Fans Sound Off On What They Think Was One Of SNL's Worst Decisions
"Saturday Night Live" has been ruling NBC's airwaves for nearly five decades and shows no signs of stopping. The show has made stars out of dozens of living comedian legends, including Chris Rock and Eddie Murphy. It's safe to say that without "SNL," some of America's most prominent comedians wouldn't have made it past receiving heckles from the peanut gallery. The brand has become synonymous with American culture.
Over the years, "Saturday Night Live" has made a variety of decisions that have changed the show's format. Staples like the topical "Weekend Update" segment have been mainstays since the show first debuted in 1975, but as comedy and technology ave changed, so did the show. With the rising popularity of internet shorts, "SNL" made the bold choice to incorporate pre-recorded digital shorts. These have ranged from short films that incorporate guests, to full-on music videos, such as those spearheaded by The Lonely Island.
And while a lot of great decisions have been made, Lorne Michaels, the man behind the New York-filmed variety show, has dealt with a few stumbles. One prominent decision that led to massive outcry was allowing the-Presidential candidate Donald Trump to host the show (via Deadline). Some believe that the biggest mistake the show ever made was firing the late comedian Norm McDonald, who is best remembered as one of the best "Weekend Update" hosts. However, while there's no arguing that "SNL" has had its pitfalls (and sketches that went too far) over the years, fans agree that the series has made only one mistake that is irredeemable.
SNL fans think firing Michaela Watkins was a huge mistake
In a post on the "Saturday Night Live" fan subreddit, a user took to defend Michaela Watkins, who was let go from the series after just one season. Most commenters agreed, pointing out how Watkins' time on the series was unnecessarily short-lived. u/Vanishingside discussed how they "remember it being a shock when it happened, as she got a good amount of airtime."
An alumni of the Groundlings Theatre School, Watkins made a splash on the variety series, but it wasn't enough to convince "SNL" boss Lorne Michaels and the execs at NBC. Watkins was fired from the show after 15 episodes, a turn of events she described as "shocking" in an interview with Entertainment Weekly following her being ousted. When asked why she believed Michaels let her go, Watkins opened up about how "The only explanation I got from him — and he's not known to say things just to make people feel better — was that he felt deep down that I should have my own show. And I agreed. SNL was a dream come true for me. It was a fantastic year. I don't have any regrets."
Since her 2008 to 2009 run on "SNL," Watkins has continued to make her mark on the small and big screen. As pointed out by u/mirthquake: "Michaela was excellent on SNL [...] and has been consistently crushing it since [...] dropping her was a big mistake."
Watkins has popped up in "Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp," "Werewolves Within," and the drama "The Way Back." It seems like Watkins is onto bigger and better things, as agreed by a majority of users on the thread, including u/elo3661ga, who couldn't stop singing her praises for appearing in the miniseries "The Dropout."