On Monday, NBC announced that three new comics will star in its upcoming 2012-2013 season of Saturday Night Live. All of them are Chicago based, and two of them are ladies. Though we’re still bummed over the show’s loss of Kristen Wiig, we’re ready to open our hearts to these new comedic players.
New stars Aidy Bryant, Tim Robinson, and Cecily Strong are all affiliated with Second City, the famous troupe that has launched the careers of comedy greats and SNL alums Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Amy Sedaris, and Gilda Radner (among many, many more). Aidy’s got several comedy shorts online, including this very funny one, in which she operates a mobile massage parlor and essentially massage-assaults passersby.
Her website, where you can check out more videos and read up on her back catalog, is here. In February, Time Out Chicago listed Aidy as a skilled player in a piece on Second City’s next-big-things– clearly a prescient comment.
As for Cecily Strong, she has less of a web presence, but she’s in this also-very-funny comedy short called “How to Sponsor a Uterus”– she appears at 1:20:
She also stars as an aggressive French-Canadian tour guide in this “Real Quebec” video.
Though these new stars have comedic prowess (you’d have to in order to perform for Second City, or get Lorne Michael’s attention in the first place) it’s definitely a letdown that SNL is continuing its run of mainly white comedians. There are so many actors of color who could’ve given the (let’s face it, increasingly stale) sketch show a much-needed breath of fresh air.
Nonetheless, you can see Aidy Bryant, Cecily Strong, and Tim Robinson strut their stuff on the September 15th season premiere and decide for yourself. The episode will be hosted by Seth MacFarlane and feature the fantastic musical guest Frank Ocean.
Image credit: abcnews.go.com
