SNL Expands Cast, Has a Favorite for Biden

Show working out details, including plans for a studio audience
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 16, 2020 5:00 PM CDT
Jim Carrey Looks Like SNL 's Next Joe Biden
Actor Jim Carrey arrives at a premiere in January in Los Angeles.   (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP)

Saturday Night Live is making big plans for its 46th season. The show is bringing back all of its cast members from last year, including its semi-regulars, and adding others. "You'll see the same people," said Lorne Michaels, the show's executive producer. "I mean, Maya Rudolph is coming back, and Alec [Baldwin] will be back. And Jim Carrey is going to do [Joe] Biden." Last season, the former vice president and current Democratic presidential nominee was played by Woody Harrelson, Jason Sudeikis, and John Mulaney. Carrey evidently nominated himself for the role. "It came down to discussions of what his take was," Michaels told Vulture, adding, "He will give the part energy and strength, and hopefully it's funny."

The show, which plans to return to the air Oct. 3, is adding three cast members, per Deadline: Lauren Holt, who's been a house performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade theater in Los Angeles; Punkie Johnson, who's appeared on the TV series Space Force and Corporate; and Andrew Dismukes, an SNL staff writer. Although the show will return to Studio 8H with an audience of some sort, details are still being worked out, Michaels said, including the "number of people who can be in the studio, number of people who can be in the control room, how you separate the band so that they’re not in any jeopardy." Performing to an empty room can make it difficult for cast members to get their timing right, Michaels said. Whatever the configuration, he said, "We need the audience, obviously." (More SNL stories.)

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