Over the years, Saturday Night Live has proven to be a more reliable breeding ground for actors and comedians than any other platform. The sketch production has launched dozens of superstars, with 27 of them starring in Emmy-winning shows and 43 hosting either the Oscars or Emmys. There is a good reason why this happens, as cast members are often in a pressure-cooker atmosphere, required to be great at improv, pitching, writing, and doing monologues. “I learned to write and act in 6 months… No film school does that,” Leslie Jones once said.
Even though the most successful SNL stories tend to be seen via film (Eddie Murphy, Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler), television is always a more natural transition for former cast members. Because the alums fully understand everything that goes into making a great small-screen project, they tend to thrive effortlessly. Quite a few amazing TV shows starring SNL cast members exist, but the 9 on this list stand out the most.
9
‘Barry’ (2018 – 2023)
Starring Bill Hader
Bill Hader stars in Barry as Barry Berkman, a U.S. Marine vet from Cleveland who now works as a contract killer to make ends meet. When he heads to Los Angeles to kill a target, he finds himself joining an acting class. There, Barry meets aspiring actress Sally Reed (Sarah Goldberg) and starts questioning his priorities. But his old associates won’t let him go that easily.
The appeal of the crime drama — it’s hardly a secret — is essentially amoral. We might not be complicit in all the evil acts, but many of us enjoy watching them artfully staged. And boy, does Barry stage it beautifully, while sprinkling in many humorous moments. Hader is so good in the series that he won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series twice. The actor honed his craft at Saturday Night Live from 2005 to 2013. While at the sketch show, he also received an Emmy and a Peabody Award. Hader became popular for his work on the Weekend Update segments, where he played a flamboyant New York City nightclub tour guide. Glad to see how far he has come.
8
‘The Last Man on Earth’ (2015 – 2018)
Starring Will Forte
Created by Will Forte, The Last Man on Earth also stars the former SNL cast member as Phil Miller, a reclusive man who concludes he’s the last human standing after a deadly virus wipes out most humans. His loneliness grants him the freedom to do all sorts of wild things until he discovers other survivors. As more people show up, Phil struggles to get his act together.
There have been debates regarding which Will Forte production is better. He was also excellent as the lead in McGruber, but that particular show is full of parody-related tropes, hence it feels like an extended version of an SNL sketch. The Last Man on Earth, on the other hand, subverts most of the tropes found in post-apocalyptic TV shows. The comedy earned him three Emmys for the two major skills he honed at the sketch series: two for acting and one for writing. Before venturing into his own production, Forte was at SNL for eight seasons.
7
‘Palm Royale’ (2024 – Present)
Starring Kristen Wiig
Maxine Dellacorte-Simmons (Kristen Wiig) is struggling to destroy the barricade of classism in 1960s Palm Beach, Florida. Knowing that her lower financial standing won’t allow her to join the exclusive Palm Royale, she pulls off various tricks in an attempt to infiltrate high society. Her methods keep backfiring in Palm Royale, but she isn’t the kind to give up.
Abortion rights, Jacky Kennedy-inspired elegance, and all the things that were considered relevant in the ‘60s are adequately covered in Palm Royale. More broadly, the comedy is an eloquent, heartfelt plea for self-acceptance. Wiig acts her heart out here, often tightening her facial muscles into a mask to suit the occasion — whether pale, excited, or distant, intelligent. But this is just the tip. Wiig, who received four Emmy nominations during his seven-season tenure on SNL, has had a wonderful time in Hollywood, both as an actor and a writer. She once received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay, and in 2025, she was listed among Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world.
Starring Chevy Chase
In Community, Jeff Winger (Joel McHale) enrolls at Greendale Community College after getting suspended from his law firm for having a fake degree. There, he becomes part of a diverse study group full of eccentrics. The members include millionaire Pierce (Chevy Chase), former high school quarterback Troy (Donald Glover), overachiever Annie (Alison Brie), and cinephile Abed (Danny Pudi), among others.
Each member of this adventurous little group is fun to watch, often gaining the sympathy of their gentle, chronically unserious study-mates but clashing with the frustrated, overly pragmatic tutors. Every cast member does their part, but Chase has been widely praised for his improvisation, something he learned on SNL. “He tends to come up with lines that you can actually end scenes with sometimes,” said series creator Dan Harmon. Chase was a breakout cast member in the first season of SNL, where his Weekend Update segment became a staple.
5
‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ (2013 – 2021)
Starring Andy Samberg
Set within the walls of the 99th precinct of the NYPD, Brooklyn Nine-Nine follows a group of ever-joking law enforcement officers led by Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg). When they aren’t solving crimes around the city, the officers are busy navigating office politics or attending to personal issues.
Samberg was an SNL cast member from 2005 to 2012, where he and his team were credited with popularizing the SNL Digital Shorts. His time at Brooklyn Nine-Nine was nothing but a success, earning him several awards, including a Golden Globe for Best Actor. Overall, the sitcom benefits from a great ensemble, whose members all inject a different spice into the proceedings. Don’t watch it for the action, as this is not like other popular cop shows. Watch it for the office humor.
4
‘Ted Lasso’ (2020 – Present)
Starring Jason Sudeikis
Apple TV+
Ted Lasso is based on a character Jason Sudeikis portrayed in promotional media for NBC Sports’ coverage of the English Premier League. The sports comedy-drama follows Ted, an American college football coach who is hired to coach an English soccer team. Initial assumptions that his inexperience would lead the team to failure are soon proven wrong.
There are many reasons to love Ted Lasso. It might be outrageous from a sports perspective, but it’s amazing from a personal lens. You’ll love how Ted is constantly forced to confront his failures as a human being, even as he enjoys spectacular professional success. And, through his performances, Sudeikis keeps reminding us why he is one of the best in the business. Much of his brilliance can be credited to SNL. He spent 10 years on the show, starting as a writer before becoming a cast member known for playing Joe Biden and Mitt Romney.
3
‘Better Call Saul’ (2015 – 2022)
Starring Bob Odenkirk
Better Call Saul takes us through the wild pre-Breaking Bad adventures of Jimmy McGill, aka Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk), who served as the antihero’s lawyer in the parent series. The prequel series examines the character’s ethical decline and his relationship with fellow lawyer Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn), who has more altruistic ideals.
Better Call Saul is that rare thing: an offshoot that honors if not improves on the original. This rich drama of feuding gangsters, set against the backdrop of corporate changes in the legal world, brilliantly swirls around the central character of Mr. Goodman, played with charismatic energy by Odenkirk. It’s amazing how good an actor he has been, considering that he spent most of his SNL time as a writer, only appearing as an extra from time to time. We saw glimpses in The Larry Sanders Show, but we never knew he’d become this good.
2
‘Parks and Recreation’ (2009 – 2015)
Starring Amy Poehler
Parks and Recreation stars Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope, a well-meaning public servant working for the Parks Department of the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana. Keen on development, she is often chained by bureaucracy and the stubbornness of her colleagues and associates, including her sarcastic boss Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman).
Throughout its duration, P&R reinforces a simple fact: the smaller the stakes, the more the challenges. Poehler, coming off a four-year SNL stint, triumphs as the outspoken and frustrated idealist, with Nick Offerman’s sly wit and goofiness providing an effective counterpoint. The actress is also BFFs with Tina Fey. The two frequently appeared on the variety comedy show and acted together in Mean Girls, Baby Mama, Sisters, and Wine Country. Additionally, they co-hosted the Golden Globe Awards four times together.
1
’30 Rock’ (2006 – 2013)
Starring Tina Fey
NBC
Based on series creator Tina Fey’s experiences as head writer for SNL, 30 Rock also stars Fey as Liz Lemon, the head writer of a fictional sketch comedy show called TGS with Tracy Jordan. Dealing with the star, Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan), and the rest of the crew is always a headache. And the situation doesn’t get better when she is with her demanding boss, Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin).
In her SNL sketches (across nine years), Fey had a penchant for far-fetched scenarios, and 30 Rock also strains believability to the breaking point but is all the more enjoyable for that. Extensive use of cutaways also adds to the fun, but it’s Fey who remains the strongest baluster. A true master of her craft, she has also created several other successful shows, including Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Mr. Mayor, The Four Seasons, and Girls5eva.
- Release Date
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October 11, 1975
- Network
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NBC
- Directors
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Dave Wilson, Don Roy King, Liz Patrick, Andy Warhol, Linda Lee Cadwell, Matthew Meshekoff, Paul Miller, Robert Altman, Robert Smigel
- Writers
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Will Forte, Bill Hader, Tina Fey, Kristen Wiig, Chris Parnell, Asa Taccone, John Lutz, Tom Schiller, Simon Rich, Michael Patrick O’Brien, Nicki Minaj, Herbert Sargent, Matt Piedmont, John Solomon, Chris Kelly, Alan Zweibel, Kent Sublette, Ari Katcher, Marika Sawyer, Sarah Schnedier, Scott Jung, Justin Franks, Jerrod Bettis, Rhiannon Bryan
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Andrew Dismukes
Self (archive footage)
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Chloe Fineman
Self / Margaret Jo McCullin / Various
