Sasheer Zamata is First African American Woman Cast Member on SNL in Five Years

This news makes us very happy. Saturday Night Light had been catching some flack lately because of their lack of African American females on the show. It has been a running joke that Kenan gets put into a dress every time they need a strong black woman in a skit, and he says he is done with that. Seems SNL it done with putting him in a dress, too, as they just cast their first African American female cast member in over half-a-decade. Her name is Sasheer Zamata, and she already has quite a following.

Sasheer Zamata has been in the brilliant comedy troupe, The Upright Citizens Brigade for years, and has earned herself quite a name in the comedy underground in that time. As you know, SNL recently had a casting call for African American comedians to come out and show what they got. Seems Sasheer Zamata was the cream of the crop, and will be starting on the show on January 18th. Drake will be hosting that night. More details about this awesome news over at CNN, right now.

So props to SNL for making themselves a little more culturally diverse, and bringing a hilarious and charismatic black woman on board. Oh, and congrats to both Sasheer Zamata and Kenan. He must be really happy he no longer has to don dresses and makeup for laughs.

(Photo by Brad Barket/Getty Images for Comedy Central)

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