History of Saturday Night Live (2005–2010)  "Saturday Night Live" is an American sketch comedy series created and produced by Lorne Michaels for most of the show's run. The show has aired on NBC since 1975. "Saturday Night Live" promised changes for the 2005–06 season, one of which was broadcasting in high-definition. Lorne Michaels added four new featured players: Andy Samberg, Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig (partway through the season), and Jason Sudeikis, who was added for the last three episodes of the previous season. Hader quickly became popular for his impersonations, such as Vincent Price, Lindsey Buckingham, Al Pacino, Alan Alda, James Carville, John Boehner, Julian Assange, and many others. Hader also created multiple signature characters. These characters included New York City correspondent Stefon, Italian talk show host Vinny Vedecci, and Hollywood gossip reporter Brady Trunk as well as many others. Hired along with Samberg were his longtime friends and The Lonely Island collaborators Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer, who joined the writing staff. The three would create a new "SNL" mainstay feature in the SNL Digital Shorts, the most popular being "Lazy Sunday". Wiig, who first appeared when Jason Lee hosted, gained popularity with impersonations of Drew Barrymore, Felicity Huffman and Megan Mullally, also creating memorable characters such as the Two A-Holes (with Sudeikis) and Target Lady. Lorne Michaels extended her contract until the 2009–10 season (though she wouldn't officially leave the show until the 2011–12 season). Leaving after this season were Rachel Dratch and Tina Fey, who had committed to working on Fey's new sitcom "30 Rock", as well as Horatio Sanz, Finesse Mitchell, and Chris Parnell, who were let go due to budget cuts. Fey had missed several episodes early in the season while on maternity leave, as had Maya Rudolph. Horatio Sanz took Fey's place on Weekend Update while she was away. This season featured the first former female cast member as a host. Julia Louis-Dreyfus, a cast member from 1982 to 1985, hosted in May 2006. The opening montage for the 2005 season was identical to that of the 2004 season, except for several minor variations. The names were displayed in a different font. The montage was also produced in widescreen and high definition.