Drenched in Watercooler Moments, SNL Is Hot Again

Octogenarian's hosting stint tops Ben Affleck's November 2008 effort

(NEWSER) - With Betty White hosting , Saturday Night Live drew its best ratings of the season and the largest audience since Nov. 1, 2008, when John McCain appeared with the Tina Fey version of then-running mate Sarah Palin. The broadcast thrashed not just its time-slot competitors but also every primetime show, reports Entertainment Weekly . Your move, Alec Baldwin . More»

(NEWSER) - Fans of Saturday Night Live’s “Weekend Update” segment won't have to wait for the weekend to get their update, as NBC plans to air up to 13 primetime, half-hour episodes on Thursday nights next season, the New York Times reports. Seth Meyers will reprise his usual hosting gig, though "Update" vets Tina Fey and Amy Poehler will likely be tapped for guest appearances. More»

Baldwin tells her she's "way hotter" than Fey

(NEWSER) - The real Sarah Palin made her much anticipated debut on Saturday Nigh Live last night, gamely sparring with cast members who still skewered the candidate and show producer Lorne Michaels, reports USA Today. In the opening skit Tina Fey delivers Palin’s “first press conference” (she’s yet to hold one)—which an “off-stage” Palin tells Michaels it isn't “a realistic depiction." More»

Show tries to be equally unfair to all candidates

(NEWSER) - “Saturday Night Live” staffers are getting serious over accusations of a pro-Clinton bias, with producer Lorne Michaels telling the Los Angeles Times any perception of bias is a "major concern" and assuring “there’s no agenda.” The show’s send-up of a media crush on Barack Obama was credited by some pundits with ending the love fest—but head writer Seth Meyers says watchers are giving “SNL” too much credit. Hillary impersonator Amy Poehler says the show targets "whoever is winning." More»

One blogger thinks her brand of humor is to blame instead

(NEWSER) - In her new book, Girl Walks Into a Bar, Rachel Dratch says her looks have cursed her career. "By Hollywood standards, I’m a troll, ogre, woodland creature, or manly lesbian," she writes, and that's prevented her from getting the roles she wants—NBC replaced her as a 30 Rock lead, for instance. Jezebel generally agrees with Dratch ("if she were a dude, she'd have her own show"), but at Slate , Torie Bosch isn't so sure. "What if her particular brand of acting—and she has admitted that she is more a character actor—just isn’t right for leading-lady-dom?" More»