Brandon Tartikoff wanted to cancel the show due to poor ratings but Lorne Michaels convinced him that he could improve the show for the following season. This episode ends with a sketch in which the entire cast is trapped in a fire set by Billy Martin (with the exception of Jon Lovitz who is rescued by Michaels). Damon Wayans, who was fired earlier in the season, was allowed to return to perform stand-up and appear in the final sketch. A caption reads "Who Will Survive? Who Will Perish?" Tune in October 11th". All the names in the closing credits have question marks after them. Lovitz, Dennis Miller, Nora Dunn and A. Whitney Brown are the only cast members to return the next season.
This season has only 18 episodes instead of the usual 20. The show's season got off to a late start as Lorne Michaels needed more time to assemble his new cast.