2016 Launch Pad Alum Kristen Bartlett Joins SNL, Signs With Brillstein Entertainment (EXCLUSIVE)
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NBC
〉 Bartlett joins over 160 LP alums who have landed representation in just three years.
2016 Launch Pad alum Kristen Bartlett has been hired to write for Saturday Night Live ahead of the iconic variety show’s 42nd season premiere and has signed with manager Brandon Stein of Brillstein Entertainment Partners. Barlett, one of seven new writers who has been brought on board SNL this season, was a finalist in this year’s Launch Pad Pilots Competition with her original comedy pilot GILFS. As the Launch Pad Features Competition submission window enters its final week, Bartlett continues the tradition of writers who have seen their careers take off shortly after joining the ranks of the Launch Pad alumni.
Described as Broad City meets The Golden Girls, Bartlett’s pilot GILFs tells the story of a grandmother who, after her husband’s death, escapes her retirement community and moves with her best friend to New York to experience the wild youth she missed out on during her 50-year marriage.
Our Launch Pad judges praised Bartlett’s script as a wonderful marriage of the wild ride of youth with the idea that it’s never too late to start living. With two smartly crafted female leads navigating us through this emotionally charged, but distinctly quirky comedy, there is plenty in the script for everyone, and not a single laugh left unearned. Surrounding the two leads are a group of well-crafted supporting characters who enhance the fish-out-of-water tale and help us fall in love with the humor and the heart this show delivers for audiences of any age.
Bartlett joins Saturday Night Live as a freshman writer along with Joanna Bradley, Anna Drezen, Zack Bornstein, Julio Torres, and BriTANick duo Nick Kocher and Brian McElhaney. She’ll be working under newly promoted co-head writers Sarah Schneider and Chris Kelly with additional featured players Alex Moffat, Melissa Villaseñor, and Mikey Day.
Bartlett is a New York-based comedy writer and performer. Her writing has appeared on A Prairie Home Companion, MTV, Above Average, Splitsider, and Someecards. Her show The Dead Dads Club performed to sold out audiences at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre and at special engagements in Montreal and Los Angeles. The show was featured in Paste Magazine, The Village Voice, and on The Best Show with Tom Scharpling. Kristen writes and performs with house sketch teams at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre and with her own award-winning sketch team Bridge & Tunnel. On screen, Bartlett has been featured on Netflix Presents: The Characters and in the Hulu series Difficult People.
Congratulations Kristen! We can’t wait to watch SNL this season and see what you do next!
To see the complete list of finalists of our 2016 Launch Pad Pilot Competition click here. And don’t forget: the last day to submit to the 2016 Launch Pad Features Competition is on Wednesday, September 21!
Josh Lyons | Managing Editor
