Odds On When Saturday Night Live Will Be Axed

_{Saturday Night Live recently celebrated its 50th season, but he long-running show now faces questions about its future. (Image: Barry King / Alamy Stock Photo)}

Saturday Night Live has become a vital part of late-night American television since it began in 1975.

The live sketch and variety show is currently in its 50th season, after surviving a couple of potential scares in the 1980s, and SNL, as it is called, is well known for pushing the limits of what is acceptable on TV.

The show has helped launch the careers of several big-name comedians over the years, including Chevy Chase and Eddie Murphy, and it has poked fun at numerous high-profile stars.

However, SNL recently crossed the line and was forced to apologise to The White Lotus star Aimee Lou Wood after a harsh skit poked fun at her teeth. SNL apologised for the sketch, which has prompted speculation about how long the show might last. 

'Mean And Unfunny' SNL

Saturday Night Live's The White Lotus-inspired sketch, which was called The White POTUS, aired on April 12th and was mostly aimed at US President Donald Trump and his family.

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It featured Sarah Sherman wearing large prosthetic teeth as part of her portrayal of Wood's White Lotus character Chelsea.

In the skit, a character pretending to be US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, played by Jon Hamm, suggests taking all the fluoride out of people's drinking water, and Sherman's character Chelsea asks, "Fluoride? What's that?"

She also talks about saving a monkey, and Sherman fails to nail Wood's northern twang.

Following the broadcast, Wood took to her Instagram Story to blast the mocking of her White Lotus character as "mean and unfunny", and she slammed Sherman's accent.

She wrote: "Whilst in honest mode – I did find the SNL thing mean and unfunny. (Felt righteous, might delete later)

"Such a shame cuz I had such a great time watching it a couple weeks ago.

"Yes, take the p**s for sure - that's what the show is about - but there must be a cleverer, more nuanced, less cheap way? At least get the accent right seriously. I respect accuracy even if it's mean (sic)"

Within a couple of hours, Wood confirmed she had received "apologies" from SNL over the sketch.

During promo work for the series, Wood had talked about being bullied at school for her teeth, so SNL writers clearly didn't read the room right this time around.

British impressionist Ronni Ancona told BBC Breakfast the teeth part of SNL's skit was a "bit of a cheap shot".

And further concerns for SNL super-fans might be that the show apologised, despite the skit poking fun at fictional character Chelsea. It could set a precedent for future episodes. Following the reaction, it's just 13/8 for Saturday Night Live to be shelved between this year and 2026. 

We live in a far more woke world now than we did 50 years ago, when SNL started out.

While Wood was right to complain about the Chelsea part of the skit, as she clearly felt offended by it, if other stars follow suit after future SNL episodes, it could mean the programme's days will be numbered.

SNL's 55th Season Hopes 

However, SNL's apology could be viewed as a positive because the show has taken account of its actions and is looking to move on from the backlash.

The sketch has been watched more than five million times on SNL's YouTube channel in less than two weeks, so the skit may have actually been beneficial to the programme in terms of publicity and advertising revenue, too. 

What's more, comedian and impressionist Francine Lewis believes Wood's response to the SNL skit was "too sensitive".

If the show survives the recent backlash from fans of Wood and The White Lotus, then it is likely to reach its 55th season in 2030 and beyond, which is a 2/1 chance. One SNL cast member, Bowen Lang, has even admitted Wood's response to the footage was "completely valid".

_{Yang recently defended co-star Sarah Sherman following backlash over a controversial SNL sketch. (Image: Anthony Behar/Sipa USA / Alamy)}

Yang told Extra: "However, [her reaction] to that sketch is completely valid." And he insisted Wood's comments can serve as a useful reminder to SNL and other comedy shows that parody "can go too far sometimes".

Yang added: "With parody, you kind of forget the sort of human, emotional cost that it sort of extols on someone. Everyone at SNL is just a fan of the show, obviously a fan of her. We just think that she should be so proud of the work that she put into the season; it was just water cooler television again that we desperately have a craving for.

"So I feel like it’s this thing that we tend to forget sometimes and this is a reminder and it seems like she has spoken to people at the show about it and hopefully there’s room to sort of move on from it.

"But yeah, you need those reminders every now and then that parody can go too far sometimes and that we, as comedians, can take account for that instead of banging our foot and saying that we should be able to say whatever we want. That’s just culture, it’s not PC or woke culture, it’s just culture."

Star Complaints To Increase?  

However, if the recent backlash does lead to more celebrities complaining about SNL skits, then we could see SNL axed as early as 2027 or 2028 (3/1), or between 2028 and 2029 (7/2).

_{Lorne Michaels has overseen Saturday Night Live for five decades, during which comedy and celebrity sensitivity has changed dramatically. (Image: Sipa US / Alamy)}

If the ratings dry up and advertisers stop pumping money into the show, then SNL would soon face the chopping block.

Despite this, another advantage the programme has is it can keep chopping and changing presenters and guests if a new injection of humour is required, and the sets could no doubt be made cheaper if they needed to be.

The show has pretty much become a staple on American TV, and it has been a huge stepping stone for many a budding comedian.

However, SNL's White Lotus sketch could serve as an important lesson for the writers, who might have to be warier about potentially upsetting stars going forward.