Saturday Night Live: Season 22
The twenty-second season began on September 28, 1996 and ended on May 17, 1997 with 20 episodes in all. Many changes happened before the start of the season. David Koechner and Nancy Walls were both let go after one season with the show. David Spade left the show on his own terms. This season is also notable for the people who hosted. Seven of the twenty hosts were former cast members. They included Dana Carvey, Robe
Season 22 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Directly follows the overarching narrative developments of Saturday Night Live Season 21.
- Faction dynamics and core character alliances shift under escalating external stakes.
- Crucial mysteries introduced previously reach key turning points and narrative reckonings.
- Sets up serialized story arcs that build directly toward the climactic season finale.
Season overview
The twenty-second season began on September 28, 1996 and ended on May 17, 1997 with 20 episodes in all. Many changes happened before the start of the season. David Koechner and Nancy Walls were both let go after one season with the show. David Spade left the show on his own terms. This season is also notable for the people who hosted. Seven of the twenty hosts were former cast members. They included Dana Carvey, Robert Downey, Jr., Phil Hartman, Chris Rock and Martin Short. Chevy Chase and Mike Myers would host later in the season. This would mark Chase's final time hosting before getting banned.
Episode Guide
Season 22 Progress Shield
Tom Hanks/Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Sep 28, 1996 · 67 min
Sketches include ""Roxbury Guys,"" ""Spartan Cheerleaders,"" ""Goat Boy,"" ""Mr. Peepers,"" and ""Classic Sing-along with the Drunken Asses.""
Lisa Kudrow/Sheryl Crow
Oct 5, 1996 · 67 min
Sketches include ""Bob Dole,"" ""Suel Forrester,"" Single and Loving It,"" ""The Randolph Hotel,"" ""Women's Poetry Night,"" and ""Gene the Ex-Convict.""
Bill Pullman/New Edition
Oct 19, 1996 · 67 min
Sketches include ""Alien Presidential Debate,"" ""AT&T Clerks,"" ""The Rules Show,"" ""John W. Hayward,"" and ""Women's Kickboxing.""
Dana Carvey/Dr. Dre
Oct 26, 1996 · 67 min
Sketches include ""Russell and Tate: Attorneys at Law,"" ""Larry King Live,"" ""Tom Brokaw,"" ""Johnny Carson and Phil Donahue,"" ""Church Chat,"" and ""Goat Boy.""
Chris Rock/The Wallflowers
Nov 2, 1996 · 67 min
Sketches include ""Bob Dole and George Bush,"" ""Charles Grodin,"" ""The Dark Side with Nat X,"" and ""The Culps.""
Robert Downey Jr./Fiona Apple
Nov 16, 1996 · 67 min
Sketches include ""Bob Dole,"" ""Spartan Cheeleaders,"" ""Bill Clinton,"" ""Don King's Press Conference,"" ""Mr. Music,"" ""Musical Cobras and Panthers,"" ""The Delicious Dish,"" "
Phil Hartman/Bush
Nov 23, 1996 · 67 min
Sketches include ""The O.J. Trial,"" ""Thanksgiving Song Auditions,"" ""Acting Class,"" ""World War II,"" and ""The Joe Pesci Show.""
Martin Short/No Doubt
Dec 7, 1996 · 67 min
Live from New York, it's...Tim Meadows Sketches include ""O.J. Simpson,"" ""Celebrity Jeopardy,"" ""Ed Grimley Goes To Heaven,"" ""Roxbury Guys,"" ""Barbara Walters Interviews Jac
Rosie O'Donnell/Whitney Houston
Dec 14, 1996 · 67 min
Sketches include ""Bill Clinton and Bob Dole,"" ""Spartan Cheerleaders,"" ""Mary Katherine Gallagher,"" ""Delicious Dish,"" ""Goat Boy,"" ""Rita Delvecchio,"" and ""The Local News
Kevin Spacey/Beck
Jan 11, 1997 · 67 min
Sketches include ""New Television Rating System,"" ""The Late Show with David Letterman,"" ""Marijuana Doctor,"" ""Star Wars 20th Anniversary,"" ""Janet Reno's Dance Party,"" ""Mr.
David Alan Grier/Snoop Doggy Dogg
Jan 18, 1997 · 67 min
Sketches include ""Bill Clinton Police Line-Up,"" ""Maya Angelou Commercials,"" ""Waiting to Exhale Viewers,"" ""Both Sides with Jesse Jackson,"" ""Wong & Owens,"" and ""Bill Gat
Neve Campbell/David Bowie
Feb 8, 1997 · 67 min
Sketches include ""O.J Simpson,"" ""Jackpot,"" ""The Delicious Dish,"" ""Spartan Cheerleaders,"" ""Rolf,"" and ""Adventures of the White Trash Disaster Trailer.""
Chevy Chase/Live
Feb 15, 1997 · 67 min
Sketches include ""Nightline,"" ""Bill Clinton,"" ""O.J Simpson,"" ""Goat Boy,"" ""Chopper Four.""
Alec Baldwin/Tina Turner
Feb 22, 1997 · 67 min
Sketches include ""The Late Show with David Letterman,"" ""Roxbury Guys,"" ""Mary Katherine Gallagher,"" ""The Quiet Storm,"" ""The Gossip Show,"" ""Phone Sex Operators,"" ""Yard S
Sting/Veruca Salt
Mar 15, 1997 · 67 min
Sketches include ""Bill Clinton,"" ""Evita,"" ""The Nude Crusade,"" ""Rolf,"" ""The Atteburys,"" ""Kyle DeMarco,"" and ""Race and Racism.""
Mike Myers/Aerosmith
Mar 22, 1997 · 67 min
Sketches include ""Coffee Talk with Linda Richman,"" ""Mary Katherine Gallagher,"" ""Prime Minister's Questions,"" ""Scottish Soccer Hooligan Weekly,"" and ""Barbara Walters Oscar
Rob Lowe/Spice Girls
Apr 12, 1997 · 67 min
Sketches include ""Nightline,"" ""Perspectives,"" ""The Joe Pesci Show,"" ""Goth Talk,"" ""Food, Sex, or Cars?"" and ""La Politica Non Correcto con Ramon Diaz Rojo.""
Pamela Lee/Rollins Band
Apr 19, 1997 · 67 min
Sketches include ""Janet Reno,"" ""Spartan Cheerleaders,"" ""A&E Biography: Tiger Woods,"" ""Goat Boy,"" and ""Roxbury Guys.""
John Goodman/Jewel
May 10, 1997 · 67 min
Sketches include ""Oprah,"" ""Celebrity Jeopardy,"" ""Suel Forrester,"" ""Eddie Murphy,"" ""The Delicious Dish,"" ""The Culps,"" ""Collette Reardon,"" and ""Bill Brasky.""
Jeff Goldblum/En Vogue
May 17, 1997 · 67 min
Sketches include ""Nightline,"" ""Mary Katherine Gallagher,"" ""Space, the Infinite Frontier,"" ""Kennedy Kapers,"" ""Larry King,"" ""Rock & Roll Fantasy Camp.""