Season 22 poster
20 episodes

Saturday Night Live - Season 22

First aired Sep 28, 1996Season 22

The twenty-second season began on September 28, 1996 and ended on May 17, 1997 with 20 episodes in all. Many changes happened before the start of the season. David Koechner and Nancy Walls were both let go after one season with the show. David Spade left the show on his own terms. This season is also notable for the people who hosted. Seven of the twenty hosts were former cast members. They included Dana Carvey, Robert Downey, Jr., Phil Hartman, Chris Rock and Martin Short. Chevy Chase and Mike Myers would host later in the season. This would mark Chase's final time hosting before getting banned.

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Reviews

Community reviews for Saturday Night Live, shown here with its season details.

G

GenerationofSwine

1.0

It was good, then it was great, then it was good again and now it stinks. As of 2018 The edginess is gone. There are no risks in the jokes. They all consist of two things, 1. Trump is bad. and 2. This was a thing, remember it? Neither of those really work for me. Make fun of Trump all you want, but do it with a punch line. Most of the time they forget the punchline. Simply not liking him is NOT a punchline. You have to exaggerate something, make it satire, mock it in some way. I don't even care if it's a cruel mockery...so long as it doesn't seem like they are just stating an opinion. Opinions are NOT jokes. The same thing goes with their "remember this, this was a thing" jokes... They leave you sitting there waiting for them to say something funny about it. You're with them for a little while, "Yeah I remember it, go on..." then you realize that, no, that was the joke. That's not a joke, that's just asking me to remember something. Again, if they had a punch line, if they said something about what they were asking me to remember, then it might be funny...but they don't. The jokes are literally "this was a thing, laugh at it." and that's not funny. It has to be followed up with something. Like with Trump, an opinion is NOT a joke unless it is followed by something. The same thing with a memory, a memory is NOT a joke in and of itself. They both have to be followed by something

s

sethdozerman

Saturday Night Live will always be my comfort show. The longevity and influence SNL has had on the comedy scene is unmatched. It has been the catalyst for so many careers, e.g. Eddie Murphy, Bill Murray, Will Ferrell etc... The show has definitely had its ups and downs but, in taking a step back it is evident that the show has remained consistently mixed in it entire run. Not every season has had great writers or talent, some actors have been much more successful than others, and yet it has always found an audience. My favourite era of the show was the mid 2000s with Bill Hader and Andy Samberg, but most people have a a preference for whatever season they had as a teenager. The consistency of structure and crew unites all the different casts, creating a familiar image and sensibility, found in every season. There will always be a host monologue, musical guest, Weekend Update and most importantly, it will always be LIVE! The production process of a pitch meeting with the host, staying up all night on Tuesdays to write, read-through and dress rehearsal. Whether it's 1975 or 2023, everyone endures the same experience (although whether they have the aid of cocaine is certainly a difference!). The argument SNL hasnt been funny since the "insert previous ten years" is redundant. Every season of the show has been criticised for not being funny but every season of the show has produced hilarious sketches and shone a light on the new faces of comedy. In the 70s they had Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, the 80s they had Julia Louis Dreyfus and Conan O'Brien, the 90s they had Will Ferrell and Eddy Murphy, the 2000s Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, the 2010s Kate McKinnon and Vanessa Bayer and finally in the 2020s we have Bowen Yang and Marcello Hernandez. The show continues to inspire and entertain the next generation of aspiring creatives with it's ground approach to sketch comedy. It is an American institution that will always hold a very dear place in my heart.

Episodes

Tom Hanks/Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers still

Episode 1

Tom Hanks/Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

NR
Sep 28, 199667 min

Sketches include ""Roxbury Guys,"" ""Spartan Cheerleaders,"" ""Goat Boy,"" ""Mr. Peepers,"" and ""Classic Sing-along with the Drunken Asses.""

Lisa Kudrow/Sheryl Crow still

Episode 2

Lisa Kudrow/Sheryl Crow

NR
Oct 5, 199667 min

Sketches include ""Bob Dole,"" ""Suel Forrester,"" Single and Loving It,"" ""The Randolph Hotel,"" ""Women's Poetry Night,"" and ""Gene the Ex-Convict.""

Bill Pullman/New Edition still

Episode 3

Bill Pullman/New Edition

NR
Oct 19, 199667 min

Sketches include ""Alien Presidential Debate,"" ""AT&T Clerks,"" ""The Rules Show,"" ""John W. Hayward,"" and ""Women's Kickboxing.""

Dana Carvey/Dr. Dre still

Episode 4

Dana Carvey/Dr. Dre

NR
Oct 26, 199667 min

Sketches include ""Russell and Tate: Attorneys at Law,"" ""Larry King Live,"" ""Tom Brokaw,"" ""Johnny Carson and Phil Donahue,"" ""Church Chat,"" and ""Goat Boy.""

Chris Rock/The Wallflowers still

Episode 5

Chris Rock/The Wallflowers

NR
Nov 2, 199667 min

Sketches include ""Bob Dole and George Bush,"" ""Charles Grodin,"" ""The Dark Side with Nat X,"" and ""The Culps.""

Robert Downey Jr./Fiona Apple still

Episode 6

Robert Downey Jr./Fiona Apple

NR
Nov 16, 199667 min

Sketches include ""Bob Dole,"" ""Spartan Cheeleaders,"" ""Bill Clinton,"" ""Don King's Press Conference,"" ""Mr. Music,"" ""Musical Cobras and Panthers,"" ""The Delicious Dish,"" ""Mary Katherine Gallagher,"" ""Streets of L.A.,"" and ""Shopping at Home Network.""

Phil Hartman/Bush still

Episode 7

Phil Hartman/Bush

NR
Nov 23, 199667 min

Sketches include ""The O.J. Trial,"" ""Thanksgiving Song Auditions,"" ""Acting Class,"" ""World War II,"" and ""The Joe Pesci Show.""

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Episode 8

Martin Short/No Doubt

NR
Dec 7, 199667 min

Live from New York, it's...Tim Meadows Sketches include ""O.J. Simpson,"" ""Celebrity Jeopardy,"" ""Ed Grimley Goes To Heaven,"" ""Roxbury Guys,"" ""Barbara Walters Interviews Jackie Rogers, Jr.,"" ""The Gantner Family Workout,"" ""The Tinseltown Tattler,"" ""Martha Stewart's Topless Christmas,"" and ""Happy Holiday Tales.""

Rosie O'Donnell/Whitney Houston still

Episode 9

Rosie O'Donnell/Whitney Houston

NR
Dec 14, 199667 min

Sketches include ""Bill Clinton and Bob Dole,"" ""Spartan Cheerleaders,"" ""Mary Katherine Gallagher,"" ""Delicious Dish,"" ""Goat Boy,"" ""Rita Delvecchio,"" and ""The Local News with Joe Blow.""

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Episode 10

Kevin Spacey/Beck

NR
Jan 11, 199767 min

Sketches include ""New Television Rating System,"" ""The Late Show with David Letterman,"" ""Marijuana Doctor,"" ""Star Wars 20th Anniversary,"" ""Janet Reno's Dance Party,"" ""Mr. Peepers,"" ""The Joe Pesci Show,"" ""Pet Shop,"" and ""The Atteburys.""

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Episode 11

David Alan Grier/Snoop Doggy Dogg

NR
Jan 18, 199767 min

Sketches include ""Bill Clinton Police Line-Up,"" ""Maya Angelou Commercials,"" ""Waiting to Exhale Viewers,"" ""Both Sides with Jesse Jackson,"" ""Wong & Owens,"" and ""Bill Gates and Bill Clinton.""

Neve Campbell/David Bowie still

Episode 12

Neve Campbell/David Bowie

NR
Feb 8, 199767 min

Sketches include ""O.J Simpson,"" ""Jackpot,"" ""The Delicious Dish,"" ""Spartan Cheerleaders,"" ""Rolf,"" and ""Adventures of the White Trash Disaster Trailer.""

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Episode 13

Chevy Chase/Live

NR
Feb 15, 199767 min

Sketches include ""Nightline,"" ""Bill Clinton,"" ""O.J Simpson,"" ""Goat Boy,"" ""Chopper Four.""

Alec Baldwin/Tina Turner still

Episode 14

Alec Baldwin/Tina Turner

NR
Feb 22, 199767 min

Sketches include ""The Late Show with David Letterman,"" ""Roxbury Guys,"" ""Mary Katherine Gallagher,"" ""The Quiet Storm,"" ""The Gossip Show,"" ""Phone Sex Operators,"" ""Yard Sale,"" ""Wong and Owens,"" and ""Bill Brasky.""

Sting/Veruca Salt still

Episode 15

Sting/Veruca Salt

NR
Mar 15, 199767 min

Sketches include ""Bill Clinton,"" ""Evita,"" ""The Nude Crusade,"" ""Rolf,"" ""The Atteburys,"" ""Kyle DeMarco,"" and ""Race and Racism.""

Mike Myers/Aerosmith still

Episode 16

Mike Myers/Aerosmith

NR
Mar 22, 199767 min

Sketches include ""Coffee Talk with Linda Richman,"" ""Mary Katherine Gallagher,"" ""Prime Minister's Questions,"" ""Scottish Soccer Hooligan Weekly,"" and ""Barbara Walters Oscar Special.""

Rob Lowe/Spice Girls still

Episode 17

Rob Lowe/Spice Girls

NR
Apr 12, 199767 min

Sketches include ""Nightline,"" ""Perspectives,"" ""The Joe Pesci Show,"" ""Goth Talk,"" ""Food, Sex, or Cars?"" and ""La Politica Non Correcto con Ramon Diaz Rojo.""

Pamela Lee/Rollins Band still

Episode 18

Pamela Lee/Rollins Band

NR
Apr 19, 199767 min

Sketches include ""Janet Reno,"" ""Spartan Cheerleaders,"" ""A&E Biography: Tiger Woods,"" ""Goat Boy,"" and ""Roxbury Guys.""

John Goodman/Jewel still

Episode 19

John Goodman/Jewel

NR
May 10, 199767 min

Sketches include ""Oprah,"" ""Celebrity Jeopardy,"" ""Suel Forrester,"" ""Eddie Murphy,"" ""The Delicious Dish,"" ""The Culps,"" ""Collette Reardon,"" and ""Bill Brasky.""

Jeff Goldblum/En Vogue still

Episode 20

Jeff Goldblum/En Vogue

NR
May 17, 199767 min

Sketches include ""Nightline,"" ""Mary Katherine Gallagher,"" ""Space, the Infinite Frontier,"" ""Kennedy Kapers,"" ""Larry King,"" ""Rock & Roll Fantasy Camp.""