Country of origin United States Original network NBC | No. of episodes 20 | |
Original release October 4, 2003 (2003-10-04) – May 15, 2004 (2004-05-15) | ||
The twenty-ninth season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between October 4, 2003, and May 15, 2004.
Contents
History
This season also marked the debut of a brand new stage for the host's monologue and the musical guest performing stage. Instead of the wrought-iron fire escape motif with the blinking "ON AIR" light, the stages are now modeled after Grand Central Terminal (right down to the spherical clock).
Changes and notes
Before the start of the season Dean Edwards, Chris Kattan and Tracy Morgan left the show. Despite Kattan and Morgan's departure, the two would make guest appearances in several episodes throughout the season and Morgan would later be the host for an episode in 2009 and 2015.
Before the season started, Will Forte, Seth Meyers and Jeff Richards were all promoted to repertory status, while Fred Armisen remained a featured player.
The show added two new African-American cast members: stand-up comedian Finesse Mitchell and Kenan Thompson, a former child star from the Nickelodeon comedy shows All That and Kenan and Kel. With this season, Thompson becomes the first SNL cast member to be born after the show's premiere in 1975 (Thompson was born in 1978).
This was the final season for both Jeff Richards (who quit mid-season over creative differences) and Jimmy Fallon (who decided to leave the show after the final episode).
Cast roster
bold denotes "Weekend Update" anchor