<em>Saturday Night Live</em> Prepares for Its Future

Last season was’s most important in years. After a shaky start, the casting of Alec Baldwin as Donald Trump helped the sketch show tap back into the political zeitgeist, boosting ratings and netting a haul of Emmys (including the program’s first in 24 years). But the upcoming 43rd season, which begins Saturday, has a much more routine task at hand: preparing for ’s next comedic era, something it’s done many times before. With its longer-term future in mind, three new cast members and seven new writers on