Its like, the mics are breaking, and Im trying to not be distracted by the mics breaking. CECILY STRONG: (As Melissa Gimble) I don't understand. During a 2020 appearance onLate Night with Seth Meyers, Strong explained that she had an unusual role model during her footie days: "Somehow I knew Andrew Shue was a professional soccer player and actor, and it was like, that's all I could aspire to be." Show him your plans. And you can't have love without having a lover's spat. (Strong notches this up by ending the bit with a literal, extended, guttural howl. STRONG: (As Jeanine Pirro) Judge Jeanine Pirro, and it's up to you to decide just what my whole deal is. In the season finale, amid speculation that this season would be Strongs laststill no confirmation of thatPirro got what seemed to be a spectacular send-off in the form of a rendition of My Way, while soaking in a vat of grape juice (disguised as Pirros red of choice). This is FRESH AIR. GROSS: That's pretty great. And anything I can do to help (laughter) would make me feel very good. UNIDENTIFIED CHORUS: (As characters, singing) Then he says something mean to get her back. And, like, we're ending someone's, like, educational career right now in this moment, and you're playing a game with it. Their exits were followed by Alex Moffat, Melissa Villaseor and Aristotle Athari over the summer and, finally, Chris Redd in September. [joking about the Secret Service] Let's give it up for the Secret Service. But at that point, I think I had started getting pretty depressed, and I - because of the time I missed. And it almost cost me my brother. In addition to her work put in at30 Rockefeller Plaza, the extremely talented actress has also appeared in a few comedies, such as 2016's Melissa McCarthy-ledThe Bossand 2016'sGhostbusters reboot alongside her fellow SNL mates Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon. If an alien visited Earth and wanted to learn a bit about American culture, watching a few episodes of Saturday Night Live would probably be an appropriate place to start. GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. GROSS: All right. STRONG I certainly felt like it was goofier [this season]. And so it feels like breakthrough infections are going to be a part of all of our lives soon, too. And then, then, we found the art school. It just felt like, Oh, were doing our show and we have masks on and its weird. Then to hear that it meant something to people and it meant something to me, too. The attorney who joined Trumps legal team in the effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election presented one familiar problem for Strong: name recognition. It was a McDonald's commercial that never aired. And I was talking about something else, and then I sort of made fun of myself, like, yeah, because, you know, that's - well, that's an important thing for society to hear or something. It feels like this year, especially, anything that weve said that might be too crazy has actually worked out really well, she says. You're in a safer place, safer in the sense that you can go outside without having to go down an elevator and walk through a lobby and be - you know, be in the middle of Manhattan. I was losing my mind. is initially really charmed by the idea that they're, like, living in a world of a musical. UNIDENTIFIED CHORUS: (As characters, singing) Corn puddin'. Then I was like, is this more of a prison? Strong joined "SNL" as a featured player in 2012. Two future NBC stars in one place. Its just asking yourself, how do we top it? Strong says of how the character has evolved. Can we please go now? Although she only served as co-anchor for one season, she is one of only a handful of people in history to have sat in that chair. Murdur Durdur: Kate Winslet Regularly Rewatches. AIDY BRYANT I cant believe we made comedy through all of it. You were 15. All Rights Reserved. I mean, it's certainly stuck with me. Passengers looking back to see what all the ruckus was about presumably got a glimpse of Strong sans pants! Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy. Although she may be less seasoned than some of those stars, Cecily Strong also got her start with the infamous improv troupe. SNL wasnt even back in production yet, but if Strong didnt show up in a sketch in Guilfoyle drag, wed have to question everything we ever knew about the internet and its power. GROSS: Like, among the shows he did was terrific revivals of "Music Man," which is, of course, referenced (laughter) in "Schmigadoon!" GROSS: To make your point about being a good student, you were a National Merit-commended scholar based on your PSATs. I am just trying to figure out how to get out of here and get back to reality. Youre able to take it minute by minute by minute, and you almost realize how foolish it is to do anything else. Cecily Strong's character loves musicals and is initially charmed. A leprechaun has explained to the couple - in song - that they can't leave Schmigadoon until they find true love, which means the depth of their love is about to be tested. Cecily Strong Strong has been a fan of soccer her whole life, but not always just as an observer. She said if it starts to happen, I have to say, 'Are you from the white light of God?' So if he wants my puddin', he'll have to marry me. In the almost nine years that she's worked on SNL, Cecily Strong has also showcased her impersonation prowess on several occasions, portraying celebrities likeJeanine Pirro,Rachel Maddow, Senator Dianne Feinstein, and, perhaps most famously, former First Lady Melania Trump. STRONG: Yes. Im glad my name comes up, she tells Vanity Fair with a laugh. The glamour girl that goes wild, as Cecily Strong describes her, has become something of a calling card for the Saturday Night Live star. STRONG: Yeah. STRONG: I haven't. I would kick myself." Canada is known for being a very polite country, and Im there, like, screamingbefore I shot anything with these people! she says. She has a new memoir called "This Will All Be Over Soon." That's where everything's OK. In 2011, Meyers hosted the prestigious White House Correspondents' Dinner, an honor that Strong would also earn in 2015. It's such a contrast for me seeing the joy in "Schmigadoon!" STRONG Aidy in those braids is the hardest I laughed this season. STRONG: Well, thank you so much. 8 at the box office. GROSS: Well, I wish you well. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. UNIDENTIFIED CHORUS: (As characters, singing) I got us corn puddin'. STRONG: Yeah, exactly. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. God, this whole musical is so much fun. I think my favorite character that you've been doing lately is Judge Jeanine Pirro, the Fox News host. It was all just this crazy bad timing. Thanks for contacting us. With Lorne Michaels attached as an executive producer, it sounds like the untitled series will benefit from Strong's SNL connections. GROSS: And Hal Willner, who you mentioned - he died of COVID. UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character, singing) You can't plow a field without hitting some stone. Just like the idea, you know, that it's like, you can have so much passion and feelings about these things that you don't really understand and haven't given much thought to and using them to sort of put down other people. I'm sorry. Even the way she dunked a glass into the vat and flung wine aimlessly behind her was seamlessit landed right in Josts face. In this scene, the couple keeps trying to cross the bridge and escape Schmigadoon while bickering about their relationship. Thanks for finally letting a woman on late night TV. I appreciate it. GROSS: Reports are that you're not sure whether you're going back to "SNL" in the fall. And I wound up never stopping. SNL has been on the air since 1975, and throughout its decades-spanning history of bringing laughter to audiences across the county, it has racked up awards like few other television shows. Forty years later, JoBeth Williams and Craig T. Nelson tell all about the horror classics secrets, tragedies, and controversies. Ad Choices, The Life and Death of Pete Davidsons Chad. Here with her final thoughts on this election is the Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation With at a Party. [joking about Hillary Clinton] Now Naomi (Campbell), you're lucky Hillary Clinton is not here. Cecily Strong is a Hilarious Revelation in Apple TV+ Sounds like Strong was "on a boat" before her fellow SNL co-star Andy Samberg made it cool to be. Clarkson later surprised Strong with a clip of an old anti-smoking ad she had starred in for the Illinois Department of Public Health when she was only 16 years old. Schmigadoon!: Cecily Strong Just Sang, Danced, and Psycho After each earning Emmy noms for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series, the ladies of 'SNL' dish on working on the scariest and goofiest season amid the pandemic. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This is FRESH AIR. GROSS: Had you been vaccinated when you shot the series? Strongs process of writing the lyrics sounds simpleJust kind of sitting by myself, like I have been long enoughand also, perhaps, gets at the heart of Gemmas appeal. Michigan Gov. The entire town and you just spent the last five minutes singing about corn pudding. But I was just always performing around the house. I think, you know, we were told - we went on our hiatus that was supposed to be our three-week or two-week hiatus in March and then just didn't come back until May. (McKinnon gets emotional.) I thought it was just going to be, Well, if we manage to physically get through it, itll be something, but it turned out to be favorite is not the right word but definitely the most meaningful. That was a little bit of a shock. My life - you know, to just not really know your place yet and then be told you don't have a place here, it just kind of - I felt like I was - I didn't talk for a year or something. Man watching 'The Office' on plane oblivious Rainn Wilson Dad of crying infant that triggered Texas massacre 'never thought' gunman would shoot, NFL linebacker's 2-year-old daughter drowns in pool, ABC airs NYC footage with Twin Towers during Knicks-Heat game, Gayle King says she doesnt have a desire to retire: I want more work, WNBA star Brittney Griner is heading to the Met Gala, Mariah Carey celebrates Moroccan and Monroes 12th birthday: My babies, Elon Musk Tells Bill Maher Woke Mind Virus Is Dangerous On Real Time, Kendall Jenner rocks sheer top, fur mini skirt for date night with Bad Bunny. And so it makes me want to, like, poke harder. But she left the desk, preferring to do sketch comedy, which she's great at. STRONG: (As Melissa Gimble) So you're ready to give up on us because of what a leprechaun said? You know, we were getting ready for one of those - I think they were two "Update" specials because it was an election year. You're nominated for an Emmy for your work on "SNL," and so are some of the other cast members. But when its, like, the idea of attacking the LGBTQ community, I can make fun of that all day because its just insane to me to spend your time doing that.. UNIDENTIFIED CHORUS: (As characters, singing) We want corn puddin'. And then it took a while to really understand, here's all of the things we're going to put in place, here's all the safety measures, until I finally felt safe. Her new memoir, "This Will All Be Over Soon," will be published tomorrow. So let's talk a little bit about your work on "Saturday Night Live." It is understood that Strong had always planned to return for only the first half of season 48, as she looks forward to new opportunities. Cecily, your rendition of My Way, as Judge Jeanine Pirro in a giant box of wine, from the season finale was a real standout. A post on social media from the official Instagram account for the sketch show confirmed As I noted in my box office column last week, the movie industry has KEY: (As Josh Skinner) That's fantastic. Later that year,she would again address the topic while appearing on Late Night, including a new discovery she made after conferring with a medium. I was licking a soft-serve ice-cream cone. She stars with Keegan-Michael Key in the new series "Schmigadoon!" But of course, like, everything's bad timing over the past couple of years or whatever. The Bravo host, 54, compared the comedy show to being an ex-boyfriend, and Strong couldnt help but agree. She played a Latina in her first show on "Saturday Night Live", but she herself is not of Hispanic background. Her reactionsit was like, wow, shes just screaming. UNIDENTIFIED CHORUS: (As characters, singing) You put the corn in the puddin' and the puddin' in the bowl. We'll talk more after a break. Cecily Strong as Goober The Clown and anchor Colin Jost during "Weekend Update" on SNL on Saturday, November 6, 2021. Now if that sounds familiar, it's because it's also one of the rules of the sex contract of Fifty Shades of Grey. And so that's partly why I just wasn't even there. I mean, I think it's certainly been a part of my life since I was little. It was one of those times where it was really blatant what we didnt have anymore as opposed to Saturdays, where we were reminded of what we did have and the show that we get to make. She's nominated for an Emmy for her work on "Saturday Night Live." As the longest-tenured female cast member in the shows history, Cecily Strong Explains Why She Kept Her Saturday Night Live Exit a Secret Until Hours Before. Ive had the time of my life working with the greatest people on earth., A post shared by Cecily Strong (@cecilystrong). by Michael Major Apr. MCKINNON For me, I felt like I had a real job. A red dress approximating the one Guilfoyle wore was sent over from New York.