Finally, the last episode of the docuseries focuses on a single season, largely considered to be one of the worst and most infamous. In “Season 11: The Weird Year,” we take a retrospective look back at the first season in which Lorne Michaels returned to “SNL” after departing the series in 1980. After being absent for five years, Michaels returned in an effort to bring “SNL” back from the brink of cancellation. If Michaels hadn’t come back to the show he created, the show might have ended right then and there, but the producer took it upon himself to reinvent the series.

Michaels cleaned house by not bringing back any of the cast members from the previous season, opting for an entirely new cast of players that included “Vacation” franchise star Randy Quaid, future comedy superstar Damon Wayans, character actor Joan Cusack, comedian Jon Lovitz, Brat Pack staple Anthony Michael Hall, fellow high school movie favorite Robert Downey Jr., satirist Dennis Miller, newcomer Nora Dunn, Off-Broadway star Danitra Vance, and the show’s first openly gay cast member, Terry Sweeney. 

Despite having a fantastic assembly of talent, Michaels had trouble picking up any momentum upon his return. The sketches just weren’t working, and the cast had a hard time falling into a groove. But this episode of the docuseries illustrates that even in the season that many consider to be one of the worst, there are still fascinating peaks and bold creative decisions. Jon Lovitz’s recurring pathological liar character would spark one of the more famous catchphrases from that decade, “Yeah, that’s the ticket!” Terry Sweeney inspired a generation of gay comedians. Damon Wayans went rogue and got himself fired. Even Francis Ford Coppola directed an entire meta episode of the series, and nothing like it would ever happen again. 

And herein lies the true secret to the endurance of “SNL”: The series is always evolving, not because it wants to, but because it has to, and they never let failure stop them from trying again the next week. If the show had died after or even before season 11, think of all the hilarious moments that we’d be denied. How many of its breakout stars might have remained undiscovered? The series adapts to the times and the potential of the cast members it brings into the spotlight. There’s nothing else like it on television, and there likely never will be. 

If you enjoyed all of this waxing about “SNL,” you should listen to our episode of The /Film Daily Podcast featuring “SNL 50: Beyond Saturday Night” executive producer Morgan Neville talking about the making of the docuseries:

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