This Season's 'SNL' Sketch Leader Is Something of a Surprise

Over the years, as SNL’s cast has diversified, douchebag white guys have become a frequent comic foil on the series (see: Colin Jost). The “douchebag white guy” and his close cousin, the “average white guy,” have become such reliable punching bags that casting someone who can play that role effectively has become essential.

That’s why Taran Killam was the sketch leader from Seasons 39 to 41, and why Beck Bennett held that position in Seasons 42, 45, and 46. Bennett was so interchangeable, in fact, that many viewers didn’t even realize he left the show four years ago when he made a surprise appearance in that White Lotus sketch during this season’s Jon Hamm episode. Bennett might be SNL’s all-time greatest white-guy douchebag, aside from the actual white-guy douchebags in the show’s history (Dennis Miller, Rob Schneider). If the show needed a smug CEO or pompous blowhard, Bennett was the guy.

This year’s sketch leader according to Late Nighter, Andrew Dismukes, likely earned that role for the same reason: sketches needed a douchebag or, in his case, a sad, dweeby white guy. I remember when Dismukes first joined the cast, I kept intentionally confusing him with a rotating cast of forgettable white guy SNL cast members (Jon Rudnitsky, Brooks Wheelan, John Milhiser, Luke Null) because I didn’t think the show needed another one. They already had Beck Bennett.

But then Bennett left. Soon after, so did Alex Moffat. And Mikey Day, talented as he is, can’t carry all the loser-y white dudes on his own, especially since his sweet spot tends to be playing exasperated hotheads. Over time, Dismukes grew on me. These days, he’s a crucial utility player on the show. Case in point: he appeared in 79 sketches this season, more than any other cast member, including last year’s leader, Heidi Gardner. She came in second, just ahead of Bowen Yang, James Austin Johnson, Sarah Sherman, and Ego Nwodim.

For the stats-minded, again via Late Nighter, the bottom three cast members (excluding “Update” anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che) were Michael Longfellow, newcomer Jane Wickline, and Devon Walker, who trailed Wickline by six sketches. Walker, in particular, still seems to be searching for his groove. Longfellow and Wickline aren’t used as often, but when they are, they’re deployed skillfully, especially on “Update,” where they’ve both shone.