Onward and upward. (ABC; Fred Hayes/Getty Images; Joe Corrigan/WireImage.com)There was a time when getting fired from NBC's "Saturday Night Live" was the kiss of death to a sketch comedian's career. If you can summon any memory of what Danitra Vance, Melanie Hutsell, or Jeff Richards even look like, you probably can't think of a single thing they did after being escorted out of the Not Ready for Primetime Players. But if you look at the experiences of three ladies who were fired from the show in the past two years, it seems that, while it's obviously an unfortunate experience, it's no longer the career-killer it used to be. And in all three cases, the medium of web video was crucial in helping them to bounce back.
Let's take Casey Wilson as our first example. As though losing her "SNL" job after just 30 episodes wasn't bad enough, her firing was also rumored to be an effect of her being too heavy (which wasn't true). In the summer of 2009, she had a small role in the feature film "Julie & Julia" — unfortunately, in the "Julie" part everyone (justly) hated — so it was good for her fans to see her that November in this Funny or Die short about a girl determined to form a dance circle at the club.
After guest roles in comedy nerd-beloved HBO series "The Life and Times of Tim" and "Bored to Death," Wilson wound up a series regular again: She plays Penny in ABC's beloved ensemble comedy, "Happy Endings." Any doubt that she's ended up where she belongs should be dispelled by this clip of her performing (with Megan Mullally as Penny's mother).
Unlike Wilson, Michaela Watkins's "problem" (according to Tom Shales) was that she was too attractive to be a sketch comedian. Which I guess is a classy problem to have? Just kidding: The idea that she was fired for her being too beautiful is idiotic. Regardless, Watkins made several buzzy web videos: the NSFW "Hung" parody "Tight" (which may have made her subsequent guest role on the original "Hung" slightly awkward); the "Mad Men" spoof "MA Men" and its sequel; and the very best parody of last year's famous Creepy Hand Model interview.
Now Watkins is busy bringing her talents to high-profile, critically acclaimed series: "Curb Your Enthusiasm" this summer, "Enlightened" this past Monday, and "New Girl" in a few short weeks. Of course I miss her playing Hoda Kotb on "SNL," but she's certainly better off.
Speaking of people who played Hoda....Jenny Slate's tenure on "SNL" lasted longer than Watkins's 15 episodes — she made it a full 22-episode season — but didn't have an auspicious start: In her first episode, she slipped up and cursed on the air. (Not just any curse, either; kind of the worst one you can say on live TV.) And while she was adorable in her recurring role as Stella, Jonathan's (Jason Schwartzman) girlfriend on "Bored to Death," and opposite Gabe Liedman in the web series "Bestie x Bestie," neither of those roles could possibly compete with the charm of her voice work in "Marcel, the Shell with Shoes On."
Since that video hit the internet around this time last year, Slate has created a children's book starring Marcel; a TV series may be next. Given her unfortunate accident in her "SNL" debut, Slate's subsequent run of triumphs feels even more triumphant.
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