In the early 90s they had: Phil Hartman, Mike Myers, David Spade, Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, Rob Schneider, Chris Rock.
Look how many of those had success outside of SNL. Notice that none of them are noted for being hardcore Leftists? Even if they vote liberal, they do not let their politics infect their comedy and they generally keep their mouths shut and do not show contempt for half the audience. Notice how different that is to the people who have been on since the mid 90s.
Although the show has clearly declined over the years, it really took a hard left turn in the early 2000’s when Tina Fey and Amy Poehler were added to the cast and injected a full-on feminazi agenda. When Fey (and liberal producer Lorne Michaels) realized the impact of her impression of Sarah Palin on the 2008 election (“I can see Russia from my house!”), the show essentially became the propaganda wing of the Democratic Party. It broke with years-long traditions of gently skewering the sitting President (Saint Obama, in this case) and solely and savagely attacked conservatives, especially when Trump was elected. There have been a few genuinely talented cast members since, but in a sea of over-the-top wokeness, the show is no longer worth watching.
“In the early 90s they had: Phil Hartman, Mike Myers, David Spade, Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, Rob Schneider, Chris Rock.”
The only one of that group I liked was Phil Hartman. That’s when it stopped being funny. The “class” before them was the best.
In the early 90s they had: Phil Hartman, Mike Myers, David Spade, Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, Rob Schneider, Chris Rock.
During that period, they churned out my favorite SNL skit of all time was the “Matt Foley - Self Help Guru” skit with Farley, Spade, Hartman and Applegate (guest). It still cracks me up to this day. Have no idea how the cast managed to keep even a monocrum of a straight face when it was shot.
And Jon Lovitz, Jan Hooks (loved her dance with Phil Hartman), Kevin Nealon, Julia Sweeney, and the inimitable Dana Carvey!
Mid 90s also had some standouts who didn't push their politics in your face: Darrell Hammond, Will Ferrell, Molly Shannon, Colin Quinn, Cheri Oteri (the other cheerleader), Ana Gasteyer, Chris Kattan, Tracy Morgan.
Seems that when Tina Fey became head writer in the late 90s, things started to go all-snarky, all the time. Too bad. She was teamed up with or writing for Jimmy Fallon and Set Meyers, so say no more—we see how they turned out.