Most things follow a cyclical pattern such as the seasons, the economy, the stars and Saturday Night Live (SNL) is no exception. Because of its constantly rotating cast, SNL goes through ups and downs and in my opinion, right now SNL is way down.  

Nobody should be able to sit through an entire SNL sketch without laughing, yet that is what happened in the premiere of season 41 of SNL, as Miley Cyrus uncomfortably went through skit after skit with the only break being her musical performance, which primarily just sounded like yelling. Dedicated fans had been gearing up for the return of SNL for weeks, and the high levels of anticipation resulted in disappointment. Pointedly, some of the blame should be on having unreasonably high expectations, but the season premiere was still weak. It is probably fair to say that nobody was expecting a Justin Timberlake caliber episode, but that did not eradicate the feeling of being let down.

SNL has been floundering since the colossal loss of several comedic all-stars, such as Kristen Wiig, Amy Poehler, Andy Samberg, Fred Armisen and Bill Hader. The reason that the recent downfall of SNL is so hard to accept is because most viewers today can remember SNL peaking in the mid 2000s when every episode made you laugh so hard that afterwards you checked your stomach to see if you developed abs. It is now common not to give more than a half-hearted chuckle throughout the course of an entire skit. But this is not to say that there is not some promising new talent on the show. Newcomers Jay Pharoah and Sasheer Zamata show a lot of comedic potential. Along with being one of the saving graces of SNL, Zamata is also the first African American female cast member. Returning cast members Vanessa Bayer, Taran Killam and Kate McKinnon have also been carrying the team despite having to drag along Kenan Thompson, who at this point has overstayed his welcome on the show.

The upside to this comedic recession is that it is not the first time that it has happened. Several times since the start of SNL in 1975, key cast members have left and everyone thought that the show would not survive. Yet it always does. There is no reason to believe that this will be any different.