Sasheer Zamata separated herself from the competition in Saturday Night Live’s grueling auditions process and will join the cast later this month as the first African-American female in six years.
Zamata’s training in sketch comedy includes a number of years with New York City’s Upright Citizen’s Brigade. The University of Virginia grad, who holds a degree in drama, has been with the company since 2009. For Upright Citizen’s Brigade, Zamata hosts a weekly variety show called School Night and performs improv comedy with both Doppelganger and BUCKY on Harold Night, according to the bio on her website.
Zamata, who says she performs “stand up wherever I can,” is probably best known for her new webseries, Pursuit of Sexiness. “Best friends and troublemakers Nicky and Sheer are broke, single, and (adorably!) self-absorbed,” reads the description of Zamata series with Nicole Byer. “They're looking for good men, easy money and free meals but would be satisfied to break even and find a guy who doesn't prematurely ejaculate. It's life, liberty and the pursuit of sexiness.”
SNL and its executive producer Lorne Michael were coming under increasing pressure to diversify the show’s cast. Jay Pharoah and Kenan Thompson, the two male African-American comics on the show, announced last fall that neither of them would continue to portray black female characters. While Thompson diplomatically said producers were making an effort to find an actress who’d fit the bill, Pharoah was more damning, claiming that producers weren’t following up with suggestions.
The last African American female on SNL was Maya Rudolph, who left the show in 2007.
Zamata will first appear on Saturday Night Live on its Jan. 18 episode, which will feature Drake as the host and musical guest.
– Chelsea Regan
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