Tina Fey/Carrie Underwood (02.23.2008)

The following blog post is a companion piece to the newest episode of the We Heart Hader Podcast. Give us a listen, won't you?

CNN Univision Democratic Debate

CNNs' Campbell Brown (Wiig), John King (Sudeikis), Univisions' Jorge Ramos (Forte) and Obama Girl (Amber Lee Ettinger) make absolutely no effort to hide their fawning, stalkerish favoritism toward Senator Barack Obama (Armisen) as they lob him softball questions and question and question Senator Hillary Clinton (Poehler) on how she could've fallen so drastically behind him in the polls

• Oof, here we go. Time to start officially discussing a much maligned political impression that would permeate this show for the next four years.

• First, let's just start at the beginning and discuss how the show even viewed Fred Armisen as an acceptable option to play Obama. As we've covered, Maya didn't have a workable, non awkward impression and was about to leave anyway. 

• As for Kenan, there was serious talk of putting him on an insane crash program to lose weight until it was determined it would be impossible and unhealthy for him to lose that much weight just over the course of one summer.

• Now, during the strike, the show did hold auditions specifically for black male performers who had Obama impressions including The Daily Shows' Wyatt Cenac, Donald "Childish Gambino" Glover and Jordan Peele, who the show actually liked and wanted to hire but unfortunately he was still in the cast of MADtv at the time and FOX wouldn't let him out of his  contract with them to join SNL so...this show had no choice to say "ah, fuck", look at Fred and just say to themselves "well, I guess he could work?"

• In particular, I could see the show thinking they could get away with this as they realized both Fred Armisen and Barack Obama are mixed race individuals...which shouldn't make it exactly right because  they are both mixes of completely different races from each other which becomes problematic if you're looking at this purely as a representation issue.

• Also, having Will Forte play Hispanic Univision reporter Jorge Ramos isn't exactly great either, but along with Fred's Obama (and Darrell Hammonds' Jesse Jackson) I would just chalk them all up to being naggingly questionable yet begrudgingly acceptable portrayals of ethnic figures by performers who don't exactly match the ethnicity of who they are portraying. 

• I say that simply because I don't quite see any hard evidence that the makeup department tried to actually darken or bronze Fred or Wills' skin for these parts like they obviously did with Darrell for his Jesse Jackson (in Fred's case it is mostly just an "ethnic wig" as Tom Hanks would call it 17 years later) but from what I can tell the way these portrayals were written ranges from "semi-funny" to just "not appearing to be written with any hateful or malicious intent".

• Speaking of the writing, it really doesn't matter all that much who is playing Obama here because he's barely given any dialogue here aside from his small "yes we can" speech at the very end. Even if they could have managed to get Jordan Peele to join the show just for this, his Obama wouldn't have been served NEARLY as well by SNLs' writing for him as a character as much as what how he would actually go on to do with his own Obama character on "Key & Peele".

• When you get right down to it, SNL just found it next to impossible to find a real "hook" for any of their portrayals of Obama on the show throughout his time as president so...they just had Fred play him as a rather goony, milquetoast kind of guy at first because when you get right down to it, that's who Obama really was as president for his first two years.

• Vocally, Fred sounds a lot like he would when he halter figured out his handle on what Obamas' voice would be. He doesn't quite have that odd mix between Goofy and Yogi Bear sound and seems like he's focusing more on cadence and rhythms rather than tone and vocals at this point.

• Aside from all of that, it seems like we've just gone from one member of the media admitting privately backstage to other candidates that they are totally in the tank for Hillary to a few members of the media basically admitting to the entire country that they are now totally in the tank for Obama. I do have to say that if you were around in 2008 that the sheer Obama-mania this sketch depicts feels...pretty accurate to the time and still does today looking back.

• As strange as it is to hear Amy's Hillary explain how losing to Obama was all "part of the plan", it feels a bit par for the course for the political writing of this era and her line about having support from "White women over 80" was pretty funny. Amy and Jason did a solid job of holding down the rest of this sketch with how small her part was.

• The cameo from "Obama Girl" was cute and Amy and Kristen scored some laughs off her but I doubt anyone still remembers her actual "I Got A Crush On Obama" YouTube video from around this time (especially since her entire cameo seems to have been edited out of the Peacock version. I can't imagine what rights issues got in the way there). C+

Montage

• Maya Rudolph has officially left the cast. Casey Wilson has just joined.

Monologue 

Tina discusses the fine print details on the streaming revenue deal that got worked out during the strike. Steve Martin (Himself) makes a cameo to make Tina see herself as more of a performer than a writer.

• Tina was as charming as ever here even if this monologue dates itself with its idea of how online streaming video was supposed to be monetized back in early '08. I did like the boom mic gags when she mentioned the crew missing out on work during the strike.

• Steve Martin was a genuinely unexpected cameo, but it was a pleasant surprise as it was pretty nice to see him again. I got a kick out of hin saying he "was just sitting at home watching the show" as he is just now making an appearance on it to comment on the last thing Tina just said three seconds ago.

• I got a kick out of seeing the brief shot of then current writers Rob Klein, Marika Sawyer and Simon Rich looking a bit dumpy and pathetic after Steve shaded them.

• I think we could've done without the slaps but most of the "I can do its" were fun (I dunno about the drunk Chinese one though).

• The theme of this monologue is quite interesting as it does mark an pivotal turning point in Tinas' career. She had left SNL to start producing her own sitcom which was fast becoming a critical darling (ratings would follow soon after a certain other impression she contributed to this seasons' election cycle) so she was becoming less of a "writer on SNL who made it big once she was given an opportunity to fill her own niche on camera" and more of a "performer and influential producer", so it's interesting to see Tina hang a bit of a lampshade on this point in her career as it was really happening. B-

Annuale

A 44 week supply hormone pills that allows women to have one big, destructive mega-period rampage once a year instead of one normal one every month.

• Apparently, this is a parody of a real medication from the time called "Seasonale" which was designed to reduce women's periods from 12 times a year to just four. 

• Bills' first appearance in this episode is in this sketch. He and Andy are seen ducking and running away from Tina as she swings a big pink ax at them.

• This has become a well remembered semi-classic in this era. It may have been shown in various "best of commercials" and "Women of SNL" compilations over the years

• Great use of all the women in the cast. As a cis male, I guess I'm...not equipped to fully appreciate why this is so funny but at least I can laugh as at the scenes of chaotic violence in this like Tina with the axe and Amy just ruthlessly beating the shit out of Fred.

• Casey devouring and entire cake at a kids birthday party and Kristen happily making out with a dog were very funny.

• For a fake ad, this had a very distinct visual style to it like it wasn't shot with the same type of "cinematic" cameras they usually use for fake ads or digital shorts. This felt very "fluid" (if you'll pardon the expression).

• This definitely felt very Tina/30 Rock coded, not just for the obvious reasons but this was thoroughly coated with a layer of 30 Rock level hyper specific absurdity to it (which can especially be seen or heard in the list of side effects at the end). B+

Rock Of Love 2

Bret Michaels (Sudeikis) eliminates one legged Amber (Poehler) from the competition and allows Kristy Jo (Wilson), Daisy (Fey), and Peyton (Wiig) despite how unattractive he finds her.

• Huh, this had potential to be just interesting and funny enough when it looked like it was going to be just a direct Rock Of Love parody...and then Amber shows up and I remembered that this is pretty much the only way SNL could ever parody trashy reality/dating TV shows from the 2000s.

• Jason asking Bret had some decent lines deconstructing this show. Tina and Caseys' impressions of...whoever they were playing were pretty funny (especially when they "made out" with Jason).

• Kristen's character wasn't my favorite. She wasn't too obnoxious, though. I liked her line about how she has seen Bret Michaels make out with a pair of sweatpants but he still refuses to make out with her.

• Part of me just wishes this didn't have to be an Amy Poehler "Amber" sketch, even though it is legitimately the last one until Amy hosts in a couple years. This wouldn't have been my first choice for first post monologue sketch. C+

Digital Short: Grandkids In The Movies

An elderly man advertises bootleg DVDs of the newest Hollywood movies his wife copied for him featuring walk-ons and cameos from his two grandsons Kevin (Hader) and Thomas (Samberg) who are there to keep him from getting confused and scared by all the intense action scenes, new slang and other strangers in the films.

• Well, as strange and haunting as it feels to witness an elderly man (who, strangely enough, neither SNL Archives OR iMDB have a credit for, by the way) slowly succumb to the icy grip of either dementia or Alzheimers', this was actually pretty funny and might have been my favorite Bill segment of the night (or at least my favorite pretape anyway).

• This is a unique digital short in that it's one of only a select few that are framed as some kind of ad or infomercial.

• This is Bills' second appearance of the night and right out of the gate we see him and Andy silently mouthing the words their grandfather is reading off the cue cards. I like how they chose to sneak in that cute detail.

• I love how this whole thing is just Bill and Andy's characters just cheaply green screened into each movie (and wearing the same shirts as whichever characters' they're replacing onscreen).

• I got a kick out of him saying how much he loves his wife "even though (they) sleep in seperate beds".

• I especially liked the scenes with the grandsons playing "themselves" in their supposedly normal clothes just telling their grandpa not to answer the ringing phone during the "Michael Clayton" scene as it's not his phone and it's only in the movie and when they tell grandpa to turn the TV off during the big battle scene in "The Transforming Robots" rather than just change the channel or hit the "input" button or whichever one switches from his DVD player to his regular linear TV channels.

• I got a pretty big kick out of the grandsons simply walking across the screen and waving during Daniel Day Lewis' big closeup in "There Will Be Blood".

• I also got a big kick out of the ending shots of Bill and Andy's faces just cut and pasted over those of each of the actors on each DVDs' cover followed by a shot of Grandpa holding a blank DVD with the caption "Available At The Store".

• Another reason this is a unique digital short is it doesn't totally feel like it's an SNL sketch from this era. It also feels like it could be a bit they wrote for the MTV Movie Awards or The Oscar's (with all the editing of real movie footage). 

• This especially feels like it could also be a piece from Will Ferrels' era as that was the golden age of "fake ads from unreliable narrators who may only be advertising an imagined product just to themselves" like his fake album ad he did with Dwayne Johnson of fake duets between Neil Diamond & Bigfoot, the two part "Wayne Porter vs Kim Plunkett" desert island campaign ads he did with Chris Parnell or even the Lux 420 XL "car for crazy people" ad (where Cliff Robertson was the actual pitchman and Ferrell was the crazy person in question...also, that one apparently had Stephen Colbert as Dr. Zaius...who knew?)

• Anyway, before we get too off topic...it was great getting to rediscover another forgotten gem of an early Digital Short. B+

What's That Bitch Talking About?

Host Gregory Dubois (Thompson) makes two contestants Katherine Bagwell (Fey) and Richard Dinwiddie (Hader) guess the full context of complete strangers (Poehler, Wiig, Wilson) semi-private conversations based on random out of context snippets. Only Katherine gets to move on to the "Who Does That Bitch Think She Is?" bonus round. Richard only gets to leave with the home game.

• Hey, Kenan in what I believe to be his first game show host role! There's the debut if something new and notable that would become a show staple decades later!

• I do love the detail of this show's grand prize being a 1992 Canary Yellow Mazda Protégé.

• Out of all the "bitches" presented, I liked Casey's performance the most. I liked how little they gave Kristen for her part. Amy was fine but I feel like I've seen her play that specific type of character before.

• Bill played his sheer bewilderment at Tinas' ability to make extremely specific and always some how exactly correct niche guesses about the lives of these random strangers very well here.

• I have read some notable reviews of this episode from notable online reviewers state that this sketch could've used some explanation as how Tinas' character was always able to make these absolutely correct guesses about the lives of total strangers, but for me this works better the more unexplained, mysterious absurdity there is behind every little detail. B-

Carrie Underwood Performs "All American Girl" and "Flat On The Floor"

• Eh, I really don't have much I WANT to say about Carrie Underwood here. Typical corny country pop from this era so let's move on.

Weekend Update w/Poehler and Meyers 

Governor Mike Huckabee (Himself) explains his refusal to drop out of the Republican primary despite his victory now being mathematically impossible

Tina Fey delivers a "Womens' News" update which, among many other topics, delivers a case for Hillary Clinton as the Democratic Presidential Nominee

• Seth's Best Jokes: Castro Resigns, Satellite Destroyed

• Amy's Best Jokes: Kosovo Independence, Toad Discovery, Kitten Survival

• Ugh, Mike Huckabee. Well, at least SNLs' writing staff could make him appear palatable as they weren't complete out of touch, right wing hacks like he gradually revealed himself to be once he finally got on Twitter a decade later but seriously fuck this guy.

• Tina's "womens' news" segment was kind of all over the place but ultimately it was decent. A lot of her opening one liners felt like left over season 30/31 update jokes that got cut but the Hillary stuff was decent so it was smart of her to make this the center piece of this. 

• Hmm...I don't quite know how well her take on Hillary being the right candidate because "she's a bitch" and "bitches get stuff done" ages today, but again, the rest of this was solid.

• Seriously though, Tina actually delivers a fair, rational and well thought out take on why Hillary should've been president and I do respect her for standing by her own personal convictions here.

• I actually did like the Rush Limbaugh/Ronald Reagan/Jeb & George W Bush jabs here.

• One thing that does age this very awkwardly is Tina ending this by saying "bitch is the new black". Hell, in my mind calling anything "the new black" is...just incredibly awkward and sounds wrong. Like, who the hell even came up with that phrase? It barely means anything...but that's really my only minor complaint about Tinas pro-Hillary screed (which kudos to her for delivering this in an episode that opened with a sketch about how the "real" news media is just as in the tank for Obama as she is for Hillary and providing some as much political balance as the show could've hoped to have had at the time. C+

Celebrity Apprentice

A promo for various spinoffs of the new "Celebrity Apprentice" hosted by Donald Trump (Hammond) and featuring new contestants Jennifer Tilly (Wiig), "Queer Eyes'" Ted Allen (Sudeikis), Rachel Ray (Wilson), Charles Barkley (Thompson), Mary Jo Buttafucco (Fey), John Mark Karr (Hader), Matthew Lesko (Samberg), and the dancing old man from the Six Flags commercials (Poehler) with special guest judges Gene Simmons (Armisen) and Judge Lance Ito (Forte)

• Ah, fuckin' christ...

• Well, once again, you have to remind yourself that you're only watching Darrell Hammonds Trump from the time when he was ONLY doing "The Apprentice" so...in theory this should be much easier to laugh at with the stakes much lower and a better performer for the role.

• ...and you may have to not think about the writers' strike from around this time probably being the thing that led NBC to order more episodes of Celebrity Apprentice thereby giving you-know-who that much more media exposure, but, well...here we are.

• Hammond did a fine job anchoring this. The opening bit with Wiig and Sudeikis was weird and absurd enough to work.

• Always nice to see Kenan's Charles Barkley again. Casey is making some strong choices, but hey...I guess there's only so much you can do with a Rachel Ray impression.

• Bill makes an appearance reprising his John Mark Karr impression from season 32 which Deej and I have previously talked about on the podcast. He has only one line here and I didn't quite like this as much as I liked this as an Update commentary from two seasons before this mainly because this impression works much better when the jokes isn't just "lol he's creepy...creepy enough to give Donald Trump 'the willies' if he ever made a sex tape...just shows you how much we all underestimated his sheer awfulness...such an innocent time". I just think the impression works much better when the actual joke is "he's falsely confessing to crimes he couldn't have possibly comitted". Plus, this being paired with the sheer skeevy awfulness of Tina and Freds' parts was...pretty offputting.

• Andy, Amy and Freds' parts were a nice, goofy enough way to end this, I suppose. C-

Wedding Toast

Best man Ed Mahoney (Sudeikis) gives an goofily inappropriate wedding toast that humiliates both bride (Fey) and groom (Forte)

• Ha! I loved this! Very funny, slightly abrasive character work from Jason here. Very funny underrated deep cut with this sketch.

• Once I saw Jason with that disheveled hair and saying Kristens' character "had more problems than a math book" after she chugged a glass of champagne and calling Forte "this ol' sack of potatotes" I knew I was in for a treat.

• Tina, Will and Kristen played their extreme disgust off him extremely well at the exact right moments.

• Jasons' other highlights were the whole "long and hard" jokes, the "Mario Brothers/mushrooms" rant and the comment "poop, drugs and gay stuff; every brides' dream". The "segue into an area he couldn't have anticipated" was the icing to the cake. A-

Virgania Horsens' Hot Air Balloon Rides

Virgania Horsen (Wiig) wants to take you on a personal hot air balloon ride and help you avoid long lines, security threats and other pitfalls that come with air travel.

• This was very brief but packed with just enough floating green screen absurdity to work for me.

• I liked her saying "see ya later, suckers" as she walked past the security line and punching and kicking various floating words (except "winner" of course)

• It's nice to see some Tim and Eric level absurdity on SNL that doesn't go as far as being as abrasively abstract as they were (although to be fair, a lot of late aughts viral comedy was like this). B+

I Drink Your Milkshake 

Oilman Daniel Plainview (Hader) and his son H.W. (Poehler) travel to the best malt shops in town and annoy various patrons (Forte, Thompson, Wilson) to find the perfect milkshake with special guests Anton Chigurh (Armisen) and Juno (Fey)

• Gee, with this sketch working in actual parodies of "There Will Be Blood", "Juno" and "No Country For Old Men", I guess this and the digital short are really our big "this is what going to the movies was like in late 2007/early 2008" sketches tonight, huh?

• I have to admit that I still haven't gotten around to seeing "There Will Be Blood" yet but I like that this sketch was written so that you didn't have to have seen the actual film but rather have just been aware at the time that the whole "I Drink Your Milkshake" scene was the big catchphrase/meme that the young audience who saw it took away from it at the time.

• Forte sang a very funny theme song at the beginning and was great as the old man patron at the end. Armisen has the face but certainly not the voice to pull off the Javier Bardem/Anton Chigurh impression.

• Bill gives a very committed and commanding performance here and Kenan holds his own next to him. I liked how well he and Amy played off the "I've abandoned my boy!" bit.

• Tina as Juno was cute but a bit odd considering who next weeks' host will be. B+

Lady Business

A flashy new series in the vein of "Lipstick Jungle" and "Cashmiere Mafia" following another group of four strong glamorized business women including Nanette (Poehler), Ms St. George (Wiig) and their other friend Nan Winters Rodriguez (Fey)

• Gee, I feel kinda bad that this is the second sketch in a row Casey Wilson appeared in with no lines, but oh well...

• Bill and Jason can be seen as executives in the boardroom during Poehlers' opening scene

• Andy can be seen during Kristens' scene and Fred can be seen during the final scene with Tina

• I guess you may have to have been around at the time to have been aware of the new strain of "girlboss feminism" Ally McBeal knockoff dramas this was meant to be a spoof of but there were still plenty of funny lines in this such as Amys' "womandatory", Kristen' "Bitch in the boardroom/bore in the bedroom/bear on the toilet" line.

• I also like Tinas' character being just as flashy as the other women despite her job basically just being animal control/removal. C+

Goodnights

Tina announces on stage that this is Don Pardos' 90th birthday and has him blow out nearly as many candles on a cake.

• I just wanted to mention this because it's a real thing that happened in this episode and I would genuinely like to know how they thought it would be a good idea?

Ranking Season 33 From Best To Worst

1. Lebron James/Kanye West (09.29.2007)
2. Seth Rogen/Spoon (10.06.2007)
3. Tina Fey/Carrie Underwood (02.23.2008)
4. Brian Williams/Feist (11.03.2007)
5. Jon Bon Jovi/Foo Fighters (10.13.2007)

Overall Thoughts 

• A decent episode compared to some of the ones that preceded it. I'm sure having Tina around boosted morale after finally getting to get back to work because this episode had a lot of great energy

• Like with much of this season, most of what didn't work was just due to some things being very much products of their time. That didn't necessarily hurt this episode. It just made it a little bit uneven.

• Naturally, Amy and Kristen had surprisingly strong nights as did Bill, Jason and Fred. Casey Wilson seemed almost shut out of her first episode but hey...she is a new hire, so...there's that.

Closing Thoughts 

• Well, the next blog post you see from me will be a review of the Nicola Coughlan/Foo Fighters episode of SNL UK followed by a review of the Olivia Rodrigo episode of SNL US and then the Aimee Lou Wood/Meek episode of SNL UK...some time after that.

• The next episode of We Heart Hader will focus on part one if the Documentary Now two part season finale "Gentle And Soft: The Story Of The Blue Jean Comittee"...which Deej and I will also split into two parts when we cover it.

• See you again real soon!

SNL UK: Jack Whitehall/Jorja Smith (04.11.2026)

Melania: Truth Or Dare

• Well, up until now SNL UK has only done it's topical cold opens directly about and depicting its own countries heads of state and pop cultural figures. It took them until their fourth episode to do a whole cold open where any member of the Trump family is depicted. By any modern SNL standards, home or abroad, this shows a great deal of restraint.

• It's a bit of a relief that the Trump they chose to depict as a character was Melania, but I'm a bit torn on this one. While I liked this sketch conceptually better than how SNL US chose to address the real Melanias' sudden press conference denouncing Epstein out of nowhere, I have to say I liked Chloe Finemans' impression better than Emma Sidis'.

• I mean, I can definitely see why the SNL UK writers and producers would give this impression to Emma. Out of all the women on this show, she is the one that always mugs the hardest for the camera and always makes the strongest and boldest choices with whatever accent she happens to be doing but still...something about Emmas' Melania Trump impression felt a bit "off" to me (and when I find myself comparing Chloe Fineman favorably to someone else, something may be seriously wrong).

• I will admit I did like Emma's forceful "charades" and "truth or dare/how DARE you accuse me.." bits but aside from that it felt like another well worn SNL US template filled in with a few odd disconnected and irrelevant British references to make up for the fact that this British sketch show has chosen to center its cold open around the American first lady.

• Of course, the well worn SNL US tropes I am referring to are "well known political figure suddenly barges in uninvited to some normal everyday people's hangout to everyone's confusion" which was has frequently been a staple of James Austin Johnsons' Donald Trump cold opens (especially this recent one) and can also be seen here and here.

• Plus, that brief reference to Ye getting booted from the wireless festival felt like something SNL US would've done back in 2017 (or something SNL UK just did do when Tina referenced the recent BAFTA scandal).

• Well, at least this cold open wassl much shorter and more tightened up than most SNL US cold opens as of late (in spite of feeling a little bit rushed and over truncated). C+

Monologue

• Well, I unironically appreciate Jacks' rip roaring enthusiasm for this shows' mere existence right off the bat and I genuinely like his shots fired at Love Island up top.

• Other than that, I'm just getting heavy "British John Mulaney" vibes from this dude (and that's probably because all his marriage/fiance talk reminds me quite a bit of Mulaneys' early stuff and their styles of slight self depreciation are a bit similar).

• His delivery (and absolutely NOTHING else about him) reminds me of another heavily, heavily watered down James Acaster (and that may be because he and Jack are probably the only up and coming British comedians I know of outside of...well, this show's cast).

• Still, I was expecting a bit of a "here's some stuff from my own standup act" type monologue" tonight and I'd say I enjoyed it. I'd hesitate to outright call him a hack but he's not exactly reinventing the wheel here either. This isn't the most inventive standup ever or anything but it's...palatable. C+

Gary Thomas Gets A Series Of Bigger And Bigger Shocks

• Hmm...going into this I had a feeling that this had to be based on some specific video (thanks to a certain someone in a certain Discord server for digging it up and sharing it with the rest of us) and this does work a little better for me with the full context behind it.

• So, I guess this takes the fairly recent SNL US trope of doing near shot for shot remakes of some old music video or piece of obscure viral footage that someone in the cast or writing staff was obsessed with or fixated on that week (as can be seen here, here, here and also here) and just mixed THAT with something uniquely British? Already I have some mixed feelings about it.

• At first, I was wondering why they essentially put Ayoade Bambogye in a bald cap and drag to have HER play the role of Ian Wright until I saw that they were basically just having Hammed Animashaun come in at some point to play Garys' dad (who might have been my favorite character in this piece and I loved that Hammed chose to play him as a secret Lenny Henry Fred Dred style Jamacian accented rasta).

• I did like how every character in this had an increasingly different and deranged backstory to the point where Jack's character was a jogger he hit but somehow didn't kill one night.

• Oh, come on. Really? A professional TV show still doing Harambe jokes in 2026? A whole damn decade too late? And with the cheapest, crappiest gooniest looking gorilla costume they could afford?

• Jesus Christ, wasn't two portrayals of Dobby the House Elf in one season of SNL US more than enough? Ah, I suppose the British show does have some sort of home field advantage here so I can let it slide just once more.

• I wasn't crazy about this sketch. It was fine. I just really didn't like the way it ended.

• Actually, the more I sit with this the more it reminds me of some early-to-mid period Lonely Island Digital Shorts since this also essentially takes one recurring gag and memes it to death. It was interesting to see SNL UK attempt something in that vein, but this wasn't as good. It felt too much like it was made specifically for a British audience to really work like that. C+

Soccer Kid Swap

• Speaking of things that felt like they were written specifically for a British audience only where Ayoade Bambogye apparently plays a male soccer player...

• So, this is an actual thing? British soccer...er, sorry "football" players actually walk out onto the field with random children as their unofficial "mascots"? And these kids are contest winners and it's not a part of their "Make A Wish" equivalent or anything but more like their equivalent of throwing out a ceremonial first pitch at a World Series game? Also, why did Jack deliver his lines in a Mario like Italian accent?

• Yeah, sorry, I wanted to like this sketch more and feel like I got the basic underlying gag to it...but there was just too much to parse out if you don't follow British sports. Still, I can tell Jack and the cast were giving it their all. C+

Mastermind

• Ah, yes. No well known English sketch comedy show worth their salt can ever get away with NOT doing a Mastermind parody. It really is like a legal rite of passage over there.

• I absolutely loved how this was executed. They established a universally relatable concept and immediately follow it up with a string of silly nonsequitirs. 

• Who amongst us hasn't their own mother talk their early off unwillingly at some point about the regulars in their neighborhood and distant relatives THEY interact with in their own lives but WE don't?

• This is the type of basic sketch premises that could just as easily have been done on SNL US as SNL UK (in fact, I think SNL US may have already done something like this)

• The only part that didn't land with me was Hammeds' opening line saying he was good enough to host quiz shows but this other British TV presenter "couldn't read the news"? 

• I'm guessing Hammed was impersonating a man who either started out as a TV news anchor and later in his career moved on to hosting Mastermind or is currently still doing both gigs? Was this a subtle dig at the lack of, um...racial diversity among British TV presenters or are the only two black hosts on British television currently feuding with each other?

• Oh well. I did get a kick out of Hammeds last question being interrupted by the buzzer leading him to remark "I've started, so I'll finish" as well as Jacks' sideways glance when Hammed remarked "that's why you should always listen to mommy".

• I was wondering who those two extras were next to Jack and Celeste but they ended up being very inconsequential to this sketch as it cut itself off just as Celeste delivered what would be her only lines in the whole thing (it may have been a real non-ending but at least it didn't go on too long).

• I got a kick out if the guy with the bad hair transplant Jack's mom talked about being one of the contestants although if he even had one line, why not give even that to Al or any other male castmember? Oh well. Still a fun sketch. B-

DadSwap

• While I did get a kick out of Larry responding to Als' art school announcement with "what's that got to do with WWII?" I thought this pretape wasn't gonna have legs at first.

• The visuals of Jack and Hammed in their own little punk rock band were funny.

• Once Jack mentioned his own real dad struggling with his sexuality, I could immediately tell where this was going.

• Thankfully, this turned out to be more thoughtful and nuanced than I was expecting as they had George there to explore this premise by weighing its pros and cons and ruminating on the logistics and full consequences of what what he hath wrought on the world and attempt to completely wash his hands of it in real time as this unfolded.

• The parts of George's performance I liked the most were probably his increasingly frustrated "yeah, i know" responses to everyone pointing out how falling in love with their new swapped "dads" isn't illegal and his explaining to Celeste that using the app to get a guy her own age is just her getting a boyfriend and not a "dad."

• Speaking of the women in this cast, that WAS Annabel as the one who fell in love with her new "girl dad", right? The fact that they put whoever it really is in a wig that looks a lot like Emma's real hair threw me for a loop (and just when I thought I was able to tell those two apart from each other, too). Oh well, I didn't let that affect my enjoyment of this pretape that much. B+

Masters

• So, this one's just "what if Greenhilly or The Vogelchecks took place on a golf course with some millenial/Gen Z cringe mixed in" huh? Well, I didn't totally hate it.

• Yeah, with all the quick pecks on the mouth from the start this definitely reminded me more of a subtler, more tasteful and more gracefully presented version of The Vogelcgecks than Greenhilly upon rewatch.

• At least this moved on fairly quickly from just closed mouth kissing to everyone starting a polycule. The addition of Hammeds' delivery man at that point was a funny enough wrinkle (especially when the others kicked out Jack's character in favor of him).

• Jack's character deciding to get into a relationship with Als' caddy was pretty much the only logical way they could've ended this, so that's some solid sketch writing there. 

• The ending with Jack & George felt a little too telegraphed for my taste, but they made the most of it (especially with that line about not being invited to the upcoming Saudi Arabia).

• Well, I was pretty ambivalent toward that sketch but I have to say it came across as fairly socially progressive and modern minded. Too bad it wasn't particularly funny. C+

Weekend Update w/Paddy & Ania

• Paddys' Best Jokes: Peter Mandleson, Planter, Chico In Court, Ferry Cuts

• Anias' Best Jokes: Kier Starmer In Saudi Arabia, Moon Mission, AI Fat Tool, Shroud Of Turin

• Al & Celestes' horse & jockey commentary may have been the funniest moment of the show for me. It's nice to see this show try out some new pairings with its cast and have them play off each other with expert chemistry.

• I love how Paddy not only bought back his BTS runner this week but also upped the ante with it by delivering most of it in Korean.

• Not sure what to make of Jack & Annabels' Gen Z commentary. I mean, I liked the sound effects and impressions they did, but that was about it. The rest of it felt like they dug up some old Twitter meme from about 2019 or so and turned it into an Update commentary. I did get a kick out of the sudden cut to Paddys' confused expression when Jack called him a "rude old bitch".

• It reminded me a bit too much of the type of overly hammy Update pieces Bowen Yang and Sarah Sherman would do together on SNL US until Bowen left (and considering the first one of those that I thought of was this one which I pretty much panned in my review of it...I think the less said about this, the better). C+

Drunk Peter Pan

• Hey, another Al & Celeste pairing! Even as the straight men of the sketch, I liked getting to see this again so soon.

• Any other MSTies out there who've watched certain parts of season 13 getting heavy Emily Marsh vibes from Celeste in that wig?

• This may have actually been my favorite sketch of the night. My biggest laugh came from how blatantly visible Jacks' wires were and how they were just in service of smashing him into candy glass and breakaway furniture.

• Some of Jack's casual insults to Als' character were pretty funny too like "absolute mood hoover" and "shut your mouth, you piece of virgin" as well as his whole rant about all the different ways "Neverland sucks now".

• I wasn't too crazy about the ending though. Once Al's character said something about how "we've all got weird exes" I was expecting a reveal that his "weird ex" was Tinkerbell or something more creative than just "everyone suddenly comes around on the idea of a three-way".

• Still, even this was a bit more entertaining than the few "drunk and/or depressed jilted Peter Pan or Tonkerbell Tinkerbell barges into Wendy Darlings' house and behaves inappropriately" sketches that SNL US has done with the likes of Ed Asner, Claire Daines, Jim Parsons or even Robert Deniro". B-

Falling Down A Hill w/Helen Birch

• This was a fun, near black out length piece of condensed quiet physical comedy. It reminded me quite a bit of Phil Hartmans' "Robot Repair" from SNL US. 

• I'm not quite sure if Celeste is impersonating the actual UK artist & author Helen Birch but if she is, this would be a very sympathetic and understanding portrayal of her....if she actually did fall down a hill while filming her own British TV show. B+

Robert & Judith & Henry & Ethel

• Hmm...Jack Shep as an Ed Wynn-esque 1930s flapper drag queen seems like it's going to be a bit much. This also feels like the type of hammy Bowen Yang centric sketch that I didn't care much for (mainly because I'm not the target audience for).

• Still, as literally cartoonish and purposely stereotypical as this seems, I can appreciate the way he's absolutely throwing himself into this character. I did like him saying he slept in a graveyard and his shoes were filled with blood and the sheer boldness of his line about "stepping quickly into each other's holes".

• The twist with Celeste actually taking a liking to Sheps' character felt a little predictable but I liked how she made her slapsticky entrance hitting Jack with the door causing his cake to go slightly into his face.

• I liked Emma's character as well because she's the only one who made this over-the-top, transatlantic accented, old timey style of acting work for her and not add to the sheer sensory overload of this sketch. Plus, her being in the same sketch as Annabel made me realize that it WAS Annabel in DadSwap and that I CAN still tell the two of them apart. C+

Ranking SNL UKs First Series From Best To Worst

1. Jamie Dornan/Wolf Alice (03.28.2026)
2. Tina Fey/Wet Leg (03.21.2026)
3. Riz Ahmed/Kasabian (04.05.2026)
4. Jack Whitehall/Jorja Smith (04.11.2026)

Overall Thoughts

• Well, as much as I hate to say it...this might have been the weakest of SNL UKs' initial run so far (it still easily wipes the floor with the episode of SNL US that aired mere hours after it, but that goes without saying).

• It might be due to the fact that this is the fourth of four episodes in a row (it's rare SNL US does that many in a row but these kids are just starting out) but this felt like the most wildly uneven episode of SNL UK yet to me.

• Writing wise, the show has made great progress in maintaining its unique British identity which I appreciate seeing (even if it comes at the slight cost of making some sketches feel that much less accessible to an American audience)

• Unfortunately, the portions of this episode that DID feel accessible to me as an American viewer were just the basic tropes and elements that I could distinctly trace back to what I have seen numerous times on SNL US (which this episode of SNL UK had the most of out of any of them so far).

• One thing I did like about this episode is that they gave a lot more screen time to Celeste Dring (who I felt has been a bit underused to this point and has the previous sketch experience with her group "Lazy Susan" to have earned some of her own showcases on this show).

• They seem to not only continue to be pushing Jack Shep as the star for viral clicks but also pushing Jack and Annabel together as a duo in a way I find a little obnoxious.

• They also seem to have pulled back on George Fouracres a bit but I have heard one of his close friends has died within the past week or so so that might have been his choice and if so, it's conmendable he even showed up at all. 

Closing Thoughts

• This coming weekend, SNL UK will return with a new episode hosted by Nicola Coughlan and musical guests The Foo Fighters.

• I liked what Nicola bought to Tina's episode so I'm glad they got her back as an actual host so quickly. 

• Although I'd much rather discover a new British act I've never heard before, good on SNL UK for now having had both a well known American host AND a well known American musical guest!

• Hopefully, I'll have the time and energy to get my review of that one out sooner rather than later so you can all read it in a timely fashion but you'll probably see my review of the Tina Fey/Carrie Underwood SNL US episode from 2007 well before then. See you again real soon!

Colman Domingo/Anitta (04.11.2026)

Oval Office Calls

• Huh, this is just a regular oval office scene with Ashley as Karoline Leavitt. At least this is a little different.

• I liked how JAJ/Trump broke the fourth wall with that Ashley comment and then did a double misdirect back away from one of those tableau cold opens.

• A series of phone calls? Uh oh, this is starting to feel like the type of cold open we'd get in 2017/18 at the height of the "Baldwin as Trump" era.

• Uh oh, the last time the show did a sketch involving Kenan as Tiger Woods they got a lot of flak for it in the press...but at least this one can't possible be misconstrued as making light of domestic violence and is just a brief comment on Tigers' DUI arrest, so it's perfectly OK. 

• At least they didn't spend a whole lot of time on this part. I actually did like the "DUI/Dewey" joke from JAJ.

• Chloes' Melania cameo was OK (as much as I'm sure a large swath of the audience may not want to see or hear from her anymore at this point). I did like that Reagan joke, too.

• Ok, they're spending way too much time on Jost as Hegseth, but...y'know, it's the Iran of it all. I think they've officially run out of anything resembling a fresh angle on this character so it may be time to retire it. C+

Monologue

• I figured with Colmans' vast, VAST acting resume we'd get something poking fun at the sheer variety of things he's been in. 

• There doesn't seem to be a lot of material here for him TO carry but he is carrying this on sheer charisma alone.

• Thank God the band, the lighting/camera crews and Jeremy kicked in to add some variety to this before I started to tune out.

• I feel like I should have a lot more confidence that the show isn't going to completely do Colman dirty at this point, but...I dunno something feels a little bit off right now. C+

Bank Robbery

• Ok, this fits the vibe of Colman I was hoping they'd tap into more. I'm glad it's less "dirty names" and Matt Shatt and more like the Burger King sketch with Emily Blunt from 2016.

• Chloe, Mikey, Ashley, Marcello, Jane and JAJ were pretty good here. I'll admit the line "be on the lookout for a mess" and "mama raised a dumbass" got me. C+

Black Barbershop

• Ok, is every sketch tonight going to be built around Colman just "reading" people?

• Anyone else get the vibe from this that Tommy could pull off a decent John Mulaney impression? (yeah right, like we need more of those in comedy)

• Kudos to Kam for scoring the strongest moment in this sketch. My biggest laugh in this came from the sudden cut to him just saying "cheat" and following that up with "what you gay or something?"

• I liked Janes' cameo. Kenan and Colman were great in it, too. 

• One thing this episode (and this sketch in particular) did a fine job of is using Colman in sketches that they would need a more diverse cast to actually pull off without him as a host. Still,I think this felt a little long and could've used some cuts (if you'll pardon the expression. C+

Artemis II Video Log

• Well, at least this sketch taps into Colmans' dramatic chops in a decent way.

• When your biggest laughs in a sketch involve Marcello Hernandez either pushing Mikey away over some Pringles (don't make me say which certain animated series "did it"), saying "Canada slaps" or just getting his dick stuck in some kind of tube, something may be seriously wrong. Sadly, Sarah seemed to add nothing. C-

The Knowledge Hour

• What if I told you...this might be my favorite sketch of the night by default? What if I told you...that yes, I too know that isn't saying much?

• Yes, this was just the exact dose of whimsical absurdity the show needed at this point?

• I liked how Colman played off what seemed to be a genuine gaffe between him, Kam and Jeremy (literally) and hoe everyone suddenly exited  the scene before Dismukes entered?

• I wasn't crazy about the ending with Dismukes though. It felt a little forced. Plus, I feel like some of the stuff about Colmans' character wanting to impress some random chick he hasn't seen since college 40 years ago could've been cut. B-

Weekend Update w/Jost & Che

• Josts' Best Jokes: Iranian Peace Talks, J.D. Vance, Sam Altman, New Jersey

• Che's Best Jokes: Netanyahu, RFK Podcast, King Charles, Cornhole Champ, Hemorrhoid Cure

• I liked both of the commentaries this week. Kam and Marcellos' "back of the school bus kids" might seem like something designed to enrage some, but I really needed the boost of juvenile stupidity right now.

• Still, I think Colins' "deez nuts" beat at the end could've been cut so this didn't go too long and ended on one beat that wasn't completely telegraphed.

• I'm glad Janes' commentary was packed with enough abstract absurdity to misdirect us from the most obvious punchline. B-

Grandpas' Funeral

• So, the entire premise of this sketch seems to be "what if a group of pimps showed up at your grandpas funeral and also you find out for the first time they all turned him out at one point"?

• Well, when Kenan showed up I was a little worried that this wasn't going to go anywhere. Ashley, Jeremy and Marcello were fine in this but they didn't exactly do a whole lot to assuage those worries for me.

• I will say I did like Sarah and Veronikas' walk ons. In fact, I'd say I liked their performances here more than most of what I've seen each of them in this season.

• Jane's walk on was decent and I'm glad they found a way to work Mikeys' "crazy background Waffle House guy" into a live sketch.

• I even liked the sight twist of JAJ and Jost as white pimps as tacked on as they seemed (especially the latter...did he and Che cowrite this?). The ending didn't quite work for me though. C+

Boarding School

• I'd like to think this was a very underwritten "Farewell, Mr Bunting" prequel and not just "what if numbers were random gibberish" or "synesthesia: the sketch".

• I appreciate the committed performances in this (especially Dismukes, Kam and Colman) but this felt like too long a walk with too many glaring pacing problems for me. Plus, I felt Dismukes kinda botched his window fall. C+

Beastomorphs

• I feel like this was something that got cut from dress until I saw Colman in it.

• This felt like a typical Sarah idea that somehow got away from her.

• Again, I do appreciate the committed performances from everybody but the idea alone didn't quite hit for me. It was just a little too juvenile in every way imaginable and I just couldn't get into it. C-

Ranking The 51st Season From Best To Worst

1. Nikki Glaser/Sombr (11.08.2025)
2. Glenn Powell/Olivia Dean (11.15.2025)
3. Alexander Skarsgard/Cardi B (01.31.2026)
4. Melissa McCarthy/Dijon (12.06.2025)
5. Ariana Grande/Cher (12.20.2025)
6. Jack Black/Jack White (04.04.2026)
7. Ryan Gosling/Gorillaz (03.07.2026)
8. Amy Poehler/Role Model (10.11.2025)
9. Miles Teller/Brandi Carlile (11.01.2025)
10. Finn Wolfhard/A$AP Rocky (01.17.2026)
11. Colman Domingo/Anitta (04.11.2026)
12. Harry Styles (03.14.2026)
13. Connor Storrie/Mumford & Sons (02.28.2026)
14. Josh O'Connor/Lily Allen (12.13.2025)
15. Sabrina Carpenter (10.18.2025) 
16. Teyana Taylor/Geese (01.24.2026)
17. Bad Bunny/Doja Cat (10.04.2025)

Overall Thoughts

• Well, that episode was just as disappointing as I was expecting. There were enough fun moments there that I would just call it "uneven" rather than just plain "bad", though.

• Obviously, they biggest problem with this episode was that Colman as a host was much better than the material he was being given so I hope everyone was more self conscious of that than they were letting on.

• When the best parts of the show were what was cut for time and put up online later, something is seriously wrong (of course I'm referring to Bens' Jack Harlow thing and the full length goodnights where Colmam gave a lovely and heartfelt speech that most of this episode sadly didn't deserve).

• On the plus side, Jane and Kam had decent nights, so...there's that.

Closing Thoughts

• Well, SNL US makes its return in two weeks with Olivia Rodrigo making her double duty hosting debut. Given how the episodes hosted by other current pop stars like Dua Lipa, Charli XCX and, one of Olivias' contemporaries I hear, Sabrina Carpenter turned out...this is one I'm going to be a bit wary of. 

• My biggest fear is that the show will go all in on Gen Z pandering pop culture chasing that those previous episodes gave us and just try to force another viral moment but beyond that Olivia is another pop star who seems in control of her own image and isn't as blatantly risque as others of her ilk so I'll keep an open mind.

• I'll have a review of that one posted in a few weeks. The week before that is when I should have my full review of the Tina Fey/Carrie Underwood episode from season 33 published around that since Deej and I will be covering it on the We Heart Hader podcast around that time.

• The very next blog post you should see published from me is probably going to be my review if SNL UKs' newest episode featuring Jack Whitehall and Jorja Smith. Even though I am giving myself an actual deadline to write the Fey/Underwood review (this coming Wednesday when as far as I know we'll be recording that one), I'd like to get that one out as soon as possible while the most recent episodes of both SNLs are still relevant and fresh in people's minds because I was really slacking on a couple of them. See you guys again real soon!

SNL UK: Riz Ahmed/Kasabian (04.04.2026)

Starmers' Address

• Hmm..still not too crazy about opening the show with sudden applause but it didn't exactly detract from this opening or seem completely out of place so I'm not too bothered by it this time.

• I can't say that this was the worst SNL UK cold open thus far, but it does feel the most like any "typical" SNL US cold open that we could've seen them do stateside in the past 15 years (especially about four or five years ago during the brief window of time when James Austin Johnson played then President Joe Biden...so yeah, it felt the most like these two specifically).

• Yes, this really does combine SNL US' approach to commenting on the politics of Obama and Biden administration's with their "line of cast members each coming on to deliver a few lines and then leave" structure of cold opens (like this one in particular) except this one is more straight forward and direct in their calling out of Sir Keir Starmers' faults.

• Good to see Fouracres bring this back. His Keir Starmer is a fun impression to start the show off with as proven in the premiere (well, as "fun" as you can have with any type of political humor these days). I do also like how purely British this cold open is in that they only address England's troubles without dragging any of America's numerous problems into it (aside from a vague reference to our troubles with Iran and Israel here and there).

• Als' Harry Kane is a fun character, too. I'll admit it is the one British cultural reference I have no context for here so I can't say much about the impersonation itself. 

• I do get that the basic characterization here is just "big lunkhead athlete gives your standard, media trained post game interview that clearly requires all the innate charisma he can muster" and I did chuckle seeing that element get shoehorned in here.

• I do like Emma's Olivia Coleman impression, though. I mean, it might not be as accurate as Cecily Strongs' impression (seen here) but I am familiar with Olivia mostly through her work on Mitchell & Webb adjacent sketch shows (which is ironic since this sketch does assume US audiences mostly know her from performances the Cornetto film trilogy and Oscar bait dramas like "The Favourite") and I do see that Emmas' doing this impression out of affection and admiration, just playing off Olivia's personas from the likes of "Bruiser" and "Hot Fuzz".

• Annabels' Peppa Pig was a nice bit of light absurdity to end this cold open with. I liked their very minimalist, light on nightmarish prosthetics approach to bringing this kiddie cartoon character to life.

• The group "Live From London..." didn't bother me here either but I wish just once they could try just a segue into a solo version of that. C+

Monologue 

• Hmm...I admire Riz Ahmeds' ability and eagerness to poke fun at his own background the types of roles he always gets, but on the other hand...that's the very thing that makes this feel too much like any typical SNL US monologue done by an actor not known for their comedic roles in the past eight years.

• I do like how he tied his own identity crisis rant into a meta comment on how SNL UK hasn't even had one genuinely British host yet (but I can at least tell they're taking baby steps in that direction). 

• Riz is a very confident host which sets a great tone for the rest of the show. I like how he tied this whole monologue together with his "we Brits like it when things are a little bit crap" speech. As much as I could unpack and parse, this was a very rousing and fun monologue to start the show off with. B+

Why Are Phones?

• Immediately, I got heavy Lonely Island vibes from this pretape. It seemed like a direct cross between their "Rescue Dogs 3D" digital short and their "Cool Guys Don't Look At Explosions" song from the Andy Samberg hosted 2009 MTV VMAs (in that this also seems like it would've worked better as a movie awards show segment than on a sketch show what with all the clips from actual modern smart phone scenes from TV and movies that they must have had to pay for clearance to air...which I'm just now realizing may be the thing keeping this off YouTube as a standalone clip).

• Putting that aside, I do appreciate how thoroughly and intricately they deconstructed the tropes of how movie characters use smart phones (particularly the "fictional apps only" thing) and how seamlessly they transitioned into doing tge same for the similar trope of why cops seem to only socialize with other cops evdn when they're off duty.

• Interesting way for them to work in Ayoade Bambogye into this sketch and give her some screen time.

• I did see someone say that it's funny that both versions of SNL did their own country songs this week and that SNL US' was better. I might honestly call it a draw on that one myself. 

• I mean, the SNL US "Words To Live By" felt like it was modeled after actual (modern) country pop music and this felt like it was more...trying to parody square dances or bluegrass by comparison? Plus, this one felt like it had less reason or justification to be framed specifically as a country song.

• Anyway, fun pretape to follow the monologue even if, like the monologue, it felt maybe a little too dense and briskly paced for its own good. C+

Great Big Crab Man

• Ok, I gotta get this out if the way right up top. Before I actually watched this sketch, I noticed the title of the YouTube upload was "Traitors: A Very Confident Mistake". Weird way to describe the sketch, first of all. They must've been chasing YouTube views with that title.

• Secondly, I wasn't quite sure how this was supposed to be a "Traitors" parody as I haven't watched "Traitors" enough to be familiar with it outside of the fact that Alan Cumming is the host and no one appeared to be doing an impression of him. 

• Then, I remembered that "Traitors" is yet another show adapted from a European reality show and skimmed over enough "Traitors UK" promo material to see that Celeste was actually doing an uncanny (well, at least visually) impression of actual "Traitors UK" host Claudia Winkleman. I'm guessing Emma must've been impersonating a specific contestant based on the strong choice she made with that accent.

• Anyway, that being said, this was also a very fun sketch (even if it feels like it heavily borrows from the template of this fairly recent SNL US sketch). The sights and sounds of (who I assume was) Fouracres in the big red crab costume played well against the rest of this sketch. Plus, it does actually confront a lot of blatant racism you hear about going on a lot in England and it does feel shorter and more direct on rewatch. Riz and Ayoade in particular were also pretty great here. B-

Operation

• This sketch was a real roller coaster, but I loved how thoroughly they committed to this from a writing and performance stand point of taking the viewer along all these different turns along the way

• I do appreciate how this wasn't solely focused on Rizs' singular obsession with clean pulls in the Operation game (because ot was starting to feel just like this SNL US sketch) and that the writers showed us Riz and Celeste reconciling their relationship RIGHT as she is about to leave him.

• I also liked the visual of Al made up as a real life version of the Operation patient followed by the additional "twist" of Riz not realizing his operation skills don't translate to real lifesaving abilities as he is baffled by all the blood and internal organs he has to pull out of Als' character with cooking tools.

• By the way, I also appreciate how this sketchs' inevitable vomit by Jack was tastefully done into a bucket as invisibly as possible and I got a kick out of the police accidentally setting off Als' light up nose buzzer when they accidentally hit his stretcher against the doorway.

• Once again, props to the writers for making this sketch as grounded and realistically, consequentially absurd as possible. This may have been the most Pythonesque sketch SNL UK has done yet insofar as they were able to stop themselves from getting "too silly" before the actual ending. B-

OG FM

• Ok, this is definitely just a refined and reskinned SNL US sketch. Specifically, it's Jimmy Fallons' Z-105/Joey Mack sketches mixed with "The Shout Out Show" from early 2002 with Hammed, Ayoade and (hilariously) Al playing their parts as basically Kyle Mooneys' "REAL HIP HOP" character.

• Still, all the cast members and Riz performed this extremely well. Each of their lines were very funny and I liked how this built to an actual well executed climax with Riz just straight spitting fire at the end. I'm sure they wrote this sketch specifically to play to his strengths since he did mention being a rapper in the monologue. B-

Weekend Update w/Paddy & Ania

• Paddys' Best Jokes: Navy Jibe/Yellow Submarine, Easter, New Online Subscription Laws

• Anias' Best Jokes: Bridge Bombed, Navy Jibe #1, Zuckerberg Bunker, Police Guns Found

• Emma as "Generic Love Island Bimbo" definitely felt like a Colin Jost/Cecily Strong Update two-hander from the FIRST Trump presidency (or like something from the actual Love Island parody SNL did in 2019 with Phoebe Waller-Bridge). 

• Sadly, while I liked her performance I have to say this is the one time in the entire run of SNL UK so far that they didn't manage to automatically improve on a pre-existing SNL US formula. I only say that because any comedy show could do this and it would only really land with people who actually watch and keep up with Love Island or any other reality show (which I do not so this was just a bit if cute, cockney white noise to me).

• I think this goes without saying how troubling it is that now even SNL UK is doing Update characters in big animal costumes. 

• Seriously though, Jack's adorable doormouse does feel like a more palatable version of something Lorne would've made Bowen, Sarah, Marcello, Kenan or Michael Longfellow would do.

• Still, I'm grateful that Jack found a way to do this without going too garishly over the top with it.

• Al and George's "skin on skin contact father and large adult son" commentary may have been the comedic high point of this Update. Much like Jack earlier, I love how committedly they both sold the absurdity of this premise without trying too hard. B-

The Bastard Seagull 

• Did...this sketch open with canned applause fading out?

• Anyway, this might have been my favorite live sketch of the night and my singular favorite performance from George Fouracres in the entire run of this show at this point. He pretty much owned this sketch and made a meal out of his role, especially near the end.

• Riz also played quite well off of him and did a great job of matching his energy. Hammed gave a very fun Kenan Thompson-coded performance in this as well.

• I don't want to sound like a broken record but I feel like there's truly an insane number of modern SNL sketches from tge past decade or so that fit this format of "group of people jump all over one main characters blowing their single minded obsession with an incredibly minor personal issue out of proportion where most enabling them by pressing for more information while one or two others just urge them to move on" but I had too much fun with this to really care enough to even try and remember a previous example of this". 

• I appreciated how it ended just before they belabored the joke but just shoving a Seagull puppet in front of the camera and just segueing into the second musical guest performance just felt a little too tacked on to me. Otherwise, a near perfect sketch. A-

Bunny Lamaze

• Yeah, SNL US has done a few "strange lamaze classes" in the past few years but this felt a bit closer to the "outlandish gay couple trying for a baby in a physically impossible way" sketches that Bowen Yang did in recent years with Adam Driver and Jon Hamm. 

• Still, this at least added an additional layer of absurdity to this with the implication that the Easter bunny is unaware that the chocolate eggs he half lays/half defeated every year are 100% chocolate and thus edible and thus they can't be raised like children.

• Hammed and Riz played their roles well and certainly elevated this material. It must've taken some incredible restraint on the show's part to not cast Jack in Hammeds' role but I guess...Hammed just looked more realistic as a giant bunny rabbit? C+

Ranking SNL UKs First Series From Best To Worst

1. Jamie Dornan/Wolf Alice (03.28.2026)
2. Riz Ahmed/Kasabian (04.05.2026)
3. Tina Fey/Wet Leg (03.21.2026)

Overall Thoughts

• While I very much appreciate how committed the writers were to fully fleshing out all the premises and concepts they had this week, I feel like there was some major backsliding in terms of this show establishing its own unique British style and identity.

• I only say this because nearly every sketch in tonight's episode felt like a major punch up on a sketch SNL US would've done or has done already.

• For this reason, I had to rank this episode as only the second best of this first series so far. That isn't to say the debut with Tina was the worst episode so far. This is just saying that while the show has established itself, they didn't quite take as many risks as they did last week with Jamie.

• Riz was a very strong host and I feel that cast balance has improved. They seem to be using George, Al and all the women more this week although they're holding back a bit more on Hammed and Larry.

• They seem to be using Jack a bit less but since they obviously want to lean into him as someone who draws in a younger audience, at least they're using him just enough to not have him feel like he's dominating the show...so that's good.

Closing Thoughts 

• The next episode of SNL UK (which will probably air tonight or tomorrow depending on when and where you're reading this at this point) will be hosted by English comic Jack Whitehall. He's a bit divisive and a bit posh from what I've heard (and he apparently played at the Riyadh comedy festival last fall) but not totally hated. I'm unfamiliar with him myself so I have no idea what to expect. I'm sure he'll do portions of his own act for his monologue but I just hope he doesn't give us an insane Ben Elton style rant.

• At this point, it's probably a safe bet that you'll see my review of the upcoming Colman Domingo/Anita episode of SNL US before you get to see my review of that one. One thing you may get to hear before you read that is the upcoming new episode of We Heart Hader podcast (which should hopefully also be out as you're reading this) where Deej and I continue to review Documentary Now Season One with "The Eye Doesn't Lie". 

• After that, we'll return to reviewing season 33 of SNL US with the Tina Fey/Carrie Underwood episode for which I will also post a review of on thus blog which you can read while SNL US at least will be on a break (great timing on that one, huh? I'm not totally sure if SNL UK will also be on a break or not by then). Anyway, see you real soon kids!

Jack Black/Jack White (04.04.2026)

NCAA Final Four Post Game Show

• Hey, an off the beaten path cold open choice!

• Nice to see they're using Kam in something, but that Chappel Roan...oof.

• Always nice to see Kenans' Charles Barkley. I don't know if I'm that crazy about the direction this is taking though.

• Ok, the Kalshi/Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Kristi Noem thing was funny.

• All right, Ashleys' Pam Bondi was nice to see, too.

• I did like Kenans' joke about Pam Bondi looking like "a womens' basketball coach who got fired for pulling on a girls' braid"and his LFNY segue.

• Not the best cold open of this season but far from the worst. Just...an odd mishmash of various things.. Sounded like the audience didn't know what to make of this or how to respond either. Very weird energy already. C-

Monologue 

• Well, I know Jack Black has always been a bombastic rock & roll/song and dance guy and he's always tried to bring that energy to his monologues on this show...so, seeing an actual five timers club sketch would feel quite odd. Let's see what they do here.

• Ugh, a bearded Jonah Hill in 2026 being the first cameo in this means this might automatically be the weakest monologue Jack Black has ever done on this show.

• I will admit I did like the creepy/spooky vibe of this one among other things. I appreciate the show getting Candace, Melissa and Tina to cameo. 

• I especially liked what Tina bought to this one with the meta "this is my fifth five timers club sketch" joke and the "SNL UK One Timers club jacket made from Paddington" jokes.

• I wasn't crazy about adding Domingo to this either (especially since I was half expecting him next week...yes, along with that other Domingo I already heard we were getting...you know, that Colman fella?) but bringing in Jack White just to wang Domingo over the head with a frying pan might have been my second favorite part of this.

• Hey, there IS a "musical guests only" wing of the five timers club! Jack White just confirmed it! You hear that, Jon and Bill? I am vindicated!

• I love how they actually did end this with an actual musical number as well. This was a very fun way to sneak in our musical guests' biggest hit "Seven Nation Army". That was my favorite part of this one. B-

Kathy

• I liked Jacks' "gym" adlib upon entering this sketch.

• I guess I was a fool to expect a sequel to that "One-Uppers" sketch from last year, but I automatically like this better.

• I immediately liked all the odd little details Ashley added to this character (especially her medication and the "numbers"game on her phone). This feels like a character Cheri Oteri would've played about 25-30 years ago.

• I also love the Andy Kaufman/Great Gadsby-esque "extreme testing the patience of the audience" nature of this. B-

Words To Live By

• Ok, I liked the reveal of JAJ doing a country song and the reveal of Jack White playing a half forgotten guitar solo more than I liked the reveal of what this turned out to be. 

• This also feels like one of those things that could've been done with any host because Jack Black isn't the most convincing at playing a country singer. Hell, I barely buy him hiking down a mountain let alone up one but I get the writers wanting him to play a guy who is told the meaning of life by Kenan's ancient mystic.

• This felt like a premise that I should've seen done before on SNL or elsewhere. Hell, even the twist of the guys remembering the name of the Men In Black memory erasing device seemed completely telegraphed. Jack Black didn't add much to it but I did like the ending with Dismkues just belittling his child. C-

Ultimate Dojo

• Well, I liked JAJs' anecdote at the very beginning.

• Is this going to just be a Marcello acting class sketch but with a weirder more indiscriminate eastern European accent and replacing acting with self-defense?

• It sure looks that way. Well, I'm liking this a tiny bit more than I feel I should.

• I will admit that having Jack Black play a martial arts teacher is a deceny use of his age defying physicality.

• Oh my god. Kenan is playing a character that is the exact same age as me. 

• Well, I DON'T like what Ben is adding to this sketch, but I am getting a kick out of the constant chanting of "estopit, estopit, estopit" during their silly slap fights leading up to the move they're supposed to be demonstrating. Too bad they're far funnier than the reveal of what the moves are supposed to be.

• The comedic highlight of this sketch may be the final reveal of Jane being the toughest, most badass "poo-pil" Jack and Marcello have ever taught and her back and forth with Jeremy. C+

Carry On My Wayward...Husband?

• Ok, yeah...this looked like it was going to be another tired ass "been there, done that" 30 year old premise but I ended up REALLY liking the execution and sheer pageantry of this. 

• Great way to work in Jack Blacks classic rock singing talents. I also got a kick out of JAJs explanation for why his tighty whites were suddenly visible.

• Sarah and Chloe had some good back and forths with each other and once again Jane Wickline comes in clutch. B+

Weekend Update w/Jost & Che

• Josts' Best Jokes: Pam Bondi/Esptein Files, Healthcare Attacks, Canadian Pizza Hut

• Ches' Best Jokes: Trump Presidential Library, Chicago, New Jersey

• Sarah Sherman as Kristi Noems' husband. Why? Seriously, why?

• At least this feels like something Sarah came up with on her own and not something Lorne ordered her to do...but when the genuinely funniest parts of this bit are another tired "remember when Kristi Noem shot that dog?" joke and a sudden cut to Jost air-motorboating, something may be seriously wrong.

• ...and Che's back to those damn WBNA jokes again. Great.

• Hey! Kam as Black Snape! This could be good!

• Yeah, Kams' really crushing this! Decent ending to a very uneven Update. C+

The 300

• Automatically, this is much better than the other 300 parodies that SNL did when 300 actually came out...almost 20 years ago (especially the one they did in 2009 when Gerard Butler actually hosted).

• Still, it kinda dragged until we got to Jack Black being cussed out by child. I did like Dismukes taking an entire day to list off various reasons why he wasn't picked, though. C+

Spring Break AirBnB

• This seemed like another very thing premise that feels like it should've been done before but wasn't yet. Still, it's really the type of thing only a paring of Jack Black and Melissa McCarthy could make this entertaining.

• I definitely ended up enjoying the bits of physical business between Melissa, Jeremy, the Jurgens and the doorknob than I thought I would. B+

Ranking The 51st Season From Best To Worst

1. Nikki Glaser/Sombr (11.08.2025)
2. Glenn Powell/Olivia Dean (11.15.2025)
3. Alexander Skarsgard/Cardi B (01.31.2026)
4. Melissa McCarthy/Dijon (12.06.2025)
5. Ariana Grande/Cher (12.20.2025)
6. Jack Black/Jack White (04.04.2026)
7. Ryan Gosling/Gorillaz (03.07.2026)
8. Amy Poehler/Role Model (10.11.2025)
9. Miles Teller/Brandi Carlile (11.01.2025)
10. Finn Wolfhard/A$AP Rocky (01.17.2026)
11. Harry Styles (03.14.2026)
12. Connor Storrie/Mumford & Sons (02.28.2026)
13. Josh O'Connor/Lily Allen (12.13.2025)
14. Sabrina Carpenter (10.18.2025) 
15. Teyana Taylor/Geese (01.24.2026)
16. Bad Bunny/Doja Cat (10.04.2025)

Overall Thoughts

• Well, this was a fun one. I'd say it's a lot like Jack Blacks' episode from last year in that it feels like a much better episode than it really is at the time just because his manic energy helps put things over more and most of the season that just preceded this was was just dull and disappointing. This episode felt a little more sparse and empty from a writing standpoint sadly.

• At this point, I don't know if I've been more spoiled by SNL UK or have just gotten burnt out on a combination of SNL US and both my work and family lives, but all I have left to say about this episode is that I enjoyed it more than my lack of anything at all to constructively or critically say anything about it would indicate.

• Maybe I'm subconsciously holding back a bit with the critical thinking part of my brain because I know in addition to the blog you just read I also have to review the third episode of SNL UK this week along with composing a review of the Tina Fey/Carrie Underwood episode both for this blog AND the podcast (the latter of which my cohost Deej had been encouraging me to "hold back" on for production and editing reasons) but I know I gotta make a conscious effort to not spread myself too thin creatively over the next couple of months, so I'll just wrap this up here.

Closing Thoughts 

• Next week on SNL US, Colman Domingo makes his hosting debut. Seeing as he is an acclaimed, Oscar nominated actor at this point in his career, this is a big get for SNL. Plus, he has sketch experience with Kate from "The Big Gay Sketch Show", so they better not do him dirty.

• I will have a review of that episode posted here around this time next week. The very next blog post you'll see from me on this blog will be a full length review of the Riz Amed/Kasabian episode of SNL UK which as of this writing/posting I have gotten to watch in full on Peacock but haven't gotten to take any notes on whatsoever yet (but spoiler alert: I may or may not compare it favorably to this one and post it on Tuesday at the earliest).

• Also, coming this weekend will be a new episode of the We Heart Hader podcast where Deej & I continue with Documentary Now Season One and "The Eye Doesn't Lie". Two weeks after that will be our review of the SNL US Fey/Underwood episode from February 2008 which, of course, I will also review on my blog.

• Boy, the timing of this is quite fortuitous since both Deej and I will have reviewed Tina's first hosting stints on both SNL US AND SNL UK by that point! See you all again real soon!