After 6 Seasons, Chloe Fineman Compares ‘SNL’ to a ‘Buddhist Exercise’

Chloe Fineman has a surprising way of describing her years on Saturday Night Live.

The sketch comedian and impressionist first joined the cast of NBC’s iconic late-night sketch comedy show in 2019. Many of her impressions of well-known celebrities — such as Timothée Chalamet, Jojo Siwa and Jennifer Coolidge — went viral and cemented her place on the show. Before SNL, she was performing in various sketch comedy groups at The Groundlings and at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Los Angeles.

On Wednesday, the actress spoke with Bustle and opened up about various topics such as being friends with Lindsay Lohan, rejected sketch ideas she cannot stop pitching and her favorite memory during SNL 50, the show’s star-studded 50th anniversary show that took place in February of this year.

Towards the end of the article, the 37-year-old also admitted the biggest lesson she has learned so far during her time on the show.

“It’s this weird show where every Monday, you get to start over. There’s something really Zen about it,” Fineman explained. “It’s like a Buddhist exercise: You do this thing, and then it’s all forgotten.”

How a week at SNL works is on Mondays, a meeting happens in executive producer Lorne Michaels’ office, where the cast, crew and writers can meet the host and pitch their sketch ideas. On Tuesdays, the writers and cast spend the entire day drafting sketches. Then, on Wednesday, a big table read takes place, where all of the sketches written from Tuesday are read aloud. Out of the 40–60 sketches presented, Michaels and the head writers typically select 10–12 to rehearse.

Thursday and Friday are devoted to rehearsals, blocking and building props and costumes, then Saturday culminates in the live taping of the show. Then, the entire process begins again the next week with a new host, musical guest and sketches.

“The people who I look up to on the show are always reinventing themselves,” Fineman said. “You don’t have to know it all. But SNL is a special place that really allows you to learn and challenge yourself.”

The cast for its 51st season was established on Sunday, with everyone returning except Heidi Gardner, Michael Longfellow, Devon Walker and Emil Wakim. In addition, Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson, Veronika Slowikowska and Ben Marshall of the comedy trio Please Don’t Destroy will be joining the cast as featured players.

Thanks to her success on SNL, Fineman has also been able to branch out into acting in other TV shows and movies. In 2021, she played Sylvia Plath in the Apple TV+ series Dickinson and made her film debut in 2022 in the Father of the Bride remake for HBO.

In 2024, she appeared in Francis Ford Coppola’s science-fiction film Megalopolis as Clodia Pulcher. This year, she made a cameo in Freakier Friday, the sequel to the hit 2003 film Freaky Friday,and starred in Hulu’s Summer of 69, which came out in May.

Though NBC has not announced when the premiere of Season 51 will be, the show takes a summer hiatus before returning in late September or early October. Fans can watch Fineman and previous seasons of SNL on Peacock.

This story was originally reported by Parade on Sep 12, 2025, where it first appeared in the TV section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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