As Season 51 of Saturday Night Live starts to wind down, we see clear evidence of a writers’ room falling in love with their newest toys, and one in particular.
As tracked by Saturday Night Network, second-year featured player Ashley Padilla leads the cast with 79 sketches — a whopping 10 more than second-place’s Sarah Sherman. Mikey Day and Chloe Fineman aren’t far behind at 67, with James Austin Johnson and Kenan Thompson tying for fifth place at 64 sketches.
Padilla has been the biggest story all season, from star-making turns as a Trumpy mom with regrets to outshining Jack Black and Ryan Gosling. Padilla will be asking Lorne and NBC to break out the checkbook before Season 52. And a few other featured players are also getting some shine, especially first-years Veronika Slowikowska (56 sketches so far) and Jeremy Culhane (54).
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As for the bottom of the list, Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost (24) and Michael Che (16) already have one foot out the door. If you want to look at the talent befuddling SNL, Kam Patterson (39) is this year’s proof that Saturday Night Live only knows what to do with one Black cast member at a time. Ben Marshall (47), Tommy Brennan (46), and Jane Wickline (45) have gotten fewer opportunities than some of their featured player peers, and might not be guarantees to return next year.
A little more than a month remains in Season 51. The final show airs on May 16th and wil be hosted by Will Ferrell, with Paul McCartney as musical guest. Check out the updated sketch counts below.
Saturday Night Live Season 51 Sketch Count:
Ashley Padilla — 79 *
Sarah Sherman — 69
Mikey Day — 67
Chloe Fineman — 67
James Austin Johnson — 64
Kenan Thompson — 64
Andrew Dismukes — 60
Veronika Slowikowska — 56 *
Jeremy Culhane — 54 *
Marcello Hernández — 53
Ben Marshall — 47 *
Tommy Brennan — 46 *
Jane Wickline — 45 *
Kam Patterson — 39 *
Colin Jost — 24
Michael Che — 16
* = featured player
