Speculation-ist: Will Palin Appear on SNL's Thursday Special?

By Jacy Wojcik in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 9, 2008 8:10PM

We mentioned earlier this week the potential mind-blowing Tina Fey/Sarah Palin appearance tonight on the premiere of Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update Thursday. SNL's audience has increased almost 50% since last year, in part due to Fey's uncanny Palin. Fey + Palin + Thursday night = ratings gold. So we thought we'd bust out our Great Detective Kit, try our hand at being sleuth-y, and see if there is any weight to the rumors...

Head writer Seth Meyers stated,"We'd love to have her [and] we spoke to her earlier [before] the time Tina did her [impression] and it seemed like something was going to work out." The problem, he says, is "the schedule. They're all pretty busy." Well...

According to John McCain's website, he and Ms. Palin are currently campaigning in Waukesha, WI. She is scheduled to be in Wilmington, OH today at 4 p.m. - which would be cutting it close, but she might still manage a 9:30 p.m. show time.

For her part, Palin seems game:

CBS:Are you going to go on SNL and give Tina Fey a taste of her own medicine?
Palin:Ha ha (she laughs). I would love to. I would love to. I love her. She's a hoot and she's so talented and it would be fun to either imitate her or keep on giving her more material and keep her in business.

There are only three more Saturday Night Live episodes before the election and three prime-time 'Weekend News Update' shows, so Palin's window of opportunity is getting smaller by the day. Unless she becomes Vice-President, of course.

Conclusion: Possible to Probable. Appearances by politicians, while numerous, are typically a surprise. Obama, Clinton (Hillary and Bill), Clinton, Bush (George H.W. and George W.) have all made cameos/appearances and John McCain even hosted an entire show a few years back. We think Sarah Palin just won't miss out on bein' a part of the SNL club, especially since she's such a gosh derrrn big ol' fan. Whether or not Second City alum Ms. Fey would be thrilled about the appearance is a different story entirely. [Trib]