Saturday Night Live season 29


The twenty-ninth season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between October 4, 2003, and May 15, 2004.

History

This season marked the debut of a brand new stage for the host's monologue and the musical guest performing stage. Instead of the wrought-iron fire escape motif with the blinking "ON AIR" light, the stages are now modeled after Grand Central Terminal.

Cast

Before the start of the season, longtime cast members Chris Kattan and Tracy Morgan, who had both been on the show since 1996, departed the show on their own terms, and featured player Dean Edwards, who had been on the show the past two seasons, was let go following the finale. Despite their departures, Kattan and Morgan would make guest appearances in several episodes throughout the season and Morgan would later host in 2009 and 2015.
Will Forte, Seth Meyers, and Jeff Richards were all promoted to repertory status, while Fred Armisen remained a featured player.
The show added two new African-American cast members: stand-up comedian Finesse Mitchell and Kenan Thompson, a former child star from the Nickelodeon comedy shows All That and Kenan & Kel. Thompson became the first SNL cast member to be born after the show's premiere in 1975 and would eventually become the longest-tenured cast member in the show’s history as of 2026.
This was the final season for longtime cast member Jimmy Fallon, who had been on the show for six seasons since 1998, and Richards, who departed mid-season after three seasons on the show since 2001. In an interview at the time, Richards said he left to branch out into other projects, though he later mentioned that his substance abuse was a factor.

Cast roster

Repertory players
Featured players
bold denotes "Weekend Update" anchor

Writers

Future cast member Jason Sudeikis and stand-up comedian J. B. Smoove were hired as writers this season.
John Lutz and Liz Cackowski are hired midway through the season, starting with the Megan Mullally-hosted episode.
This was the final season for longtime writers Michael Schur and Dennis McNicholas.
Schur left the writing staff after 6½ years, while McNicholas left after nine years with the show, and 3½ as head writer, but returned to produce Weekend Update, 10 years later in 2014.

Episodes