Tag: saturday night live

Lizzo sings “Someday at Christmas,” Austin Butler serenades with “Blue Christmas” as Cecily Strong bids Saturday Night Live farewell

The Christmas episode of Saturday Night Live brought together Elvis (Austin Butler) and Lizzo for a remarkable show that saw long-time cast member Cecily Strong bidding the late-night institution farewell. Lizzo filled in for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, who were originally scheduled to perform, but had to back out due to illness.

The cold open was a send up of an NFT scam put forth by the 45th president this past week, played much more comically than Alec Baldwin by James Austin Johnson.

Butler’s monologue recalled that the 2021 Christmas episode was mostly cast-free due to surging COVID infection rates. Butler spoke about growing up in Anaheim, CA, being home schooled by his mom, alongside his sister (who he wished a happy birthday to in the balcony). Talking about how his mother helped him break out of his shell of shyness, and how they watched Saturday Night Live together, Butler teared up in paying tribute to her memory and credited his acting career to her. Austin Butler made his Broadway debut in the 2018 revival of The Iceman Cometh and received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Elvis.

Sketches including a rip-off of Wheel of Fortune “The Phrase That Pays” was a deeply weird SNL game show concept, as was the the It’s a Wonderful Life spoof “A Christmas Epiphany,” where the viewpoint of an ideal family inside a house being observed by a voyeur was a fresh twist on the holiday classic.

On the rise featured player Sarah Sherman made a stand out appearance as Jewish Elvis, with Austin Butler in the front row in drag as one of the old women who get overly-stimulated by the Semetic singer.

Lizzo, who hosted in April, performed her first song “Break Up Twice” with a setting paying homage to artist Annie Lee’s Blue Monday. Lizzo, in white negligee, is seen sitting on the edge of the bed, having just woken up, exhausted but ready to press ahead with the day. Then, belting out the seventh track on her 2022 release Special, Lizzo stepped forward to reveal the full band, singing about a man who left her in tears but whom she does not want to leave, referencing her relationship with Myke Wright.

“Break Up Twice” had Lizzo singing direct to the camera and lit in white while the band was lit in blue, with notable samples of “Doo Wop (That Thing)” by Lauryn Hill and Judy Clay and William Bell’s “Private Number” found throughout.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnvPKUUueFc&list=PLS_gQd8UB-hJ4H8PK-BjG8jwVyBVEzZuO&index=7

Weekend Update saw the final appearance for Cecily Strong’s desheveled Cathy Anne, who joked about having to go to prison. Making slightly-cringe conversation with Michael Che, Cathy Anne switched back to Cecily Strong, breaking character to say, “I had a lot of fun here and I feel really lucky that I got to have so many of the best moments of my life in this place with these people that I love so much.”

Lizzo’s second performance found her covering Stevie Wonder’s 1967 holiday classic “Someday at Christmas,” dressed in a half silver, half gold angel dress, wrapped up like a shiny gift. The track is among those featured on Amazon Music, with musicians offering classic covers of Christmas songs. Lizzo said of the song “I chose to cover ‘Someday At Christmas’ not just because it’s a classic, but because it’s a reminder to us that almost 60 years later, we are still fighting for peace, compassion, and equality, a friendly reminder to spread love and kindness this holiday season.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJjTRUCfZ7c&list=PLS_gQd8UB-hJ4H8PK-BjG8jwVyBVEzZuO&index=10

For the finale, Kenan Thompson (as Frank Lasagna) introduced Cecily on her last day working at Radio Shack, noting her 11 year run and giving a heartfelt ode to her longevity on the show, fitting, coming from the show’s longest running cast member.

Butler then appeared as “Casual Elvis” to serenade Strong with Elvis Presley’s “Blue Christmas” as Strong smiled and choked up, with Thompson’s final lyrics altered to “You’ll be doing alright, every saturday night” for the finale, as the cast joined in on stage for the end of the tribute.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvTmjdhBRVs&list=PLS_gQd8UB-hJ4H8PK-BjG8jwVyBVEzZuO&index=17

Saturday Night Live returns in January 2023.

December 18, 2022
20 Years Later: Phish perform on Saturday Night Live

On December 14, 2002, Phish made their first – and to date – only appearance as the musical guest on NBC’s Saturday Night Live. The band performed two songs and even got involved in one of the sketches. An animated segment also featured the use of their seminal tune “You Enjoy Myself.” Here’s a look back at what transpired on TV 20 years ago today.

The episode was hosted by Al Gore, who just two years and a day removed from conceding the 2000 election. It was a rare instance of a politician hosting SNL, joining Ralph Nader (1977), Jesse Jackson and George McGovern (both in 1984), Steve Forbes (1996), then-NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani (1997), John McCain (2002), Al Sharpton (2003) and Donald Trump (2015).

After a couple political sketches/segments featuring Gore – “Hardball” and “Gore Goes Inside ‘The West Wing,’” Phish joined in the fun with Jimmy Fallon and Horatio Sanz on a semi-popular segment called “Jarret’s Room.” Set at Hamphire College in Amherst, MA, Jarret (Fallon) immediately expressed excitement for having acquired two tickets to Phish’s then-upcoming reunion show at Madison Square Garden on December 31, 2002. Gobi (Sanz) joins in, dressed as Santa (and is that Seth Meyers in a gimp outfit?), as does Gore as their professor Dr. Ralph Wormley Curtis, who is there to address their absence from class.

Another knock at the door reveals the four members of Phish joining in, with Trey Anastasio explaining “We were just driving through on the tour bus, thought we’d stop by, we love the show” but is corrected by Page McConnell that they actually had hit Gobi and came on the show in case he threatened to sue. It then becomes clear that the stoner Gobi mistook Anastasio for Chuck Norris.

Gore’s Dr. Curtis chimes in, regarding his tenure at UVM, giving them the same advice as before, “Get a job you damn dirty hippies.” Phish then agreed to play a song with Jarret and Gobi, who was introduced as Zamfbeer, master of the beer flute. All seven then joined together singing “Contact” for a moment before signing off.

Phish would perform the traditional two songs this evening, starting with the then new (and yet to be performed live in concert), “46 Days” off Round Room which was released just four days prior. Only alloted about four minutes for a song, the straight rocker fit well in the moment and best choice from the album. They would perform “Chalkdust Torture” in the second slot, giving a slightly accelerated take on a classic late-in-the-show performance, and at a record clip of three and a half minutes. (watch below)

The animated portion of the episode titled “TV Funhouse” made prominent use of “You Enjoy Myself” in a spoof of the Charlie Brown Christmas special where waving hands in the air improved everything, including Schroeder playing piano with Pigpen on bass, turning into Phish and segments of “You Enjoy Myself.”

Watch the full of episode of Saturday Night Live with Al Gore and musical guest Phish on Peacock, Internet Archive, or below.

December 14, 2022
Steve Martin and Martin Short Co-host SNL This Week, With Musical Guest Brandi Carlile

This week’s episode of Saturday Night Live features SNL veterans Steve Martin and Martin Short co-hosting, with musical guest, singer-songwriter, Brandi Carlile.

The cold open features Kenan Thompson, Cecily Strong, Ego Nwodim, Bowen Yang, and Sarah Sherman sharing how they keep their cool during the holiday season. They sing a jingle about current events happening in the world, including Elon Musk buying Twitter, Kanye West’s antisemitic comments, and the unexpected album drop from convicted pedophile R. Kelly.

The monologue saw Martin Short and Steve Martin talking about how many times they have hosted in a montage video, with Martin hosting an incredible 16 times, and Short comically having hosted only three times, including this evening. They joked about how nostalgic it felt to be back and meet the new cast. Martin and Short are celebrating the third season of their Hulu show Only Murders in the Building as well. The two also jokingly read about what each other’s eulogies would be. Selena Gomez made a guest appearance at the end of the monologue.

The first sketch features Short and Martin premiering on a spin-off of a scientific PBS Kids TV show. The two use cast members Cecily Strong and Mikey Day as kids helping out in demonstrating different scientific scenarios, but they are comically unhelpful and make obscene jokes. Both Martin and Short become increasingly frustrated at the kids, and the segment cuts out.

The next sketch features the SNL writing room. They are making fun of a cast member’s ex and saying she smelled bad, and more. The funny joke is that they got back together, and she was in the room, with the family members seeing them talking badly about the ex. Martin and Short show up, and as the two cast members try to get themselves out of it, it keeps progressing.

Another holiday-themed sketch follows, taking place on a train ride. Martin Short and Steve Martin, along with Cecily Strong and Kenan Thompson are sitting in a booth together. They break out into a song and dance about snow, wanting to see it and be in it, having not experienced it before. The sketch takes a turn, where Strong, Martin, and Short turn into bears, hibernating through the snow.

The next sketch features Martin as Santa and Short as an elf named Sprinkles. He is short-tempered and yells at each child as they try to tell Santa what they want. Following is a sketch about A Christmas Carol, with Short being The Scrooge. He comically blinds an orphan trying to give him money. Martin, being the Spirit or Christmas Present, also blinds people when throwing coins, even accidentally stabbing someone.

Brandi Carlile recently released a deluxe record titled In The Canyon Haze. This isn’t Carlile’s first time performing on SNL, having been featured as a guest earlier in the year. She will be opening for P!nk at Citi Field on Aug. 3, and tickets are on sale here. She carried a lot of energy in her performance of her song “The Story” dressed in a festive suit. Her unique and powerful vocals shine as she smiles at the audience several times.

https://youtu.be/CpNqR-ff_TQ

Weekend Update with Colin Jost and Michael Che talked about the political race, including Herschel Walker losing the election, with the audience clapping. They made a lot of jokes about Brittney Griner being released from prison as well as talking about the World Cup finals.

The next sketch features Short as Minky Carmichael on a show, teaching women how to treat their men. It gets funny as Cecily Strong makes fun of him, and humiliates him on the show. Brandi Carlile came back out, in a different black and blue outfit. She is singing a much chiller song, “You and Me on the Rock ft. Lucius” with the same powerful and beautiful vocals.

https://youtu.be/-sEbBaXMImY

The final sketch is a Father of the Bride spinoff, featuring Martin and Heidi Gardner as his daughter, celebrating her eighth wedding, with Short being a wedding planner. Kieran Culkin makes a guest appearance, as he was in the original movie along with Martin and Short. Selena Gomez also makes an appearance as the wedding singer.

Next week’s Saturday Night Live show features Austin Butler hosting, with musical guest Lizzo.

December 11, 2022
Dave Chappelle Hosts Post-Election SNL Show with Musical Guests Black Star

Dave Chappelle hosted his third post-election Saturday Night Live show on November 12, with musical guest Black Star, who has worked with and performed alongside Chappelle over the years.

Mary Ellen Matthews/NBC

The cold open started with a spoof on Fox News with Fox & Friends, featuring news anchors played by Heidi Gardner, Mikey Day, and Bowen Yang. They interviewed Republican candidate Kari Lake (Cecily Strong) about the election fraud, and how when Lake was winning, she was happy, and when she was losing, she was saying it was fraudulent, much like a lot of Republican candidates. The cold open also had an interview with Trump (James Austin Johnson) about his endorsements of candidates that lost.

In his opening monologue, Dave Chappelle spoke against Kanye West’s antisemitic tweets and West’s hatred of Jewish people. He joked about Jewish culture as well but did it in a tasteful and non-offensive matter. Chappelle also spoke about the midterm elections, and how “ominous” they were and called Herschel Walker “observably stupid.” He also spoke about the ongoing Russia and Ukraine conflict.

https://youtu.be/_m-gO0HSCYk

The next sketch featured the show “P.M. in the Afternoon” with Dave Chapelle as Willy T. Hawkins, talking about his new album My Potato Hole. The rest of the anchors made cringy jokes about the potato hole, and the meaning of the word was revealed as a food hole slaves had, making it very awkward.

Chappelle came back out to talk about House of the Dragon and the black characters on the show, and also showed a parody video of the show, with Chappelle featured in the sketch as characters from Chappelle Show. The next sketch featured Chappelle in a barber shop, with Kenan Thompson, Ego Nwodim, Punkie Johnson, Michael Longfellow, and Devon Walker, poking fun at Kanye West, and the election, featuring the awkwardness of a white barber (Longfellow) trying to comment on race issues.

New York-based hip-hop duo Black Star (Talib Kweli and Yasiin Bey) were the musical guest tonight, making their SNL debut. They just released their highly-anticipated album No Fear of Time – their first in nearly 24 years. Chappelle introduced them as “Brooklyn’s finest.” The group was confident, rapping about the issues facing the black community today in the song “So be it.” Behind the group was a photo with lyrics so people can understand what they are rapping about. Madlib, who produced all the beats on the new record, was DJing behind the group.

https://youtu.be/rCIJrpcpWdg

Weekend Update with Colin Jost and Michael Che focused on the midterm elections. Jost joked about how polling places are run by old people. Che joked about Biden running for President in the 2024 election despite his old age and also joked about the new female governors. Candidate Jose Suarez (Marcello Hernández) spoke about his campaign and that “everything is basically fine.” He also joked about how people complain about too much today despite the hard issues in other countries. Cast member Sarah Sherman was featured on the show as well, joking about herself in a sketch called “Sarah News.”

Dave Chappelle came back out to introduce the next sketch, saying he was too old to do it and needed to rest. The sketch was called “Black Heaven” and the God figure, who was supposed to be Chappelle, is comedically played by a white actor. Chappelle was off-screen smoking, and laughing with other people. The sketch focused on stereotypes in the black community.

The second performance by Black Star was much chiller, with a different photo in the background and no lyrics. The song, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing,” speaks about white supremacy and guns. The group will be playing a special show at Sony Hall in NYC on Nov. 15, with tickets on sale here.

https://youtu.be/UKY8J8z0mlo

There was another sketch about Election Night, with newcomer Molly Kearney becoming Ohio’s Attorney General after a drunk tweet. Chappelle ended the show by mentioning Migos rapper Takeoff (Kirshnik Khari Ball), who had performed on SNL in 2018 and was tragically shot and killed on Nov. 1.

During the episode, it was announced that Keke Palmer will be hosting the Dec. 3 show, with musical guest SZA.

November 13, 2022
Watch Steve Lacy Perform “Bad Habit” and “Helmet” in SNL Debut

With just a few days before Election Day, Amy Schumer hosted Saturday Night Live with musical guest Steve Lacy making his SNL debut.

Opening with a satire of President Biden’s speech on democracy from earlier this week, James Austin Johnson as Biden brought up a cavalcade of ‘new’ Democratic candidates meant to appeal to younger voters, among them, Marianne Williamson, Guy Fieri, the guy from 6ix9ine, Azaliea Banks, and Tracy Morgan (Keenan Thompson).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXN3Q_ANckc&list=PLS_gQd8UB-hLzQQhvOY-wX2LNQPFTHSm4&index=2

Amy Schumer used her monologue for a few minutes of standup where she riffed about childbirth and her husband being diagnosed with autism as an adult.

Hitting home for many who have dealt with COVID and the week long isolation/quarantine that results, the COVID commercial featuring Sara Sherman was as timely as ever.

To perform on SNL, Steve Lacy had postponed shows in San Diego, San Francisco, Oakland, Vancouver, Seattle and Portland on his Give You the World Tour. For his first song, Lacy performed “Bad Habit” off his second album Gemini Rights, released in July. The R&B vocalist and multi-instrumentalist performed in black leather pants and Geordi La Forge wrap around shades, with the Gemini Rights logo suspended behind him. Lacy, as well as the drummer and bassist wore white shirts with a single black S on them, making a dollar sign with their black ties hanging, a nod to the Dead Kennedys.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z566jZAVZ5Q&list=PLS_gQd8UB-hLzQQhvOY-wX2LNQPFTHSm4&index=8

On Weekend Update, Tammy the Trucker (Cecily Strong) showed up to talk about gas prices (and definitely not abortion), much like how in November 2021 she showed up as Goober the Clown to talk about abortion. WU anchor Colin Jost noted voters are being driven by economic issues and not abortion, and Tammy responded with commentary on women’s rights and health care. The same deep and urgent message from last November was conveyed through truck driving references that intertwined concerns about the right for women to control their own bodies was being eroded, and ended with a call to action to vote on Tuesday.

As Weekend Update ended, SNL gave a nod to Migos rapper Takeoff (Kirshnik Khari Ball), who had performed on SNL in 2018.

A preview of the Bills/Jets game in the Meadowlands showed Jets fans (Andrew Dismukes, Thompson, Schumer, Strong) ripping on the visiting Bills fans, regardless of age or mobility. The casual chatting among the four of them would quickly devolve into taunting and heckling, giving heavy ‘Get Off the Shed’ vibes.

Lacy’s second performance of the night found he and his band in the same outfit, same narrow room effect but with a heavier Stevie Wonder vibe in both voice and tone of the song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4jGl-uUGxQ&list=PLS_gQd8UB-hLzQQhvOY-wX2LNQPFTHSm4&index=11

Following a “Big Penis Therapy” sketch that is worth watching, Schumer sported a Jews shirt during the goodnights, following wearing a VOTE VOTE VOTE sweater.

Next week SNL returns for a post-election episode with host Dave Chappelle – appearing post-election for the third time since 2016 – and musical guest Black Star.

November 6, 2022
Megan Thee Stallion Celebrates Degree, has “Anxiety,” during Second Stint hosting Saturday Night Live

Saturday Night Live‘s third show of the season featured a double threat with Megan Thee Stallion returning as both host and musical guest. Following Queen Latifah in 2004, this was only the second time a female rapper served as both host and musical guest on Saturday Night Live.

The show’s cold open featured a take on the January 6th Committee, with second-year player Sarah Sherman appearing as New York Senator Chuck Schumer negotiating for a pastrami sandwich delivery during the insurrection.

Megan’s monologue was brief and allowed her to share one success over the summer, Bachelor’s degree in Health Administration from Texas Southern University, an HBCU. Before her career took off, Megan Thee Stallion’s was enrolled at Prairie View A&M, leading the rapper to joke that while her fans know her as Tina Snow, Suga and Hot Girl Meg, she can now be known as “Megan Thee girl that needs some sleep.” Stallion continued by saying “I got my degree in health administration because I have always wanted to help the people in my community. I believe it’s important to have a sharp mind and a sharp body-ody-ody.”

Megan Thee Stallion also took a moment to plug the website she launched last month, called Bad Bitches Have Bad Days Too, which features mental health resources, crisis hotlines and directories of Black and LGBTQ therapists.

The first sketch of the night put her degree to good use with “Hot Girl Hospital” where, joined by nurses Ego Nwodim and Punkie Johnson, they were “three everyday heroes glow up the community one dusty chick at a time.” The trio were on point together, with Nwodim standing out as the new female lead cast member thus far in the season.

The first song of the evening, “Anxiety,” from her sophomore album Traumatize, had a Beauty Pageant vibe with Megan Thee Stallion and backup dancers all wearing formal dresses with sashes that read “Ms. Overlooked,” “Ms. Insecure,” “Ms. Overlooked,” “Ms. Underpaid,” and Megan wearing “Miss Anxiety.” Rapping about bad girls having bad days too, the emotional empowerment number struck a chord with fans online, and Megan, as she sang about the loss of her mother.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-44oNTMZws&list=PLS_gQd8UB-hJIPT5pF9qaRbn-n_yMU7b1&index=8

A medley of “NDA” and “Plan B” were featured in the second performance of the night, with Megan wearing a black corset and cutout jeans, with knee length hair and a Cuban link chain, all whiile backed by a full rock band.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOj7FcM8-tU&list=PLS_gQd8UB-hJIPT5pF9qaRbn-n_yMU7b1&index=9

Saturday Night Live is off this week and returns on October 29th for the annual Halloween show, with host and musical guest Jack Harlow, who previously was musical guest in 2021.

October 17, 2022
Willow shows Hard Rock Bona Fides on Saturday Night Live

The second episode in Season 48 of Saturday Night Live featured host Brendan Gleeson and musical guest Willow.

A game show parody cold open of “So You Think You Won’t Snap” made light of the global stress and anxiety felt by nearly everyone in the past few years, except a few lucky contestants. Bowen Yang stepped into the lead role and has established himself as one of the lead male repertory players, alongside seven year cast member Mikey Day.

Irish actor Gleeson reminded the crowd where they’d seen him – Braveheart and a few Harry Potter films – before grabbing a mandolin to play the first song he ever learned, “Barney McKenna” from the Dubliners, telling stories while tuning. The Banshees of Inisherin co-star Colin Farrell arrived on stage to sing a few bars with Gleeson, who then continued playing into the commercial break with the Saturday Night Live Band.

The first song from Willow was “curious/furious,” performed in front of stacks of Marshall speakers with her band amid purple lighting. Willow closed the song sharing guitar licks with guitarist Liso Lee.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1kPDvRtCAc

Willow’s second song “ur a stranger” was miles heavier and had a wide range of Willow’s vocal ability, turning the corner into metal territory. To punctuate the Saturday Night Live performance, Willow smashed her guitar into a TV on stage, then kicking the microphone stand over. The hard rock from Willow shouldn’t come as a surprise, given that her mom, Jada Pinkett Smith, had her own rock band, Wicked Wisdom. Both songs are featured on her just released album <COPINGMECHANISM>.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdBQxCtTHaY

The two songs were not Willow’s first SNL appearance – she joined Camila Cabello in April, linking up for a performance of “Psychofreak.”

Saturday Night Live returns on October 15 with host and musical guest Megan Thee Stallion.

October 9, 2022
Kendrick Lamar and Miles Teller kickoff Season 48 of Saturday Night Live

Saturday Night Live returned for Season 48 at Studio 8H of Rockefeller Center, bringing in four new SNL featured cast members, along with host Miles Teller and musical guest, Kendrick Lamar.

Opening with a deeply self-referential Manningcast sketch, featuring host Miles Teller as Peyton Manning and repertory player Andrew Dismukes as Eli Manning, the pair began to break down the upcoming changes to SNL this season, with a cameo from actor Jon Hamm as well. Referencing cast members who departed and facing criticism during a transition year head on, the breakdown of the cold open as the cold open was underway was a fresh idea for SNL and a bellwether for the season to come.

With a fresh SNL font and new cast intros segment, the start of Season 48 also marked the 20th season for Kenan Thompson, as well as the 20th season for the Grand Central Terminal set, each debuting during Season 29 in 2003. Teller, star of this summer’s Top Gun: Maverick, shared his excitement for making it to the SNL stage, having been a fan since he was a kid. Teller shared childhood videos of he and his sister as Spartan Cheerleaders – with Teller as Cheri Oteri and his sister as Will Ferrell. This is a trend seen among hosts recently as they celebrate making it the long transition from SNL fan to SNL host, such as Oscar Isaac last season.

Miles Teller SNL monologue

For the first performance on the night, Kendrick Lamar performed two songs – “Rich Spirit” and “N95” – from his fourth album, Mr. Morale And The Big Steppers. Using a minimalist approach to the performance, Lamar performed alone in a blue-hued box room with a single pedestal fan facing him, while his shadow was prominently featured to his right. After a minute, the shadow began dancing as he shifted into the speedier “N95” with spotlight and strobes highlighting the solo artist confined to this white room, similar to his stage set up on his recently ended North American leg of his ‘Big Steppers” tour.

A stunning performance, text flashing on the white walls during “N95” included “Lil L got his passport,” “4 peez Kee riches,” “The homie Jason Keaton wrote two books in prison,” “The Edges Envy in the Eyes,” and “Yea we still playing industry politics.”

These referenced, respectively, Compton rapper and friend of Lamar, Lil L; 4 Peez who grew up on Piru Street, two streets down from the location of the Good kid Maad city house; rapper Kee Riches who was shot and killed last week; and Jason Keaton, who earned college degrees and wrote two books while incarcerated for 15 years, and who is also referenced in the 2009 K.Dot song “Jason Keaton and Uncle Bobby.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1ursSZ0NCw

For his second performance, Kendrick was once again in a white box, this time with a bed, lamp, table and chair, where British rapper Sampha was rocking. Lamar dove in with Sampha joining in on “Early mornin’ wake ups, practicin’ on day-offs. Tough love, bottled up, no chaser, neat, no chaser.” Throughout the performance, the walls closed in on Kendrick and Sampha, as they rapped and reflected upon an upbringing with limited emotional outlets amid home invasions and daddy issues.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04qA4krEub8

Tonight also marked the fifth appearance on SNL for Kendrick Lamar, starting with his 2013 debut where he performed “Swimming Pools (Drank)” and “Poetic Justice,” then returned in 2014 to play “i” and “Pay For It” off To Pimp a Butterfly, alongside Jay Rock and Chantal Kreviazuk. Lamar has also joined other musicians on SNL, including Imagine Dragons on “Radioactive” in 2014 and Anderson .Paak in 2018 on “Tints”.

Closing out the night, Teller wore an NYU shirt, celebrating his roots at the NYU Tisch School of Arts where he received a BFA in Drama in 2009.

Not seen this evening was longtime cast member Cecily Strong, who is in Los Angeles performing in The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life. Expect Strong to return to SNL in November.

Next week, SNL will be hosted by Irish actor Brendan Gleeson, star of The Banshees of Inisherin, with musical guest is Willow, daughter of Will Smith.

Lucas Kurzweil contributed to this story.

October 2, 2022
SNL Returns For Season 48 with Musical Guests Kendrick Lamar, Willow and Megan Thee Stallion

SNL returns for season 48 on October 1st with the announcement of the first three hosts and musical guests, which include Kendrick Lamar, Willow, and Megan Thee Stallion. Four new cast members also join the cast as featured players.

New cast members. From left to right, Marcello Hernandez, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow, and Devon Walker.

This marks the first non-COVID Saturday Night Live season since Season 45 in Fall 2019. Four new cast members are being welcomed, including Marcello Hernandez, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow, and Devon Walker. Hernandez is a Cuban/Dominican stand-up comedian, actor, and writer who has opened for comedians like Jim Breuer and Gilbert Gottfried.

Kearney is the first non-binary cast member in the show’s history. They recently had a part in Amazon Prime Video’s “A League of Their Own” TV series. Longfellow was recently featured in the “Netflix Is a Joke: The Festival,” as a notable up-and-comer. Finally, Walker has writing credits that include Netflix’s “Big Mouth” and Phoebe Robinson’s “Everything’s Trash.”

This season saw the departure of multiple SNL veterans, including Staten Island native Pete Davidson and cast member Kate McKinnon. Recently, Chris Redd announced his departure from the show. During his time on the series, Redd scored a Primetime Emmy for outstanding original music and lyrics in 2018 for the song “Come Back Barack.”

Chris Redd, photo by Jeff Kravitz.

In a statement, Redd said “Being a part of SNL has been the experience of a lifetime. Five years ago, I walked into 30 Rock knowing that this was an amazing opportunity for growth.”

The season premieres on Oct 1 with host Miles Teller, and musical guest Kendrick Lamar. Teller makes his hosting debut, after a successful summer staring in the blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick. Lamar has been a musical guest twice before, and is supporting his recent album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, which came out in May.

Miles Teller and Kendrick Lamar kick off the season.

On the Oct. 8 episode, renowned Irish actor Brendan Gleeson, star of The Banshees of Inisherin, will also make his hosting debut. The musical guest is Willow, daughter of Will Smith, who has amassed a large following with her hit songs “Wait a Minute!” “Meet Me At Our Spot,” and “emo girl” with Machine Gun Kelly.

The final announcement is for the Oct. 15 episode, where Megan Thee Stallion will pull double duty as the host and musical guest. This isn’t her first time on the show, but her first time doing double duty. She will be supporting her new album Traumazine which came out Aug. 12.

Lorne Michaels, creator of SNL, spoke about the new season at the Primetime Emmy Awards saying that season 48 is “a transition year, and the change years are always difficult. There are new people, and things are changing, and a different generation comes into the show.” The show won its sixth straight Emmy in the Variety Sketch Series category.

September 21, 2022
SNL Bids Farewell to Four Cast Members in Season 47 Finale

Saturday Night Live closed the books on Season 47 on May 21, with host and native New Yorker Natasha Lyonne with musical guest Japanese Breakfast. The season finale of SNL also brought out a handful of cast departures, including Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, Kyle Mooney and Pete Davidson.

The cold open featured Kate McKinnon as recurring character Colleen Rafferty, recounting an alien abduction alongside Cecily Strong and Lyonne to Pentagon officials. McKinnon took this sketch as her swan song, bidding farewell as she boarded a spaceship, saying “Thanks for letting me stay awhile.”

During Lyonne’s monologue, she mentioned her New York born and bred roots – raised in Great Neck, grew up on the Upper East Side – and mentioning how she has been working with SNL cast and alums for years, including Amy Poehler on Russian Doll. She was joined on stage briefly by SNL alums and friends Fred Armisen and Maya Rudolph who did their impressions of Lyonne, who herself has a Rodney Dangerfield style of delivery.

For Japanese Breakfast’s first song, Michelle Zauner went with the rhythmic single “Be Sweet” off her 2021 album Jubilee, as neon bulbs hung down from the ceiling.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKvj4vs7ftc

Weekend Update featured a pair of farewells, with Aidy Bryant saying goodbye next to her frequent sketch and song partner, Bowen Yang, and Pete Davidson, who reflected on his career at SNL and thanked Lorne for giving him a chance. Unfortunately left out of the sendoff mix was Kyle Mooney, who created numerous digital shorts and memorable characters over his 9-year SNL career.

Davidson was also featured in the cut for time sketch “Forgot About Lorne,” a parody of Dr. Dre’s “Forgot about Dre” with Eminem cutting the pre-recorded sketch short to tell Pete to stop these parodies and not do them again.

“Paprika” was the second song from Japanese Breakfast, with Zauner wearing a multi-layered white dress while she struck a gong encircles with flowers. as yellow lightbulbs hung down from the ceiling.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3mHfQgQY1M

Zauner also appeared in the final sketch of the night, joining McKinnon and Bryant for a singalong of Joni Mitchell’s “The Circle Game” in “Women’s Commercial”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnOGSFV7154

The season finale of SNL was a night of send offs and put a bow on an average season of the NBC franchise. Look back on all our coverage of Saturday Night Live this season here and share your favorite musical guest and sketches in the comments below.

May 23, 2022