While Will Farrell is allowed to make mediocre comedy after mediocre comedy, Jan Hooks hasn't worked since 2004. Yes, SNL has launched the careers of countless male superstars, but what has it done for the women? Pretty much bubkas. There are a few notable exceptions—Tina Fey, Gilda Radner, Amy Poehler, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, for instance—but whither Ellen Cleghorne, Victoria Jackson, and Julia Sweeney? From the show's original cast, Jane Curtin may have gone on to several sitcoms, but Laraine Newman has been doing little more than guest spots and voice work for the better part of the decade.

Luckily Ana Gasteyer and Christine Ebersole went on to find steady work on Broadway, but that's kind of like being the chastest girl at a Sex-aholics Anonymous meeting. Why can Jimmy Fallon get his own late-night talk show, when Nora Dunn and Cheri Oteri are at home waiting by their phones? And for every Janeane Garofalo — who fled 30 Rock after one season, allowing her to escape with her career intact — a dozen Siobhan Fallones or Mary Grosses float out of sight. Maybe they should have taken the Maya Rudolph route and married a hipster director and done a drama. Now people are talking about how she's an "actress" instead of a comedian.

And it's not that these women aren't funny; they did scale to the very pinnacle of their trade by earning their places on the show. Hollywood doesn't know what to do with funny women. After all, it would rather have an attractive but bland actress playing the female lead on a sitcom rather than someone who has actual comedic timing. Look at who is starring in this season's romantic comedies: Amy Adams, Sandra Bullock and Jennifer Aniston, three ladies who never let themselves get pigeon-holed as "funny."

Don't worry, Casey and Michaela, just remember that there was a little girl named Sarah Silverman who got fired from SNL after one season too. She went out there and did her own thing, and in the end talent won out, and now she has her own show on basic cable! Look at how far you can go!

Her brief Rachael Ray impression (video below, warning: bad quality) was amusing. So was that kind of bizarre paraplegic stripper skit she had early last season. But other than that... Well, it's mostly been the straight woman to Wiig's or the boys' wacky! characters. Maybe now that Poehler is gone, she'll get a chance to shine, thus getting more comfortable. Right now she just seems a bit stilted, a bit awkward. She's trying too hard. She needs to rein it in from the stage to fit the television. Also, she cowrote the upcoming Kate Hudson movie Bride Wars, which we're sorta counting as a knock against her (except, you know, good job selling a script, Casey. Hope you bought something nice.)

But! She has a nice face and gave the wicked Sarah Palin a big ol' hug at the curtain call a coupla weeks back, so maybe she's a nice person, too. Now let her be funny! I mean, she got on the show, right? That must mean something! Though, Finesse Mitchell and Jim Breuer got on the show at various points, too. And we all know how well that worked out.

It looks like it's now or never, Casey. Go buy the writers a round of drinks.

Does anyone know her from her UCB days? Was she funny then?

MM: How did you wind up on SNL?
CW: I always wanted to be on the show since I was little and I couldn't audition for the past couple years because I was under contract with other pilots and stuff. Basically I just said to my managers and agents that I really wanted to audition, and I admit that I had to say that a couple times (laughs) but, then I put together a tape. My roommate was very helpful. I just did a ten character tape... it was pretty low budg... I sent it in and I was waiting to hear, I heard they kind of liked it and I knew they were looking for women but the strike was going on so it was kind of weird timing. In December, they called and said Lorne [Michaels] wants to meet with you. In January, they flew me out for auditions. I was practicing at UCB, and I had kind of emailed with [cast members] Amy Poehler and Kristen Wiig about kind of what it would be like. Amy is obviously the head of UCB and an idol of mine, essentially. Then, three weeks later, Lorne flew out to LA for something and he told me then.

MM: Tina Fey is hosting this week, which must be really huge for you. What can we expect from the show?
CW: Well, one thing that's fun is that, you'll see, I think, hopefully they don't get cut... A lot of uhhh ... lady sketches. A lot of things with all the gals in it, which is really really fun. Basically, my mind is completely being blown that I'm getting to do something with Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Kristen Wiig, who are in my mind the absolute funniest women in comedy right now. I don't know where or why it's ended up that I'm allowed to act with them, but I am having so much fun.

Lady sketches, you say? Sounds saucy! With reports circulating that this will be both Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph's last season on the show, we're just as glad to see that Lorne is committed to putting more fresh female performers on the show as we are to see Casey Wilson's debut. Don't forget, SNL returns tomorrow night, February 23, with host Tina Fey and musical guest Carrie Underwood.

• Saturday Night Live [NBC]