# Saturday Night Live season 27

The twenty-seventh season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between September 29, 2001 and May 18, 2002.
Eighteen days before the season started, the September 11 terrorist attacks took place in New York. The season premiere (hosted by Reese Witherspoon) went on as scheduled, with a special cold open featuring Rudy Giuliani, the Mayor of New York City at the time, along with firefighters from the FDNY and police officers from the NYPD, declaring that despite the terrorist attack, New York City will run as normal and Saturday Night Live will go on as planned (with Lorne Michaels asking Giuliani "Can we be funny?" and Giuliani replying "Why start now?").
Three weeks into the season the show faced another scare when anthrax was found in the GE Building (from where the show is broadcast). The scare caused most of the cast and crew, as well as that week's guest host Drew Barrymore, to evacuate the building.

## Cast

Before the start of the season, longtime cast member Molly Shannon, who had been on the show for six years since 1995, departed midway through the previous season on her own terms, and featured player Jerry Minor and repertory cast member Chris Parnell were both let go from the show after the finale. However, Parnell was hired back to the show midseason in the episode hosted by Jonny Moseley, becoming the second cast member to be hired back to the show after being fired, the first person being Jim Belushi in 1983.
Four new cast members were hired to the show this season: stand-up comic Dean Edwards, Chicago improviser Seth Meyers, Amy Poehler of the Upright Citizens Brigade comedy troupe, and stand-up comic/impressionist Jeff Richards, who was previously a cast member on the rival sketch show MADtv. Rachel Dratch, Tina Fey, and Maya Rudolph were all upgraded to repertory status at the beginning of the season, and Poehler was promoted to repertory status mid-season.
Will Ferrell was absent from a number of episodes because he was filming Old School. This would also be the final season for both Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer. After Gasteyer went on maternity leave at the end of the season, she decided not to return to the show.

### Cast roster

bold denotes "Weekend Update" anchor

## Writers

Emily Spivey, Doug Abeles, and Charlie Grandy join the writing staff with this season.
This was also the final season for longtime writers Hugh Fink (who had been a writer since 1995) and Matt Piedmont (who had written at the show since 1996, and is called out by departing-cast member Will Ferrell via a cue card for what was their last episode). Fink wrote for the show for seven years, while Piedmont was there for six.

## Episodes

| No. overall | No. in season | Host | Musical guest(s) | Original release date |
| 506 | 1 | Reese Witherspoon | Alicia Keys | September 29, 2001 (2001-09-29) |
| Alicia Keys performs "Fallin'" and "A Woman's Worth". Being the first episode to air following the 9/11 attacks, New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani along with members of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) appear in the cold opening to encourage New York and Saturday Night Live to carry on in the face of adversity. When asked by Lorne Michaels "Can we be funny?" Giuliani replies "Why start now?" In addition to appearances by Giuliani and the FDNY, Paul Simon plays "The Boxer" during the cold open. Dean Edwards, Seth Meyers, Amy Poehler and Jeff Richards's first episode as cast members. |||||
| 507 | 2 | Seann William Scott | Sum 41 | October 6, 2001 (2001-10-06) |
| Sum 41 performs "Fat Lip" and "In Too Deep". Former cast member Chevy Chase made a cameo on Weekend Update as the Land Shark. Chase ends the segment by saying "Goodnight and have a pleasant tomorrow," the sign-off used by both Chase and Fey during their tenures on Weekend Update. |||||
| 508 | 3 | Drew Barrymore | Macy Gray | October 13, 2001 (2001-10-13) |
| Macy Gray performs "Sexual Revolution" and "Sweet Baby". Tom Green appears during the opening monologue. Former cast member Colin Quinn, introduced by Tina Fey as the "New Yorkiest New Yorker I know," appears on Weekend Update to give his NYC-centric take on current events. John Popper performs with the Saturday Night Live Band during this episode. |||||
| 509 | 4 | John Goodman | Ja Rule | November 3, 2001 (2001-11-03) |
| Ja Rule performs "Always on Time" with Ashanti and "Livin' It Up" with Case. Former cast member Dan Aykroyd appears during the "Hudson Valley Community Circuit" sketch, during Weekend Update, reprising his role as Elwood Blues, and during the "Bad Conceptual Theater" sketch, reprising his role as Leonard Pinth-Garnell. |||||
| 510 | 5 | Gwyneth Paltrow | Ryan Adams | November 10, 2001 (2001-11-10) |
| Ryan Adams performs "New York, New York". Matt Damon appears during the "Mango" sketch. Dr. John performs with the Saturday Night Live Band during this episode. |||||
| 511 | 6 | Billy Bob Thornton | Creed | November 17, 2001 (2001-11-17) |
| Creed performs "My Sacrifice" and "Bullets". Ashton Kutcher appears during the monologue. |||||
| 512 | 7 | Derek Jeter | Bubba Sparxxx Shakira | December 1, 2001 (2001-12-01) |
| Shakira performs "Whenever, Wherever". Bubba Sparxxx performs "Ugly" and "Lovely". David Cone and David Wells appear during the "Yankee Wives" sketch. Clips from the season 2 episode featuring musical guest George Harrison are shown after Weekend Update, commemorating his death earlier in the week. |||||
| 513 | 8 | Hugh Jackman | Mick Jagger | December 8, 2001 (2001-12-08) |
| Mick Jagger performs "God Gave Me Everything" and "Visions of Paradise", and appears during the "Dressing Room" sketch and the "Versace" sketch. |||||
| 514 | 9 | Ellen DeGeneres | No Doubt | December 15, 2001 (2001-12-15) |
| No Doubt performs "Hey Baby" and "Hella Good". Rudy Giuliani appears during Weekend Update. Chris Parnell makes a vocal cameo appearance as Tom Brokaw during the "Narrator Who Ruined Christmas" cartoon. |||||
| 515 | 10 | Josh Hartnett | Pink | January 12, 2002 (2002-01-12) |
| Pink performs "Get The Party Started" and "Don't Let Me Get Me", and appears during the "Shout Out!! Show" sketch. Amy Poehler is promoted from featured player to repertory player in this episode. Will Ferrell is absent for this episode. |||||
| 516 | 11 | Jack Black | The Strokes | January 19, 2002 (2002-01-19) |
| The Strokes performs "Last Nite" and "Hard to Explain". Black's Tenacious D bandmate Kyle Gass appears during the opening monologue and during Weekend Update. |||||
| 517 | 12 | Britney Spears | Britney Spears | February 2, 2002 (2002-02-02) |
| Britney Spears performs "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" and "Boys". Dan Aykroyd, who co-starred with Spears in the film Crossroads (released a few weeks after this episode) appears during the Mormon skiers cold-open, the "Leather Man" sketch, and introduces Spears' second performance. Justin Timberlake appears during the opening monologue and introduces Spears' first performance. |||||
| 518 | 13 | Jonny Moseley | Outkast | March 2, 2002 (2002-03-02) |
| OutKast performs "The Whole World" (with Killer Mike) and "Ms. Jackson". Rip Taylor appears during the "Super Buzzers" sketch. Chris Parnell rejoins the cast after having been laid off at the end of last season for budgetary reasons. |||||
| 519 | 14 | Jon Stewart | India.Arie | March 9, 2002 (2002-03-09) |
| India.Arie performs "Video" and "Ready For Love". George Plimpton appears during the pre-recorded "Cheese Game" commercial. Mike Judge appears in the TV Funhouse "Fun With Real Audio" cartoon, providing the voices for Beavis and Butt-Head. Will Ferrell is absent for this episode. |||||
| 520 | 15 | Ian McKellen | Kylie Minogue | March 16, 2002 (2002-03-16) |
| Kylie Minogue performs "Can't Get You Out of My Head" and "In Your Eyes," and appears during the "Versace Oscar Party" sketch. This episode won an Emmy for writing, the show's first since 1989. Will Ferrell is absent for this episode. |||||
| 521 | 16 | Cameron Diaz | Jimmy Eat World | April 6, 2002 (2002-04-06) |
| Jimmy Eat World performs "The Middle" and "Sweetness". |||||
| 522 | 17 | The Rock | Andrew W.K. | April 13, 2002 (2002-04-13) |
| Andrew W.K. performs "Party Hard" and "I Get Wet". |||||
| 523 | 18 | Alec Baldwin | P.O.D. | April 20, 2002 (2002-04-20) |
| P.O.D. performs "Youth of the Nation" and "Alive". |||||
| 524 | 19 | Kirsten Dunst | Eminem | May 11, 2002 (2002-05-11) |
| Eminem performs "Without Me" with Proof. The two also appear during the "Audition" sketch. David Spade and Jared Fogle perform voice roles in the "Bambi 2002" cartoon. |||||
| 525 | 20 | Winona Ryder | Moby | May 18, 2002 (2002-05-18) |
| Moby performs "We Are All Made of Stars" and "South Side", and appears in a Mango sketch parodying Ryder's shoplifting incident. Alex Trebek appears in the Celebrity Jeopardy! sketch, alongside Ferrell's portrayal of him, and cancels the Final Jeopardy! Neil Diamond appears during Weekend Update alongside Ferrell's portrayal of him. Will Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer's final episode as cast members. |||||

## Special

| Title | Original release date |
| "SNL Remembers John Belushi" | March 11, 2002 (2002-03-11) |
| To commemorate the 20th anniversary of John's death, Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey host this retrospective of some of his greatest sketches on SNL. Dan Aykroyd makes a cameo appearance in this special. ||