Live from New York, it’s… Amy Poehler parodying The Hunting Wives with a little help from her Parks and Recreation pal Aubrey Plaza.
While hosting Saturday Night Live for the first time in more than a decade, Poehler called upon several friends, including fellow SNL alums Seth Meyers and Tina Fey, for an assist. But one big highlight was Plaza joining her for a pre-recorded sketch poking fun at Netflix’s trashy drama about Texas housewives wrapped up in murder plots and toxic relationships.
Offering a faux sneak peek at the show’s much-anticipated second season, the SNL spoof acted as a trailer for what’s to come.
“Millions of Americans tuned into season one of The Hunting Wives, the straight-but-lesbian, horny Republican murder drama,” the narrator declares at the top of the trailer. “And now, it’s back for more.”
NBC
Then comes Poehler, sporting a purposefully awful wig. “Look what the cat dragged in,” she says, pulling down the straps of her dress to show off her (blurred out) boobs. From there, the satire embraces all the hallmarks of The Hunting Wives, from the gratuitous thigh-touching to the overly sexual “teaching moments.”
“All your faves are back, and they’re as naughty as ever,” the narrator teases. “Thighs will be squeezed, guns will be drawn.” The voice also jokes that the show is once again filled with wigs “that are doing their best,” with Poehler at one point pausing a scene to readjust her red coif.
For those out of the loop, The Hunting Wives follows Brittany Snow (played by Chloe Fineman in the SNL sketch) as an East Coast woman who relocates to East Texas with her husband after a deadly drunk-driving accident. Once there, she becomes infatuated with her husband’s boss, played by Malin Akerman in the series and Poehler in the sketch. Together, they begin a turbulent relationship plagued by secrets, drugs, and a local girl’s murder.
In the sketch, Poehler, Fineman, Sarah Sherman, and Ashley Padilla star as the original hunting wives, but soon Plaza joins the equation as a newcomer (a moment that prompted some loud cheers from SNL‘s studio audience).
Immediately, the women jump at the chance to sensually show Plaza how to make a mimosa and handle a gun. Things are about to get steamy when Plaza’s character reveals that she doesn’t have a boyfriend but, rather, a girlfriend — which causes the women to recoil in horror and pull their guns on her, shouting, “Lesbian?! This is Texas!”
NBC
Several of the actual Hunting Wives stars were quick to share their reactions to the parody on social media. Posting it, Akerman wrote, “Omg @nbcsnl this is the best thing I’ve ever seen!!! 😂 Hunting Wives season 2 premiere (?!) Yessssss!!!!”
Jaime Ray Newman, who plays Callie on The Hunting Wives, also shared the spoof, writing, “SNL?!?!? Mind officially BLOWN.” On her own Instagram Stories, Katie Lowes, who plays Jill, revealed that the trio were all together when the spoof dropped and shared a video of them reacting.
Meanwhile, Snow joked, “It’s just us & the beans. My life is made.”
Plaza has maintained a low profile for much of 2025 after her husband, Jeff Baena, died in January. The writer-director’s death was ruled a suicide, according to medical examiner records that Entertainment Weekly reviewed at the time.
The former SNL intern and page made her first public appearance after Baena’s death on the Feb. 16 SNL50 telecast. Another rare appearance came in August, when Plaza joined Poehler for an episode of her Good Hang podcast, getting candid about her grief and how she has been processing Baena’s death.
Trae Patton/NBC
“To get it out of the way, people want to see you and see how you are. They love you, and they want to see you,” Poehler told her friend. “You had this terrible, terrible, tragic year. You lost your husband. You’ve been dealing with that, and you’ve been looking for all different ways in which to feel and find support. On behalf of all the people who feel like they know you, and the people who do know you, how are you feeling today?”
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Plaza paused briefly, then told Poehler that she was living in a “very, very present moment” and that she was happy to be with her old Parks and Recreation colleague. “Overall, I’m here and I’m functioning,” she said. “I feel grateful to be moving through the world. I think I’m okay.”
Watch Poehler and Plaza reunite on SNL above.
