Earlier this year, we got to celebrate SNL’s 50th anniversary. It was great to get together with compatriots whom I worked with thirty-five, forty, even fifty years ago.
We changed the face of TV comedy and satire. Some of my favorites were our political sketches.
We always tried to make the comedy accessible to the large majority of our audience, with a special treat or two for those who followed current events closely. Folks like you Midwest Values PAC supporters.
Back around the 50th, Time magazine asked me to write a piece about my time at SNL. So I focused on our political humor and this idea of “rewarding people for knowing stuff, but not punishing them for not knowing stuff.”
TIME: Al Franken on Political Humor at SNL: ‘Our Goal Was to Get Laughs From Everyone’
Generally, we tried to be as even-handed as possible — something that ended with Trump’s first election.
Al
P.S. I hope you enjoy my piece and that you enjoyed the political humor I helped write during my fifteen seasons at SNL. And, of course, the work MVP does to get Democrats and progressive independents elected nationwide.
