'Saturday Night Live' season premiere: 3 things to watch for

Friday September 14, 2012 4:15 PM By Kirthana Ramisetti

Photo credit: AP | This photo provided by NBC shows Kenan Thompson, left, and host Seth MacFarlane on the set of "Saturday Night Live" in New York. MacFarlane is hosting SNL's season premiere on Saturday, Sept. 15, with musical guest Frank Ocean. (Sept. 11, 2012)

The 38th season of “Saturday Night Live” premieres tomorrow night, and there have been plenty of changes since the show’s season finale in May. Hudson Buzz has three things to watch out for in the premiere episode, which will be hosted by “Family Guy” creator Seth McFarlane (pictured above with cast member Kenan Thompson).

Political impressions: “SNL” producer Lorne Michaels announced this week that Jay Pharoah will play President Barack Obama on the show going forward, replacing longtime cast member Fred Armisen, who’s impersonated Obama since 2007. Pharoah’s known for doing an uncanny impression of the Commander-in-Chief, and no doubt after the recent political conventions, Pharoah will be called upon to play Obama early in the episode.

Meanwhile, Jason Sudekis is staying on the show through election season so he can continue portraying Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, as well as Vice President Joe Biden. No word yet on who’s playing Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan -- we probably won’t find out until the show airs.

PHOTOS: 'Saturday Night Live' stars from the Hudson Valley | TV stars from the Hudson Valley | Comedians from the Hudson Valley

New cast members: Kristen Wiig, Andy Samberg and Abby Elliott departed the show last season, and “SNL” has cast three up-and-coming sketch comedians to replace them: Aidy Bryant, Tim Robinson and Cecily Strong, all of whom were hired from Chicago's Second City comedy troupe. It’ll be interesting to see how much face time the newbies get: Will they show up in major sketches, or will they just be relegated to waving at the audience at the end of the show while the credits roll?

Local talent: Keep an eye out for Bobby Moynihan. Thanks to his impressions of Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi and Guy Fieri, as well as “Weekend Update” staple Drunk Uncle, the Eastchester native has become an integral part of “SNL” since joining in 2008. Snooki, a Marlboro native, recently told Newsday Westchester that she thought Moynihan’s impression of her was “fantastic,” and since the reality star recently gave birth, he might be called upon to play Snooki in the season premiere.

Another “SNL” player with Hudson Valley roots is guitarist Jared Scharff -- the Rockland County native plays guitar in the house band. And avid Hudson Buzz readers might remember that we told you about @RobThomasWeathr’s, a popular Twitter account that parodied Bedford resident Rob Thomas’ hit song “Smooth.” Josh Patten, one of the account’s co-creators, joined the show as a writer this season.

Curious about other “Saturday Night Live” stars with connections to the area? Check out our photo gallery of “SNL” stars who hail from the Hudson Valley.

Tags: Eastchester , Rockland County , Bedford , Saturday Night Live , Bobby Moynihan , Jared Scharff , TV