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Who: Chris Redd
Cast Member Since: 2017

Math says 34-year-old Chris Redd took a tiny step backwards during his second season of Saturday Night Live. But when you win an Emmy during your first season, you’re already competing with yourself.

Redd’s first year on SNL was nearly perfect. He appeared live in 19 of the season’s 20 episodes, had several viral hits with Fresh Prince and the Emmy winning Come Back Barack, and debuted his impression of New Jersey Senator Cory “Angry Eyes” Booker which came back several times during the 2018-2019 season (and will no doubt continue throughout Fall 2019 until the Democratic Presidential Nominee is finalized). Redd appeared on screen nearly 70 times his first season, and made you laugh even in his smaller supporting roles. That’s one hell of a rookie season.

His second season, despite having some high profile moments by being in the center of sketches covering controversial events like the Fox Network’s reaction to the Jussie Smollett situation or Kanye West’s head scratcher meeting with President Donald Trump, saw Redd’s overall airtime decrease. In fact, he placed just above newcomer Ego Nwodim, and didn’t appear in live segments during three separate episodes.

But those are just the raw statistics. When you really watch Redd close, it’s clear he’s one of the best current current SNL cast members. So, you know, who cares about the math?

The 34-year-old Redd, born in St. Louis before moving to Chicago, explained the biggest difference between his first two seasons to Newsweek this way:

“…To enter this world where the people here with you are three times as famous and you’re seeing these different levels of the game right in front of you, everything’s harder. I was nervous and didn’t know what to expect. You hear all these stories, then you get there and try to figure it all out for yourself. That’s your first year. The second year I was a lot more comfortable just knowing how the job works. You still don’t know what’s gonna make it on the show, but being comfortable makes it better for me to create because I don’t have to worry about if I’m going to get fired every day.”

Total appearances aside, the way Redd used his air time was nearly identical across both years: roughly 70% live and 30% filmed segments. Knowing he’s a talented impressionist and comes from a stand-up comedy background, it is crazy he’s only had four appearances at the Weekend Update desk over his 40 SNL episodes. These are two traits cast members typically lean into for success on Update, but Redd seems to either not be interested in that route, or he hasn’t yet found the right thing to bring there more than once. Regardless, I’d love to see him more in this forum – especially since his new(ish) stand up album, But Here We Are, is one of the funniest comedy records I’ve heard in years.

One thing Redd really excelled at over the 2018-2019 season was music videos – in one instance, he was even in two in the same episode. October’s “Trees” (written during the summer break with Pete Davidson) was the first to make a splash. “{I Love My Dog” and “Booty Kings/Permission” were other musical standouts throughout the year for Redd.

On the live side, I loved him as Donnell in The Gold Diggers of the WNBA, and his scene stealing take as Daniel in the Nephew Pageant with Kit Harington.

With Redd’s third season and likely promotion to Repertory Player right around the corner, I don’t think he needs to change his approach much. Ideally, with an increase in screen time, additional impressions and a few original character creations to call his own, Redd seems on the path to cement himself as a future SNL MVP that we’ll one day wonder “How can this show survive without him?” when he eventually moves on.

Enjoy some of Redd’s best Season 44 work below:

Filmed Segment: “Trees”
Episode: Seth Meyers/Paul Simon (10/13/18)
Note: Redd really leaned into music videos during his second season, and this was easily the best one.

Weekend Update Segment: Soulja Boy on the Government Shutdown
Episode: James McAvoy/Meek Mill (1/26/19)
Note: Redd is great at Weekend Update. We need more of this.