pete davidson is leaving snl, which means it's time for me to take over
no need to question this, everybody. it's simply the most obvious choice.
Good evening, my fellow dehydrated readers! Yesterday was the first almost 90 degree day in New York, and while I did a great job with my sunscreen, I did not do a great job with my water-drinking. I really thought I did, but alas, I did not. Although, now that I’m saying it, I don’t think I ate enough or drank enough, which are two things I’m really good at combining when I’m doing things all day. Anyway, what I mean to say is I was still alive but barely breathing. And today? Much better but still sweaty.
I’m excited for the summer — rollerblading, swimming (perhaps not I am afraid of the sharks), music, cookouts, dehydration, all good things. Also, my brother is coming to stay with me for a little while, so I get to show him a city that will make sure he never has the right of way (because the rats do). This will be the first time Sean (my brother) and I live in a city together without our parents. We are Big Kids now. We are Adults. We are Paying Our Taxes. And while he doesn’t get here until Wednesday, it feels so weird already that we’re both in our twenties trying to figure out what the fresh hell we’re doing. I know everyone feels that way, but this is about me … oh, and my brother. I will be updating the newsletter on our sibling experiences in the Big Potato each week, so get ready for some fun paragraphs on us both forgetting to drink water!
The rest of this week’s newsletter is gonna be about Saturday Night Live. Last night was the season finale, and with the end of the season came the end of four cast members returning next season: Kate McKinnon, my queen Aidy Bryant, Kyle Mooney, and Pete Davidson. That’s the most since I think the season when Kristen Wiig departed, which also included Andy Samberg leaving and John Mulaney leaving his writing position. I know it’s SO annoying to talk about “women in comedy” and what it’s like to be a woman in comedy, but I do think it’s IMPORTANT to talk about HOW IMPORTANT it is to have a strong group of women in a place like Saturday Night Live.
SNL has always been known to have a good group of female cast members each decade: Gilda Radner and Laraine Newman and Jane Curtain in the original cast, which is only three women out of nine members, but they really took over their sketches; Molly Shannon (until 2000), Rachel Dratch, Tina Fey, Ana Gasteyer, Maya Rudolph, and Amy Poehler in 2001; in 2005, Kristen Wiig joined, becoming a cast member with some of the most quotable characters in SNL history; and then Vanessa Bayer, Nasim Pedrad, Cecily Strong, and our girlies Kate and Aidy by 2012. And now we’ve got our Chicago comedy queen Sarah Squirm! The women of SNL make such a positive impact with every decade that there’s literally a special called The Women of SNL that I recommend everyone watch (it’s on Hulu, and I watch it, like, once every six months). Something to recognize here is that most of the super notable female cast members are white women, which is something that is definitely changing with the newer seasons: Sasheer Zamata (not on anymore but was so good), Melissa Villaseńor, and Ego Nwodim (one of my favs). That’s something SNL has always been criticized for and rightfully so!
With Kate McKinnon and Aidy Bryant leaving, I hope they both thrive out there in the real world of entertainment. Every alum of the show says that when they go back to visit, it feels like visiting their old high schools. Being in a community like that for so long turns it into a bubble, which I’m sure makes it difficult to leave. I, for one, do not like bubbles. It’s not good to feel super safe in your lil world; how do we move forward and get our own TV shows and movies if we continue to stay in our parents’ homes? Did that analogy make sense? Is that an analogy? I’m not googling it.
Kate did her final alien encounter (that is, until she hosts, probably) and said her final “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night,” and you know I teared up, right on schedule. And I’ve been a day one number one fan of Aidy Bryant since the start, so I will miss her on this silly little show. But I can’t wait for her CAREER. If she can make something as great as Shrill, she’s gonna be ~legendary~ in everything else she does. Also, Japanese Breakfast in the season finale? Amen, sister! Pro females all episode, baby.
In other news:
As I live this post-Accutane life, I am learning with each season that I need to keep up with a very good very chic skincare routine. Accutane only does two things: makes your skin gorgeous sort of and also destroys your liver. Both are worth it. BUT I keep seeing and hearing from women in their fifties and sixties that their skin is so amazing today because they wear face sunscreen every single day, sleep on their backs, and started retinol in their twenties. I can do two of those things — when I am asleep I am no longer in control of my body, so I can’t force myself to sleep like a vampire in a coffin every night. I wear sunscreen every day, so I just need some retinol. And while we shouldn’t aspire to the looks of Anna Hathaway, Queen of Genovia, we can still focus on our skin and shiiiit like that for ourselves. Why wouldn’t I want flawless, easy, breezy, beautiful skin? It’s a scientific fact that the selfies I take and never post would be posted if I felt my skin looked better. Scientists have proven it. If anyone who reads this has any tips and tricks on retinol, please let me know.
In other other news, this is the perfect time to let everyone know that I am the new head writer for Saturday Night Live. It took everything in Lorne Michaels’s power to make sure this didn’t happen, but I told him, “Lorne, my guy, you’re losing two ladies, so you’re gonna need another. Therefore, in conclusion, I am hired.” For my mom who sometimes doesn’t understand my jokes, this is a joke. But not a joke: I am available, Lorne.
This heat has made me so sweaty that if I keep trying to be funny in this week’s newsletter, it’s just gonna make everyone even more sweaty from discomfort. I promise I will have more content for next week, unless Kate McKinnon and Aidy Bryant decide to leave something else in the meantime.
Ok, goodbye, good luck with your weeks! Have an acai bowl!