SNL Alumni Upcoming Gigs on HBO and NBC
SNL alumni Tina Fey and Will Ferrell are keeping busy this year. SNL alum Will Ferrell’s show, Funny or Die Presents, premieres at midnight this Friday, February 19th on HBO. Funny or Die Presents is a new half hour comedy series highlighting a mix of professionally created and user-generated content from Ferrell and comedy partner Adam McKay’s comedy video website. Ferrell and McKay along with HBO manage to merge TV with the internet with hilarious results.
Ferrell and McKay worked together as writer and director on Saturday Night Live in the late 1990s. Later, McKay and Ferrell teamed up in comedies like Step Brothers and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.
Ferrell and McKay co-created Funny or Die in 2007. “The whole concept of Funny or Die…was the idea that people could have a place to put up whatever they wanted to put up with no notes and no filter,” writer-director Adam McKay said. “The TV show came out of that same spirit.”
Upcoming weekly shows will include videos starring Zach Galifianakis, Wayne Newton, Don Cheadle, Zooey Deschanel, John C. Reilly and Will Ferrell.
Besides her usual gig on 30 Rock, former SNL head writer and cast member Tina Fey is set to host Saturday Night Live in April 2010. There is speculation she will reprise her famous Sarah Palin impersonation if the skit passes muster with Lorne Michaels. “It’s inevitable that we’ll try it, at least,” Fey said in an interview Tuesday.
“We’ll see if it makes it to air” the comedian said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. Fey’s impersonation of former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin was a huge hit with viewers of SNL and during the 2008 campaign season, drawing huge ratings for the show. “It was the strangest thing that’s ever happened to me,” said Fey. “I’ve never had anything fall in my lap like that. Everything is usually me trying to convince the people of Earth that it’s OK for me to perform…that felt like the opposite.”
Viewers will remember Palin’s cameo on SNL appearing with Fey in October 2008. Palin stated in her book “Going Rogue” she grew up watching SNL, and would appear on the show again if asked.
Liz decides to go anti-Valentine’s Day since she has no boyfriend and schedules a root canal instead, planning to end the day watching a Lifetime movie. Liz wants to celebrate Anna Howard Shaw Day instead, a leader in the women’s movement who happened to be born on February 14. Jack has three dates scheduled to distract him from thinking of Nancy. Jenna is upset and tells Liz she hasn’t gotten her annual creepy Valentine’s Day gift from Maynard, her long-time stalker. Jenna decides to confront Maynard to see if he has dumped stalking her for Julia Roberts or one of her other acting peers.
Jenna discovers her mother is coming to see her and melts down. Jenna tells Liz she doesn’t want anything to do with Verna, who has been the world’s worst mother up to now. Liz encourages Jenna to talk to her mother, but Jenna needs real advice so she goes to Jack, whose own mother is overbearing. Jack shows her a motivational slideshow he created when dealing with his manipulative mother. Jack tells Jenna she must not get angry and stay in control of the situation. Jack’s method is simple: say no, talk low and let her go. Jenna feels secure with Jack’s advise and awaits the visit from Verna. 
The TGS cast and staff are feeling doom and gloom surround them over the dark and cold winter weather. Feeling trapped with unhappy employees, Liz comes up with an idea to take them to Miami on a road trip to film the show, getting them out of their rut. Jack connects with platonic friend Nancy (guest star Julianne Moore), his secret crush from high school, hoping they can arrange a time to meet in New York or Boston, but ends up feeling frustrated that they can’t find a good time to get together. 
The second of back to back 30 Rock episodes begins with Jack taking Liz out for dinner. Jack tells Liz he is glad Danny is part of TGS since there is finally a “man’s man” he can talk to. Jack tells her he hangs out with Danny at sports games, talks women and general guy stuff, and encourages Danny to take advantage of being a TGS star. Jenna tells Liz and Pete about the major audition she has for a NYU freshman heiress in Gossip Girl. Liz and Pete don’t have the heart to tell her she is auditioning for the mother’s role, not the daughter’s role in the series. 
The TGS staff return from a Christmas break. Liz tells Jack she had a great time with her family while Jack confesses he has made the decision to get over Nancy for good. Jenna is excited about a promotional gig with her pretending to be James Franco’s girlfriend in order to hide the fact that Franco is having a relationship with his Japanese body pillow named “Kimeko”. 
Liz starts her Christmas gift list for TGS stars and staff. Liz realizes since Jack is her friend she should buy him a gift too. Liz asks Jack what he wants for Christmas, explaining this is the method her family uses so that way everyone gets what they want. Jack tells Liz she should be able to discover what he likes by knowing him. Jack creates a social networking profile on YouFace and gets “finger tagged” from his high school crush, Nancy Donavan. Liz tells Jack her high school crush was Larry Wilcox of the cop show CHiPs. Jack sets up a meeting with Nancy, who is visiting New York with her two teen-age sons. The thought of seeing Nancy again cheers Jack up for the holidays.
Liz’s new talk show Dealbreakers is scheduled to air. Jack eagerly looks forward to the new show he created. Liz starts daydreaming about how her life will change if the show is a success. Liz dreams of her fantasy Astronaut boyfriend, her blond makeover and nannies taking care of her baby. 
As Liz snores away her workout time on the couch, a real estate agent barges into her apartment with prospective clients. Liz finds out her building is becoming a condo and she can buy her apartment instead of rent. Liz turns to Jack for business advice. The ever shrewd Jack tells Liz condos are at a premium in New York and it makes good business sense to buy not just one but two apartments to invest her money and enlarge her living space. Jack advises her to buy out one of her neighbors apartments.
Jack tells Liz on a recent trip to Beijing he found a version of her Dealbreakers book translated in Chinese. Liz is flattered. Jack and Liz meet with the staff and cast members of TGS to welcome the new cast member, Jack Baker. Jack immediately renames a bewildered Jack Baker Danny so he doesn’t have the same name as he does. 
