I remember watching the premiere of the 20th anniversary season and thinking there was no way this show was going to last much longer. I was a huge SNL fan and watched all the reruns on Comedy Central and Vh1 (I think). FWIW, I also am aware of every host and musical guest that has been on during my lifetime. Even then I’m aware there are some things I’m just not the audience for.
Yeah, it was pretty weak. But it seems to me like the “rebuilding” has happened really quickly, since it was only a couple of weeks ago that they announced the new cast members, and Chris Redd’s departure. They’ll find their voice.
I’ve heard a lot of interviews with former cast members of the show. It seems to me that Lorne Michaels has set up a system that intentionally results a show that is mediocre, on average, but one that is just good enough to keep going. The rare flash of brilliance ensures its cultural caché.
I was pleasantly surprised, actually. I had no idea the season had started, or that I could even view it live, as I got rid of cable a few months ago. Thought Miles Teller did a great Peyton Manning and Jon Hamm is always a plus 
I hope we get a good Ron DeSantass impersonation soon. Lot of material there.
Overall, I think the new cast looked promising, at least as little as we saw of them. I could do with a little less of Bowen Yang’s schtick.
I’d say that Lorne Michaels has set up a system that goes in cycles- it’ll be mediocre on average, but every 5-10 years, it produces an ensemble that is truly funny.
But the price for that is that the rest of the time, it’s decidedly mediocre, with occasional forays into straight up bad.
I noticed Cecily Strong was not listed in the credits. I hadn’t heard she had left too.
It’s temporary. Cecily is doing a play in LA right now.
Good, too much change frightens and confuses me
I haven’t seen SNL since the original cast, but I saw so many headlines about the opener bombing that I had to see what the Dope had to say. Doesn’t sound like anyone was overly impressed. 
Even after looking up Miles Teller, I still wouldn’t recognize him in a crowd of ten. I certainly wouldn’t call him a star of any kind. Don’t they usually have more well known hosts?
At least I was familiar with Kendrick Lamar’s work. That proves I’m not totally over the hill. I think.
I didn’t recognize Miles Teller as Peyton Manning in the cold open. The sketch within the sketch went overboard being bad on purpose, especially towards the end.
Well, he’s the main costar of “Top Gun: Maverick”, and has been highly regarded for his performances in several other lesser movies. He’s a rising star these days. If you’re not aware of him, it’s probably more of an issue with you than the people at SNL.
This season is kind of a turning point for me. I’ve only missed a handful of episodes since 1975 and not a single one since it was always waiting for me on Sunday morning on Hulu. Well, it wasn’t on Hulu yesterday morning. I considered signing up for Peacock for about two seconds. Naw. The show just ain’t worth the trouble or expense.
Che’s and Jost’s names in the credits didn’t seem to match the rest of the names, who were mostly a bunch of unknowns. Keenan Thompson also stood out. Those three should have “Starring” billing with the rest as “Also with”.
Did anyone else notice the new font? That was the first sign that it wasn’t going to be good.
I don’t think it’s just a me thing. There were already several people that posted before me that had no idea who he was. Being a co-star in one movie that just came out this year isn’t exactly star material. His short list of other credits isn’t that impressive either.
Yes, I saw and didn’t care for the font.
I watched a couple of the segments they posted on YouTube. Not a damn thing was funny.
I do, though, like Wiki’s writeup for FANTASTIC FOUR: “The film received negative reviews from critics with criticism for its dark tone, direction, lack of humor, cast performances, character development, pacing, writing, unfaithfulness to the source material, narrative, visuals, and CGI, although there was some praise for the musical score.”
Some of the segments get posted on YouTube (as noted by @Acsenray). Here, for example, is the cold open:
Wow, I think they about covered everything. I’d better check out the music score, “some praise” is a pretty high bar to meet.
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