than likely due to the perfect storm of airing on cable and audience feedback sounding rather disappointed with the overall product.

Harry Connick Jr. - Harry - 2016 - 2018

For someone as adept at conversation and shenanigans as Harry Connick Jr., to fail in the talk show landscape always feels like a waste. Harry capitalized on the former American Idol judge’s star power and charisma, but even then audiences weren’t buying as heavily as when he was a part of Fox’s former reality show fixture.

Sarah Silverman - I Love You, America With Sarah Silverman - 2017 - 2018

There still isn’t a clear answer as to why Hulu canceled I Love You, America with Sarah Silverman. A mashup of talk show and sketch show, Silverman took on the tough issues of our modern times with her trademark sense of humor. Twenty-one episodes still don’t seem like a long enough run, but that’s sadly where things ended.

Lilly Singh - A Little Late With Lilly Singh - 2019 - 2021

With Carson Daly giving up the throne of Last Call with Carson Daly, NBC made what seemed like a smart move. By tapping famous YouTuber Lilly Singh for her show A Little Late with Lilly Singh, the network was clearly trying to get the younger generation to tune into this tested timeslot. It didn’t work, even with some changes to the format in the second season, and with this show’s demise also came that of the 1:35 A.M. slot at NBC.

Kathy Griffin - Kathy - 2012 - 2013

Giving Kathy Griffin her own talk show, after years of being banned from shows like Ellen and The View, was probably a bit of a surprise. In fact, the only thing that would have been more surprising is if Kathy had actually lasted past its short spell of 24 episodes on Bravo.

ALF - Alf’s Hit Talk Show - 2004

ALF’s Hit Talk Show tried pretty hard in its extremely brief run to make TV Land viewers stay up a bit later. Not even guests like Merv Griffin and Doris Roberts, not to mention professional sidekick/Tonight Show legend Ed McMahon could push this affair past seven episodes. 

Russell Brand - Brand X With Russell Brand - 2012 - 2013

You’d think a talk show with Russell Brand at the helm would be something so controversial you’d have at least heard of it. That appears to not be the case, as FX failed to crack the same molds it had broken with shows like The Shield with its two-season run of Brand X with Russell Brand. 

Bonnie Hunt - The Bonnie Hunt Show - 2008 - 2010

Bonnie Hunt not only had the comedic chops and kindness to host something like The Bonnie Hunt Show, but she infused it with a creative spin. Thanks to guests being able to enter the set through various methods of excitement, like a firepole, there seemed to be some magic in giving the Cheaper by the Dozen star a daytime talk slot. Two seasons, and even a couple of award nominations later, it was lights out.

Fran Drescher - The Fran Drescher Tawk Show - 2010

For six seasons and 146 episodes, Fran Drescher charmed the world as Fran Fine on CBS’ The Nanny. Sadly, that sort of effortless affability didn’t help The Fran Drescher Tawk Show make it past 16 episodes in 2010. And yes, that did include a humorous reunion with her co-star Charles Shaughnessy. 

Even with the most pleasing personality, the best time slot, and a pedigree in the business, talk shows are a concept that can still present a gamble. Many celebrities have tried, and many more probably will in the future; because when you can make it as a talk show host, you can pretty much write your own ticket from that point on.

It’s been over five full months since the last new episode of The Daily Show aired, as it ceased production once the writers strike began. However, with the strike now over, the Comedy Central program is just a few days away from returning to the air like so many other late night shows. Ahead of the big return, the new guest host lineup has been revealed, and it includes some returning faces.

The Daily Show correspondent Michael Costa will kick things off by sitting behind the anchor desk starting on Monday, October 16, and the official announcement revealed that both Leslie Jones and Sarah Silverman will also be back, with the former having previously hosted from January 17-19, and the latter following from February 13-16. Here’s the full guest host lineup stretching to late November.

• Week of Oct. 16th: Michael Kosta
• Week of Oct. 23rd: Desus Nice
• Week of Oct. 30th: Charlamagne tha God
• Week of Nov. 6th: Sarah Silverman 
• Week of Nov. 13th: Leslie Jones 
• Week of Nov. 20th: The Daily Show News Team Takeover feat. Dulcé Sloan, Ronny Chieng and more
• Week of Nov. 27th: Michelle Wolf

Desus Nice, Charlemagne The God and Michelle Wolf had all been slated to guest host The Daily Show this past summer, but those plans were scrapped once the writers strike began. It’s good to see that that they were rescheduled now that the series is back up and running, and those of you who enjoyed Leslie Jones and Sarah Silverman hosting earlier this year can now look forward to more of their comedic chops on display on The Daily Show’s set. For those wondering what “The Daily Show Team Takeover” entails on the week of November 20th, the official Comedy Central announcement statement states that there will be “tag team anchoring,” with more details to follow.

This news follows a week after correspondent Roy Wood Jr. said that he was leaving The Daily Show, although he did admit he’d be swayed into staying if he was chosen to be the permanent host. On that note, while originally the goal was for Trevor Noah’s successor to be announced this fall, obviously the writers strike necessitated such plans to be tabled. So for now, we’re still in this guest host period, and reportedly the new permanent host will now be announced sometime in early 2024. While Hasan Minhaj was once reportedly the frontrunner for the job, The Daily Show is now said to be widening its search again, although the comedian is still in the running.

The Daily Show airs weeknights at 11 pm ET/PT on Comedy Central, and its episodes can also be streamed with a Paramount+ subscription. Browse through our 2023 TV schedule to see what other shows are left to premiere/resume before the year is over.

It is no secret to anyone who has ever watched the hit sketch comedy series that the Saturday Night Live cast changes every year. In fact, there are some SNL actors who do not last any longer than one season. While some one-season-wonders have since fallen into obscurity, there are plenty of others who may have already been well-known to begin with or went on to become bigger than anyone could have imagined, as you can see from this list below. 

Nancy Carell 

The 1995-1996 season of SNL saw the debut of a Second City improv grad then named Nancy Walls, who — according to Vulture — was best known for impersonating the likes of Diane Sawyer, Sharon Stone, and Martha Stewart. Years after her sole season on SNL, Nancy would return to Studio 8H to appear in the opening monologue for a Season 38 episode hosted by her now husband, Steve Carell.

Chevy Chase

As one of SNL’s most famous former cast members, it’s easily forgotten that Chevy Chase was on for just one year (the series’ first) due to his then-girlfriend’s reluctance to move closer to set, according to the book, Live From New York: The Complete Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live. After Bill Murray replaced him, Chase had a successful movie career, became a Five-Timer’s Club member, and starred in the Community cast for several seasons.

Billy Crystal

Billy Crystal was an established name when he joined SNL in 1984 and was even supposed to be the very first show’s final act before his managers pulled him out, feeling the time slot was disrespectful, according to Live From New York. The comedian’s brief run — before going on to star in hit movies like rom-com classic When Harry Met Sally… — was a memorable one, especially for his recurring portrayal of Fernando Lamas.

Joan Cusack

John Cusack is an actor who has never hosted SNL, but his sister, Joan Cusack, was actually a cast member during the disastrous 11th season from 1985-1986, which — as she revealed on Terry Gross’ Fresh Air podcast — was a miserable experience. Luckily, her subsequent career after she and the rest of that year’s cast got fired has gone very well, including two Academy Award nominations (for Working Girl and In & Out), sharing the screen with her siblings on occasion, etc. 

Robert Downey Jr.

Yeah, that’s right: Iron Man was an SNL regular from 1985-1986, during which he realized the “rapid-fire sketch comedy” format was not for him — as he revealed to Sam Jones on Off Camera — and was later ranked dead last on Rolling Stone’s list of the show's best cast members in 2015. Even with the evidence recorded for the world to see, the two-time Academy Award nominee’s current career makes that mostly forgotten part of his career hard to believe.

Chris Elliott

Late 2000s cast member Abby Elliott is actually a second generation SNL star, following her father, Chris Elliott’s, short tenure in the mid-1990s, despite previously having the chance to join in the mid-1980s, as he told The Daily Beast. He was already on his way to being a comedy icon by then thanks to appearances on Late Night with David Letterman and surely is now, thanks to his role as one of the funniest Schitt’s Creek characters, Roland Schitt, to name one example.

Janeane Garofalo

After making her acting debut on short-lived sketch comedy series, The Ben Stiller Show, Janeane Garofalo joined SNL from 1994 to 1995. Today, the stand-up comedian is well known for numerous movie and TV roles, including for her twice Emmy-nominated role on The Larry Sanders Show and from one of Pixar’s best movies, Ratatouille, as Colette.

Gilbert Gottfried

In 2022, we lost comedian Gilbert Gottfried, who is well known for playing Iago in Disney’s Aladdin, but not so much from SNL. Gottfried told Joe Rogan that his one year as a regular was “terrible” because he came on in 1980, right after the original cast had all left, which had viewers especially critical. 

Christopher Guest 

These days, writer, director, producer, and actor Christopher Guest is known as one of the leading “mockumentarians” for hits like Best in Show and This is Spinal Tap. He and the rest of the faux rock band actually appeared on SNL when he was cast member from 1984-1985, during which he was the anchor for “Weekend Update,” when it was being called “Saturday Night News.”

Anthony Michael Hall

Anthony Michael Hall became the youngest SNL cast member in history at just 17, according to The Independent, when he joined in 1985. Of course, by then, he was already one of Hollywood’s top teen stars, having played Chevy Chase’s son in National Lampoon’s Vacation and stole the show in hit coming-of-age ‘80s movie classics like Sixteen Candles and Weird Science (alongside Robert Downey Jr.).

David Koechner

Years before he starred alongside SNL all-star Will Ferrell in the Anchorman movies, David Koechner actually met him when they were on the show together, as he told Larry King Now guest host, Tom Green. The actor and comedian also debuted his character, Gerald “T-Bones” Tibbons, in a few sketches during his 1995-1996 stint.

Laurie Metcalf 

She is best known for her role on Roseanne (and The Conners), her Oscar nomination for Lady Bird, and playing Sheldon’s mom on The Big Bang Theory, but one of Laurie Metcalf’s earliest gigs was SNL. On Late Night with Seth Myers, she reflected on her two contributions to the show: a “Weekend Update” reporter bit and a short film opposite Catherine O’Hara.

John Milhiser

A highlight of John Milhiser’s SNL tenure was his only slightly exaggerated Jon Cryer impersonation in a few segments from Season 39. After Deadline reported that his contract was not being renewed, the comedian later appeared opposite alumni Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones in 2016’s Ghostbusters.

Randy Quaid

In addition to stealing the show from Chevy Chase in the National Lampoon’s Vacation, Randy Quaid had also earned an Oscar nomination for 1974’s The Last Detail before joining SNL. His followed the infamous 1985-1986 season by broadening Cousin Eddie’s iconography in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation cast and starring in classics like Independence Day and Brokeback Mountain.

Rob Riggle

Rob Riggle’s 2004-2005 SNL stint was his first major showbiz gig following 15 years as an active marine, as he recalled to The Daily Beast. He also revealed his time as his season’s only “new guy” caused some dysfunction, but at least it led to a successful career as a Daily Show correspondent, appearing in hit comedies like The Hangover, and hosting Holey Moley.

Tim Robinson

As Primetimer recalls, Tim Robinson joined SNL in 2012 alongside Aidy Bryant and Cecily Strong, but was the only one out of that new trio to not make it past one season. He would eventually make up for lost time pretty significantly by co-creating and starring on Netflix’s hit sketch comedy series, I Think You Should Leave.

Paul Shaffer

Paul Shaffer has an interesting SNL history, having started off as a member of the house band before becoming a cast member in 1979, at which point he became the first to drop the F-bomb during a show, according to EW. Today, we know him best as the band leader for David Letterman’s storied late night career.

Martin Short

A comedy legend of Martin Short’s stature and talent — despite not pleasing everyone, apparently — is someone you’d assume had been on there longer than one season, but, as he discussed with Howard Stern, that turned out to be the case. From 1984-1985, the Only Murders in the Building cast member played many memorable characters, including Ed Grimley, most notably.

Sarah Silverman

Getting fired from SNL in 1994 was a bit disappointing to Sarah Silverman, but — as she told Perri Nemiroff on Collider Ladies Night — that one season was a great experience that made navigating show business a little easier. The two-time Emmy winner is now one of the best-known comedians there is, having even gained an audience too young for her stand-up after voicing Vanellope in Wreck-It Ralph and Ralph Breaks the Internet.

Jenny Slate

Jenny Slate clarified to InStyle that her firing from SNL in 2010 had nothing to do with her accidental F-bomb in that season’s premiere episode, but claims she “just didn’t belong there.” Her career since — including playing Mona-Lisa Saperstein on Parks and Rec, creating and voicing the title role of Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, and appearing in Best Picture Oscar winner, Everything Everywhere All At Once — has surely been a great consolation anyway.

Ben Stiller

Not quite a “one-season-wonder,” Ben Stiller explained to Howard Stern that he was on SNL for five weeks before quitting in 1989 because he preferred creating short films over performing in live sketches — much like he did with The Ben Stiller Show. After launching a phenomenal career (that included occasionally sharing the screen with his parents), he has since come back to host twice, make some cameos, and recur as Donald Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen.

Terry Sweeney

SNL’s first openly gay cast member (and first on “network, commercial-based television,” according to Out) was Terry Sweeney, who was a writer before being recruited for the 1985-1986 season. He went on to write for MADtv and co-created a short-lived sketch comedy called Hype and more recently appeared on American Crime Story Season 2 and Netflix’s The Politician.

Danitra Vance

While not out at the time, Danitra Vance is tied with Terry Sweeney as SNL’s first LGBTQ+ cast member, having starred alongside him during Season 11. According to Advocate, she actually resigned from the show herself and continued to write and perform sharply satirical comedy before she passed away from breast cancer in 1994.

Michaela Watkins

Michaela Watkins — best known as blogger Angie Tempura — told EW that Lorne Michaels fired her from SNL in 2009, believing she should have her own show, which eventually happened when she was cast on Hulu’s Casual and, later, The Unicorn on CBS. You may also recognize her from movies like Good Boys or from Hulu’s true crime miniseries, The Dropout, more recently.

Damon Wayans 

In the world of sketch comedy, Damon Wayans is best known for his spot among the In Living Color cast and his iconic characters like Homey D. Clown. However, prior to that, he was a featured SNL performer for 11 episodes before he was fired for — as he discussed in a Weekender interview — going off script. 

Noël Wells

College Humor and Upright Citizens Brigade vet Noël Wells was not brought back for a second season on SNL in 2014, but bounced back pretty quickly. She had a pivotal role on Netflix’s Master of None; wrote, directed, and starred in 2017’s Mr. Roosevelt, and more recently lending her voice to Star Trek: Lower Decks. 

Brooks Wheelan

In a 2014 “Celebrity Family Feud” sketch, Brooks Wheelan (as himself) assures Steve Harvey (Kenan Thompson) that he is on SNL, to which the host responds, “I doubt it." -- a playful dig at his lack of screen time during his freshman season. In July 2014, the comedian announced he would not be returning with a tweet reading, “Had a blast and loved every second of it. I'm totally honored to be able to make this next joke... FIRED FROM NEW YORK IT'S SATURDAY NIGHT!

”

Mike O'Brien 

Mike O’Brien was an SNL writer from 2009 to 2015, but also pulled double duty as a cast member from 2013-2014, during which he played Jay-Z and Oprah in a couple of short, faux biopics. Some of his more recent highlights include a Booksmart cameo and creating the short-lived NBC sitcom, AP Bio.

Aristotle Athari

One of SNL’s more recent one-season-wonders is Aristotle Athari, who was actually the show’s first Middle-Eastern male cast member and second Iranian-American cast member, according to The Dallas Morning News. Despite minimal screen time before his Season 47 exit, he did have a recurring character: indecipherable, improvisational lounge singer, Angelo.

Peter Aykroyd

A year after his brother, Ghostbusters star Dan Aykroyd, left the show, Peter Aykroyd joined as a cast member in 1980 and went on to earn an Emmy Award as a staff writer. The former Second City member, sadly, passed away at 66 in November 2021, USA Today reported. 

Jim Downey

While Jim Downey was only an SNL cast member for one year in 1980, he has been a writer for the show longer than anybody, with more than 30 seasons under his belt. He would show up on camera every so often in the later years, such as for a pair of faux ads for a bank that only gives people change, which he also wrote.

Christine Ebersole

Christine Ebersole’s distinct professionalism can be summed up in a story she shared to Broadway World from her 1981-1982 SNL stint in which she managed to sing a parodic Christmas carol on live TV with a piece of fake snow stuck in her throat. The actor is better known today for Oscar darlings like Tootsie and The Wolf of Wall Street, starring alongside fellow SNL alums Chris Farley and David Spade in Black Sheep, and starring on CBS sitcom Bob Hearts Abishola since 2019.

Not everybody needs to reach Kenan Thompson’s record to really make it in comedy, as many of these one-season SNL actors can support.

By our count, there are 97 famous faces in the massive, star-studded History of the World, Part II cast — all of whom would be just a little too difficult to cover in one article. So, we decided to narrow our breakdown of who is starring in Mel Brooks’ aptly titled series sequel to his 1981 film, History of the World, Part I, to just the 18 names confirmed in the trailer for the new comedy TV show streaming on Hulu now. Let’s begin with the man who started it all. 

Mel Brooks

We do not know who Mel Brooks is playing in History of the World, Part II, but hope he reprises some of his characters from the original (such as Moses and King Louis XVI), which is just one of the many classic spoof movies (such as Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, and Spaceballs) that made him a legend. In more recent years, the Oscar winner (for writing 1967’s The Producers) has mostly done voice acting roles in movies like the Blue Sky favorite, Robots, the Hotel Transylvania movies was Vlad, Toy Story 4 as Melephant Brooks, and the Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank cast as The Shogun.

Ike Barinholtz

Portraying multiple historical figures (including Alexander Graham Bell) is executive producer and former MADtv star Ike Barinholtz, who has also starred in parody movies like Disaster Movie and Vampires Suck, as well as more grounded comedies like Blockers and Neighbors and nuanced, dark satires like The Oath, which he also wrote and directed. The Mindy Project cast member’s career has also grown more eclectic after appearing in thrillers like Suicide Squad (before voicing Two-Face on the DC-inspired podcast, Batman: The Audio Adventures), The Hunt, and Netflix’s fantasy crime drama, Bright.

Nick Kroll

Also taking on multiple roles (such as Judas, according to THR) and executive producing is comedian Nick Kroll, who had his own sketch series called Kroll Show, following his appearances in movies like I Love You, Man and Dinner with Schmucks and his starring role on one of the funniest shows on Hulu, The League. Outside of lending his voice to the new Addams Family movies and the Sing movies, the Emmy-nominated co-creator of Netflix’s Big Mouth has also led a more eclectic career lately that includes joining the Don’t Worry Darling cast and the 2018 historical drama, Operation Finale.

Wanda Sykes

Fellow History of the World, Part II headliner (appearing as Harriet Tubman in one sketch, for instance) and executive producer Wanda Sykes has one of the funniest stand-up specials on Paramount+, is a scene-stealer in movies like Down to Earth, Monster-in-Law, and Clerks II, and stars on a popular Netflix sitcom called The Upshaws. The recent Oscars host was also a highlight of other sitcoms like Curb Your Enthusiasm and The New Adventures of Old Christine and has leant her voice to movies like the Ice Age series and TV shows like Bob’s Burgers.

Pamela Adlon

Pamela Adlon’s career began with a role in 1982’s Grease 2, leading to guest spots in acclaimed sitcoms like Night Court and The Jeffersons, and parts in cinematic favorites like Say Anything… She is best known, however, for her various voice acting roles — such as her Emmy-winning work in the King of the Hill cast as Bobby Hill and Netflix’s Human Resources cast with Kroll — and leading the FX dramedy, Better Things, which she also co-created. 

Zazie Beetz

Appearing as Mary Magdalene (according to Time) is Zazie Beetz, who rose to fame as one of the four main stars of FX’s Atlanta in her Emmy-nominated role as Vanessa. Soon after, the German-American actor earned comic book movie roles (Domino in Deadpool 2 and Joaquin Phoenix’s love interest in Joker), leant her voice to a comic book TV show (Amazon Prime’s Invincible cast), played a disguised assassin in the Bullet Train cast, and is set to appear on Black Mirror Season 6, next.

Jack Black

Jack Black once paid tribute to Mel Brooks at the Kennedy Center Honors by performing a song from Robin Hood: Men in Tights and earned the chance to do so by being one of the most popular comedic actors of his time after starring in movies like High Fidelity and School of Rock — the latter of which earned him his first Golden Globe nomination — to name a few. Some of the actor and musician’s best-known work also includes Peter Jackson’s King Kong remake, director Ben Stiller’s Tropic Thunder, voicing Po in the Kung Fu Panda franchise, and the last couple of Jumanji movies.

Quinta Brunson

Jack Black’s Weird: The Al Yankovic Story co-star, Quinta Brunson (she played Oprah), has quickly become one of the most prominent faces in comedy following her Emmy-winning work as the creator and star of Abbott Elementary. Prior to that, she appeared alongside Seth Rogen (more on him later) in HBO Max’s An American Pickle, parodied another era of history on TBS’ third season of Miracle Workers, and also leant her voice to a few episodes of Big Mouth.

Dove Cameron

As Princess Anastasia, we have former Disney Channel star Dove Cameron, who has come quite a long way since rising to fame as both titular roles on Liv and Maddie and Maleficent’s daughter in the Descendants franchise. The star of Vengeance and Good Mourning more recently utilized her talents for acting and singing in Apple TV+’s Schmigadoon! cast.

Danny DeVito

One of the biggest living legends in History of the World, Part II is Danny DeVito, whose eclectic film career includes One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Twins, and Batman Returns (as one of the most iconic Penguin portrayals) — and that is not counting what he has directed, such as Matilda and Death to Smoochy. He is just as much of an icon on TV, having earned an Emmy for playing Louie de Palma on Taxi and starring as Frank Reynolds in the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia cast for 15 seasons so far.

Jay Ellis

Starring as Jesus is Insecure cast member Jay Ellis, who had previously landed his first starring role on a TV series with BET’s The Game. That would lead to an impressive resume of feature-length hits like 2019’s Escape Room, playing Payback in the Top Gun: Maverick cast, and Alison Brie’s love interest in Amazon’s Somebody I Used to Know.

Josh Gad

Starring as William Shakespeare is Josh Gad, who last worked with Mel Brooks on FX’s mockuseries The Comedians, on which he poked fun at his meteoric fame following his Tony-nominated performance in Broadway’s The Book of Mormon and scene-stealing role as Olaf in the Frozen frozen. The star and co-creator of Apple TV+’s Central Park also had a big year in 2017 with Murder on the Orient Express, Marshall, and playing LeFou in the live-action Beauty and the Beast remake, before playing Muncher in Ghostbusters: Afterlife and starring on Avenue Q for HBO.

Johnny Knoxville

After MTV’s Jackass and its subsequent movie spin-offs made him a star, Johnny Knoxville (who plays Rasputin in History of the World, Part II) went on to star in comedies like The Dukes of Hazzard and The Ringer and action movies like Dwayne Johnson’s Walking Tall. More recently, the prankster — also known for voicing Leonardo in the new, live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies — landed his first starring role on a TV series when he joined Hulu’s Reboot cast in 2022.  

Kumail Nanjiani

As the creator of the “Kama Soup-tra,” we have Kumail Nanjiani, who was already well on his way to becoming one of comedy’s biggest names (as co-host of Comedy Central’s The Meltdown) before he and spouse Emily V. Gordon earned Oscar nominations for writing The Big Sick. The Pakistani-born actor and Welcome to Chippendales cast lead has since joined the MCU (he was Kingo in the Eternals cast) and the Star Wars universe (played Haja Estree in the Obi-Wan Kenobi cast).

Seth Rogen

Playing Noah is Seth Rogen, who has previously crossed paths with most of his History of the World, Part II co-stars at least once since breaking out in the Freaks and Geeks cast (his first of many collaborations with Judd Apatow), such as Nick Kroll in Sausage Party and Big Mouth, Zazie Beetz on Invincible, and Ike Barinholtz in The Disaster Artist. The writer, director, producer, and actor has expanded his horizons wonderfully in recent years with more serious roles in films like Steve Jobs and Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans, and TV shows like Pam & Tommy. 

Sarah Silverman

Rogen’s Funny People and Santa Inc. co-star and Jack Black’s School of Rock co-star, two-time Emmy-winner Sarah Silverman, had a short SNL stint and guest-starred on Seinfeld before becoming one of the most acclaimed comedians of her generation. Some of her best-known roles include Vanellope in the Wreck-It Ralph movies, Gladys Heldman in Battle of the Sexes, various characters on Bob’s Burgers, and fictionalized versions of herself on many occasions.  

J.B. Smoove

Seemingly poking fun at his Curb Your Enthusiasm character, Leon, in a History of the World, Part II segment called “Curb Your Judaism” (according to IGN’s review) is former SNL writer J.B. Smoove, who has appeared as a guest star or main player on numerous sitcoms over the years — most recently when he joined the Blockbuster cast for Netflix. In addition to memorable roles in movies like Pootie Tang and Date Night, he is also part of the MCU (having appeared in two Spider-Man movies).

Taika Waititi

Another an MCU star (from both in front of and behind the camera) in the History of the World, Part II cast (as Sigmund Freud) is Taika Waititi, who previously poked fun at history by playing an imaginary Hitler in Jojo Rabbit, which also earned him a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar, and Blackbeard in HBO’s Our Flag Means Death. He is also part of the Star Wars universe, having played a droid on The Mandalorian (which he also directed an episode of), the DC Extended Universe after playing the original Ratcatcher in The Suicide Squad, and more recently leant his voice to Pixar’s Lightyear cast as Mo.

Look out for other cast members — such as Seinfeld’s Jason Alexander, Emily Ratajkowski, Big Mouth’s Jason Mantzoukas, Jillian Bell, Jack White, and so many more — when you stream History of the World, Part II on Hulu. Be sure to do your homework by also checking out History of the World, Part I on Hulu, too.

On December 8, 2022, The Daily Show hit the end of another era, with host Trevor Noah, who replaced Jon Stewart, leaving the show after seven seasons. Noah will now be spending more time traveling for both pleasure and to do stand-up comedy, but as far as The Daily Show is concerned, it was announced a few days ahead of the comedian’s exit that numerous celebrities will be filling as guest hosts for the foreseeable future. Cut to the beginning of 2023, it’s been announced who will be kicking off this portion of the Comedy Central series’ run.

As had previously been shared, Leslie Jones will be The Daily Show’s first guest host post-Trevor Noah, with her time behind the desk lasting from January 17-19. After that, Wanda Sykes will take over from January 23-26, followed by D.L. Hughley from January 30-February 2, Chelsea Handler from February 6-9, and then Sarah Silverman from February 13-16. But these five celebrities are just the opening salvo of guest hosts, with others on the way including Hasan Minhaj, Al Franken, John Leguizamo, Kal Penn and Marlon Wayans, though no dates for them have been announced yet. Of these individuals, Minhaj is the only one with past Daily Show experience, having previously worked as a correspondent from 2014-2018.

So we now have mid-January-mid February covered on The Daily Show, and with those additional celebrities, that should take us around mid-late March. However, Chris McCarthy, president of Comedy Central and CEO of Paramount Media Networks, previously said that this guest host rotation would unfold until sometime in June. So along with current Daily Show correspondents and contributors, like Roy Wood Jr. and Dulcé Sloan, set to also get guest hosting turns, you can count on more celebrities being announced for that position in the coming months. As McCarthy put it, this period is being used to “really experiment and try different things.”

After that, The Daily Show will go on break until September, when it will “relaunch” with the new permanent host. That being said, Chris McCarthy and The Daily Show showrunner Jen Flanz have said that they’re exploring the possibility of transitioning the series to having multiple anchors/hosts, so it’s entirely possible that the show could end up looking a lot different come this fall. What’s important to remember at the moment, though, is that just because someone is guest hosing The Daily Show doesn’t mean you should consider this their audition to keep the job. This is simply an opportunity to try their hand at hosting this popular cable series in the middle of their other gigs and obligations.

Keep your eyes peeled on CinemaBlend for more news about what the future of The Daily Show holds in store, including which guest host will follow Sarah Silverman in late February. Our 2023 TV schedule is also available to peruse if you’re curious about other programming on the air now or coming up.

In just two days, The Daily Show hits the end of an era, with Trevor Noah departing the satirical news program after hosting for seven years following Jon Stewart’s exit. Needless to say that ever since it was announced that Noah was leaving The Daily Show on December 8, there’s been the question of who will succeed him as the Comedy Central series’ permanent host. As it turns out, we’ll have to wait to a lot longer than expected to learn that answer, because for a good chunk of the next year, SNL vets and a swarm of other talent will be filling in as guest hosts.

Just like the transition period between Craig Ferguson and James Corden on The Late Late Show, or how Jeopardy! brought in numerous fresh faces to fill in following Alex Trebek’s passing, The Daily Show will be moving ahead with guest hosts to fill in for Trevor Noah in 2023, starting with Leslie Jones, who was a Saturday Night Live cast member from 2014 to 2019, on January 17. Here’s the full list of the announced participating talent (in no particular order other than Jones being first):

• Leslie Jones
• Al Franken
• Sarah Silverman
• Chelsea Handler
• Wanda Sykes
• D.L. Hughley
• John Leguizamo
• Kal Penn
• Marlon Wayans
• Hasan Minhaj

Additionally, current Daily Show correspondents and contributors are set to be guest anchors on The Daily Show, with Roy Wood Jr. and Dulcé Sloan being specifically mentioned as in the mix (let’s also not forget that Hasan Minhaj is a former Daily Show correspondent). Executive producer and showrunner Jen Flanz told Vulture that while many, if not most, of these guest hosts will fill in for a week at a time, some may only appear for one night because of their busy schedules/previous commitments. 

Chris McCarthy, president of Comedy Central and CEO of Paramount Media Networks, added that this guest host rotation will unfold between the beginning of 2023 to around June and allow the show “to really experiment and try different things,” meaning that more talent will be announced in the coming weeks. Then The Daily Show will “relaunch in the fall,” i.e. the permanent host will take over in September 2023 and have “a full year to settle in before the 2024 presidential election.”

This isn’t the first time that The Daily Show has had guest host, with one of the more notable examples being when John Oliver sat behind the desk for a few weeks when Jon Stewart took time off to direct Rosewater. That said, Jen Flanz noted that as far as she can remember, “This is the first time we’re really having outsiders into our house.” Flanz also noted that anyone who’s coming in to guest host The Daily Show shouldn’t be seen as candidates to be the permanent host. This is simply an opportunity for various celebrities to pop in and try out hosting The Daily Show for a spell rather than make a full commitment to the gig.

In October, a few weeks after Trevor Noah revealed he was leaving The Daily Show (which apparently ruffled some feathers behind the scenes), the exiting host said he was excited to travel around the world again to do stand-up comedy, as well as do more producing work and spend more time “back home” in South Africa. By November, it was announced that Trevor will begin his Off the Record tour on January 20, which will see him visiting 28 cities in the United States, and international dates will be unveiled later. 

As far as picking a new permanent host for The Daily Show goes, Roy Wood Jr. has been rumored to be in contention for the job, and Chris McCarthy mentioned that these coming months will be a great time for them to “test out those ideas” on evolving the show. Speaking of the Daily Show format, McCarthy and Jen Flanz also said they’re exploring the possibility of transiting the series from the single-anchor format to having co-anchors or multiple co-hosts, i.e. along the lines of SNL’s “Weekend Update” or Good Morning America, but nothing has been decided yet.

For now, you have three more nights to enjoy Trevor Noah behind the desk at The Daily Show. After December 8, the series won’t return until Leslie Jones kicks off the guest hosting run in mid-January. Look through our 2023 TV schedule to learn what other programming there is to look forward to in the new year.

Many were saddened this past week when it was reported that stand-up comedian and actor Gilbert Gottfried died at the age of 67. After the news broke, many within Hollywood, especially members of the comedy community like Jon Stewart and Seth MacFarlane, have paid tribute to the fan-favorite comic. The star’s funeral was reportedly held this past week, with a number of notable entertainers in attendance. And after the service, it seems that  Sarah Silverman and more sat shiva in what’s been referred to as a “star-studded” event. 

Gilbert Gottfried was laid to rest in Westchester, New York this past Thursday, and Colin Quinn, Susie Essman and Paul Shaffer were among those in attendance. Veteran comedian Jeff Ross was also there and had the honor of eulogizing his longtime friend. Ross reflected on the along, with the shiva, during an interview with People:

In Jewish culture, shiva is a grieving period for first degree-relatives of the deceased. Translated as “sitting shiva” in English, it lasts one week following the burial of a loved one and provides the family with time to reflect on the loss and share in their grief with others. So it’s sweet to hear that Sarah Silverman, Jeff Ross and others were present to provide comfort to their late friend’s relatives. Though Ross found the funeral to be an emotional experience, he does feel a bit of “relief” knowing that his buddy is at peace:

Gilbert Gottfried’s exact cause of death has not been given though, in his family’s official statement, it was said that he passed away after a “long illness.” Those who’ve paid tribute to him have made note of his signature humor, which was almost always crude and edgy (as well as funny). And of course, many also remember the loud, screeching voice he used in his many performances. Disney fans, for one, know that he famously used those vocals while recording lines for Aladdin, in which he played the sarcastic parrot Iago. And plenty have been referencing the lovable bird while sharing their remembrances of Gottfried. 

Amid the sea of tributes, something fans have also taken note of is a photo that was posted by the late Beverly Hills Cop II alum a few months ago. The image shows him alongside Bob Saget, who passed away in January at age 65, and Louie Anderson, who died the same month at 68. The image was emotional enough at the time, but it definitely holds greater meaning now. 

If there’s anything we’ve seen in the past few months, it’s that the comedy world honors its fallen members in heartwarming ways. So it's wonderful to see that Jeff Ross, Sarah Silverman and others are extending this same love to Gilbert Gottfried and his family during this time.

Every once in a while, celebrity siblings - such as Ben and Casey Affleck or Dakota and Elle Fanning - end up sharing the screen together. Well, apparently it happens a little more often than just every once in a while, given the amount of examples we compiled below.

Jake And Maggie Gyllenhaal (A Dangerous Woman, Homegrown, Donnie Darko)

Oscar nominee Jake Gyllenhaal and his twice-nominated older sister, Maggie, are in three movies together: 1993’s A Dangerous Woman, 1998’s Homegrown (both were directed by their father, Stephen), and the eventual sci-fi cult classic, Donnie Darko, in 2001.

Jeff And Beau Bridges (The Fabulous Baker Boys)

Oscar winner Jeff Bridges and his older brother, Beau, also played siblings in The Fabulous Baker Boys - a 1989 comedy in which the titular musicians become rivals after teaming up with a beautiful aspiring singer (Michelle Pfieffer).

Kate And Rooney Mara (Urban Legends: Bloody Mary)

Kate Mara of the House of Cards cast led the 2005 straight-to-video slasher, Urban Legends: Bloody Mary, in which her younger sister, Nightmare Alley’s Rooney Mara, made her acting debut.

Sean And Chris Penn (At Close Range)

Future two-time Oscar-winner Sean Penn and his late younger brother, Chris (best known from the Reservoir Dogs cast) played siblings in the 1986 crime thriller, At Close Range, starring Christopher Walken as their criminal father.

Andrew, Owen, And Luke Wilson (Bottle Rocket, The Royal Tenenbaums) 

Owen Wilson and his younger sibling, Luke have also acted alongside their eldest brother, Andrew, in 1996’s Bottle Rocket and The Royal Tenenbaums from 2001 - both of which Owen also co-wrote with director Wes Anderson.

Chris And Luke Hemsworth (Thor: Ragnarok)

Chris Hemsworth has yet to star in anything with his little bro, Liam, but the Australian Marvel movie star’s older bother, Westworld star Luke, did show up in Thor: Ragnarok as a dramatized version of the God of Thunder, whom he is set to reprise (along with Matt Damon as “Actor Loki”) in Thor: Love and Thunder.

Dylan And Cole Sprouse (Various)

Twin brothers Dylan and Cole Sprouse (the latter of which went on to join the Riverdale cast) have shared the same role in several TV shows (most notably Grace Under Fire) and movies (such as Big Daddy with Adam Sandler) and have played siblings just as often, most famously as the title characters of The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, its spin-off The Suite Life on Deck, and 2011’s The Suite Life Movie.

Tia, Tamera, And Tahj Mowry  (Sister, Sister, Smart Guy, Seventeen Again)

Twin sisters Tia and Tamera Mowry have shared the screen with their little brother, Tahj, several times - most notably as guest stars on each other’s respective sitcoms, Sister, Sister and Smart Guy, and in the 2000 Showtime original movie, Seventeen Again.

James And Dave Franco (The Disaster Artist)

After years finding success in the business in separate projects, James Franco and his younger brother, Dave, played Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero of the infamous cult favorite, The Room, in the 2017 biopic, The Disaster Artist.

Hilary And Haylie Duff (Various)

Haylie Duff would appear on three episodes of her younger sister, Hilary’s, Disney Channel show, Lizzie McGuire, and provided the singing voice of Isabella Parigi in the theatrical spin-off before they both played a singing group on an episode of American Dreams, sisters in the 2006 rags-to-riches story Material Girls, and both leant their voices to the infamous animated movie Foodfight!, which was released in 2012.

Aly And AJ Michalka (Various)

Singer-songwriter duo Aly and AJ Michalka first shared the screen in the 2006 Disney Channel original movie Cow Belles as sisters, again in the MTV original Super Sweet 16: The Movie the next year as rivals, followed by three episodes of Aly’s CW series Hellcats in 2011 as half-sisters. Most recently, they appeared in the 2015 drama, Weepah Way For Now, as what appear to be fictionalized versions of themselves.

Dakota And Elle Fanning (I Am Sam, Taken)

Elle Fanning has portrayed a younger version of her older sister, Dakota, on two separate occasions: first in the 2001 drama I Am Sam and secondly in the Steven Spielberg-produced, Syfy original miniseries, Taken, in 2002.

Spencer And Abigail Breslin (Various)

Academy Award nominee Abigail and her older brother, Spencer, played siblings in both Raising Helen and The Princess Diaries 2: A Royal Engagement in 2004, played elves in The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause in 2006, and later played cousins in the 2014 crime drama, Perfect Sisters.

Jason And Justine Bateman (Arrested Development)

Justine Bateman played her real-life brother, Jason's, sibling in the 1986 TV movie Can You Feel Me Dancing? and a sex worker whom Jason’s Michael Bluth mistakes for his long-lost sibling on Arrested Development.

John, Joan, Ann, And Bill Cusack (Grosse Pointe Blank)

While beloved star John Cusack and his Academy-nominated sister, Joan, have appeared in more films together than most celebrity siblings can claim (including Say Anything… and High Fidelity), the only screen credit that they also share with both their sister, Ann, and brother, Bill, is 1997’s Grosse Pointe Blank, which John also co-wrote and produced.

Bill And Brian Doyle Murray (Various) 

Bill Murray and his older brother, Brian, are both Saturday Night Live veterans (although at different times) and have several classic movies in common - including Caddyshack, Scrooged, Ghostbusters II, Groundhog Day, and The Razor's Edge.

Ben And Casey Affleck (Good Will Hunting, Chasing Amy)

Years before casting him in his amazing directorial debut, Gone Baby Gone, Ben Affleck shared the screen with his younger brother and fellow Oscar winner, Casey, in Good Will Hunting (which Ben co-wrote with Matt Damon) and Kevin Smith’s Chasing Amy in 1997.

Macaulay And Kieran Culkin (Home Alone, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York)

Kieran Culkin (now more famous than ever since starring on HBO’s Succession) made his acting debut alongside his older brother (child megastar Macaulay Culkin) in 1990’s Home Alone cast as his cousin, Fuller - a role he would also reprise in the 1992 sequel.

Rory And Kieran Culkin (Igby Goes Down)

In addition to playing Macaulay’s younger self in Richie Rich, the youngest Culkin brother, Rory, also played a younger version of Kieran as the title role in 2002's Igby Goes Down.

The Wayans Siblings (Various) 

Where do we start with the Wayans Siblings? Well, for instance, several of them (such as Damon and Kim Wayans) were a part of the In Living Color cast with star and creator Keenen Ivory Wayans, who later directed his younger brothers, Marlon and Shawn, in movies like White Chicks, the first two Scary Movie installments, and Little Man.

Zooey And Emily Deschanel (Bones)

In Season 5 of Bones, star Emily Deschanel’s sister (Zooey of the Elf cast fame and later the lead of the New Girl cast) guest starred as Temperance Brennan’s second cousin, Margaret Whitesell.

Fred And Ben Savage (Little Monsters, The Wonder Years, Boy Meets World)

After playing siblings in the family-friendly horror film, Little Monsters, in 1989, Ben Savage made a guest appearance on his older brother, Fred’s, hit dramedy, The Wonder Years, in 1990 and later returned the favor by inviting him to the Boy Meets World cast for an episode in 1998.

Charlie Sheen And Emilio Estevez (Various)

After making several movies together - including Young Guns, Men At Work, and Rated X (the latter two of which Emilio Estevez directed), Charlie Sheen (née Carlos Estevez) reunited with his brother on an episode of his hit sitcom, Two and a Half Men, in 2008.

Vanessa and Laura Marano (Saving Zoë)

Both of these talented ladies had guest appearances on Dexter at different times in the series’ run, but Vanessa Marano and her younger sister, Laura, did appear together in the 2019 mystery, Saving Zoë, as siblings torn apart by one’s unsolved murder.

Nat And Alex Wolff (The Naked Brothers Band, Mr. Troop Mom, Stella’s Last Weekend)

Hereditary’s Alex Wolff and his older brother, Peacock’s Joe vs. Carole cast member Nat Wolff, both debuted as fictionalized versions of themselves in Nickelodeon’s faux rockumentary, The Naked Brothers Band, its series continuation, and the 2009 TV movie Mr. Troop Mom before reuniting in 2018’s Stella’s Last Weekend, which was written and directed by their mother, Polly Draper.

Vera And Taissa Farmiga (Higher Ground, At Middleton, The Nun)

Scream Queens Vera and Taissa Farmiga, who are often mistaken for mother and daughter, played mother and daughter in 2013’s At Middleton after Taissa previously played her older sister’s younger self in Vera’s 2011 directorial debut, Higher Ground. However, interestingly, their characters in the 2018 Conjuring spin-off, The Nun, have no apparent familial ties.

Maude And Iris Apatow (Knocked Up, This Is 40, Funny People)

Euphoria’s Maude Apatow and her younger sister, Iris, have played siblings in 2007’s Knocked Up, its “sort-of sequel” This is 40 from 2012, and 2009’s Funny People - all three of which also starred their real mother, Leslie Mann, as their mother, and were written and directed by their father, Judd Apatow.

Dan And Sarah Levy (Schitt’s Creek)

While Annie Murphy plays co-creator Dan Levy’s on-screen sister in the Schitt’s Creek cast, Café Tropical owner, Twyla Sands, is played by his real-life sister, Sarah.

Mary-Kate, Ashley, And Elizabeth Olsen (How The West Was Fun)

After Full House made the Olsen Twins, Mary-Kate and Ashley, household names and  before the Marvel movies made their younger sister, Elizabeth, an A-lister, all three of them appeared together in the ABC original TV movie How the West Was Fun in 1994.

Bill And Alexander Skarsgård (White Water Fury)

Years before his terrifying performance as Pennywise in It, Bill Skarsgård made his acting debut alongside his older brother, True Blood cast member Alexander, in the 2000 Swedish thriller, White Water Fury.

Blake And Robyn Lively (Simon Says)

Robyn Lively, star of 1989’s Teen Witch, shared the screen with her then up-and-coming half-sister, former Gossip Girl cast member Blake Lively, in a 2006 slasher flick called Simon Says, which also stars fellow ‘80s icon Crispin Glover.

Brian And Domhnall Gleeson (Mother!, Frank Of Ireland)

Despite plenty of years of experience between the them, it was not until 2017 when Star Wars star Domnhall Gleeson and his younger brother, Brian, shared the screen in Mother! before reuniting as co-creators and co-stars of the Amazon Prime original comedy Frank of Ireland - also starring their father, Brendan Gleeson.

Eddie And Charlie Murphy (Harlem Nights, Norbit)

Comedy icon Eddie Murphy worked behind the scenes a lot with his older brother, Charlie, who passed away in 2017, but the two would also share a few acting credits, - namely Eddie’s 1989 directorial debut Harlem Nights (also Charlie’s first movie), and in 2006’s Norbit, in which Charlie voiced a dog named Floyd.

Phylicia Rashad And Debbie Allen (The Cosby Show, Grey’s Anatomy, The Old Settler)

Phylicia Rashad and her younger sister, Emmy-winning dance legend Debbie Allen, have made guest appearances on each other’s shows - The Cosby Show, on which Rashad played Claire Huxtable, and Grey’s Anatomy, on which Allen plays Dr. Catherine Fox (née Avery) - and both starred in a 2001 TV movie called The Old Settler, which Allen also directed.

Ron And Clint Howard (Various) 

You can find Clint Howard in just about every movie directed by his brother, Ron Howard - including his feature-length directorial debut from 1977, Grand Theft Auto, which was also the brothers’ third time acting alongside each other after the 1963 film The Courtship of Eddie’s Father and a handful of episodes of The Andy Griffith Show.

Angelina Jolie And James Haven (Gia, Hell’s Kitchen, Original Sin)

Audiences probably remember Angelina Jolie’s brother, James Haven, better for other reasons than all the times he shared the screen with his younger sister - namely Gia and Hell’s Kitchen from 1998, and 2001’s Original Sin.

Jared And Shannon Leto (Various)

In addition to being bandmates with his young brother, Oscar winner Jared Leto, in 30 Seconds to Mars, Shannon Leto also shared the screen with him on a couple of episodes of My So-Called Life (on which Jared played the iconic Jordan Catalano) and through brief appearances in the movies Prefontaine from 1997, 1998’s Highway, and Sol Goode in 2003.

Chris And Scott Evans (Before We Go, Playing It Cool)

Former Captain America actor Chris Evans has a brother named Scott who has also appeared in two romantic-comedies from 2014 with his older sibling, called Before We Go (which Chris also directed) and Playing It Cool.

Sarah And Laura Silverman (The Sarah Silverman Program, Bob’s Burgers, Masters Of Sex)

Comedian and actress Sarah Silverman and her sister, Laura, played heavily fictionalized versions of themselves as series regulars on The Sarah Silverman Program, made guest appearances on Showtime’s Masters of Sex together, and have recurred on Bob’s Burgers as Jimmy Pesto’s twin sons, Andy and Ollie.

Kevin, Nick, And Joe Jonas (Camp Rock Movies, Jonas)

Back when they were the biggest thing to come out of Disney Channel, Kevin, Nick, and Joe Jonas played three brothers in a band not named the Jonas Brothers in the Camp Rock movies, and later played themselves to more comedic effect in their own sitcom, aptly titled Jonas.

Looks like talent really does run in the family.

It is no question that Seinfeld helped launch some great careers in entertainment. However, I am not necessarily referring to the main Seinfeld cast, but the guest stars who were not so well known at the time, such as a pre-Entourage cast Jeremy Piven. Also, you may remember Bryan Cranston’s recurring role, but may not realize he is not the only Breaking Bad cast member to appear on the sitcom, nor is Courteney Cox the only Friends cast member with a prominent guest role. When Seinfeld hits Netflix on October 1, 2021, see if you can spot any of the following as soon-to-be stars, starting with another groundbreaking comedian.

Sarah Silverman (Emily)

With a short stint on Saturday Night Live and a couple of years on HBO’s Mr. Show with Bob and David, Emmy-winning comedian and actress Sarah Silverman was still an up-and-comer when she appeared on the Seinfeld Season 8 episode, “The Money.” She plays Kramer’s girlfriend, Emily, whom Michael Richards’ character claims is great in bed, but not fun to share a bed with when it comes to getting shut-eye afterward.

Bob Odenkirk (Ben)

Also known for Mr. Show with Bob and David as the “Bob” from the title, Bob Odenkirk, who played a medical student Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) dates in the hope of eventually achieving her dream of dating a doctor in another Seinfeld Season 8 episode, “The Abstinence.” The former Saturday Night Live writer went on to lead a hit action movie called Nobody and, of course, earn Emmy nominations as Saul Goodman on Breaking Bad and the prequel spin-off Better Call Saul.

Anna Gunn (Amy)

Another Breaking Bad alum who appeared on Seinfeld earlier in her career is two-time Emmy winner Anna Gunn (Walter White’s wife, Skyler), who played a girlfriend of Jerry’s whom George (Jason Alexander) is convinced he saw smooching with Jerry’s cousin after losing his glasses in Season 5’s “The Glasses.” I could actually make a whole list of Breaking Bad actors who have appeared on Seinfeld, but let’s move on to another cable drama star for now.

Michael Chiklis (Steve Pocatello)

Michael Chiklis rose to fame as the Emmy-winning lead of FX’s The Shield, as The Thing in two Fantastic Four movies, and as part of the American Horror Story cast in Season 4. Years earlier, he was on Seinfeld Season 3 as a party host who ends up hosting Jerry and Elaine longer than anticipated, after their ride (George) leaves early for a one night stand, and later causes Jerry trouble when he appears at his building unexpected.

Daniel Dae Kim (Student #1)

Another star of a popular TV crime drama is former Hawaii Five-0 cast member Daniel Dae Kim, who is also well known from the Lost cast as Jin-Soo Kwon. On Seinfeld’s final season, Kramer and his friend Mickey (Danny Woodburn) were hired to pretend they had symptoms of certain diseases for medical students to guess, and the actor plays the student who correctly diagnoses Kramer with gonorrhea.

Mariska Hargitay (Melissa)

One of TV’s top crime procedural stars is Law and Order: Special Victims Unit cast member Mariska Hargitay, who has earned several Emmy nominations and one win during her two decades playing Olivia Benson. She probably would have earned some awards recognition for playing a fictionalized version of Elaine on the sitcom-within-a-sitcom, Jerry, if George had not cut off her audition (and if the show hadn’t been cancelled, too) in the Seinfeld Season 4 finale, “The Pilot.”

Jeremy Piven (Michael Barth / TV George)

Also in the Seinfeld Season 4 finale, Michael Barth does an unmistakable imitation of George Costanza when trying out for the role based on Jason Alexander’s character, which he ends up landing. However, you could have mistaken Barth for someone other than Jeremy Piven, who looks nothing like his Emmy-winning Entourage character, Ari Gold, in the episode.

Brad Garrett (Tony Abado)

Another Emmy-winning sitcom star who once guest starred on Seinfeld is Brad Garrett, who made his Season 7 appearance mere months before debuting on Everybody Love Raymond as Robert Barone. He plays a mechanic so overly protective of Jerry’s car that he steals it for himself, unaware that he is carrying a set golf clubs once used by President John F. Kennedy.

Megan Mullally (Betsy)

A winner of two Emmys as Will & Grace’s Karen Walker (and who should have been nominated for playing the ex-wife of her real-life husband, Nick Offerman's, character on Parks and Recreation) is Megan Mullally. One of her earliest sitcom appearances was on a classic Seinfeld Season 4 episode (“The Implant”) as a woman dating George, who accompanies her to the funeral of a loved one where he is accosted for “double-dipping” a chip.

Jennifer Coolidge (Jodi)

Seinfeld also marked the acting debut of Jennifer Coolidge, who later played Stiffler’s Mom in American Pie, Paulette in Legally Blonde, and joined the 2 Broke Girls cast as Sophie Kachinsky. The White Lotus cast member appeared in Season 5 as a masseuse dating Jerry, whom he can’t seem to get to give him a massage. Not to mention, she hates George so much, he starts to become obsessed with her.

Courteney Cox (Meryl)

Jennifer Coolidge has also guest starred on Friends, which, of course, made a star out of Courteney Cox just months after her Seinfeld appearance. She also appeared in Season 5 as a girlfriend of Jerry’s who pretends to be his wife so they can both get a discount at their local dry cleaners.

Debra Jo Rupp (Katie)

You may remember that Debra Jo Rupp had a recurring spot on Friends as Phoebe’s sister-in-law, Alice, before she played Kitty in the That ‘70s Show cast and, even later, had a role on WandaVision. However, she also had a recurring role on Seinfeld, appearing in two episodes as Jerry’s loyal, but extremely incompetent, agent, Katie.

Maggie Wheeler (Cynthia)

Probably the funniest and most memorable recurring role on Friends was Janice, played by Maggie Wheeler, who also had an earlier role on Seinfeld. In Season 3’s “The Fix Up,” Jerry and Elaine crack a scheme to pair the romantically challenged George with Elaine’s romantically fed-up friend Cynthia (Wheeler), which, expectedly, has its ups and downs.

Jon Favreau (Eric The Clown)

Another actor who landed a recurring role on Friends was Jon Favreau, before he became one of the most successful filmmakers working today as the director of Iron Man and the creator of the Star Wars spin-off series The Mandalorian, to name a few achievements. I bet you had no idea that he was the birthday clown who told George to get over his predilection for Bozo in the Seinfeld Season 5 classic “The Fire.”

Tobin Bell (Ron)

Speaking of clowns, one of the creepiest clowns in horror movies is Billy, the puppet whom Jigsaw often talks through in the Saw movies. I bet you didn’t realize that the man who played Jigsaw, Tobin Bell, appeared on a Seinfeld Season 4 episode (“The Old Man”) as a record store owner who offers Kramer and Newman an unjustly low price for some used vinyl, including a Frank Sinatra album in mint condition.

James Spader (Jason Hanky)

Also known for playing great villains (such as Raymond “Red” Reddington on The Blacklist or the AI enemy of 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron) is James Spader. The three-time Emmy-winner actually channels some of that same signature sinister energy to play Jason Hanky, who refuses to apologize to George for a past insult despite being required to make amends as part of a 12-step program, on a Seinfeld Season 9 episode.

Patton Oswalt (Video Store Clerk)

Also known for playing a Marvel villain (voice of the title character in the animated series M.O.D.O.K.) is Patton Oswalt, a popular comedian even better known for sitcoms like The King of Queens and movies like Ratatouille. One of his very first acting appearances was on Seinfeld as an employee at a video store from which George tries to rent Breakfast at Tiffany’s so he does not have to read the book.

Catherine Keener (Nina West)

A Scream Queen in her own right (mostly for appearing in one of the best horror movies in recent memory, Get Out) is Academy Award nominee Catherine Keener, who also had an early Seinfeld appearance. In Season 3, she plays the painter of Kramer’s iconic portrait and a girlfriend of Jerry’s who toys with his head with a letter she plagiarizes from a Neil Simon movie.

Stephen Tobolowsky (Tor Eckman)

A character whose methods to cure George’s inflamed tonsils remind me of Catherine Keener role in Get Out is Tor Eckman in the Season 2 episode, “The Heart Attack.” The holistic specialist is played to ridiculous perfection on Seinfeld by actor Stephen Tobolowsky, whom many will recognize from Groundhog Day, his recurring role in the Silicon Valley cast, and as Sammy Jankis in Christopher Nolan’s Memento.

Lauren Graham (Valerie)

Another acclaimed star of TV (like from being in the Gilmore Girls cast) and movies (such as Bad Santa) is Lauren Graham, who played the other half of one of Jerry’s most overly complicated romantic relationships on Seinfeld. When Valerie (Graham) puts Jerry on her speed dial, her stepmother (Louan Gideon) is initially furious, until she begins to take a liking to him and wants to put him on her speed dial, which threatens Jerry’s position on Valerie’s list!

I am not even sure if that is the weirdest relationship Jerry has ever been in, nor am I convinced that we have covered all the best Seinfeld characters with this list. However, what I do know is that you may never watch the hit sitcom the same way again, knowing that it was once a big break (or an obscure highlight) for some of your favorite celebrities.

During its syndicated eight-season run, Monk wasn't simply a cornerstone of USA Network's continued brand. It became one of the most acclaimed and meticulously watched original shows of the '00s. So much so that the unconventional detective procedural was the most-watched scripted drama show when its series finale aired.

Suffice to say, Monk was a very popular program, and it helped usher in the careers of several prominent actors today, while also hosting several notable celebrity cameos that might've slipped your mind over the years. If you're wondering what pre-famous stars appeared on this show, we're here to help. Here are the celebrities you might've forgotten were on Monk, including Jennifer Lawrence, Danny Trejo, and several more.

Jennifer Lawrence (Mascot)

Everyone needs to get their start somewhere. Before the future A-list actress became an Oscar-winning, franchise-topping superstar — and, you know, one of the biggest movie stars of her generation — Jennifer Lawrence earned her first acting credit by playing a character credited solely as "Mascot" (though she's referred to as "Jen") in Season 5's "Mr. Monk and the Big Game." The cameo is quite quaint in retrospect, knowing that the young actress in this minor part would become the major league mega-star behind The Hunger Games franchise, Silver Linings Playbook, and the recent X-Men prequel series, but the first-time actress makes the most of her screen debut.

Reflecting back on the experience on Conan, Jennifer Lawrence considered her time on Monk to be "really cool" but also "the most humiliating thing in my life." The reason? The up-and-coming soon-to-be-famous actress believed that she would have a bigger role than she ultimately had. She even told her church as much — much to her chagrin. But JLaw has no reason to be embarrassed! It's an amusing appearance and a fun debut.

Nick Offerman (Jack Whitman)

Before he became Ron Swanson in Parks and Recreation, Nick Offerman was Jack Whitman, a rug importer with unlawful intent, in "Mr. Monk and the Election." Prior to this appearance, Offerman was still coming into his own as a performer. His other acting credits remained limited to minor characters in City of Angels, Speaking of Sex, and Stealing Havard. Also, the TV actor appeared in Deadwood, The Practice, The West Wing, NYPD Blue, and 24, though Offerman was rarely seen in more than one episode. Arguably his most notable credit at this point was his recurring role in George Lopez.

Suffice to say, Nick Offerman didn't have nearly the same acclaim and notoriety that he has today, so it's understandable if you forgot about this brief pre-fame cameo in Monk.

Jane Lynch (Dr. Julie Waterford)

Before she found fame with her Emmy-winning star turn in Glee, Jane Lynch was proving her sharp comedic talents in a number of movies and shows, including Party Down, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Likewise, Lynch took on the role of Dr. Julie Waterford, a marriage therapist, in Season 2's "Mr. Monk Gets Married."

Though her appearance was limited to one episode, Jane Lynch showcases her dry wit and signature deadpan delivery throughout this performance. Even from this brief clip, it's easy to see why the actress found such an exceptional career in the years to follow.

Danny Trejo (Spyder Rudner)

With upwards of 400 credits to his resume (and counting!), Danny Trejo has been seen in a hell of a lot of movies and shows over the past three-plus decades. Perhaps it's not surprising, then, that Trejo found some time in his ever-busy schedule to appear in Monk. In the episode "Mr. Monk Goes to Jail," Trejo plays Darnell "Spyder" Rudner, a convicted quadruple murderer whom Monk corresponds with during his investigation. The convicted criminal and the eccentric detective form a connection from there.

At this stage of his career, Danny Trejo was a standout supporting player in Robert Rodriguez's Desperado, From Dusk Till Dawn, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, and the Spy Kids trilogy, along with other notable '90s/'00s movies like Heat, Con Air, Anaconda, Bubble Boy, and Anchorman, though he wasn't heading movies like Machete and Bad Ass just yet. Still, Trejo always makes the most of every moment. Monk is no exception.

Sarah Silverman (Marci Maven)

Between 2004 and 2008, during the advent (and first season) of Comedy Central's The Sarah Silverman Project, that show's title-bearing comic had a recurring role as Marci Maven, an obsessive superfan who forms a deep longing for our neurotic sleuth, in "Mr. Monk and the T.V. Star," "Mr. Monk And His Biggest Fan," and "Mr. Monk's 100th Case."

Prior to this notable performance, Sarah Silverman was a proven stand-up comedienne who became popular in the public eye through Saturday Night Live and other guest star appearances. She was certainly a name, albeit not as big as she is today; her concert film, Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic, even premiered in select theaters. But her time on Monk came just shortly before she would find greater success, both as a comic and actress. Nevertheless, this energetic supporting role showcased her developing talents.

Jon Favreau (Dr. Oliver Bloom)

Just a few short years before he jumpstarted the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Iron Man, called the shots on one of the highest-grossing movies in film history with The Lion King (2019), and became the showrunner behind The Mandalorian, Jon Favreau had a standout cameo as Dr. Oliver Bloom, a nefarious endodontist, in "Mr. Monk Goes to the Dentist." While it's a prominent appearance, the character ultimately only lasted a single episode — though it came at an interesting point in Favreau's expanding career.

Already established as both an indie-darling actor-writer thanks to Swingers and top-grossing director through Elf, Jon Favreau was well-proven at this stage of the game, but the actor-writer-director wasn't necessarily a household name. Therefore, it's hard to call this role a celebrity cameo per se — at least, in the strictest sense. But in retrospect, it's interesting to see Favreau in a minor guest role shortly before his career propelled.

Stanley Tucci (David Ruskin)

Admittedly, Stanley Tucci was well-established as an actor, writer, and director by the time the character actor appeared in Season 5's premiere, "Mr. Monk and the Actor." Nevertheless, it's a real kick to see the esteemed thespian reunite with his Big Night co-star to play David Ruskin, a method actor who vigorously tries to nail down Adrian Monk's whole persona. This inspired performance was such a delight that Tucci won an Emmy for this guest role, which admittedly makes it more memorable than the other cameos that we've listed. It's fitting, though, because it's arguably the best of the bunch.

Howie Mandel (Ralph “Father” Roberts)

There's something cosmically perfect about Howie Mandel appearing in Monk. In a pair of Season 6 episodes titled "Mr. Monk Joins a Cult" and "Mr. Monk's 100th Case," Mandel played Ralph "Father" Roberts, a supposed cult leader, in what appeared to be a winking nod to the actor's personal life. More specifically, Mandel is an outspoken germaphobe, much like Adrian Monk, which has hindered him throughout his life.

Likewise, Monk's detective career is often disrupted by his own individualized fears and phobias. The titular TV sleuth and the child actor-turned-game show host are, in a way, kindred spirits. One may argue that their paths were destined to cross, as they did here.

Snoop Dogg (Murderuss)

Playing the part of Russell Kroy, i.e. Murderuss, a rap artist who wants Monk to clear his name after he's accused of murder, Snoop Dogg proved to be an amusing guest star in Season 6's "Mr. Monk and the Rapper." Though the musician isn't the type of actor who disappears into his characters, Dogg is game to play up the heightened absurdities of this rap personality. The result isn't a "before they were famous" appearance, unlike many other celebs listed in this article, but Dogg is always an exceptional entertainer.

Ken Marino (Lester Highsmith)

Ken Marino isn't necessarily a household name, but there's a decent chance that you're familiar with his work. In 2004, following his time in The State and Wet Hot American Summer but years before he made Party Down, Children's Hospital, or Burning Love, Marino played Lester Highsmith, the ex-husband of the victim behind "Mr. Monk Takes His Medicine." It's a brief appearance and it might not have made a huge splash for anyone who wasn't a fan of Marino's brand of alternative comedy. But it's an amusing cameo that came only a few years before his profile rose — both in front and behind the camera.

Monk is available to stream on Amazon Prime and Peacock.

Being a celebrity is a double-edged sword; while you might achieve professional milestones, you're also constantly under the public eye. But having fans is a platform that can be used to send a message to vast audiences, and a group of names like Chris Rock, Mark Ruffalo, and Sarah Silverman recently united to encourage voting in the 2020 Presidential Election. And this message was sent with words and bodies, as the group of stars got naked to help spread the message about properly voting by mail.

Due to ongoing health concerns, voting for the upcoming election is more varied, and there are some voters whose plan includes voting by mail. But there are ways you can make an error in this process, depending on your state's particular rules. As such, a group of celebs have gotten in into their birthday suits in order to help educate. Check it out below.

Well, that's one way of getting our attention. This group of household names got naked to educate about the concept of naked ballots, to help every voter make their voice known. And with names like Naomi Campbell and Josh Gad involved, the video is sure to turn a few heads.

The above video comes to us from the YouTube account of Represent Us. The campaign is to help spread awareness about the specificity of mail-in voting, specifically for ballots in states like Pennsylvania. It's a starry group of names that lent their platform and naked bodies to the cause. Aside from the names already mentioned, the video also includes Chelsea Handler, Ryan Bathe and Amy Schumer. There's even an appearance from Borat himself, as Sacha Baron Cohen got into full costume to shoot additional footage.

The clip is appropriately titled "These Naked Celebs Have an Important Message for Voters", which is thoroughly clickable for those who might be scrolling through YouTube. The video focused on a few different aspects of mail-in voting, while also offering quips and nudity to help buoy the quick 1 minute and 49 second video. And considering how many comedians are on the list, what else did we expect?

In addition to the glimpses of flesh, the message in the video is to be very careful about exactly how voters are filling out their ballots. There are some specific rules involved, including the color of your pen and properly enveloping the ballots. So those voters who are using paper ballots in their voting plan should read the directions and be deliberate in voting.

Some of the funniest moments come from comedian/actress Tiffany Haddish, who recorded her video from the privacy of her car. At least until she turned the vehicle on, claiming she was heading straight to post office. Meanwhile, Mark Ruffalo was sure the viewers want him to put a shirt on.

Of course, comedians Sarah Silverman and Chelsea Handler used their exposed decolletage for a few sight gags. Both women have been using their platform in regards to politics and activism for years, and no doubt loved the chance to bare while also spreading awareness regarding mail-in ballots. Silverman notably was covering her breasts throughout the movie... until deciding to suddenly salute, with some blurring needed to keep the video from being completely NSFW. Plus her dad even makes a naked appearance.

Clearly this message is an important one, and the above video has something different from various other celebrity activism campaigns. Mostly because the starry cast bore it all, while also educating viewers on the concept of naked votes.

Female comedians have some of the funniest stand-up comedy specials available to stream. These women show that they are bold, vibrant, and brave when it comes to observing, commenting, and helping everyone laugh at this crazy world. Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO, and other streaming services offer a wide selection of memorable comedy specials featuring women comedians.

These specials remind us of the triumphs, struggles, and funny moments that help define womanhood, and sometimes people in general. In honor of International Women’s Day 2020, we decided to honor some badass female comedians by listing some of our favorite streaming specials.

Wanda Sykes - Not Normal (Netflix)

Wanda Sykes showed off her sharp wit as a writer on The Chris Rock Show. She then went on to create memorable roles on Curb Your Enthusiasm and Black-ish. Sykes brings the laughter with her no-holds bar approach to any and every topic. She thrives on being outspoken and fearless when it comes to comedy.

Wanda Sykes doesn’t shy away from political topics in her 2019 Netflix special Not Normal. Sykes opens her set by getting right into the divisive content: Trump and his presidency. The observational comedian doesn’t make it all about politics. In fact, Not Normal is more about universal topics like family and aging. Instead of dreading the aging process, Wanda Sykes makes it okay to laugh at things like our changing bodies. Stream Wanda Sykes: Not Normal HERE.

Ellen DeGeneres - Here And Now (Amazon Prime)

Ellen DeGeneres has been a hit daytime host for over 17 seasons. Prior to The Ellen DeGeneres Show, she had a hit sitcom called Ellen that ran from 1994 to 1998. Ellen made history when Ellen DeGeneres used the show to allow her character and herself to come out publicly as gay. The event happened in a 1997 episode called “The Puppy Episode." More recently, Ellen DeGeneres has been making that sweet Pixar money as the voice of Dory in Finding Nemo and its sequel Finding Dory.

Ellen DeGeneres’ comedy special Here and Now premiered in 2003, and it was her second HBO comedy special. Here and Now is a lot more wholesome than most stand-up specials, but still hilarious. DeGeneres addresses the many daily annoyances that bond us, like embarrassing moments, procrastination, nostalgia, and the state of television. Here and Now builds its comedy on relatable topics. Everyone has had that sense of pure dread as they wave at a friend only to learn seconds later that it’s a complete stranger. Stream Ellen DeGeneres: Here and Now on Amazon HERE.

Whitney Cummings - I’m Your Girlfriend (HBO Now)

Whitney Cummings made her biggest splash on the comedy world as a regular panel member of Chelsea Lately. She then went on to star in and produce NBC’s short-lived series Whitney, which she based loosely on her own life. Whitney Cummings also created the CBS series 2 Broke Girls and was a writer on the Roseanne revival.

I’m Your Girlfriend is a 2016 HBO special--her first for the premium network. Whitney Cummings talks about everything from freezing eggs to dating broke men. I’m Your Girlfriend takes a comedic and analytical approach to breaking gender norms, sexual liberation, and female empowerment. Whitney Cummings special is insightful and hilarious because of how it discusses issues that plague both genders, confirming that when it comes to dating, we’re all screwed. Stream Whitney Cummings: I’m Your Girlfriend HERE.

Hannah Gadsby-Nanette (Netflix)

Australian comedian Hannah Gadsby has been part of Australia’s comedy scene since 2006. She started to gain even more recognition and fame when Netflix released her special Nanette in 2018. Hannah Gadsby’s most prominent work is being a co-writer and a recurring character on the comedy series Please Like Me. The series aired from 2013 to 2016. The entire series of Please Like Me is available on Hulu.

Hannah Gadsby uses her Nanette comedy special as a way to reflect on some critical moments in her life. She addresses difficult topics like the prejudices faced by the LGBTQ community, assault, and mental health. Gadsby effortlessly navigates a blend of traumatic moments, social commentary, and personal anecdotes. Gadsby’s comedy style is not unique in its personal approach. Most, if not all comedians, use their own personal experience to construct their comedy, but it’s unique in how it feels. Nanette feels like a therapy session that Gadsby allows you to observe and journey through with her. Despite the seriousness of the topics, Nanette manages to walk the dark comedy line with ease. Stream Hannah Gadsby: Nanette HERE.

Kathleen Madigan-Gone Madigan (Amazon Prime)

Kathleen Madigan began her comedy career in the late 80s/early 90s. She has performed standup on late night shows, appeared as a judge on Last Comic Standing, and had HBO comedy specials. Kathleen Madigan made most of her late night appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and Late Show with David Letterman. In 2016, Madigan appeared in Jerry Seinfeld’s web series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.

Kathleen Madigan uses her touring experience and family as a major source of comedy. Her 2011 comedy special, Gone Madigan, addresses politics, religion, and Midwestern values. Most of Madigan’s humor is observational and includes little stories from her life. Gone Madigan takes a very personal approach to comedy, but uses encounters that everyone can understand the humor in the situation, like touring the Middle East with Lewis Black, Kid Rock, and Kellie Pickler. Stream Kathleen Madigan: Gone Madigan HERE.

Sarah Silverman - We Are Miracles (HBO Now)

Sarah Silverman starred in the Emmy nominated series The Sarah Silverman Program from 2007 to 2010. She also received a Screen Actors Guild nomination for her work in the 2015 drama I Smile Back. Sarah Silverman used to host the Hulu series I Love You, America with Sarah Silverman. Silverman lends her voice to the character Vanellope von Schweetz in the Wreck-It Ralph movies.

Like much of Sarah Silverman’s career, We Are Miracles dives head first into taboo topics. She tackles all the big things like sex, violence, religion, and racism. The HBO special features Silverman in an intimate setting with an only 39-guest audience. The setting gives the comedy special an edge as she challenges her audience with her risqué material. Sarah Silverman’s bold comedy style makes her one of the most controversial comedians of her time, but also one of the most popular. Stream Sarah Silverman: We Are Miracles HERE.

Ali Wong-Hard Knock Wife (Netflix)

Ali Wong was a writer on ABC’s Fresh Off the Boat for a few seasons. Most people recognize Wong for her roles in the Netflix movie Always Be My Maybe and the sitcom American Housewife. Ali Wong’s comedic style is often raunchy, unapologetic, and physical.

Hard Knock Wife is Wong’s return to Netflix and standup comedy after a two-year break. Her first comedy special Baby Cobra wowed critics and audiences. Hard Knock Wife has Wong once again sporting a baby bump. In this special, she continues to discuss married life and the horrors of motherhood, everything from breast-feeding to smelling a baby’s diaper. Ali Wong makes you fall down laughing with her oversharing approach to motherhood woes. Stream Ali Wong: Hard Knock Wife HERE.

Marina Franklin-Single Black Female (Amazon Prime)

Marina Franklin is a Chicago native who has appeared in the HBO series Crashing¸ the movie Trainwreck, the series Women Who Kill, and Chappelle’s Show. She was also a writer on the HBO series Divorce. She's also performed at comedy festivals around the world.

Single Black Female is Marina Franklin’s first comedy special. It was released in 2019 and addresses topics like not being “woke” enough, the Women’s March, interracial dating, being average, and Black Girl Magic. Marina Franklin’s Single Black Female hilariously examines the pressures and struggles of being black and a woman in today’s politically driven society. She approaches these topics in a way that keeps her from alienating her audience of varying races and genders. Stream Marina Franklin: Single Black Female HERE.

Iliza Shlesinger -Elder Millennial (Netflix)

Iliza Shlesinger made her comedic debut by winning Last Comic Standing in 2008. She also has a role in the 2018 family comedy Instant Family, which stars Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne. Iliza Shlesinger reunites with Mark Wahlberg in the upcoming Netflix film Spenser Confidential.

Elder Millennial is the fourth of Iliza Shlesinger’s five Netflix specials. Elder Millennial depicts Iliza Shlesinger’s life at 35 as a newly engaged woman. The special addresses universal topics of dating, female empowerment, and the millennial experience. Iliza Shlesinger has a wonderfully weird way of doing her comedy that combines voices and characters. She treats the dating world like a fairytale with old hags, and fantasy stories like Lord of the Rings, where a woman’s engagement ring taunts others. It’s a fun and funny look at the struggles of trying to navigate your own life path. Stream Iliza Shlesinger: Elder Millennial HERE.

Tig Notaro-Boyish Girl Interrupted (HBO Now)

Tig Notaro has made a successful career with her deadpan comedy style. She recently appeared in the movies Instant Family and Lucy in the Sky. Tig Notaro also appeared in Transparent and Star Trek: Discovery.

The Grammy and Emmy nominated Boyish Girl Interrupted is Tig Notaro’s first special with HBO. Boyish Girl Interrupted lets Notaro highlight her unique comedic style with a little more playfulness. Boyish Girl Interrupted’s comedy comes from personal stories, everything from embarrassing incidents to heartbreaking moments, like her breast-cancer diagnosis and death of her mother. Tig Notaro never misses a beat as she uses physical comedy and snapshots of her life to bring the audience into her world. Stream Tig Notaro: Boyish Girl Interrupted HERE.

These are just a few of the delightful female comedy specials on multiple streaming sites, so there are plenty more women comedians to discover and love.

The Saturday Night Live cast has been evolving for 45 years now, with over 150 comedic entertainers taking the stage at some point during the NBC series' run. It's obviously easy to remember all the most familiar faces, such as Bill Murray, Leslie Jones, Eddie Murphy, Gilda Radner and so on. But what about the dozens and dozens of SNL cast members who didn't last as long as Darrell Hammond and the still-going Kenan Thompson?

The past 45 years have seen a surprising number of top-of-the-line talents hit the SNL cast and, for some reason or another, their stints aren't among the career highlights that fans think about very often. Perhaps it was because it didn't get to last long enough, or perhaps the comedians just became known for too many other projects outside of SNL. Whatever the cause, here are Saturday Night Live cast members you probably forgot were part of the show.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Between Seinfeld's Elaine Benes and Veep's Selina Meyer, Julia Louis-Dreyfus has delivered two of the funniest lead characters in TV history, and she certainly has the Emmy collection to vouch for it. Years before her characters' bad dances and roller coaster presidencies, Louis-Dreyfus starred in both 1986's Troll and Hannah and Her Sisters, indicative of a wide career path. In the year before that, the actress ended a three-year stint on SNL that not a whole lot of people talk about.

While MIchaela Watkins would go on to impersonate Julia Louis-Dreyfus many years later, JLD was herself known for taking on Linda Rondstadt, Christina Ferrare, and Marie Osmond. (Clearly this was not the best time for sharp and edgy work for Louis-Dreyfus.) She also had original characters like Big-Zit Cindy, Patty Lynn Hunnsacker and April May June. The actress hosted an episode for each year of the show that she starred, returning for installments in 2006, 2007 and 2016.

Robert Downey Jr.

Currently one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood for his work as Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Robert Downey Jr. wasn't always seemingly destined for such career heights, thanks to a lack of sobriety. Back in the 1980s whilst he was making a name for himself in Hollywood, Downey Jr. landed a slot in the SNL cast during its 1985 season, widely considered to be one of the series' low points, partly because creator Lorne Michaels returned to a mostly new cast where multiple performers weren't known for their comedy instincts.

Robert Downey Jr. obviously didn't get a lot of time to perfect any of his impressions, though he is noted for having impersonated Sean Penn, Elvis Presley and George Michael, among others. Fortunately for movie-lovers who adore Downey Jr.'s work in films like 1987's Less Than Zero and 1986's Back to School, Saturday Night Live ended up ditching the majority of the Season 11 cast (save for Jon Lovitz, Nora Dunn and Dennis Miller). The actor did return to the SNL stage a decade later to host an episode in Season 22.

Christopher Guest

Widely considered the king of the mockumentary film subgenre, Christopher Guest and his circle of comedy geniuses first hit legend status with 1984's This Is Spinal Tap and then struck lightning on a more regular basis with the films Waiting for Guffman, Best In Show and A Mighty Wind. (I'm also a huge fan of his short-lived HBO series Family Tree.) In the same year that he starred as Spinal Tap's lead guitarist Nigel Tufnel, he joined the Saturday Night Live cast for a single year, which also included Spinal Tap's Harry Shearer.

Unlike many others on this list, Christopher Guest had been acting and writing for both TV and film for over a decade before landing on SNL in Season 10 as a repertory player and as a writer. Beyond impersonations of Alan Alda and original characters like Herb Minkman, among others, Guest notably took over the "Weekend Update" desk in the middle of the season, though the segment was referred to at the time as "Saturday Night News." Two other comedians beyond Guest went one and done after the 1984-1985 season: Billy Crystal and Martin Short.

Joan Cusack

Arguably best known at this point for voicing the cowgirl character Jessie in the Toy Story franchise, Joan Cusack has been in all kinds of great and unique comedies over the years. From Broadcast News to the Addams Family films to High Fidelity to Popstar, Joan Cusack is a consummate professional who never fails to get a laugh. She just didn’t get that much time to try and earn them during her short stint on SNL.

Joan Cusack was also part of that infamous 1985-1986 season alongside Robert Downey Jr. and Anthony Michael Hall (and a couple of others on this list). Despite having Lorne Michaels and others return, the season was largely uneven, and impersonations of Brooke Shields and Queen Elizabeth II weren’t going to be enough to save Cusack from the wide swath of firings that went down after the season’s 18 episodes were done.

Ben Stiller

Like some others on this list, Ben Stiller was part of a critically lauded sketch show years after being a part of the Saturday Night Live cast. (For those keeping score, that would be the sadly short-lived but Emmy-winning 1992 series The Ben Stiller Show, featuring a pre-Mr. Show Bob Odenkirk.) Stiller has been a part of such mega-hits as There's Something About Mary, Tropic Thunder, the Night at the Museum series, and many more, but back in 1987, it was a short film he made spoofing The Color of Money that got the attention of Saturday Night Live.

Ben Stiller was hired on for SNL as a featured player in 1989, but he only lasted for four episodes in Season 14, marking one of the shortest Saturday Night Live cast stints in its long run on NBC. Perhaps surprisingly, Stiller himself is the one who pulled the plug, stepping away from the job after it was reportedly made clear that the show wasn't interested in him making any more short films, which is apparently what he was interested in doing at the time.

Sarah Silverman

These days, Sarah Silverman is known for being a boundary-crossing comedian whose stand-up specials always draw a crowd. She's arguably best known on TV for her Comedy Central series The Sarah Silverman Program, but she's also appeared in tons of other shows through the years, including Bob's Burgers, Masters of Sex, Monk, The Simpsons and more. But just prior to being part of Mr. Show's ensemble on HBO, Sarah Silverman made her debut in TV within the Saturday Night Live cast for the 1993-1994 season.

Sarah Silverman joined SNL Season 19 as a writer, and she eventually became a featured player. (Fun fact: her first episode was also Jay Mohr's first ep, and they debuted a week after Norm Macdonald showed up.) Silverman's Joan Rivers and Cher are arguably worthy of committing to memory, but she didn't get a whole lot of time to develop any big original characters. Though she left the show in 1994, Silverman did return as a host in 2014, and has been impersonated on SNL by current star Melissa Villaseñor.

Michael McKean

For millions of TV fans in recent years, Michael McKean is best known for portraying the complicated Chuck McGill on AMC's Better Call Saul. But a little less than 20 years after first finding fame on Laverne & Shirley, and ten years after This Is Spinal Tap (which led to a pair of SNL appearances in 1984), McKean added his talents to the Saturday Night Live cast full-time. At least, for part of two seasons, having joined Season 19 near the end.

During his short run, Michael McKean took over as SNL's Bill Clinton, with Phil Hartman having bowed out in Season 19, and also took on Robert Shapiro, Patrick Stewart Jeffrey Dahmer and Adam West, to name a few. Later overtaken by Leslie Jones, McKean was the oldest cast member when he joined at 46 years old, and one of the few celebs to have joined the cast after previously appearing. He exited SNL after Season 20, along with a slew of other cast members like Adam Sandler and Kevin Nealon.

Damon Wayans

Damon Wayans has been something of a controversy magnet for certain stages of his career, showcased in recent years by his Lethal Weapon feud with former co-star Chace Crawford. Years before he hit mainstream stardom as a lead on the more ribald sketch comedy In Living Color, Wayans was a featured player in the doomed 1985 cast mentioned above, where he impersonated such real-world people such as Little Richard and Louis Farrakhan. However, Wayans managed to get fired before anyone else did.

Reportedly unenthused about how his on-screen progression was going, Damon Wayans changed up his performance for a bit role during one sketch, choosing to arbitrarily play a police officer as flamboyantly gay. (Something that Wayans has done often enough elsewhere in his career.) Lorne Michaels fired Wayans for the act, but invited him back to perform stand-up for that season's final episode. The comedian returned to Saturday Night Live in 1995 as a host, proving there still wasn't any ongoing bad blood.

Laurie Metcalf

Arguably best known on TV for playing the star-eyed Jackie on Roseanne and now The Conners, or perhaps for portraying Sheldon's mother Mary Cooper on The Big Bang Theory, the Emmy-winning Laurie Metcalf likely would have gotten some nominations for her work on SNL if she hadn't landed the gig at the exact time she did.

SNL was Laurie Metcalf's first TV work, but she unfortunately got cast as a featured player during the black-sheep Season 6 (1980-1981), which NBC shoehorned into production while Lorne Michael took some time away. The cast and nearly all of the writers left the show in solidarity with Michaels, leading to a complete turnover in talent. Metcalf appeared in the 13th episode of the season, which aired just before the 1981 Writers' Guild strike that sent SNL producers back into retooling mode. She currently holds the record for shortest SNL cast tenure along with Emily Prager, who was hired around the same time.

With all the famous faces that have graced the stage as Saturday Night Live cast members, it's crazy to think about all of the entertainers that haven't become household names over the years. Do you guys think we'll still be talking about all the current SNL stars 15 or 20 years down the road? Which recent short-term cast members will end up becoming the mega-stars of tomorrow? Only time can tell, but be sure to tune into Saturday Night Live on NBC.

Stand-up comedian Sarah Silverman has assembled a healthy collection of movie and TV credits over the years, and one of the biggest examples of her small screen work was The Sarah Silverman Program, which aired on Comedy Central from 2007 to 2010. Although the show received a lot of positive reception and Silverman was nominated for an Emmy, it wasn’t without controversy, as there was an episode in 2007 that received flak for Silverman putting on blackface.

As it turns out, that episode is what led Sarah Silverman to recently losing a “sweet part” in an upcoming movie, and at the last minute too. Silverman explained:

Sarah Silverman didn’t say which movie it was she was fired from, although it was reported last month that she was in negotiations to appear in the Jennifer Lopez-led comedy Marry Me (which was also eyeing Game of Thrones’ John Bradley), so perhaps that was the project.

Still, it just goes to show that Sarah Silverman’s decision to don blackface is still dishing out consequences more than a decade after that episode of The Sarah Silverman Program, titled “Face Wars,” aired on TV. The episode saw Sarah trying to prove that it was harder being Jewish than black, and went about doing so in a most unfortunate way.

Even back in 2007, Sarah Silverman in blackface earned a lot of derision, and “Face Wars” has not been made available to watch online. In the years since, Silverman has condemned that episode, saying last year that she’s “horrified” by it and is “not that person anymore.”

But as she also said during her appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast, Sarah Silverman also finds it “really scary” that one mistake from an individual’s past along these lines can have such lasting ramifications on their career, even if said individual has been held accountable and tried to make amends. For instance, Silverman noted that addressed this mistake during an episode of her more recent show, Hulu’s short-lived I Love You, America with Sarah Silverman.

The situation is similar to how James Gunn was fired from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 last year after controversial tweets he’d posted a decade ago resurfaced, despite the fact that Gunn had apologized in the past for what he’d put online. The difference there is that Disney eventually rehired Gunn, whereas it doesn’t sound like Silverman will be getting this movie role back.

As it stands now, it’s unclear where Sarah Silverman will pop up in the movie and/or TV realms next. Her more recent credits include Masters of Sex, Crashing, The Book of Henry, Battle of the Sexes and Ralph Breaks the Internet.

Keep checking back with CinemaBlend for all the latest and greatest movie updates. If you’re curious about what else there is to look forward to on the big screen for the rest of the year, browse through our 2019 release schedule.

The following contains minor spoilers for Ralph Breaks the Internet.

Ralph Breaks the Internet has a lot of fun at the expense of the Disney brand, as we see many corners of the massive studio make appearances, including the famous Disney Princesses. Music has always been a key component of Disney Princess movies and over the last few decades most of that music has been the creation of the great Alan Menken. The newest Disney Princess to sing an Alan Menken song is Venellope Von Schweetz herself in the new movie. Our own Eric Eisenberg asked Sarah Silverman what it was like to sing an Alan Menken song for a Disney movie, and as you can imagine, it was a dream come true. According to Silverman.

While exploring the internet in Ralph Breaks the Internet Vanellope Von Schweetz comes across the internet hub of all things Disney where she meets the classic Disney Princesses from Snow White through Moana. The scene has a lot of fun with the characters and the tropes that Disney has created over the years, including the characters' tendency to sing deeply heartfelt songs about their greatest desires. As a princess herself, Vanellope tries to do the same, and she's eventually successful, singing a song called "A Place Called Slaughter Race."

The song is meant to be funnier than your average Disney Princess "I want" song, that's how Ralph Breaks the Internet rolls, after all. However, in the end, it's a Disney Princess singing a song about what she wants most in the world, which means it belongs right up there with Disney classics written by Alan Menken like "Part of Your World" or "When Will My Life Begin?"

The Disney related content is some of the funniest material in Ralph Breaks the Internet, especially if you're a Disney fan who's willing to laugh a little bit at the history of your favorite film studio. You get all your favorite Disney Princesses while also being able to laugh at the way Disney has handled those princesses over the years. You get to laugh a bit at the expense of Disney music, while still getting another great Disney song. It's sort of the perfect combination.

While Sarah Silverman says singing the Alan Menken song was something special, there was one downside to it. The song includes a part for Gal Gadot, and it turns out she wasn't available for the recording session. For more information on that, check out the full interview clip below.

Sarah Silverman has had an impressive career as a comedian, actress, writer and producer, but she's not exactly known to be family friendly. So when Disney Animation hired her to voice the role of Vanellope von Schweetz, they must have known that some of her hilariously off-color personality would come through somehow. Silverman recently admitted that during a press junket at Disneyland for Wreck-It Ralph in 2012, she was constantly reminded she was part of a movie for kids. After one interview, she said one Disney representative told her this:

In an interview on Late Night with Seth Meyers, the comedian said she felt a bit insulted to be constantly drilled about the wholesome nature of her role as Vanellope, but looks like you can't completely filter Sarah Silverman. I mean that slip-up is an easy one to mend ('She was referring Coca-Cola! Ha!') and she didn't say it in the movie or in a public setting among children. Disney is a studio who aims to keep it PG for all its content and press around it, so that understandably made a few publicists sweat when the line slipped out.

During the recount of the uncensored slip-up between Sarah Silverman and Seth Meyers, he tried to make her feel better by agreeing that the arcade game character Q*Bert does have the nose for the stimulant, Silverman adding he is also constantly talking inaudibly. While this conversation clearly suits late night television than a Disney interview, Q*Bert is technically one of Silverman's co-stars and talking ill of him in interviews isn't to be taken lightly. I mean, he could press charges for defamation...

All jokes aside, Sarah Silverman's anecdote about her dealings with interviews for Disney is a hilarious one. Disney Animation casting Silverman as Vanellope and John C. Reilly as Ralph was a bold choice to make, since both leads usually joke about primarily joke about mature content in their previous work. Reilly is likely best known for his role in Step Brothers alongside Will Ferrell, though he did appear in Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014. Casting the two actors does bring a sort of edge to the studio and additional audiences who are fans of them. Plus, Silverman and Reilly are perfect in their arcade game character's roles.

Just six years after Wreck-It Ralph, Sarah Silverman has the distinct honor of getting to reprise her character of Vanellope in the sequel, Ralph Breaks the Internet. Not many Disney animated films have been given a sequel, so Silverman's slip-up looks to be water under the bridge. The upcoming film has Ralph and Vanellope venturing to the World Wide Web and hitting a bump in the road of their friendship, and it comes to theaters on November 21.

There are animated pairs that thrive on chemistry. Woody (Tom Hanks) and Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen). Marlin (Albert Brooks) and Dory (Ellen Degeneres). And in that category, we'd definitely put Wreck-it Ralph (John C. Reilly) and Vanellope (Sarah Silverman), the denizens of Disney's favorite arcade game. The pair is back on the big screen this week, and when interviewing Ralph Breaks The Internet star Sarah Silverman, she explained why it's so important that she and Reilly are able to record in the booth together, elaborating:

John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman first introduced the characters of Ralph and Vanellope in Wreck-it Ralph, a massive animated hit for Disney back in 2012. Animated sequels rarely happen at Walt Disney Studios (Pixar's more interested in continuing franchises), but audiences were so enamored with these two outcasts, so Ralph Breaks the Internet was conceived.

Part of that makes them special, though, is the way that Vanellope and Ralph interact, so it makes sense that Sarah Silverman would single out the recording process when speaking with us about Ralph Breaks the Internet.

We've always kind of wondered why all vocal talents don't choose to record together. It's still a form of acting, and if you share a scene with a person, wouldn't you want to run through that scene, and all of its variations, together?

It likely comes down to timing. Animated movies take an eternity in production, and vocal talent can't come by on the regular to work out scenes as animation teams build worlds and sketch scenes. But it sounds like, for Ralph Breaks the Internet, the script was in such a place that John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman were able to record together, and that made all of the difference.

Here's Sarah Silverman, discussing their process on Ralph Breaks the Internet:

The Thanksgiving holiday is going to have some extra internet time built into it, and we don't mean Black Friday cyber sales. Disney opens Ralph Breaks the Internet on Wednesday, November 21. Do you plan on checking it out? Bring the whole family. It'll be a good time had by all.

While the first trailer for Ralph Breaks The Internet was released all the way back in February, and another came out this summer, they didn't exactly provide a lot of story context. We learned that Ralph (John C. Reilly) and Vanellope (Sarah Silverman) were going to be visiting the internet and getting into a variety of shenanigans, but the preview didn't explain what the film was actually going to be about. As a result, the mystery has persisted for months, but now the story at the heart of the Wreck-It Ralph sequel.

A few weeks back I attended a special press day at Walt Disney Animation Studios in Burbank, California for an inside look at the making of Ralph Breaks The Internet, and it was through a variety of presentations and interviews that I learned the central plot of the new movie. It picks up where the last one left off, with Ralph and Vanellope living comfortably and harmoniously in their respective games -- Fix It Felix and Sugar Rush -- but everything changes when the arcade owner, Mr. Litwak (Ed O'Neill), plugs in a Wi-Fi router. At first the device is deemed totally off limits for all game characters, but we all know that won't really stop our heroes... especially in a time of crisis.

That time of crisis is specifically comes thanks to an incident with the Sugar Rush cabinet, as an over-excited player accidentally breaks one of the steering wheels. Because the manufacturer no longer exists, the only replacement available online costs more than the game makes in a year, Mr. Litwak is forced to make the terrible decision to unplug it. As a result, Vanellope is left homeless, but Ralph is determined to help her, and believes that the answer to their problems rests on the internet -- specifically on the website eBay.

After sneaking into the router and being transported to the World Wide Web -- awed by it's incredible and expansive majesty -- a Search Bar takes them to eBay where they find the auction for the Sugar Rush steering wheel (which is amidst items such as a portrait of a sad kitten and a potato chip shaped like Beyoncé). Unfortunately, they don't actually understand how an auction works, and think that it's just a race to say a higher number than the other bidders. As a result, they wind up winning, but owing a handsome sum of $27,001. Ralph and Vanellope learn about this serious mistake, and are told that they have 24 hours to complete the purchase or forfeit the item.

Needing to earn a crazy amount of money quickly, the heroes come into contact with Yesss (Taraji P. Henson) -- the algorithm that exists behind the trendiest website online, BuzzTube. She tells them that the best way to make money on the internet is through the creation of a viral video, and while that puts the characters on a positive path, it's also one full of landmines for Ralph, given how he validates himself through other people.

Ralph Breaks The Internet is described by directors Rich Moore and Phil Johnston as a road film that will take Ralph and Vanellope into all aspects of the online experience -- so what's above is really only the set up for the larger story and larger world that the movie is building. It's incredibly exciting -- particularly for those of us who love Wreck-It Ralph -- and we'll have a lot more for you about the new Disney animated film in the weeks and months ahead.

Maroon 5 pulled out all the stops for their latest music video. When it came time for the visual accompaniment to their single "Girls Like You," which premiered on their latest album, Red Pills Blue, the star-studded new video is a who's who of recognizable ladies. The group includes everyone from Gal Gadot to Jennifer Lopez to Millie Bobby Brown to Tiffany Haddish to Mary J. Blige to Ellen Degeneres, to only name a handful of noteworthy celebrities who appear in the widely-viewed video from the chart-topping pop rock band. It certainly wins the award for most celebrities in a 2018 music video. Take that money to the bank.

Check out the video and let us know if we forgot any celebs. There were quite a few.

Included in this new Maroon 5 music video (and forgive us if we forget anyone) are Cardi B (who is also featured in the song), Elizabeth Banks, Lily Singh, Camila Cabello, Rita Ora, Sarah Silverman, Ashley Graham, Chloe Kim, Danica Patrick, Ilham Omar and Aly Raisman. That's a whole bunch of cameos for one four-minute music video, and they were wise not to have anything else steal the attention. The video is filmed in spacious empty studio, with a spinning camera welcoming and exiting the revolving door of well-known ladies -- a mix of actresses, musicians, athletes and politicians -- featured in the music video. It also spotlights an appearance from Adam Levine's wife, Behati Prinsloo, and their 1-year-old daughter, Dusty Rose. This newest music video is directed by David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers, Shanghi Knights, The Change-Up), who previously helmed Maroon 5's 2015 music video for "Sugar" (which, subsequently, was so popular that it inspired a TV pilot) and their 2016 music video for "Don't Wanna Know."

The music video for "Girls Like You" is only the latest from Maroon 5. Earlier this year, the pop rock band released two music videos for "Wait" (one regular one and one for Snapchat, apparently). Meanwhile, last year, Maroon 5 released music videos for "Cold" and "What Lovers Do." "What Lovers Do," "Wait" and "Girls Like You" were all singles featured on Maroon 5's new album, the aforementioned Red Pills Blue, which came to stores in November. The brand new album is their sixth studio collaboration together, and it follows 2015's Singles.

Red Pills Blue was the first Maroon 5 album to feature Sam Farrar, who has now officially become a member of the popular pop band. We're not sure if the band is planning to release any new music videos soon, but it'll be tough to compete with the sheer volume of recognizable people found inside this one. That's for sure.

A multitude of celebrities made an appearance at last night's Met Gala, but Chrissy Teigen is unfortunately not one of them. The model/TV personality was unable to attend this year's ceremony, and sure enough, Teigen is pretty peeved about it. She's worked up for one specific (humorous) reason, which she revealed on social media. Take a look at the tweet below, which explains why the beloved media personality is annoyed that 2018 was the year she wasn't able to make it to the big fashion event.

As she notes in the tweet above, Chrissy Teigen was always looking for an opportunity to wear what she refers to as "head shit" during the mega fashion hotspot, but it was never the right year. Sure enough, the one time it's actually fitting to wear such extravagant accessories is the one year she couldn't make it. Figures, right? Isn't that always how it always goes? We certainly sympathize with your frustrations, Chrissy Teigen. Although Chrissy is all kinds of mad right now about being absent from the Met Gala, at least she channeled her anger into making us laugh a bit. Besides, she could always wear "head shit" around the house. There aren't as many cameras around, but at least it's something. Right?

Chrissy Teigen isn't alone in her struggles. Similarly, Sarah Silverman found herself unable to attend the Met Gala as well, and the comedian discussed her inability to attend the event in similarly humorous fashion. The theme of the night was "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination", so Silverman used some lazy photo shop skills to recycle one of her past looks.

Sympathizing with her fellow celebrity away from the Met Gala, Chrissy Teigen reached out to Sarah Silverman and let her know she knows her pain.

While Chrissy Teigen isn't turning heads at the Met Gala right now, the model always knows how to grab our attention. Her baby shower, for instance, was the source of controversy as it featured Kanye West in attendance, who recently got into a bit of an argument with her husband, John Legend, over his much-talked-about Twitter remarks of late. By attending the baby shower with his wife, Kim Kardashian West, Kanye West proved everything was good between him and Legend (and, subsequently, Chrissy, it would seem). Additionally, Chrisy Teigen also earned some more social media attention when she revealed why she didn't take John Legend's last name. Here's a hint: John Legend isn't his real name. That's just an FYI for future reference.

Nevertheless, even if Chrissy Teigen isn't attending the Met Gala this year, she'll continue to earn our attention. That said, if Chrissy ever feels inclined to wear some head shit, we certainly won't say no. No matter what occasion it might be.

Traditionally, Disney is fairly gunshy when it comes to theatrically released animated sequels. In fact, Disney Animation Studios has only ever produced one direct sequel to a theatrical release, The Rescuers Down Under, back in 1990. However, the sequels begin to increase in 2018 when Wreck-It Ralph sees a sequel of its own, Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-it Ralph 2.

The first movie brought us into a world that exists inside our favorite video games. The sequel, as the name implies, will expand on that theme and take on the entire internet. With a scope that large, nearly anything can happen, and, based on what we know, quite a lot of it will. Here's everything we know about the sequel to Wreck-It Ralph.

What Is The Wreck-It Ralph 2 Release Date?

There are several "big weekends" on the release calendar, and Disney is frequently associated with all of them. However, there may be no weekend more synonymous with Disney than Thanksgiving weekend. Movies like Frozen, Moana, and Coco have all been released the day before Thanksgiving, and Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 will be Disney's 2018 representative for the holiday weekend when it gets released on November 21, 2018. Originally, Ralph 2 was going to be released in the spring of 2018. However, likely due to the issues Disney was having producing Gigantic, Ralph was pushed to November. The film will have some competition for that release, as it opens the same day as Creed 2. It also opens the week after Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.

What Is Wreck-It Ralph 2 Rated?

It's a bit early to know exactly what the release date for Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 will be. However, the first movie received a PG rating and so it's a safe bet the sequel will fall in line with that. This is Disney that we're talking about, so really a G rating is the only other viable option. At this point, PG is becoming the standard for Disney animation and while the first film likely could have gotten away with a G rating, we expect the tone of the sequel to be on par with its predecessor.

What Have We Seen From Wreck-It Ralph 2?

Lucky for us, after years of waiting to see something from Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2, a trailer was finally released at the end of February 2018. In it, we see that Mr. Litwak, the arcade owner, has installed a Wi-Fi router in his business, which is plugged into the same power strip as the games, making it possible for Ralph and Venellope to go from the game world to the internet. While we still don't get much of the larger story in this two-minute trailer, it's easy to see that this sequel will be a lot of fun.

What Is Wreck-It Ralph 2 About?

The first details about the actual plot of Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 came out last summer during Disney's D23 Expo. While we already had an idea where the movie would take place due to the title, we have a bit of information as to why. Apparently, the copy of Sugar Rush inside the arcade from the first movie is in need of a replacement part. This leads Ralph and Vanellope to make use of a router that has been installed in the arcade to jump from the arcade onto the internet in order to go looking for it. This will take the pair to, we assume, a number of different worlds, similar to the way that each game in the arcade was unique in the first film.

Exactly how a couple of digital characters are going to pick up a physical replacement part from the actual internet is unclear. Maybe they need to make nice with an Amazon buy box or digitally alter the results of an eBay auction in order to make sure the arcade wins. Either way, we saw how scary going "Out of Order" was for the people inside Fix-It Felix Jr in the first movie, and clearly that possibility happening for Sugar Rush will make this adventure an equally serious one.

The Writers

The story of Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 comes to us from three Disney veterans who have a strong history behind them. The Head of Story is Jim Reardon, who previously was part of the story team for both Zootopia and the original Wreck-It Ralph. Then we have Pamela Ribon who previously assisted with the story for Disney's Moana. Before that, she had worked on television comedies like Mind of Mencia and Samantha Who? Finally, the third member of the story team for Ralph 2 is Phil Johnston, who co-wrote the screenplay for both Zootopia and the first Wreck-It Ralph. He's also got another big job on this movie, which takes us to our next section.

The Directors

The first Wreck-It Ralph was a solo directorial effort from Rich Moore, who also co-directed Zootopia. He'll be back in the director's chair for Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2, but this time he'll share directorial responsibilities with Phil Johnston. This is Johnston's debut as a feature film director, but considering how intimately he's been involved with this franchise, it certainly feels like he's picked the right film to start with.

Wreck-It Ralph

Long before Wreck-It Ralph 2 was official, we knew that it was coming, mostly because voice actor John C. Reilly likes to talk. The original Wreck-It Ralph was all about a character who had been designed to be a particular way, in this case, a video game villain, who tried to step outside his role and find more in his existence. His quest took him outside of his Donkey Kong-esque 8-bit video game and into other games, including modern first-person shooters and kart racers. Ralph succeeded in finding more, but also made peace with his role as the bad guy. One assumes that we'll find Ralph in a similar state as Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 begins. The shift away from video games and into the internet will probably be the biggest shift for him. We certainly got the impression in the first movie that the characters were very much a product of their era, and so Ralph, from a game over 30 years old, likely won't know where to start when navigating the web. We've been promised that the friendship between Ralph and Vanellope will be tested in the sequel, though we're not exactly sure what that means.

Vanellope Von Schweetz

Most of Wreck-It Ralph took place in the game of Sugar Rush, the candy go-kart game and home of Vanellope Von Schweetz, voiced by Sarah Silverman. At the end of the first film, we learned that Vanellope was actually the princess of the land, though her time as an apparent glitch made her feel more comfortable in a hoodie than a frilly dress. Sugar Rush will be key to the sequel as well, as Vanellope and Ralph's journey into the internet is undertaken in an attempt to find a part that will fix the Sugar Rush arcade cabinet. This could indicate a slight shift in the character dynamic. Even though the film's title is all about Ralph, he may take a more secondary role in Vanellope's quest to fix her game.

Fix-It Felix Jr.

Fix-It Felix Jr. was the name of the video game that Ralph came from, and Felix was an important supporting character in the first film. While Jack McBrayer was apparently the last person to know that Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 was coming, it has been confirmed that he'll be back to reprise his role as the guy who fixes everything. It's unclear how big a role Felix will have, but as the character was married at the end of the first movie, there are a lot of opportunities to do some new things with him.

Calhoun

Fix-It Felix Jr's bride at the end of the first movie was the tough-as-nails Calhoun, voiced by Jane Lynch. The actress has confirmed that she will be back for the sequel, and we would expect her part to be on par with that of Felix as far as its size an importance, but that's pure speculation. Calhoun's modern military video game character represented the current generation of more mature games, which are very popular among actual online communities, so, perhaps, she'll be in a better position to navigate the world of the internet than the others.

Mr. Litwak

One character from the first film who has seemingly not been confirmed for the sequel is Mr. Litwak, the owner of the arcade where Ralph and the gang all reside. He was voiced by the hilarious Ed O'Neil and while he wasn't a major character in the first film, with the plot of the game revolving around the Sugar Rush arcade cabinet, there's a good chance that the owner will make another supporting appearance as he did before.

Other Returning Characters

There was a nearly endless number of small supporting characters in Wreck-It Ralph in the form of the Nicelanders of Fix-it Felix Jr. and the additional racers in Sugar Rush. Since this adventure will take our leads out of the arcade, we wouldn't expect any of them to have roles even as large as what they had before. Still, expect the likes of Mindy Kaling and others to appear briefly, if only to keep the worlds feeling lived in and to help give us an idea of what has happened in the intervening years.

Yesss

So far, only one brand new character has been introduced for Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck it Ralph 2. During the D23 Expo last summer, attendees were treated to footage of the character known as Yesss who is voiced by Taraji P. Henson. She plays a digital algorithm for a website known as Buzzaholic, the apparent stand-in for BuzzFeed in this universe. She will be the film's tour guide of sorts as the character who introduces the internet world to our characters and helps them navigate it. No images have been released publicly of Yesss, but she's described as a character with blue hair that dresses fairly hip and has clothes made from fiber optics.

New Voices

Two voice actors have been attached to the movie to play brand new characters that we don't know much about. Ugly Betty's Ana Ortiz was the first name announced for what is being called a "small role," but beyond that, we don't know much. Late night TV host James Corden, who seems to be doing voice acting in everything these days, is also apparently involved in Wreck-it Ralph 2. His casting was revealed by Jane Lynch, so it's possible his role will be involved with whatever Calhoun is up to in the new movie.

Alan Tudyk

There are only about two things you can be sure of when it comes to a Disney Animation Studios movie these days. First, it will open with a shot of a castle, and two, you'll hear the voice of Alan Tudyk at some point. He's been in every animated Disney movie for the last several years, including voicing the major role of King Candy in the first Wreck-It Ralph. Tudyk has confirmed he'll be back for the sequel, though in a different role. It could be another major role like it was last time, though in Moana he voiced a sidekick chicken, so, really, anything is possible.

Disney References

Disney has become a massive entity in recent years and Wreck-it Ralph 2 will actually make reference to this fact with a major scene that they showed off at the D23 Expo last year. The characters will actually go to one of Disney's real homes on the internet, OhMyDisney.com, where they will see elements of Star Wars and Marvel as well as Disney animation. In fact, Ralph and Vanellope will meet all of the classic Disney princesses in one place, in a moment that will be a major joy for all the Disney fanatics out there. All of the original voice actors who are still with us will reprise their roles. With everybody from Snow White to Anna and Elsa making an appearance. Whether this will actually be a scene that is important in the grand scheme of the story or just one for fun is unclear, but it will be a major event either way.

Movie sets can be unintentionally dangerous locations. A-listers like Tom Cruise get injured performing stunts on Mission: Impossible sequels. Stunt people risk their lives and, in tragic situations lose their lives because of miscalculations. And on more occasions than they probably care to admit, actors get punched in the face filming fight sequences, as when Sarah Silverman took a right-hander square in the eye from Ryan Phillippe while filming Christopher McQuarrie's directorial debut The Way of the Gun back around 1999. As Silverman now remembers it:

It sure looks like they used it. If you haven't seen Christopher McQuarrie's debut film The Way of the Gun, it's a gripping and harrowing story about two criminals (Ryan Phillippe and Benicio Del Toro) who get in way over their heads when they kidnap a woman with powerful criminal ties. The movie's best known for McQuarrie's use of sound. When you sat in a theater for The Way of the Gun, the actual sound of the guns going off in the numerous gunfights was DEAFENING. But the movie also has one of the most memorable opening scenes in modern-movie history, where Sarah Silverman berates Phillippe's character outside of a nightclub, forcing him to finally haul off and deck her.

Watch the scene in full down below. Fair warning. If there's a Guinness Book of World's Records for the number of "fucks" used on one scene, this sequence wins. Sarah Silverman is VICIOUS to Ryan Phillippe in this scene. It might help explain why he actually connected with her while they were filming it:

The odd thing about The Way of the Gun is that it was poorly received, and while Christopher McQuarrie was coming off of The Usual Suspects (which he wrote, for Bryan Singer to direct), this movie stalled his directing career until he tried again with Jack Reacher in 2012. That movie was such a hit, it earned McQuarrie the directing gig on Mission: Impossible: Rogue Nation and, now, Mission: Impossible 6.

Sarah Silverman and Ryan Phillippe have had varying degrees of success on the silver screen. They never really broke out. But they've never lacked for work. I wonder what Phillippe remembers about his side of this Way of the Gun title card bout? It's brutal, no matter which way you slice it, so I'm glad Silverman, who shared this anecdote with EW, now says it was worth it to land the proper take.

If you've been paying any attention to the world of TV, you'll know that Netflix is on top of the game. And aside from its plethora of original programming and movies, the streaming service has quickly become a game changer for the world of stand-up comedy specials. It seems like new fantastic specials are released on Netflix every few weeks, and the most recent comes from the always delightful comedian/actress/writer Sarah Silverman. Her new special A Speck of Dust features a few moments with the comedian interacting with her fans and hecklers, and she recently revealed why she actually finds hecklers fascinating.

I had the privilege to speak with Sarah Silverman about A Speck of Dust during Netflix's spring press junket in New York City. When I asked her about one specific heckling incident from the special, she explained why hecklers are so interesting to her. Silverman said,

And give them what they want is certainly what Sarah Silverman does. But any experienced stand up audience member knows that the last thing you want is to gain the negative attention of the comic; it usually results in you being the butt of the joke.

While not all hecklers are well meaning, you certainly see a few in Sarah Silverman's recent Netflix special. In the back half of A Speck of Dust, Sarah actually momentarily stops the set in order to directly address one audience member. While she thanks him for constantly agreeing with her throughout the set, Sarah also tells him the next time he wants to vocally support her, he could just give a thumbs up. There are also a few more brief moments in the special, where Silverman addresses an audience member (something pretty common in stand-up).

Although hecklers can be a distracting and negative aspect of stand-up, audience interaction can sometimes provide moments of magic and improvisation in an otherwise curated set. For instance, Amy Schumer's HBO special Live at the Apollo featured a rather long conversation with an audience member about ridiculous sexual positions. Things only got crazier when it was revealed that he came to the show with his mother, who was seated right next to him. While that entire bit could have been left on the cutting room floor, Schumer's delighted reaction to the situation added a sense of improvisation toe the special as a whole.

Sarah Silverman: A Speck of Dust is currently streaming over at Netflix, alongside fantastic comics like Tracy Morgan and Chelsea Handler.

The introduction of streaming services has completely changed the landscape of television over the past few years. And now that Netflix and company are focusing on acquiring and releasing exciting new films, Hollywood film production may be on the precipice of a similar shift in thinking. Quite a few unique film titles have been given the Netflix lately, so the next few months should be a particularly exciting for the streaming service's subscribers. And there's seven specific films that you don't want to miss when they're released in the coming months.

War Machine (May 26, 2017)

War Machine is one of the most highly anticipated new film releases for Netflix. An utterly ridiculous satirical war film, War Machine will follow four-star General Glen McMahon (Brat Pitt) and his platoon, who are deployed to Afghanistan in an attempt to end the conflict overseas. But both McMahon and the rest of his group's incompetence becomes instantly clear, presumably leading to quite a few wartime shenanigans and pratfalls. And before long, McMahon realizes he may be the one in danger there.

War Machine boasts an impressive supporting cast, in addition to the major win in the form of Brad Pitt. Joining Pitt in his wartime comedy are Ben Kingsley, Topher Grace, The OA's Emory Cohen, former Bratpacker Anthony Michael Hall, and even the incomparable Tilda Swinton. The trailer for the satire is currently available online, so you can see if War Machine will make it onto your queue when its released next week.

The Meyerowitz Stories (May 21st, 2017)

Just when you thought Netflix had calmed down on the Adam Sandler front, we have another release featuring the legendary comedian and actor. But The Meyerowitz Stories isn't actually part of Adam Sandler's deal with Netflix; he's just happens to be in the cast of a film released by the streaming service.

The Meyerowitz Stories revolves around the titular Meyerowitz family, as we see the now adult children deal with their aging father. Details about the film have been mostly kept under wraps, but the dramedy is sure to contain its fair share of both laughs and heartfelt moments. Adam Sandler will co-star among a mixture of familiar and newcommer faces, many of which audiences will be very familiar with. Rounding out the cast is Ben Stiller, Emma Thompson, Dustin Hoffman, Candice Bergen, and House of Cards alum Elizabeth Marvel.

While critics may have been brutal on Adam Sandler's last few Netflix original movies, I've always found his dramatic performances to be surprisingly genuine and heartfelt. And while Sandler may be a main cast member of The Meyerowitz Stories, it's not an "Adam Sandler movie" per se.

Shimmer Lake (June 9th, 2017)

This one is a particularly wild and unconventional project, which makes its home on Netflix a brilliant choice. Shimmer Lake is a crime dramedy that has a ton of high concepts attached to it. The directorial debut of God Particle (aka Cloverfield 3) and 22 Jump Street writer Oren Uziel, the film revolves around a local sheriff who is attempting to find the truth behind a bank heist gone wrong. And while this might not be particularly mind blowing, the genre defying film will be told in reverse, moving backward through days of a week. That's right, we're doing it Tarantino style for this one.

_Shimmer Lake _truly seems like its in a genre of its own. Netflix has released one brief scene starring _The Office_'s Rainn Wilson, in which he holds his co-star by gunpoint for information, while young man attempts to hold in his impending bowel movement in a nearby bathroom. It's dramatic, bizarre, and obscene. If that doesn't spell out a Netflix original, I don't know what does. Check it out.

Sarah Silverman: A Speck of Dust (May 30th, 2017)

Another way that Netflix has made a name for itself in the world of entertainment is its commitment to stand-up comedy. Perhaps stealing HBO's thunder in a way, Netflix has quickly become the home for new stand up specials, with a variety of comedians premiering new material over on the streaming service. Actress/comic Sarah Silverman is debuting her third comedy special this month, with Sarah Silverman: A Speck of Dust premiering on Netflix May 30th.

A Speck of Dust features Sarah Silverman's signature irreverent wit. As always, Sarah plays the fool in order to make a statement about the world we live in, putting herself as the butt of the joke rather than the attacker. Additionally, her third comedy special is perhaps her most metatheatrical, explaining the process of writing comedy to the audience, while also delivering on the laughs. Unlike Jesus is Magic and HBO's We Are Miracles, we can expect a lack of musical numbers, with Silverman allowing her jokes (and occasional political commentary) to speak for themselves.

Okja (June 28, 2017)

Okja is probably the most highly anticipated film in this list, as its gained quite a bit of media attention since its utterly unique concept was first introduced. Okja follows a young girl named Mija (played by South Korean child actress Ahn Seo-hyun), who is the caretaker of an experimental new creature named, you guessd it, Okja. Okja massive pig-like creature that was created by the Mirando Corporation as the first genetically enhanced creature meant for food consumption. Okja has a minimal carbon footprint, requires minimal food, and produces very little bodily waste. As such, the Mirando Corporation plans to mass produce the monster in order to solve the world's natural resource problem, and feed entire nations.

But Mija won't let her buddy Okja be taken by the corporation's CEO (played by Tilda Swinton), and a wild sci-fi adventure begins. The film has a very impressive cast, including Paul Dano, Jake Gyllenhaal, The Walking Dead's Steven Yeun, and Breaking Bad's Giancarlo Esposito.

Netflix just released the film's first trailer, you can check out the madness below.

Bright (December 2017)

Aside from Okja, Bright might be the most intriguing upcoming Netflix film on this list. Starring the always delightful Will Smith, Bright focuses on an LAPD officer who battles criminals, both human and otherwise, in a world occupied by a variety of mythical and monstrous creatures. Directed by Suicide Squad's David Ayer, Bright will include creatures like Orcs and Elves living in a modern Los Angeles. And considering how bad traffic is with just humans, I'm sure the LAPD going to have quite a bit of chaos to clean up.

Joining Will Smith for this ambitious project are Joel Edgerton as the first Orc police officer, Prometheus' Noomi Rapace, as well as TV stars like Lucy Fry (11.22.63), and Kenneth Choi (The People v. O.J. Simpson). The first teaser for Bright was released recently, you can check it out below.

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Late last week, news came out of the Cannes Film Market announcing that Judd Apatow was teaming up with the men from The Lonely Island to make a feature film. What that news lacked, however, was a firm title for the project, or a description of what the movie will be about. Well, you need not wonder any longer, as plot details for the feature have just become public.

Deadline has the scoop on the name of the project, referring to it as Conner4real. In the movie, Andy Samberg will be playing the titular Conner, who sees his life start coming apart at the seems when his new album completely bombs. As a means of trying to bounce back after his immense failure, he tries to get the members of his old boy band back together for a reunion. Samberg's Lonely Island cohorts Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer will be playing the other two members of the boy band, but that will actually be one of two jobs they have on the production, given that they are attached to the project as co-directors.

The report says that Conner4real will take "a potshot at fluffy music documentaries including Justin Bieber: Never Say Never and Katy Perry: Part Of Me." What's unclear is whether or not this means that the film will be made as a documentary, or if it's going with a more traditional format.

Obviously The Lonely Island trio won't be the only actors featured in the film, and according to The Wrap the project has actually already picked up a few talented co-stars. Sarah Silverman will be playing Conner's "sarcastic publicist," while Tim Meadows is going to play the star's extremely overworked but relentlessly positive business manager. Imogen Poots is also attached to join the production, though exactly what her role would be in the movie is unclear at this point.

Conner4real could possibly be a big win for the Lonely Island trio - which notably hasn't had a ton of success at the box office. Though they have both developed cult followings, neither of Akiva Schaffer's previous directorial efforts - Hot Rod and The Watch - managed to do any significant business. Likewise, Jorma Taccone's first time helming a feature was Macgruber, which a notable flop when it came out in 2010. This new film could be a chance at redemption.

Production on Conner4real has already begun in Los Angeles, and while Universal is attached to the project, a release date has not yet been carved out. Given the scheduling of filming, however, it's likely that the movie will find its way to a theater near you sometime in the spring or summer of 2016. Stay tuned for more updates as they become available.

Thanks to constant media coverage of the Ebola outbreak in western Africa and the reports of cases found in Texas, the public is on high alert where the deadly disease is concerned. The CDC has said that there is a very low chance of an outbreak here in the States, but still fear and paranoia has exist. Of course, topical comedy is always common in cases like this, which is how we’ve come to the Saturday Night Live sketch above.

Featured heavily in this fake trailer, comedienne Sarah Silverman was the host of last night’s live show, following up Chris Pratt’s work on the season premiere last week. Here she is starring with SNL regular Taran Killam and together make a cute little parody trailer for The Fault In Our Stars 2: Ebola In Our Everywhere.

Obviously the main gag here is that Taran Killam’s character really wants to be nowhere near the girl who has just admitted to having Ebola, but I’m honestly surprised that this wasn’t taken to a grosser place. Those of your who have done your research – or at the very least have read "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston – know that Ebola is a terrible disease with a very notable symptom: lots of hemorrhaging blood. Sarah Silverman’s character starting to gushing red stuff might have escalated this trailer a little bit more and perhaps better illustrated the Ebola joke. And it’s not like Saturday Night Live doesn’t have a great history with blood-related jokes:

Wouldn’t have all of Sarah Silverman’s lines later in the sketch been funnier if she was bleeding profusely from her face, thus allowing Killam’s reactions to get more extreme? Perhaps it would have ended up being a little too much, but it would have gotten a chuckle out of me.

Of course, Ebola isn’t the only topical subject being parodied here, as it won’t be long until The Fault In Our Stars will be available on Blu-ray and DVD. After coming out this summer and making more than $300 million at the global box office – a nice boost for stars Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, and Nat Wolff - the Josh Boone-directed film will be arriving on home media September 16th.

Sarah Silverman is headed to Saturday Night Live this week. The move marks the veteran comedian’s first turn as a host on NBC’s late night sketch comedy series. However, it won’t mark her first time on the SNL stage. During the 1993-1994 season, Silverman was a featured player on Saturday Night Live. During her time in the cast, she got up to plenty of shenanigans, and this week she spoke out about the time she stabbed Al Franken in the head.

Silverman recently appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers to talk about her time with the cast so many years ago. She mentions a story about stealing socks and boxers, and other behind-the-scenes stories, then brings up the fact that she looked to now-Senator Al Franken as a mentor during her time on the show.

Silverman was clearly really invested in Franken's hairdo. She couldn't stop staring at him in the meeting, which eventually led to the notorious stabbing story.

It’s tough to make it on the late night sketch series, and stabbing one of the show’s longest running and well-respected writers is probably not going to earn you any brownie points on the series, although it’s highly unlikely the incident led to her firing, as she joked. As long as Silverman didn’t go out of her way to stab people on the SNL set this week, we expect things to run much more smoothly.

Silverman’s hosting gig is part of SNL Season 40. Chris Pratt kicked off the season last week, and Bill Hader is expected to take the reigns next week. Maroon 5 will also be appearing with Silverman onstage on Saturday night, and since Adam Levine has hosted the series before, I expect the band might even pop up in a sketch. You can catch Saturday Night Live on NBC on Saturday nights at 11:35 p.m. EST.

If you want to hear the Franken story from Silverman’s own lips, hop over to the next page.

Saturday Night Live is hitting a pretty huge milestone this season, hitting the big 4-O. To celebrate forty years on television, NBC’s late night series is kicking off with a very funny star who used to play side characters but has vaulted into the a-list in recent months. Chris Pratt will host the first episode of SNL this season, which is headed to NBC’s schedule at the end of the September.

Saturday Night Live kicks off on September 27, with Guardians of the Galaxy and upcoming Jurassic Park 4 actor Chris Pratt taking on the role of host. He’ll appear opposite “Problem” singer Ariana Grande, who will make her SNL debut as the musical guest that night.

Planning ahead, NBC also announced the host and guest for the October 4 episode of Saturday Night Live. That night will also be a night for newbies, with Sarah Silverman taking the reigns as a host on the show for the first time. Silverman actually launched her career as a writer and a featured player on Saturday Night Live, and I find it extremely bizarre that she hasn’t returned to the series to host it in the twenty years subsequent. Apparently the comedian has a new album coming out called Sarah Silverman: We Are Miracles, and I guess appearing on SNL will be a great way to pump fans up about the new release.

Silverman will be joined onstage by Maroon 5, who has appeared on SNL a whopping five times and also recently released the bestselling album, V. The band's return this fall is a wee bit surprising, considering Maroon 5 played during Levine’s hosting stint last January. This time around will obviously be more relaxed for the busy Levine, and I’m sure Maroon 5 fans aren’t complaining about another appearance on the late night series.

NBC often announces new episodes and guest hosts just a couple of weeks before they pop up on the sketch comedy series, but since this is a special year for the series, an extra special has been planned. On February 15, SNL will air a 40th Anniversary episode that will include famous members of the cast from the past and present, as well as a slew of hosts and musical guests who are well-known for having appeared on the show throughout the years. None of the names involved have been officially released, yet, but we’ll keep you posted as NBC kicks off Season 40.

NBC’s Saturday Night Live will kick off on Saturday, September 27 at 11:35 p.m. ET. For the rest of the 2014 fall premiere schedule, head here.

Oftentimes, when a network passes on a pilot, the lone episode of a TV show that wasn't meant to be gets tucked away somewhere on a shelf that I like to imagine is organized, not alphabetically, but by a system that separates the pilots that never should've been made in the first place and the ones that were full of potential but somehow passed over, while some inevitably cancelled, less-funny comedy gets the green light. If such an organizational system were to actually exist, I think Sarah Silverman's Susan 313 would be filed somewhere toward the latter category. The Twentieth Century Fox comedy, which was ordered to pilot by NBC in 2011, but eventually passed over the following spring, is charming, well cast and full of potential.

Susan 313 follows Silverman's Susan Farrow, a woman who's recently become single after ten years of being spoiled by a relationship. She's literally trying to pick up exactly where she left off, as she heads back to her old apartment, which has apparently been waiting for her on pause this whole time, though the residents have all moved forward in their lives. All the while, Susan's narrating this story from her own skewed perspective to a support group, and to us.

June Diane Raphael plays Susan's old friend, and it seems the two have had a falling out. Raphael's involvement is one more reason to acknowledge the wasted potential of this series, as the NTSF:SD:SUV star has been on the rise lately, with a number of credits under her belt, including the upcoming comedy Ass Backwards. Also among the cast are Tig Notaro, Jeff Goldblum, Troy Hatt and Lost's Ken Leung.

As Silverman says in the preface, she's not leaking this comedy pilot online as a slap in the face to anyone. She just thought she'd share it, and the studio gave her permission to do so, which is rare and pretty wonderful. I really wish we'd see more pilots released after they're passed over, if only to appreciate the work that went into them, and get an idea of what was in contention each season. Of course, it might cause us to gripe about network decisions, especially if it turns out that something the network did pick up that season wasn't nearly as good. Like, say Animal Practice, for example?

As it turns out, 2012 wasn't a good year for new comedies for NBC. All of the greenlit comedies were eventually cancelled (Go On, Animal Practice, Guys with Kids and The New Normal), which only makes it more frustrating that we never got to see what kind of potential Susan 313 had to offer. I'd take Jeff Goldblum duetting with Sarah Silverman over an adorable monkey in a lab coat any day.

This poll is no longer available.

From Crackle: I’m Going To Change Your Life Forever

The second season of Jerry Seinfeld's webseries Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee premiered today and has the stand-up comedian and TV star returning to his vehicles to chat it up with fellow comedians and talk about cars and coffee. The season premiere, which you can watch above in its entirety, has Jerry Seinfeld cruising around with Sarah Silverman in a "slinky, sexy 1969 Jaguar XKE Series 2 E Type convertible in opalescent blue with dark blue leather interior." Seinfeld tells Silverman he picked that car because it looks like her. Her excited "This looks like me?!" conjures an excellent little flashback to Silverman cruising around in animated form for Wreck-It Ralph. During her interview, Silverman admits she has a secret love of Jaguars and has fun pushing all of the buttons. And I especially love her impersonation of her mother doing the movie announcements. From there, the two have conversation about religion, sexuality and - of course - cars and working in comedy.

Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee debuted online last year. It's 10-episode first season featured appearances by Larry David, Alec Baldwin, Ricky Gervais and Michael Richards, among others. Among the cars featured, a 1952 Volkswagen, a 1970 Mercedes Benz 280 SL, a 1966 Porsche 356 SC Cabrolet and a 1962 VW Bus. Each episode has Seinfeld in a different car, with a different celebrity visiting a different diner. There's no predicting what kind of conversation they might have… apart from coffee, cars and diners, anyway.

New episodes are expected to air every Thursday at Noon EST throughout the six weeks, with more episodes planned next year. They can be viewed at ComediansInCarsGettingCoffee.com and Crackle.com.

Crackle has full episodes from Season 1 up on their site. Watch S1, Ep 1 featuring Seinfeld creator Larry David below:

From Crackle: Larry Eats a Pancake

Seth MacFarlane is going all out in the casting of his second directorial effort A Million Ways To Die In The West. Since being announced last December, riding the wave from the blockbuster success of Ted, the new projects has signed on top talent including Charlize Theron, Amanda Seyfried, Giovanni Ribisi and Liam Neeson, all of whom will be joining the Family Guy creator, who is set to make his live-action acting debut. But it seems that until cameras start rolling MacFarlane is just going to keep adding names to his cast list, and today he is close to adding yet another.

The Hollywood Reporter has learned that Sarah Silverman is now in talks to join the cast of the western comedy as a street-walker engaged to Ribisi's character, Edward. As previously reported, her potential role will be part of a side story in the film, as she is a prostitute who sleeps with every man in town but refuses to sleep with her future husband before their wedding night.

The main story, scripted by MacFarlane and Ted writers Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild, follows Albert (MacFarlane) a sheep farmer who loses his pride and his girlfriend (Seyfried) when he chickens out of a duel. His life begins to change, however, when he meets the wife (Theron) of a notorious outlaw (Neeson) and she teaches him how to be a man. The film will be going into production in the next couple months, but doesn't yet have a release date.

Last year Silverman voiced Vanellope in Disney's hit Wreck-It Ralph and she also has a recurring role on the animated series Bob's Burgers.

Wreck-It Ralph was one of the biggest hits of the 2012 fall season, netting more than $200 million worldwide on the power of family audiences, with kids attracted to the candy-colored world and parents getting nostalgic for the video games of their youth. When you've got a movie that's such a big hit, and especially when it's coming from Disney, you can pretty much assume a sequel will be next-- but now have we gotten confirmation that it's happening, and from a very unlikely source.

When Wreck-It Ralph opened in Australia, Moviehole caught up with stars John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman, and interviewer Clint Morris allowed his five-year-old daughter to get the last question, which naturally was "Will there be more Wreck-It Ralph." Turns out the answer is yes! Here's Reilly explaining how they know it:

It's not just the actors who are willing to talk about Wreck-It Ralph 2-- director Rich Moore, who says he wouldn't dream of handing the sequel over to another director, is also in on the scheme, and already has ideas of which character he'd like to include next time around.

Mario gets a shout-out in Wreck-It Ralph but doesn't appear, and while he might be the most high-profile video game character who doesn't make an appearance, he's surely not the only one fans might like to see next time. So with Wreck-It Ralph 2 almost certainly happening, let us know which other video game characters you want to see next time in the comments! With an entire world of arcade games to choose from, there's no lack of options.

UPDATE! In a recent interview with Collider, Wreck-it Ralph composer Henry Jackman revealed that Disney is still working on the story for Wreck-It Ralph 2. The great thing is that he reconfirms what we already knew about the sequel, that "it is officially on the cards."

So what will Wreck-It Ralph 2 be about? Back in February of 2013 Wreck-It Ralph director Rich Moore had this to say: "Are there other Ralphs [in this world we were introduced to in the original]? What would happen if another Fix It Felix, Jr. game was plugged in? Are there other Ralphs that are more contemporary? Is there another version of the game that was made for mobile? Are there those kind of Super Smash Bros types games where all the characters are gathered in a fighting game? What would that be like for Ralph to come face to face with those different iterations of himself?"

Wreck-It Ralph isn’t a great movie just because of its astoundingly creative story, beautiful animation, and its impressive world-building – it also has some truly top-notch vocal performances. Featuring the likes of John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer and Jane Lynch, the feature is cast perfectly up and down and while their voices are familiar, all of the stars are still able to disappear into their characters and give them independent life. They made most of their chances to pair up in the recording studio, and the result is fun, improvised banter that adds to the film’s humor. They make a great movie even greater, and I was beyond happy to have the chance to speak with all of them.

I recently had the opportunity to attend a press event for Wreck-It Ralph in Los Angeles and below you’ll find my interviews with the movie’s stars. Watch the videos to see Reilly explain unwillingness to be typecast; Silverman discuss how she developed the sweet, nasally voice for the little Vanellope von Schweetz; and Jack McBrayer and Jane Lynch talk about the strange experience of watching themselves in an animated film And, of course, I had to ask all of them what it was like being part of the incredible Disney Animation Studios legacy.

Check them out!

John C. Reilly

Sarah Silverman

*Note: Here’s a link to the scene from The Way of The Gun that I was talking about during my interview with Sarah Silverman. Definitely NSFW without a pair of headphones.

Jack McBrayer and Jane Lynch

Want to see more from Wreck-It Ralph? Head on over to our Blend Film Database!

Back in August news broke that NBC won the bidding war for Sarah Silverman’s comedy pilot. Things appear to be moving in the right direction for the project, which is loosely based on Silverman’s life, as NBC has picked it up up to pilot.

According to Deadline, actress/comedian Sarah Silverman’s TV pilot with Imagine TV and 20th Century Fox TV, has been given the green light by NBC. The half-hour pilot has yet to be given a title, but will star Silverman, who will play a woman just coming out of a ten year relationship and trying to figure out how to be single again. The pilot will have Silverman writing alongside Dan Sterling and Jon Schroeder, both of whom wrote for Comedy Central’s The Sarah Silverman Show.

While we should probably expect a more toned down version of Silverman’s style of comedy, should this pilot go to series, at the very least, it’s a single-camera comedy, which means there’s a chance it won’t be the next Whitney. I’m as much a fan of Silverman as I am of Whitney Cummings as comedians. Unfortunately, I don’t think Whitney does Cummings’ humor justice. Let’s hope the same isn’t the case for Silverman’s project.

Bob Greenblatt is making his first big moves as a key business player at NBC, and as it turns out, he’s a real contender. He picked up Sean Hayes and Peter Tolan for a comedy project, and now he has managed to outbid every other major network for a second comedy project. This one even comes backed by Ron Howard.

On Wednesday, word on the street was that Howard had been present at each of the network meetings, pitching the new comedy that was created by Sarah Silverman and will be based somewhat on her real life. The pitch ultimately got picked up by NBC and could bring a solid block of female-based comedy to primetime, if NBC chooses to air Silverman’s new show alongside Chelsea Lately funny-girl Whitney Cummings’ new pilot and the Chelsea Handler-based program Are You There, Vodka?

With the pick-up, more details about Silverman’s new show have been released. According to Deadline, the single-camera comedy will star Silverman as a woman who is coming out of a serious, 10-year relationship and is figuring out the single life. Silverman will also be continuing the writing friendship she began on The Sarah Silverman Program with writers Dan Sterling and Jon Schroeder. One thing is for certain: they’ll have to PG-13 down the regular Sarah Silverman role.

Whether or not Silverman’s new program becomes a primetime hit, it is still good news for NBC. I’m certain nothing could be worse than last season’s Outsourced.

She’s known for being crude, crass, and irreverent - all wrapped up in a pretty brunette package. Yes, Sarah Silverman is basically everything Comedy Central viewers could want in a series star. But apparently it’s not just the fart joke loving crowd Silverman has managed to impress. Deadline reported today that Silverman’s new comedy project has got the attention of at least three networks, with two (NBC and ABC) already putting offers on the table.

Silverman’s newest project, a comedy about a newly single woman that draws from her real life, is being pitched by Imagine TV and 20th Century Fox. What’s more, she has managed to draw the personal attention of Imagine’s top dog -and he’s a big dog indeed - Ron Howard. Howard is so hot on the Silverman project that he has personally been present for every network pitch on the series. The last show Ron Howard backed this way: Arrested Development which was of course a critical favorite and Emmy winner but unfortunately just couldn’t get the ratings to keep it alive.

With Ron Howard behind her Silverman is certainly shining like gold to the networks, but whether she can deliver the ratings will be the question that really matters. Personally, Silverman doesn’t do it for me, but obviously enough people find her amusing enough to make her a hot property. Silverman will have to clean up her act a bit for network television; will her Comedy Central fans still find a cleaned up version of Sarah so funny? And if not, can she find a new audience, perhaps one a little more mature? That’s a lot of questions, but we’ll have to let Sarah answer them.

Sarah Polley is as a director, known for female-centric indie movies about women, and her next movie Take this Waltz fits into this mold… except without the usual independent movie cast. Michelle Williams is the movie’s lead, and indie movies are her cup of tea, but also in the cast are Seth Rogen and comedienne Sarah Silverman. Not exactly your arthouse theater typicals. But apparently Polley’s put her indie cred to good use on Sarah Silverman, and has her talked not only into doing indie movies, but into getting naked in the name of art as well.

Talking to Moviefone Silverman recently revealed that Take this Waltz will play host to her first nude scene, which she doesn’t think you’ll enjoy at all. She says, “I go totally naked… Full frontal. It's going to be awful. It's so not pretty.” So why’d she decide to do it? Sarah explains, “Sarah Polley is so f--king cool. So kind. She knows exactly what she wants, she knows how to get it.”

Take this Waltz is a dramedy, which explains the strange mix of Michelle Williams seriousness and Seth Rogen/Sarah Silverman hilarity. Williams plays a woman forced to choose between two kinds of love and Sarah, well here’s how our own Katey Rich explained the part she believes Silverman will get when she took a look at the movie’s script a couple of months ago:

Yep, that sounds like a Sarah Silverman nude scene in the making to me.

After a wait of more than a year, The Sarah Silverman Program is finally returning to Comedy Central with its third season premiere tonight at 10:30 PM ET. As part of their new deal, episodes will re-air the following Tuesdays on Logo, also at 10:30. Comedy Central offered us an early look at the first two episodes of Sarah's latest ventures.

If you've had trouble stomaching The Sarah Silverman Program in the past, you might want to keep staying away. It's just as bizarre and odd and shocking and hilarious as the show has always been. I'll give kudos to the cast, though. With each season their skills as actors actually improves. I don't even know if Silverman wanted everybody to get better, as the awkwardness in line delivery at times added to the humor of it, but it happened anyway.

Of the two episodes featured, I preferred the second one. In the first, Sarah grows a mustache after her sister cuts her off financially -- which is gross, but then you find yourself weirdly used to seeing it on her face. The primary focus of the episode is in Laura's attempts to teach Sarah to take financial responsibility for herself. Basically, she wants her to "man up" and take care of herself. Maybe if she told Sarah that she was in fact part man, even going so far as to give her her little severed baby penis? There's no way Sarah would take that information and run with it in a ridiculous direction.

The B-story involves Brian and Steve, haunted by the ghost of a neighbor who was killed by their flying remote control. The whole thing is so ridiculous, but worth it solely for the moment when they debate whether they have time for this whole haunting thing right now in their schedule.

With the second episode, though, the show is really back to doing what it does very well. Satirizing everything that is supposed to be good and decent on television. This time, they do so directly by having a misguided network executive actually give Sarah her own show. Even worse, it's a children's show. What surprised me was that Sarah actually did a fairly decent job at it, for the most part, despite being distracted by a hit show, and needing to take a dump while taping.

It was when she was advised to put a message into the show that things went off the rails. But before that, she got to appear on Real Time with Bill Maher to fight with Jay's advocacy group intent on shutting her down for having no healthy message for children. Maher was clearly having a lot of fun, and put on a good performance for the episode. Is that really all it takes to get on his show?

As always, Sarah has plenty of goofy songs and crazy moments in each episode. The opening sequence of the second episode alone, when she wakes up hoping for pancakes, only to find the pan empty, is classic Sarah Silverman. That this mundane event led to a musical number, and ultimately her getting her own children's show worked seamlessly for the episode.

Right now it looks like this ensemble is clicking very well. The characters are well-defined, and able to sustain scenes and storylines independent of the main one, all the while keeping the jokes and laughs coming. The Sarah Silverman Program isn't for everyone, but then again neither is the real Silverman, but she's the best at what she brings to the table. It's crude, vulgar, immature, stupid ... and yet surprisingly smart.

The first trailer for IndieVest Pictures' Saint John of Las Vegas has dropped, and it looks funny in that dry, Coen brothers sort of way that has you laughing at things that in any normal situation you might feel bad for laughing at. It's a virtual who's who of “that guys” with the ultimate “that guy” rocking the top line, Steve Buscemi.

Other support comes in various comedic forms from Sarah Silverman, Peter Dinklage, John Cho and Romany Malco (that black guy from 40-Year-Old Virgin), with the always jaw-dropping Emmanuelle Chriqui rounding out the cast.

Saint John premiers in January, so keep an eye out for if it makes it to your town.