<Li> Melissa Villaseñor (joined 2016) </Li> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> ⱡ denotes Weekend Update anchor </Td> </Tr> <P> The cast were often contracted from anywhere between five and six years to the show, but starting with the 1999--2000 season, new hires were tied to a rewritten contract that allowed NBC to take a cast member in at least their second year and put them in an NBC sitcom . Cast are given the option of rejecting the first two sitcom offers but must accept the third offer, with the sitcom contract length dictated by NBC and potentially lasting up to six years . The move drew criticism from talent agents and managers who believed that a cast member could be locked into a contract with NBC for twelve years; six on SNL and then six on a sitcom . The contract also optioned the cast member for three feature films produced by SNL Films, a company owned by NBC, Paramount Pictures, and Michaels . The new contracts were reportedly developed after many previously unknown cast, such as Myers and Sandler, gained fame on SNL only to leave and make money for other studios . In a 2010 interview, Wiig was reported to be contracted to SNL for a total of seven years . The contracts also contain a network option which allows NBC to remove a cast member at any time . In the first season of the show, cast were paid $750 per episode, rising to $2,000 by season two, and $4,000 by season four . By the late 1990s, new cast members received a salary between $5,000 and $5,500 per episode, increasing to $6,000 in the second year and up to $12,500 for a cast member in their fifth year . Performers could earn an additional $1,500 per episode for writing a sketch which made it to air . In 2001, Ferrell became the highest paid cast member, being paid $350,000 per season (approximately $17,500 per episode). In 2014, Sasheer Zamata was added as a cast member in mid-season after criticism of the show's lack of an African - American woman . </P> <P> As of the 2017--18 season, Michael Che, Colin Jost, Bryan Tucker and Kent Sublette are the show's co-head writers . Jost had been a writer since 2005, and was a head writer from 2012 to 2015 before being renamed head writer . Michael Che has been a writer since 2013, he temporarily left the show in the summer of 2014, but he came back that fall to anchor Update and reclaimed his status as writer . </P>

Who is the highest paid snl cast member