Best Television Series Featuring former SNL Cast Members

You might say Saturday Night Live is like a college for comedy. It’s a place where young performers can learn the entertainment industry. If that’s the case, many SNL alum should go on to become stars. And many have.

Some SNL cast members who have gone on to star in television shows, or streaming shows as we know them now, were predictably successful. But in some cases, SNL cast members you may not expect went on to helm popular TV shows.

A handful of of SNL cast members have won or been nominated for an Emmy Award for their work in TV shows after leaving the sketch show.

Which TV show starring or co-starring an SNL alum was the best? This table lists the prominent shows, and some not-so-prominent.

List of Shows Starring Former SNL Cast Members

Show Title	Former SNL Cast Member(s)	Notes
Sitcoms & Comedies
Seinfeld	Julia Louis-Dreyfus	Played Elaine Benes, part of the all-star ensemble on one of TV’s most iconic shows.
Veep	Julia Louis-Dreyfus	Played Selina Meyer; won multiple Emmy Awards.
Kate & Allie	Jane Curtin	Played Allison ‘Allie’ Lowell. Won Emmy Award, nominated for multiple honors.
30 Rock	Tina Fey (Creator/Star), Tracy Morgan, Chris Parnell	Fey created and starred as Liz Lemon; loosely based on her time as Head Writer at SNL. Morgan played a fictionalized version of himself. Parnell was a recurring guest star. Rachel Dratch also had a recurring role.
Parks and Recreation	Amy Poehler, Jenny Slate	Starred as Leslie Knope; co-created by former SNL writer Greg Daniels. Slate had a recurring role that was hilarious.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine	Andy Samberg	Starred as Jake Peralta.
Ted Lasso	Jason Sudeikis	Starred as the title character.
Everybody Hates Chris	Chris Rock (Creator/Narrator)	Based on Rock’s childhood.
Just Shoot Me!	David Spade	Played Dennis Finch.
3rd Rock from the Sun	Jane Curtin	Played Dr. Mary Albright. Screen Actors Guild Award nominated.
NewsRadio	Phil Hartman	Played Bill McNeal.
Only Murders in the Building	Martin Short	Starred as Oliver Putnam, multiple Emmy nominations.
The New Adventures of Old Christine	Julia Louis-Dreyfus	Played Christine Campbell.
Barry	Bill Hader (Co-Creator/Star)	A critically acclaimed dark comedy/drama about a hitman turned actor.
In Living Color	Damon Wayans	Part of cast for sketch show seen on Fox.
The Last Man on Earth	Will Forte (Creator/Star), Jason Sudeikis	Starred as Phil Miller. Sudiekis had a prominent guest role as Miller’s brother.
According to Jim	Jim Belushi	Played titular role. The 182 episodes are a record for a TV show starring a former SNL cast member in the lead role.
Designing Women	Jan Hooks	Starred as Carlene Frazier Dobber.
The Sarah Silverman Program	Sarah Silverman	Played herself in a fictionalized version of her life.
The Larry Sanders Show	Janeane Garofalo	Played Paula in six seasons on the award-winning show.
American Dad!	Casey Wilson	Various voice roles. Wilson has also provided voices for Family Guy and other shows.
Detroiters	Tim Robinson (Co-creator, co-writer, executive producer)	Played Tim Cramblin.
Portlandia	Fred Armisen (Co-Creator/Star)	A popular sketch comedy series set in Portland, Oregon.
Shrill	Aidy Bryant (Co-Creator/Star)	Starred as Annie Easton. Show produced by Lorne Michaels.
I Love That for You	Vanessa Bayer (Co-Creator/Star)	Starred as Joanna Gold in a show produced by Lorne Michaels.
Schitt’s Creek	Chris Elliott	Played Roland Schitt.
Martin	Garrett Morris	Played Stan Winters in Seasons 1-2.
2 Broke Girls	Garrett Morris	Portrayed Earl Washington in the run of the series for six seasons.
Chad	Nasim Pedrad (Co-Creator/Star)	Played Chad, series last three seasons.
Mr. Box Office	Tim Meadows	Portrayed Principal Theodore Martin.
New Girl	Nasim Pedrad	Played Aly Nelson.
Shrinking	Heidi Gardner	Starred as Grace.
Everybody Loves Raymond	Chris Elliott	Played Peter MacDougall in several episodes.

The Naked Truth	Chris Elliott	Played Bradley Crosby.
Late Night & Talk Shows
Dennis Miller Live	Dennis Miller	Half-hour talk show on HBO, ran nine seasons and more than 200 episodes.
Late Night with Seth Meyers	Seth Meyers	Host.
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon	Jimmy Fallon	Host and giggle machine.
The Dana Carvey Show	Dana Carvey (Creator/Star)	A short-lived but influential and very funny sketch show.
The Ben Stiller Show	Ben Stiller	A pair of shows that featured comedy sketches with music videos and parodies. Two seasons on two different networks.
The Chris Rock Show	Chris Rock	Host.
The Chevy Chase Show	Chevy Chase	Cancelled after six weeks. Aired on Fox.
Late Night with David Letterman and the Late Show w/ David Letterman	Paul Shaffer	Served as musical director for both shows hosted by David Letterman, for more than 30 years.
Other Notable Series
Better Call Saul	Michael McKean	Portrayed Chuck McGill, Emmy nominated.
The Bear	Abby Elliott	Stars as Natalie “Sugar” Berzatto.
Documentary Now!	Fred Armisen (Co-Creator/Star), Bill Hader (Co-Creator/Star)	Anthology series parodying documentaries.
Maya & Marty	Maya Rudolph, Martin Short	Sketch/variety show.
Palm Royale	Kristen Wiig (Star)
Schmigadoon!	Cecily Strong (Star)	Streaming series produced by Lorne Michaels.
The West Wing	Janeane Garofalo	Played Louise Thornton.
24	Louise Thornton	Played Janis Gold.
Kenan	Kenan Thompson (Star)
Funny You Should Ask	Jon Lovitz	Served as regular panelist of this game show for more than 160 episodes.
Norm	Norm Macdonald (Star)	Macdonald also hosted his own podcast talk show.
The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack	Brian Doyle-Murray	Voice actor
Big Mouth	Maya Rudolph (Voice), Fred Armisen (Voice), Jenny Slate (Voice)	Animated series.
Dilbert	Chris Elliott	Voice actor