Saturday Night Live (season 31)
| Saturday Night Live (season 31) | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 19 |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | October 1, 2005 – May 20, 2006 |
| Season chronology | |
The thirty-first season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between October 1, 2005, and May 20, 2006. 19 episodes were produced (rather than the usual 20) due to the 2006 Winter Olympic Games.
This season is notable for the people who hosted the show. Julia Louis-Dreyfus, an SNL cast member from 1982 to 1985 under Dick Ebersol, became the first former female cast member to come back and host the show (and also the third cast member from Seinfeld to host). It is worth noting that Gilda Radner was originally supposed to host in 1988, but could not due to the Writer's Guild of America Strike and then Radner's death the following year. This season is also known for the return of such frequent hosts as Alec Baldwin (who last hosted in season 29 with musical guest Missy Elliott in 2003), Tom Hanks (who last hosted the first episode of season 22 with musical guest Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in 1996), and Steve Martin (who last hosted the first episode of season 20 with musical guest, Eric Clapton in 1994).
This season saw the seventh death of a former cast member when Charles Rocket committed suicide.
This season was the first to broadcast in high-definition, after 30 years of broadcasting in analog.
A 30th anniversary special for the show was planned, but scrapped due to budget cuts.
Before the start of the season, featured player Rob Riggle was let go from the show. Finesse Mitchell and Kenan Thompson were both promoted to repertory status.
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