Apart from SNL’s Weekend Update, the show is confused about its audience, unfunny, and employs an outdated format.
One issue is that SNL appears to be oblivious or negligent to its target demographic. If their intent is to garner an audience comprised of middle-aged barely-online democrats, then why have rappers Jack Harlow and Megan Thee Stallion hosted, and why include skits about the Gen Z phenomenon BeReal or the YouTubers the Try Guys?
If, instead, they aim to attract an audience that consists of younger democrats with nearly perennial screen times, then why do their skits about our generation seem so neglectfully disconnected from reality? The result of this confused amalgamation of drastically different topics and perspectives leaves audience members perpetually unsatisfied, and my parents asking me who’s on screen.
Nevertheless, 10th grader Gianna Gordon, who watches SNL once a month, believes that it is “more popular with the generation above us.”
The show’s recent ploys for an increase in viewership by platforming controversial hosts, including Elon Musk and Dave Chappelle, come off as insincere and provoke aggravation and umbrage among regular viewers and nonviewers.
However, SNL’s saving grace is the Weekend Update. Hosted by Colin Jost and Michael Che, this late night style thirteen minute segment of the show is unfailingly funny, and consequently the only remaining section of the show that my family and I still watch. The two hosts expertly intertwine information with a distinct skill to employ dark comedy without offending or sacrificing humor.
It is necessary to recognize that Weekend Update and the body of the show cannot be compared due to the dissimilarity of the constraints of creating a ninety minute show composed of a combination of skits, as opposed to a thirteen minute segment that only requires a single set.
Finally, SNL is a show that was created for the ephemerality of cable television. Today, its reception has changed because the internet has extended the amount of time SNL is subject to analysis, examination, and criticism before a greater audience. Additionally, the internet has increased the amount and variety of content available to a seeking viewer. SNL’s current format may soon become defunct.
As Gordon put it frankly, “it’s not funny.” However, she adds that she continues to watch because “I’m hoping that it's going to get more funny. If things switch up a bit maybe it will get better and our generation will be able to relate more to the comedy.”