The twenty-second season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between September 28, 1996, and May 17, 1997. This season is notable for the host selection. Seven of the twenty hosts were former cast members. They included Dana Carvey, Robert Downey, Jr., Phil Hartman, Chris Rock, Martin Short, Chevy Chase and Mike Myers. This would mark Chase's final time hosting before getting banned (returning much later for numerous guest appearances). Many changes happened before the start of the season. David Koechner and Nancy Walls were both let go after one season with the show. David Spade left the show on his own terms. Ana Gasteyer and Tracy Morgan were hired to replace Koechner and Walls. Gasteyer and Morgan would both go on to have long tenures on the show. Chris Kattan was promoted to repertory status while Fred Wolf stayed as a featured player. This would be the final season for Mark McKinney and Fred Wolf. Wolf would leave his position as featured player and co-head writer after the season's first three episodes.