Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/sasheer-zamata-joins-saturday-night-live-starting-in-january Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Sasheer Zamata joins Saturday Night Live starting Jan. 18 Nation Jan 6, 2014 6:30 PM EDT Video from YouTube channel Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell Deadline Hollywood reported Monday that Sasheer Zamata will join the cast of Saturday Night Live; becoming the first black female cast member to join since Maya Rudolph, who left the show in 2007. New York-based Zamata is a comedian, actress and writer who began performing at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade, an improvisational comedy and sketch comedy group, in 2009 after graduating from University of Virginia. Her debut performance on NBC’s late-night sketch comedy show will occur Jan. 18. Cast member Kenan Thompson announced last October that he did not want to continue performing as black women in drag, and fellow black cast member Jay Pharaoh said the show needed to hire a black woman. In light of the criticism,S.N.L producers held special auditions in December searching for a black female cast member. Sasheer Acting Reel 2013 2.0 from Sasheer Zamata on Vimeo. Video by Vimeo user Sasheer Zamata We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now
Video from YouTube channel Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell Deadline Hollywood reported Monday that Sasheer Zamata will join the cast of Saturday Night Live; becoming the first black female cast member to join since Maya Rudolph, who left the show in 2007. New York-based Zamata is a comedian, actress and writer who began performing at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade, an improvisational comedy and sketch comedy group, in 2009 after graduating from University of Virginia. Her debut performance on NBC’s late-night sketch comedy show will occur Jan. 18. Cast member Kenan Thompson announced last October that he did not want to continue performing as black women in drag, and fellow black cast member Jay Pharaoh said the show needed to hire a black woman. In light of the criticism,S.N.L producers held special auditions in December searching for a black female cast member. Sasheer Acting Reel 2013 2.0 from Sasheer Zamata on Vimeo. Video by Vimeo user Sasheer Zamata We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now