A mini Saturday Night Live reunion is headed to After Midnight. On Wednesday, September 18, former SNLers Taran Killam and Jay Pharoah will face off for internet brownie points as panelists on Taylor Tomlinson’s late-night game show.
Killam and Pharoah, who were cast members together from 2010 to 2016, both have a special place in SNL history. During Killam’s time on the show, he appeared in the most sketches out of any of his peers for three seasons in a row from 2013 to 2016 (only Amy Poehler has him beat in terms of consecutive first-place finishes).
As for Pharaoh, he quickly garnered attention for his many celeb impersonations, including Barack Obama, Kayne West, Jay-Z, Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, Denzel Washington, and Lil Wayne. In 2015, Rolling Stone named Pharaoh the 55th greatest SNL cast member of all time.
Neither Killam nor Pharoah were asked to return for SNL‘s Season 42, despite each having a year left on their contracts. “I think they were great, and they did wonderful work when they were with us,” Lorne Michaels said of the pair in a 2016 interview with USA Today. “They served the show well, and are two people I really care about… I’m not worried about either of them going on to success.”
This mini cast member reunion isn’t the only treat SNL fans can look forward to on Wednesday’s episode of After Midnight.
Mary Lynn Rajskub will join Killam and Pharoah as the third panelist. The actress and comedian, who is best known for her role as Chloe O’Brian on 24, made a cameo on SNL in 2014. Rajskub and Kiefer Sutherland appeared as their 24 characters alongside Andrew Garfield in the popular sketch “The Beygency” (in which Killam and Pharoah featured).
“The Beygency” revolves around a group of hardcore Beyoncé stans whose goal is to eliminate anyone in the world who has something negative to say about the artist.( The sketch earned a stamp of approval from the Grammy winner herself.)
After Midnight airs Monday through Friday at 12:37 a.m. ET on CBS and is available to stream live and on-demand on Paramount+
