When Melissa Villaseñor came back home after wrapping her sixth and final season on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” friends and family almost immediately asked “What’s next?”
“That’s not enough?” she laughed.
Still, the talented comedienne took their question to heart and got right back to work after leaving the late night program.
Now, fans can see the fruits of Villaseñor’s labor.
On Tuesday, April 25, she’ll be appearing on NBC’s “Night Court” as Gabby, a mirror character to Melissa Rauch’s Abby.
“I think both of us are pretty positive, joyful. Melissas,” Villaseñor said over Zoom. “I had a really good time the whole week we filmed.”
But that’s not all.
Villaseñor is also embarking on her nationwide ‘New Things Tour’ gearing herself up for her eventual special “More Melissa” — named after what commenters would write online after watching ‘SNL’ — and a possible sitcom she’s developing.
What can fans expect if they see Villaseñor live this year?
“My stand up is about myself,” she shared. “There’s impressions, but it’s not famous people. It’s people around me, my family, so there’s always a lot of voices.”
To be fair, there are a few celebrities in the act.
“I’m bringing back J-Lo. Ash Ketchum from Pokémon and Pikachu and Schwarzenegger. They’re all very silly, but tied of my life in some way,” she said.
More than anything, the material really is more Melissa — more personal, more honest, more of a showcase of her skills set.
“It’s more my story, more my point of view, more voices, more singing. It’s everything. There are no rules.”
Plus, she may even surprise you at a show.
“My journey has been positive but I have a lot of new bits that are on the darker, meaner side that I don’t usually get to reveal.”
She won’t get too crazy though.
“(The jokes) aren’t even that mean but I think the crowd really loves it because they’re like, ‘Whoa, we didn’t expect that.'”
Want to see more Melissa than ever before?
Keep reading.
We’ve got everything you need to know and more below.
Melissa Villaseñor 2023 tour schedule
A complete calendar including all of Villaseñor’s tour dates, venues and links to buy tickets can be found below.
Melissa’s time at ‘Saturday Night Live’
As major SNL nerds, we couldn’t help but ask Melissa a few questions about her six seasons on the show.
Here’s what she had to say.
New York Post: Are there any sketches that got cut at dress you’re especially bummed the world never got to see?
Melissa: My impression of Sebastian Maniscalco. I did him twice at dress rehearsal. There was one where I was him on a ‘Family Feud,’ and it did really well but sometimes it doesn’t work out. Maybe the host doesn’t like their piece or you don’t know the reason.
There are also a few comedy songs I wrote for SNL that didn’t get picked for music videos so I’m trying to figure out a way to make those happen for the live show because they’re so fun.
NYP: Did you ever do another installment of your dirty talk character you did with Aziz Ansari and Donald Glover?
Melissa: Sort of. There was a table read with Oscar Isaac because he really liked that one but it didn’t pan out.
Those sketches were written by Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell. They always joked “Melissa can’t talk dirty.”
NYP: What do you think of this season thus far?
Melissa: I think it’s great. It makes me happy to see everyone get more screen time too. They’re really spreading their wings with their ideas now.
NYP: Which writers did you appreciate most in your time there?
Melissa: I really enjoyed working with my friend Steven Castillo. We wrote for a few years together on things like the Nickelback sketch from a few years back. I liked working with Andrew Dismukes and Ben Silva the last season too.
Silva helped me write my Cesar character and the Peek at Pico “that’s so sad” sketch.
NYP: What do you see after the 50th season happening now?
I have no clue. It’s a mystery. It’s a mystery, yeah.
Even if I was there, it’d be a mystery. No one knows anything, really.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
SNL stars on tour in 2023
Melissa isn’t the only cast member out and about this year.
Here are just five fellow Not Ready For Primetime Players that you can catch at a venue near you these next few months.
Who else is on the road from “SNL?” Check out our list of all 31 “SNL” alumni on tour in 2023 here.