Saturday Night Live made some headlines recently when cast members Taran Killam, Jay Pharoah and Jon Rudnitsky were released, their spots soon replaced by others. And while Norm Macdonald's recent SNL-related storytelling has drawn some of the attention away from all that, Donald Trump's heavy media presence is a reminder that Taran Killam's absence leaves viewers without his Trump impression to look forward to in Season 42. Luckily, the show found the perfect person to step in and take over: Mr. Alec Baldwin. Check him out in the teaser below.
In case anyone thought that we might have to wait for the second week of Saturday Night Live to get a peek at the show's take on the Presidential debate, that could never happen in an election cycle with so many eyes and ears glued to it. And though Taran Killam has been an admirable Donald Trump in the past, the comb-over torch must be passed along, and Saturday Night Live frequenter Alec Baldwin is a killer choice to take on the role. That lip, you know?
Given how many people watched the first debate earlier this week, and how many specific moments from the telecast took over social media, Saturday Night Live will likely draw a lot of its satire straight from the actual telecast. Expect Lester Holt to get namechecked roughly 6 billion times and for Kate McKinnon's Hillary Clinton to put on a cartoonishly smug face, while Alec Baldwin will no doubt bring his A-game when it comes to sniffling. It should be quite the sordid affair.
Though Alec Baldwin is taking over as Donald Trump for the Season 42 premiere, he won't be hosting the episode, as that honor goes to Suicide Squad star Margot Robbie. (The Weeknd will be the musical guest.) Baldwin has hosted Saturday Night Live well over a dozen times since his first trip to the stage in 1990, and he's no stranger to making unannounced appearances, either. Perhaps it would have been better to keep Baldwin't Trump-dentity a secret, but then it probably will get a number of new viewers out of the promotion. Who wouldn't want to watch this face?
Alec Baldwin is quite the busy man these days. He only recently had his third child with wife Hilaria Thomas (and fourth overall), their son Leonardo. Plus, he's also had another regular weekend gig as the host of the Match Game reboot on ABC, as well as no less than eight movies in varying stages of production, from Dreamworks Animation's The Boss Baby to Warren Beatty's comedy drama Rules Don't Apply. And he'll almost have to come back to SNL as Trump another one or two times before the election, right? Unless someone on the cast takes over, but fingers crossed for Baldwin to stick around.
Saturday Night Live will be back on NBC for the start of Season 42 on Saturday, October 1, at 11:30 p.m. ET. You can find an updated list of SNL's upcoming hosts here, and to see when all your other favorite shows are coming back, check out our fall TV schedule.
Of course, who is playing Trump isn't SNL's only recent shake-up. Two huge cast members recently were given their walking papers in a shock decision by Lorne Michaels. To find out why, click to the next page.
Rumors have swirled about what exactly happened to Jay Pharoah and Taran Killam and why they were let go. Early speculation related to both men taking meetings about upcoming pilots. Maybe that was a major factor, but if Lorne Michaels is to be believed, it actually had more to do with wanting change. Here's his quote...
I think that the lifeblood of the shows change. I love Taran, I love Jay, I think they're both super-talented. They've both been here six years. And if you don't keep making changes you don't change. You know? I can't explain it any other way, because there's no way of explaining it. Every now and then new voices come in --- both in the writing staff and the cast.
Watch Taran Killam impersonate Donald Trump next...
