SNL in spotlight for wrong reasons

Television institution tries to stay relevant by betting on polarizing popularity of Donald Trump

This week’s episode of Saturday Night Live has received more press than usual — and not for the right reasons.

In inviting U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump to be the show’s host for the night, SNL has earned the wrath of some who believe NBC’s most famous brand is legitimizing Trump’s prejudicial, often-ugly political stances, and only for the sake of ratings.

You can decide for yourself whether you believe Trump’s hosting gig is a crass cash-in to secure the public’s interest or a savvy move that can only help the show’s profile, but here’s what’s beyond debate: In the splintered world of modern entertainment, where the public consumes programming at its own pace and convenience, via platforms more varied than ever before, SNL faces its greatest challenge in staying relevant.

Questions and skepticism about the ability of producer Lorne Michaels & Co. to keep SNL front and centre in the cultural zeitgeist have been around nearly as long as the 40-year-old TV institution itself, but there are technological and systemic changes that have made it more difficult for SNL to penetrate the mass of content and assume the same prominent place in the minds of viewers.

Indeed, SNL’s most reliable cultural touchstone — “Weekend Update,” with its anchors and focus on the news of the week — has challengers and imitators everywhere. John Oliver provides a weekly version with HBO’s Last Week Tonight; Trevor Noah and Larry Wilmore are the respective faces of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show and The Nightly Show. There is nothing inherently different now in “Weekend Update,” other than the hosts.

In addition, the short digital film format, which became one of the newer jewels in SNL’s crown thanks to Andy Samberg’s famous “Lazy Sunday” viral phenomenon, also has been copied — not only by network TV shows, but by thousands of professional and wannabe professional comedians who have access to a video recorder and YouTube channel.

If you’re looking to laugh at something controversial for prime-time TV, you no longer have to wait until the last hours of Saturday and early Sunday on NBC. It’s all there just a click away.

So you can understand, then, why Michaels might decide to throw decorum to the wind and invite a polarizing figure such as Trump to host his show. That said, if you look beyond Trump’s hosting duties and scratch the surface, it’s clear Michaels is doing something many sports teams do when they come to the conclusion a quick fix isn’t going to lead to longterm success: namely, developing their own talent slowly and deliberately.

That’s the route Michaels chose this summer when he hired only one new face (standup comedian Jon Rudnitsky) for SNL’s cast. In previous seasons, Michaels hired a small army of new cast members and the results were more than a little mixed. Some newcomers barely got a combined 10 minutes of screen time all season long before quietly moving on.

This season, however, SNL returned virtually the entire cast from the 2014-15 edition of the show. Although consistency can still be an issue from week to week, it’s evident Michaels’ patience with them is paying dividends. Featured players Leslie Jones, Michael Che and Pete Davidson have made strides in their comfort levels this year. And main repertory cast members Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant and Jay Pharoah have found their stride.

Experience and repetition matter not only in sports, but in the theatre-sport of live comedy, and SNL is giving those gifts to their most important components.

So long as attention spans continue to shrink and entertainment options continue to grow, SNL will be in tough to be the big dog on the TV block as they’ve been for so many years. And because there won’t be a headline-grabbing, controversial host like Trump to prop up ratings every week, the only way to keep a large audience coming back is by hiring and grooming talent viewers can’t see anywhere else.

Quality matters and Michaels’ machinations this year confirm it. If he can keep identifying and hiring stars, viewers will remain loyal to Saturday Night Live.