Country of origin United States Original network NBC | No. of episodes 20 | |
Original release October 2, 2004 (2004-10-02) – May 21, 2005 (2005-05-21) | ||
The thirtieth season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between October 2, 2004, and May 21, 2005.
Contents
History
This season was notable for a lip-syncing gaffe by Ashlee Simpson during her second performance (on the episode hosted by Jude Law). This season was also home to many sketches focused on the 2004 U.S. Presidential election, but, unlike the 2000 election (and later, the 2008 election), there was little to no media coverage about the sketches.
Changes and notes
Before the start of this season, Jimmy Fallon left the show. In the wake of his departure, Fred Armisen was promoted to repertory status, while Finesse Mitchell and Kenan Thompson remained feature players.
New cast members this season include Rob Riggle, an improv comedian (at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater) and U.S. Marine. This would be Riggle's only season on the show. In addition, SNL writer Jason Sudeikis (who appeared in many bit roles before joining the cast) joined the cast as a featured player for the last three episodes of the season.
With Fallon gone, Amy Poehler became Tina Fey's co-anchor on Weekend Update, making Fey and Poehler the first (and, so far, only) two-woman anchor team.
Cast roster
bold denotes "Weekend Update" anchor