For years, "Saturday Night Live" served as Hollywood's farm team. The show's producer, Lorne Michaels, put the spotlight on next-big-things, who used the show as a steppingstone. The list is staggering: Chevy Chase, Eddie Murphy, Billy Crystal, Christopher Guest, Chris Farley, Julia-Louis Dreyfus, Chris Rock, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, to name very few.
But there is increasing evidence that "SNL's" time as the tastemaker of things to come is in peril. Now it's "The Daily Show" correspondents who tend to move on to bigger things. It's become a breeding ground for up-and-comers.
The latest is Steve Carell, who got his start as a correspondent on "The Daily Show" and now is making his dramatic debut in the feature film "Foxcatcher." He plays the real-life character of John du Pont, a homicidal multimillionaire. Carell turns in a creepy, troubling performance that is miles from the character that made him famous on "The Office."
The actors that "SNL" is churning out recently don't end up having the varied careers and impressive reach of "Daily Show" alums. Kristen Wiig scored with "Bridesmaids," which she co-wrote, but she hasn't gained much traction since. Seth Meyers took over NBC's "Late Night" when fellow "SNL" vet Jimmy Fallon was promoted to "The Tonight Show" and Andy Samberg stars in the Fox series "Brooklyn Nine-Nine."
But beyond that, "SNL" cast members who left in the past five years haven't produced much beyond the broadest comedy (Jason Sudeikis in "Horrible Bosses 2") or the most niche (Fred Armisen on "Portlandia").
Meanwhile, "Daily Show" alums are dominating in an array of spaces. Stephen Colbert paved the way with his satirical "Colbert Report," and John Oliver has done the same with HBO's "Last Week Tonight." Next year Colbert will move up to the No. 2 late-night show when he takes over David Letterman's chair.
"Daily Show" host Jon Stewart also has dabbled in more serious work. His directorial debut, "Rosewater," a drama about a journalist detained in Iran, recently opened to decent reviews.
The "Daily Show" contribution extends to kids' fare (Josh Gad voiced the singing snowman in "Frozen"), much-dissected dramas (Olivia Munn is arguably the best part of "The Newsroom") and the next frontier of entertainment (Rob Corddry stars in the Vimeo web series "Wedlock.")
