In 2000, Richards became a featured player in the cast of "MADtv", appearing in 3 episodes of the show's 6th season. The following year Richards joined the cast of "Saturday Night Live" during its 27th season, making him the first person to be a cast-member of both sketch comedy shows (Taran Killam would later become the only other performer to do so). Richards was promoted to repertory status for "SNL"'s 29th season although he left the show after the 10th episode, which aired on January 17, 2004. In interviews, Richards has stated that he left the show on his own terms.