'Saturday Night Live' casts Sasheer Zamata after 5 years without a black female cast member on NBC's SNL [VIDEO]

After about five years and almost a year of complaints from viewers and some cast members, Saturday Night Live has cast an African American female actress for the upcoming 2014 episodes. Later this month with host and musical guest Drake, New York City comedienne Sasheer Zamata will make her SNL debut! Keep reading to find out more about the newest cast member!

Deadline reports:

Zamata, who trained at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York, becomes the first black female Saturday Night Live cast member in five years since the departure of Maya Rudolph. The lack of female black performers on the show stirred a debate last fall while SNL boss Lorne Michaels had been quietly conducting a talent search. Several dozen actresses were seen in multiple cities. Zamata, whose name had been floated as a suitable SNL candidate before, was among 12 who received callbacks and were invited to test on the SNL stage on December 16. She will now be a featured player on the show that has launched the careers of a slew of young comedians.

Check out this sample of Zamata's work thanks to YouTube:

You can see more of Zamata's work by heading over to her official Facebook page and checking out her posts!

Sasheer is the answer to countless critics asking why SNL hasn't had a black female in the cast since Maya Rudolph, but that long chapter is over it seems. Tune in to Saturday Night Live on January 18, 2014, to see Zamata's debut alongside host and musical guest Drake!