The historian Alan Heimert once said the Great Awakening “was not a single event but a series of spiritual earthquakes that reshaped” American society. The same might also be said about each season premiere of Saturday Night Live! Here we are folks, with the pageantry of SNL50 behind us — season 51, commence!
Since season 50 wrapped, the cast has undergone one of its more dramatic transitions in years. Five cast members have departed including veterans Heidi Gardner and Ego Nwodim, whose exit came as a late-summer surprise after she’d been expected to return. Michael Longfellow is (unfortunately) gone as is Devon Walker. As the seasons change, so does our SNL cast…
Surprisingly, Emil Wakim was also not asked back. I thought he showed a lot of promise, but I guess sometimes (especially these days) stand-up voices may not always fit. As he joins the unique class of talented one-season cast members, let’s see how he does with the wind at his back.
I recently spoke with former cast member Brooks Wheelan, who has a new edition from his latest comedy special out, who had this to say… having also gone through this experience: “Spending only one year on SNL is like sleeping with a swimsuit model that gave you crabs. People want to know how rad it was and you have to tell them, ‘I actually have mixed feelings…'”
The show has brought in five new featured players: Please Don’t Destroy’s Ben Marshall has been elevated from the writers’ room, joining stand-ups Tommy Brennan and Kam Patterson, UCB performer Jeremy Culhane, and the (Canadian!) web comedian Veronika Slowikowska.
Tonight’s season premiere is brought to you by host Bad Bunny and musical guest Doja Cat. Look, I can’t say I was a fan of Bad Bunny’s previous live sketch work, but it’s clear he’s having a year. It was just announced he’s performing at the Super Bowl. And more importantly, he was a scene stealer in the recent Happy Gilmore sequel. (If it feels like we just saw Bad Bunny at 8H — we did! He was the musical guest during the season 50 finale, appearing in the pre-recorded “Please Don’t Destroy: First Class” sketch and the “Couples at the Bar” sketch.)
It’s SNL in Review time, Conehead nation. Welcome home.
Cold Open
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaks to military leaders during a War Department address at Marine Corps Base Quantico. This is an expected, obvious setting for the Cold Open. However, curiously, Colin Jost is playing Hegseth — not great. We are seeing Jost at his absolute limit as a performer.
Then, as expected, James Austin Johnson’s President Trump appears. This is a lot more funny and pointed. JAJ is just that good. I know some have tired of the fourth wall-breaking schtick, but it really is a nice way to cover a lot of territory — both when it comes to keeping the show self-aware and riffing on various topics, including the recent Kimmel suspension and the Riyadh Comedy Festival. Watch this just for all the quick lands and barbed moments here alone.
(In a brief appearance, Mikey Day as FCC chair Brendan Carr is a miss for me. Yawn. We also briefly see Jeremy Culhane at the start.)
Monologue
Bad Bunny talks about his recent worldwide tour, and shows clips like it is his home movies. Jon Hamm cameos. Yawn.
However, in a better moment, he comments on the Fox News uproar over him booking the Super Bowl. (They edit together the networking talking heads complimenting him instead of pearl clutching.)
As I alluded to in the intro, he is at a disadvantage doing live sketch comedy — it is tough even for the most charismatic entertainers, and native English speakers! Still, his goofball work in Happy GIlmore 2 reminded me he has genuine comedic chops. They just are not on full display here. And he did SNL50, so clearly he is a fan and likes doing this.
“Jeopardy With Bad Bunny”
Andrew Dismukes hosts Jeopardy. The contestants: Lucas — Luck ass — our Kenan. Veronika Slowikowska plays Cynthia. In last place, by a mile, is Duke, played by Bad Bunny. He is getting the answers correct, but refuses to say them in the form of a question. Pretty fine, low-stakes satire — not classic in the sense of the Connery/Burt Reynolds days from Will Ferrell’s era. I like this!
It ends in an Abbott and Costello-style play on words situation.
“ChatGPTio”
In this commercial spoof, OpenAI created the ChatGPT portal to be helpful. Sometimes, however, users want an experience that is less friendly and more authentic. That is why a louder version is now available — powered by middle-aged Latino uncles. This is Marcello Hernández’s showcase and goes where you expect it to go. We get to see some new cast members in small roles here, as well as (no surprise) Bad Bunny. Yawn.
“The Donor”
Chloe Fineman and Sarah Sherman have been dating for a while, and while out to dinner, they ask Andrew Dismukes to be their baby donor. Elviro Guitterez (Bad Bunny) is at a nearby table and he volunteers immediately. Guess what? He is wacky! Kenan Thompson shows up for more weirdness. Fans of The Sopranos‘ finale may enjoy this.
“KPop Demon Hunters”
Fineman and Sherman are again out to eat — again, Bad Bunny joins them. This time, Mikey Day sits — they are having brunch. Key distinction from the previous sketch!
Again, Bad Bunny is an eccentric oddball. Instead of being into The Sopranos, his Thomas loves the Netflix smash movie KPop Demon Hunters. “Idiot,” he sneers, pouting. His friends do not appreciate the animated movie or music like him. Ejae, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami pop up as the fictional K-pop girl group Huntr/x — first in Thomas’ head, then to close out this sketch and defeat Bowen Yang by singing the catchy electropop song from the movie, “Golden.”
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Doja Cat performs ‘Aaahh Men!”
Catchy ’80s beat, produced by Jack Antonoff. Energetic work from Doja Cat. This was released a few weeks back on her latest album, Vie. I think that is RuPaul’s laugh being sampled.
Weekend Update
Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the news of the day! As always, Che is ribald. A new segment: President Trump would make a lot more sense if he sounded like Jennifer Coolidge — a nice moment (I hope) for Chloe Fineman.
New cast member Kam Patterson comes out to discuss — we think — Sean “Diddy” Combs and his four-year jail sentence. Instead, he wants to say the N-word and discusses the show’s history with it, including Che’s usage in 2016. One catch: Saying it catches you a half-million-dollar fine. Isn’t this what Jimmy Kimmel was fighting for? Patterson is energetic and fun here. I am curious how the reception will be given some of the minor controversy around his hire. I liked it!
This week, J.K. Rowling sent a stinging response to Emma Watson after the Harry Potter actress recently spoke about their relationship. Dobby the House Elf (Bowen Yang) comes out to once and for all define the genders. There is a wardrobe malfunction! This is excellent — great barbs about Che’s cool factor, and I love Yang’s commitment. The camera work, like in the Cold Open, is playful too. Lots of fun Harry Potter nods — and it’s a good metaphor for the overall issue at hang. Great stuff.
The mere mention of Zohran Mamdani elicits big applause from the crowd.
