This week actor and comedian Jay Pharoah learned that he will not be returning to Saturday Night Live for the upcoming season.
The shows decision to not bring him back, along with his cast member Taran Killam, was a shock as both were expecting to fulfill the last year of their contracts.
Nonetheless, both Pharoah and Killam have already landed themselves on new shows that will appear on Showtime.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Pharoah will lead in a new half-hour comedy called White Famous.
Executive produced by Jamie Foxx, the show is centered on an African American comedian named Floyd Mooney (Pharoah) that is “trying to hold on to his credibility as he becomes mainstream popular, or ‘white famous’.”
Showtime President/ CEO David Nevins said, “It’s been happening over the last several weeks, probably over a month, individually.” Referring to the development of both shows. He also said Showtime was willing to work around both actors SNL schedules as they were expected to fulfill their final year on a seven year contract.
Luckily Pharoah has a relationship with Showtime, as the network aired his comedy special Jay Pharoah: Can I Be Me?, back in 2015.
This is definitely an example of another door opening when one closes. Congrats to both Jay Pharoah and Taran Killam.
Source: http://www.ew.com/article/2016/08/11/snl-taran-killam-jay-pharoah-showtime-white-famous-mating
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