Ashley Padilla was poised to break an all-time Saturday Night Live record this weekend, but the second-year featured player ended up tying it instead.
If the Season 51 breakout had appeared in three sketches on Saturday night’s show, she would have reached 18 consecutive episodes with three or more sketch appearances—the most ever recorded by a featured player in SNL history.
Instead, Padilla appeared in just two sketches, both of them pretapes: the title role in “Mom: The Movie,” and a wife/cat owner in “Tidy Care Cat Litter.”
As a result, her streak of 3+ sketch episodes ended at 17, tying her with series alum Heidi Gardner.
To be sure, there very much was the potential for Padilla to claim the record, but three other sketches she appeared in at dress rehearsal all wound up being cut either at dress or for time.
One involved a neighborhood murder where all of the men being interviewed by police were dressed in skimpy kimonos and robes; another was about Greek gods and featured an elaborate set; and the third was a Martin Herlihy film about a man, played by Jeremy Culhane, making amends with his father, played by James Austin Johnson.
Padilla, who has emerged as one of the defining stories of Season 51, still has plenty to celebrate. She’s poised to top the SNL cast in total screen time this season, with 30 minutes currently separating her from Colin Jost, who currently sits at No. 2.
Saturday Night Live wraps its current season next weekend with host Will Ferrell and musical guest Paul McCartney.
