SNL Cast on 30 Rock

In just a few days, one of our all-time favorite shows, 30 Rock, will end its historic 7 year run on NBC  with a big hour-long finale airing Thursday night (1/31) from 8:00-9:00 EST.  The show is obviously deeply rooted with one of our other favorite shows, Saturday Night Live, as producer Lorne Michaels, Tina Fey, and Tracy Morgan have spent many years on both shows.  The show was essentially inspired by Tina Fey's experiences working as head writer on SNL, so it should come as no surprise that 30 Rock and SNL have shared many actors.  So in honor of this Thursday's finale, below is a lookback at all of the SNL cast members of past and present who have appeared on 30 Rock over the years.  So go ahead and relive some great 30 Rock memories, and don't forget to watch the finale Thurday night on NBC!

Tina Fey, who served as head writer and Weekend Update anchor on Saturday Night Live from 2000-2006, stars on 30 Rock as main character Liz Lemon.  She's also the show's creator, producer, and often writes many of the episodes.

Tracy Morgan, who starred on SNL from 1996-2003, stars as actor Tracy Jordan on 30 Rock, in a role that's very much based on himself.  In this season 1 clip, he releases to the world his hit single "Werewolf Bar Mitzvah":

Rachel Dratch left SNL with Tina Fey in 2006 to star on 30 Rock as the character of Jenna.  The part was eventually recast with Jane Krakowski playing the part, but Rachel appeared throughout the first season as a different random character in each episode.  In the clip below she plays a cat wrangler:

Chris Parnell plays NBC's in-house doctor Dr. Leo Spaceman (pronounced Spa CHE man). He has appeared on all 7 seasons of 30 Rock, and is one of our personal favorite characters.  Here is a montage of some of his funniest medical moments:

Meet Cory and Topanga's Daughter!

Rowan Blanchard

Looks like Girl Meets World has finally found its star!  It was just announced that 11 year old actress Rowan Blanchard will star opposite Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel as Riley Matthews, daughter of Cory and Topanga, in the upcoming Boy Meets World spin-off.  She has previously appeared in Spy Kids: All the Time in the Wold in 4D (opposite Jessica Alba), The Backup Plan (opposite Jennifer Lopez), and some TV series called Dance-A-Lot Robot. In a statement to Entertainment Weekly, Girl Meets World showrunner Michael Jacobs (who also created BMW) said, “As soon as Rowan walked into the room, I was reminded of why Ben Savage was loved as Cory Matthews. Rowan is real and accessible and I am hopeful this girl is about to meet a world that will love growing up with her as well.”  No word yet on who'll be playing Riley's brother Elliott or best friend Maya, but at least we can finally put a face to the titular "Girl" in Girl Meets World.  Check out an interview Rowan did back in 2011 about her appearance in Spy Kids: All the Time in the World.  She certainly seems to have a fun personality!  Can't wait to see her on GMW!

Lonely Island Return to SNL with New Digital Short!

Andy Samberg and The Lonely Island made their epic return to Saturday Night Live last night, releasing  the music video for their latest single "YOLO" featuring host Adam Levine.  Unfortunately for me, I came across this article last week which kind of ruined the surprise, but it was still great to see Andy, Jorma, and Akiva back on SNL with another great Digital Short.  The video also marks a reunion of sorts for The Lonely Island and Adam Levine, who previously collaborated on the classic music video for "Iran So Far".  The trio also confirmed on YouTube that their next album will be released sometime this year, and that "YOLO" will likely be the lead single on the album.  I was a little nervous that Andy leaving SNL to be a movie star meant the end of The Lonely Island, so I'm really glad to hear they've been working on a new album.  We'll post more details once it becomes available, but for now check out the  music video for "YOLO"!

Elsewhere on the show, Andy also appeared on the show during Adam's monologue, alongside some other very special guests!

Hopefully as we get closer to the release of the new Lonely Island album, we'll get to see more Digital Shorts on SNL!  YOLO!

Cosby Show Reunion on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon!

Bill Cosby and Tempestt Bledsoe on The Cosby Show in 1984 (left) and on Late Night  in 2013 (right)

Last Friday night's episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon was a truly special show.  Whenever Bill Cosby is the guest, you know something hilarious will happen, but combine that with the fact that he was reunited with his old Cosby Show co-star Tempestt Bledsoe (who played his 2nd youngest child Vanessa Huxtable), and you get an unforgettable moment in television history.  Tempestt is currently starring on the NBC comedy Guys with Kids, on which Jimmy Fallon is a producer, so it was great to see her reunite with her former TV father.

After the monologue and "Thank You Notes segment, Bill came out on his own to talk to Jimmy solo. But after a few seconds at the desk, Cosby got up to address The Roots, and what happened next was both incredibly bizarre and hilarious:

As a side note, The Roots are known for their clever choice of walk-on music for each guest. For Cosby, the performed "Dad is great, give us chocolate cake". The song comes from one of my favorite Cosby stand-up routines called "Chocolate Cake for Breakfast", which you can watch here:

Portlandia: SPOILER ALERT!

Last night was the much anticipated two-part 3rd season premier of the hit sketch comedy series Portlandia.  It was so great to have Fred, Carrie, Peter, Nance, Toni, Candace, the mayor, and all our other favorite Portlandia characters back on our TV screens.  One sketch that really stood out last night was "Spoiler Alert".  The sketch, which starts off with an actual Spoiler Alert disclaimer (as pictured above) perfectly captures the frustration endured when you're hanging out with some friends who mention a TV show that you aren't fully caught up on.  They want to tell you all about it, but you don't want to be spoiled.  As I've mentioned on this site before, I personally hate spoilers, and will go to extreme degrees to avoid them at all costs.  (While watching 30 Rock Thursday nights at 8:00, I have to close my eyes and "Lalala" when they show commercials for the upcoming Up All Night, The Office,and Parks & Rec so I don't have any jokes spoiled.  Also, if I miss SNL on Saturday night, I won't go on Facebook or Twitter until I watch it, to avoid any posts or tweets about the show)  While the sketch is hilarious, I should reiterate that you should not take the disclaimer lightly, as the sketch does actually feature spoilers for many hit shows such as Homeland, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey, The Wire, and even Boy Meets World!  Fortunately for me, despite my fear of spoilers, I only watch comedies, so I don't really plan to watch any of these dramatic shows (I know, I know, they're amazing and I should watch them, maybe some day).  And even if I did watch them, I know so little about the shows that none of the spoilers really meant anything to me.    And as for Boy Meets World, well, I've seen that a hundred times so nothing spoiled there.  Anyway, here's the sketch from Portlandia.  And remember, Spoiler Alert!

Portlandia airs Friday nights at 10:00pm on IFC!

First SNL Hosts of 2013 Announced!

The January 2013 Saturday Night Live hosts have been announced! Here's who the next 2 SNL hosts will be:

1/19 Jennifer Lawrence (with musical guest The Lumineers)

Before this SNL season started, I made a Wishlist of the Top 10 New SNL Hosts I'd like see host this season.  Guest Blogger Daniel did the same.  So far, 1 of my 10 people have hosted (Louis C.K.) and now it looks like someone from Daniel's list will be hosting too.  I have to admit that I have never actually seen a film or TV show with Jennifer Lawrence in it before, so I'm really not sure what to expect here.  I generally prefer comedic actors/actresses, and based on her filmography, Jennifer Lawrence hasn't done much comedy.  However, I am kind of looking forward to her hosting simply based on how much Guest Blogger Daniel thinks she'll do well.  He insists that despite her dramatic film work, she is funny and entertaining on talk shows and that she'll make a great host.  Okay Daniel, if you say so.  You better not let me down!

1/26 Adam Levine (with musical guest Kendrick Lamar)

After Jennifer Lawrence hosts, it'll be Adam Levine's turn!  While I'm generally not a fan of singers hosting SNL, I have high hopes for Adam Levine.  I've caught a few episodes of The Voice and he has a great personality and is really fun to watch.  I think he can follow in the footsteps of Justin Timberlake or Bruno Mars (wow I'm already lumping those two together) and be another great SNL host.  Besides, he's practically already a "friend of the show", making a cameo in "The Stand Off" short earlier this season,  and appearing in many other sketches such as my all-time favorite SNL Digital Short, "Iran So Far" and  the Greek Gods sketch from 2011: