Saturday Night Live (Season 11)
- Saturday Night Live (Season 11)
"Saturday Night Live" aired its eleventh season during the 1985-1986 television season on NBC. Though it was cancelled over the summer of 1985, Lorne Michaels returned to be executive producer, after a five year absence. Michaels and NBC Vice-President Brandon Tartikoff asked NBC to bring the show back for an eleventh season so he could prove that he could revive the show, but due to a cast that wasn't experienced in comedy (that featured such now famous faces as Joan Cusack, Randy Quaid, and Robert Downey, Jr.) and a frustrated writing crew (that featured future "Simpsons" writers Jon Vitti, George Meyer, and John Swartzwelder), that didn't know how to write sketches for such an eclectic cast, Tartikoff planned to have the show cancelled after its season finale in May. Lorne Michaels, however, pleaded with Tartikoff to let the show go on, provided that Lorne find better castmembers for his next season.
Despite these complications, "Weekend Update" returned to its original name for the first time since the 1980-1981 season, with comedian Dennis Miller as the segment's latest anchor, proving to be a highlight in a season plagued by harsh criticism, low ratings, and rumors of a possible cancellation. The season also saw the first (and so far only) time that SNL has ever had a male homosexual castmember (Terry Sweeney, who worked as a writer for Jean Doumanian's ill-fated sixth season) and a seventeen-year-old castmember (Anthony Michael Hall, who starred with Chevy Chase [who hosted this season] in the 1980s movie "National Lampoon's Vacation"), as well as the first (but not the last) time that SNL hired a black woman (Danitra Vance) to be a repertory player (unlike season six's Yvonne Hudson, who was just hired as a feature player).
The season started on November 9, 1985 and ended on May 24, 1986.
Cast
Repertory cast members
*Joan Cusack
*Robert Downey, Jr.
*Nora Dunn
*Anthony Michael Hall
*Jon Lovitz
*Dennis Miller
*Randy Quaid
*Terry Sweeney
*Danitra Vance†
Featured cast members
*A. Whitney Brown (First Episode: February 22, 1986)
*Al Franken (First Episode: March 22, 1986)
*Don Novello
*Dan Vitale
*Damon Wayans (Final episode: March 15, 1986)
Episodes
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