Emmy Flashback: 'SNL' '02
Saturday Night Live has become an American staple for comedy since shortly after it first premiered in 1975, and has been home to many adored comedians from Chevy Chase to Will Ferrell. In 2002, SNL won two Emmys, and one of them had historic implications.
In addition to taking home the Emmy for Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video for a Series, the iconic sketch comedy show also took home the award for Outstanding Writing for its writing team that consisted of the first woman to ever become an SNL head writer: Tina Fey.
"I like writing better actually. It's what I'm better at," Fey says in the featured flashback. "If I had to choose one, I'd choose the writing."
Fey, who had been a writer on the show since 2000, also appeared in the show's "Weekend Update" segment, and is asked if she would flaunt her Emmy on air.
"I'm going to put it right in the middle and we're going to make a little hat for it," Fey jokes.
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While Fey didn't make much of her gig as the first female head writer in SNL history and always downplayed the feat, SNL creator Lorne Michaels discussed why it had taken the show 25 years to have a female head writer.
"[We] just never found one that talented," Michaels joked, "I think there's always been strong women at the show...We only went really went to that title [of "head writer"] in the '90s, so it's relatively recent."
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Regardless of the importance of the achievement, Fey became one of the most hallowed presences on and behind SNL, and launched her comedy 30 Rock four years later.
While Tina Fey left the show in 2006, SNL has continued to garner Emmy nominations, and is this year vying for Outstanding Variety Series, which The Daily Show has won ten years in a row. A win for SNL would be the series' first since 1993.