Pete Davidson

SNL burst out of the gate for Season 42 over the weekend, having spent a summer in transition with headline after headline passing them by. Leslie Jones in particular had something to say about the hack she suffered in August, recruiting Mr. Robot himself to track down the culprit in a new sketch.

SNL sailed from the 40th anniversary into Season 41 rather smoothly, though the waters roughened in recent weeks with the departures of Taran Killam, Jay Pharoah and Jon Rudnitsky. Thankfully, it’s clear skies ahead for Season 42, as the rest of the beloved cast will be staying aboard. Sailing metaphors!

The 40th season of ‘Saturday Night Live’ has arrived (as well as the fifth season of ‘SNL’ Scorecard -- and I just can’t believe I’ve been doing this for five years) and, boy, what a difference a year makes. Last year’s season premiere featured six new cast members and was one of the clumsiest shows in recent memory. (Hey, remember ‘New Cast Member Or Member of Arcade Fire’? Gah.) This season, we have two new cast members and, more importantly, a significantly smaller cast. This was the first ‘SNL’ in over a year where I felt some actual intimacy with the cast. Look at newcomer Pete Davidson: he was everywhere! It was almost as if this incarnation of ‘SNL’ was built just to make us forget about last season. It didn’t completely work (I’ll never forget you, Rick Shoulders), but with a first-time host like Chris Pratt (who is a natural) and what feels like a much more focused show, this was a really great start.

It was actually a little odd that we learned the fates of Brooks Wheelan, Noël Wells and John Milhiser so early, way back in July. I do wonder if Wheelan forced NBC’s hand a little bit on those announcements by broadcasting that he was off the show via his Twitter account. The names may have been a surprise, but it wasn’t shocking that something was going to change on ‘Saturday Night Live’ this season as we enter the show’s 40th season.