Kate McKinnon’s 10 Best Movies And TV Shows

Kate McKinnon’s best movies and TV shows demonstrate that she is a phenomenal character actor. Though McKinnon is best known for being one of the women with the longest stints on Saturday Night Live, she is adept at more than sketch comedy. McKinnon’s career includes voice over work, dramas, scripted comedies, and more.

McKinnon is a versatile actor. While much of her talent is on full display in Saturday Night Live, that is often due to her ability to seamlessly slip into a role. She completely changes her voice and body language with each character she inhabits in the live comedy series, and that same care is given to characters in her other movie and TV roles. Her best movies and TV shows are ones where it appears the most effortless.

10

Leap (2017)

Kate McKinnon As Multiple Characters

Felice and VIctor dancing in Leap

Leap!

PG

Animation

Adventure

Comedy

Family

Cast

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    Maddie Ziegler

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    Dane DeHaan

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Release Date

December 14, 2016

Runtime

89 minutes

Director

Eric Summer, Éric Warin

Writers

Carol Noble, Laurent Zeitoun

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Leap is set in the late 19th century in France. The animated movie follows a young woman (Elle Fanning) who dreams of being a ballerina, but living in a poor orphanage does not give her the chance to train or learn from anyone. She and her best friend run away to Paris to pursue their dreams (he wants to be an inventor), and she gets the chance to attend a ballet school after taking another girl’s acceptance letter.

Multiple versions of the animated movie have been released around the world, largely due to different languages being incorporated in the movie. In the United States, Kate McKinnon was added to the voice cast, giving voice to multiple characters, including that of Mother Superior at the orphanage and the little girl’s mother in flashbacks. While McKinnon’s roles are relatively small compared to the principal cast members playing the children at the center of the story, her turn in the movie gives audiences a chance to hear her talented voice.

McKinnon is gifted at changing up her voice to suit her characters, not simply doing impressions of people the audience already knows. That allows her a great range of characters to portray in the animated world.

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9

The Magic School Bus Rides Again (2017-2021)

Kate McKinnon As Miss Fiona Frizzle

Fiona Frizzle driving the bus in Magic School Bus Rides Again with all of her students seated behind her

The Magic School Bus Rides Again

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The original Magic School Bus animated series aired in the ‘90s when the children’s education books were also published. That animated series has remained wildly popular among adults who grew up when the show was new, and that is a result of more than just fond memories. The series featured memorable characters, even if some of them played into stereotypes of the time, and was able to both entertain and educate audiences about things like the digestive system, underwater life, and recycling.

There have been plenty of calls to adapt the series, though usually into live-action, in the modern day. Netflix opted to revisit the series with Kate McKinnon voicing Fiona Miss Frizzle, the teacher whose magic school bus could take her students onto the most fantastical of field trips. One of the interesting aspects here is that Lily Tomlin still voices the original character, but McKinnon is voicing her younger sister as it is actually a sequel series. There were plenty of misconceptions about it being a reboot initially.

McKinnon is a worthy successor to Tomlin. She still has an air of mystery and intrigue and an enthusiasm for learning that Tomlin was always able to get across in the original show. The series acts as a great way to transition the franchise to the modern-day as well with episodes about climate change, renewable energy, and computer codes.

8

Bombshell (2019)

Kate McKinnon As Jess Carr

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Bombshell

R

Drama

Biography

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5/10

5/10

Release Date

December 20, 2019

Runtime

108 minutes

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Bombshell is inspired by the real story of sexual harassment by Robert Ailes of women at the Fox News network being brought to light. While not everything in the movie is completely in line with the facts, the timeline and some details have been changed to streamline the story for the screen. For example, Margot Robbie’s character is a fictional one, but one that has been created to be a composite of several of the real women who came forward.

McKinnon plays Jess Carr, and her character is also a fictional composite of several women who came forward. When promoting the movie, McKinnon repeatedly described the character as a “closeted liberal” and a “closeted lesbian,” which is part of what makes it hard for her character to fit in seamlessly in a conservative environment. McKinnon is able to sink into the character easily, which might be jarring for those who have only seen her in comedies.

Despite the mixed reviews the movie received for its accuracy, performances like those of Robbie and McKinnon were praised for being able to give a voice to women who were forced to remain anonymous.

Bombshell was nominated for three Oscars, winning one.

7

DC League of Super-Pets (2022)

Kate McKinnon As Lulu

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DC League of Super-Pets

8-10 years

Animation

Action

Adventure

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4/10

3.5/10

Release Date

July 29, 2022

Runtime

1h 45m

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DC’s Superpets are some of the most adorable characters in the comics, but they do not often make it to the big screen. Here, when Superman’s dog Krypto loses his powers thanks to ingesting a piece of Kryptonite, he recruits other shelter animals who have accidentally ended up with powers thanks to the experiments of Lulu.

Lulu is not a scientist, but is instead a guinea pig that Lex Luthor initially performed experiments on in his lab. She ends up with telekinesis and delusions of grandeur that make her the supervillain of the movie. That is who McKinnon brings a voice to. She is fantastic as an animal who should be a loving pet, but has repeatedly been betrayed and longs for power. It’s a really fun role for McKinnon, and it’s easy to want to see her in a live-action villain role after hearing her give Lulu her voice.

6

Yesterday (2019)

Kate McKinnon As Debra Hammer

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Yesterday

PG-13

Music

Fantasy

Comedy

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5/10

8/10

Release Date

June 28, 2019

Runtime

116 minutes

Cast

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    Kate McKinnon

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Yesterday examines a world that has changed drastically from the one the audience knows. Small changes, like one soft drink never existing, have large ramifications. The biggest though is the Beatles having never become a band. One person remembers the other world, and with his love for the Beatles, begins to bring their music into it, albeit as his own.

McKinnon plays a supporting role in the movie as a music manager. She appears as the manager to Ed Sheeran (who plays himself) initially, and she’s a smooth-talking wheeler and dealer. That’s made very clear as she quickly makes sure that Ed Sheeran’s new discovery is going to become her next big artist. While it’s hard to label McKinnon’s Debra as an outright villain here, she is ruthless in her quest for a money-maker, and when her plans are ruined, McKinnon gets to play that rage perfectly.

Split image of Ed Sheeran cameos feature

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5

Life Partners (2014)

Kate McKinnon As Trace

Leighton Meester and Kate McKinnon sitting awkwardly at a table in Life Partners

Life Partners

R

Comedy

Romance

Cast

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    Leighton Meester

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    Gillian Jacobs

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    Adam Brody​

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Simone Bailly

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Release Date

December 5, 2014

Runtime

95 minutes

Director

Susanna Fogel

Writers

Susanna Fogel, Joni Lefkowitz

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Leighton Meester is really the star of this lesser-known movie. It follows Meester’s Sasha and Gillian Jacobs’ Paige as the best friends dip their toes into very different online dating worlds. Paige dates men while Sasha dates women, and though Paige finds a successful match and pursues a committed relationship, Sasha drifts apart from her friend and struggles to find a woman she connects with. Though there are rom-com elements, at its core, the movie is about the friendship between the two women.

McKinnon appears in the movie as a woman who works on To Catch a Predator. She is one of the earliest matches Sasha has for a date, and it ends in spectacular disaster. McKinnon gets to play the role as incredibly blunt and off-putting. There’s no real connection between her and Sasha, and McKinnon’s approach to the role makes it easy to see why Sasha begins to get so frustrated in the movie.

4

Family (2018)

Kate McKinnon As Jill

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Family

R

Comedy

Release Date

August 19, 2018

Runtime

84 minutes

Cast

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    Pete

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    Taylor Schilling

    Kate

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    Bryn Vale

    Maddie

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    Allison Tolman

    Cheryl

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Family follows a woman named Kate (Taylor Schilling) who keeps her family and her coworkers at arm’s length. She is determined to focus on her career, but when her brother calls and needs a place for his daughter to stay while he helps his wife set her ailing mother up in hospice care, she accepts. Her niece is a bullied misfit and Kate finds a kindred spirit in her, loosening up and finding new ways to connect with people as they bond.

McKinnon is a supporting character in the movie, but not a member of the titular family. Instead, she is a mom who lives in the same neighborhood, one who initially attempts to befriend Kate, only to turn on her and deem her a bad parental figure. Jill is a symbol of so many parents who believe they are well-meaning, but become judgmental when other parents do not do things exactly the way they should be done. McKinnon gets to be angry and vindictive here without pulling focus from the overall story, and it’s one of her best supporting roles.

3

Ghostbusters (2016)

Kate McKinnon As Dr. Jillian Holtzman

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Ghostbusters

PG-13

Action

Fantasy

Comedy

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8/10

7/10

Release Date

July 14, 2016

Runtime

117 minutes

Cast

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…an underrated addition to the franchise.

Ghostbusters had a lot going against it before it even made it to the screen. Fans of the original movies were not keen on seeing a new movie that was not set in the same universe as the originals. There were also those who were unhappy with the cast being primarily women, despite those women being the likes of Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon, all comedy veterans.

McKinnon plays an engineering physicist who helps hunt down ghosts and create traps for them. She is also, quite possibly, the quirkiest member of the ensemble. McKinnon is happily hamming it up in just about any scene she appears, from licking her tools to throwing her legs up on the table to surprise the others in the scene. She proves herself a gifted comic and well aware of how her body language can be used to tell the character’s story.

The movie was judged for an uneven script, but it’s hard to fault McKinnon for giving the movie her all. She is hilarious in the role and 2016’s Ghostbusters is definitely an underrated addition to the franchise.

2

Barbie (2023)

Kate McKinnon As Weird Barbie

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Barbie

PG-13

Comedy

Adventure

Fantasy

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9/10

12

7.9/10

Release Date

July 21, 2023

Runtime

114 Minutes

Cast

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    Ryan Gosling

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McKinnon steals her scenes in Barbie, scenery chewing with the best of them.

Margo Robbie might have gotten the most attention for playing the stereotypical Barbie having an existential crisis during Barbie, but there is a huge ensemble of Barbies backing her up. One of those Barbies that gets a larger role in the movie is Kate McKinnon’s Weird Barbie.

Weird Barbie is one that has been played with just a little too hard by a child. She has drawings all over her, chopped off hair, clothing that does not quite fit her, and she lives apart from the other Barbies, shunned because she does not quite fit in. She has an eccentric approach to life, but she is also wise, and McKinnon plays up those qualities, imparting lines that seem intelligent while making sure her body language is completely unnerving.

McKinnon steals her scenes in Barbie, scenery chewing with the best of them.

Still from Barbie (2023)

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Saturday Night Live (2012-2022)

Kate McKinnon As Various Characters

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Saturday Night Live

TV-14

Comedy

News

Music

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8/10

62

7.8/10

Release Date

October 11, 1975

Network

NBC

Cast

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    A. Whitney Brown

    Self

  • Headshot Of Adam McKay

    Adam McKay

    Self / Various

Showrunner

Lorne Michaels

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Saturday Night Live is the longest-running sketch comedy series in the United States. It features comedians, actors, and those formerly of improv troupes who offer great send-ups of pop culture and the skewering of other celebrities. They’re accompanied by a celebrity host every week, and the cast has taken on a lot of new members over the years, but Kate McKinnon is one of the most memorable.

McKinnon has proven herself adept at impersonations as she has taken on roles of political figures like Hillary Clinton and Kellyanne Conway in sketches. She has also, perhaps surprisingly, played Justin Bieber. Her versatility and willingness to pursue physical comedy in a role is part of what makes her appearance in sketches so great.

McKinnon returned to host SNL in 2023 after leaving the series in 2022.

She is also someone who never seems shy about trying to make the others in a scene break character. Her appearances in the “Close Encounters” sketches, in which a support group of UFO abductees tell their stories, are known for making the other actors break character. She was a riot during her time on SNL and the TV series remains Kate McKinnon’s best.

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