Druski/The Strokes (11.07.2026)

Establishment Democrats

• I hoped they might try a different, more interesting tack to the cold open this week given the midterm results.

• I like that they're needling Schumer and Jefferies. I'm not that crazy about Sarahs' Chuck Schumer but I do like how Kenan is playing Hakeem.

• ...aaaaaaaaaaaaand there he is, of course.

• I liked Jeremy's walk-on as Vance. The New Girl stuff from JAJ was OK. Not much else stood out.

• ...aaaaaaaaaaaaannd there's Jost. His "YOLO" line was OK. Is it me or did Jost look more noticablly nervous this time?

• Heeeyyyyyyyy, it's...the real James Talarico? Ok. Guess he's earned a victory lap.

• I do like his meta comment about SNLs cold opens needing a change.

• Overall, this wasn't the ideal cold open given the big news of the week. C+

Monologue

• Well, I like Druskis' contained enthusiasm and appropriate reverence for the show.

• I got a kick out of his "I can't promise that" responses to the shows' imposing "no cussing or blackface" rules on him.

• The brief "inspirational" speech and his showcasing his family are...abiut what I expected from him as well.

• It was smart of them to get Emma Stone to cameo. Even if she didn't quite add much, I'm sure it's nice for some of SNLs' older audience to see a familiar face. B-

BETs' Washington In Focus

• Oh Hai, Saidah.

• I kinda like what Andrew is bringing to this.

• Well, after a certain Teyana Taylor starring sketch from January...I was pretty nervous about how this could've gone. Still, they could've done worse premise wise than just having Kenan, Saidah and Druski merely express comedic disbelief at white senators having black sounding names.

• Good to see them use Carl Tart prominently on screen in something. 

• At least this was a decent length. B-

Dru Can Ski See Everything 

• Hmm...I know "You Can See Everything" was such a big cinematic event that SNL would absolutely have to spoof it if it were a totally different type of movie in a totally different media landscape. Still, I have no idea how SNL even could (or more accurately...should) reference it outside some kind of throwaway reference in a cold open or an Update joke.

• As much as I do like Janes' performance as Elizabeth Holmes, SNL devoting an entire sketch or pretape to parodying a documentary made by a gonzo comedian who's known for controlling every aspect of his audience is an incredibly risky prospect (especially if they fumble it hard and get trashed online) but I guess replacing Nathan Fielder with Druski so he can turn it into one of his patented "lol yt ppl amirite?" pieces and just calling it a day is...about the best I would expect SNL to be able to muster at the moment.

• I mean, Druski did have some solid lines in the first part of this that did elevate the piece...and at a certain point I did fully expect this just turn into this episodes obligatory "Druski appears in ghoulish white face prosthetics" pretape of the night (which was admittedly a clever turn the way they set it up) but this still could've benefitted from some cuts and some tightening.

• For instance, they really should've cut as much of Bens' Billy Evans impression as they could but maybe kept in a tightened version of the scene where Druski "signs" him to his label. Other than that, I think they did the best they could with what they had here. B-

Two White Men Attempt To Make A Purchase At A Dominican Cell Phone Store

• Oh Hai, Marcello.

• I know this is mostly in the same formula as that car mechanic sketch from Will Ferrells' recent episode but it does feel more like a sketch Marcello would've done in his first season with a more active Kenan in Druskis place.

• Sadly, it didn't take too long for this sketch to become wildly meandering white noise to me (if you'll pardon the expression, of course) but at least this also had a decent ending. C-

Birthday Fajitas

• So, we've gotten Druskis' obligatory white face pretape out of the way. Now, we get Druskis' generic semi-drag appearance in a live sketch.

• Yeah, this...also pretty much became white noise to me (again, if you'll pardon the expression) once it became obvious that the premise became that Veronika ordering fajitas somehow upstaged her friend on her birthday.

• Up until this point, I was thinking that Druski was fitting in well enough into SNLs' mold. This sketch is the main exception of the night. 

• This is really the only sketch of the night that really feels like it really should've been done by Druski himself on his own feeds rather than on SNL.

• At least this sketch felt a little off the beaten path from what SNL would typically do. I don't want to say this feeling more "real" or "believable" or "grounded" helped this sketch (because it didn't make it that much more entertaining) but at least its' nice to get a break from the type of SNL restaraunt sketch that gets stuck on some dumb or outlandishly silly twist being played out. D+

MyCornerGuy

• This reminds me a lot of that old Chappelles' Show "Holla Dating Service" sketch. It's like they just took that basic premise and updated it for the era of FitBits and fitness apps.

• I actually did like this sketch. It was quite fun and gave me my first genuine laugh of the night. Druski did have some great lines and the testimonials from Andrew, Veronika and Jeremy really dovetailed well with this premise. B+

Weekend Update w/Jost & Che

• Josts' Best Jokes: Infinity Watergates, Poor Quality Candidates, Bob Dylan/Pope Leo

• Ches' Best Jokes: Mississippi Race, Caffeinated Energy Drinks 

• Good to see Jost & Che a bit more mercifully restrained here...in terms of breaking

• I guess Mike Meyers may not have been available this week, but that doesn't matter. Jeremy was the right person for them to trust with an Elon Musk impression as his is both the most accurate and entertaining portrayal of Musk in how it makes him look like an out of touch, meme obsessed, permanently stuck in seventh grade dork. The "epic vulgar roasts" served up by JAJ as the automated voice of Grok were a nice touch.

• It was also really smart of them to bring out Andrew and Ashleys' "Co-Workers Who Just Hooked Up" at this point in this particular episode when the show really needed something with a proven ability to pop with the live audience. Dismukes amd Padilla really outdid themselves here (I mean, only in terms of getting a hyped crowd reaction...I honestly don't know how well this holds up to it's previous installments). B-

Restaurant Proposal

• This does feel like a slight twist on a sketch the show did when Sarah Silverman hosted 12 years ago...but somehow this is also a sketch that Druskis' performance actually bolstered (even though pretty much any other male host with some musical talent or just plain charisma would do the same). 

• I do love the absolutely over the top level of visual and musical commitment to making this the absolute wrongest thing for the moment. Sarah and Jeremy played into this perfectly.

• I definitely liked Mikey, Andrew and Janes' walk ons the most. B-

Wedding Photographers

• Two matrimony themed sketches in a row? In THIS economy?

• I liked that they finally decided to give Grace a showcase and how she and Druski bought some physicality to this. Hell, even the use of drones and Druskis' "war/whore photographer" line were funny (as much as a joke about a dirty magazine with the word "goon" in the title seems like an oxymoron).

• Of course, I appreciate the show throwing Saidah another bone here. Other than that, nothing else notable about this sketch stood out to me. It was mercifully short, though. C+

Golden Age Of Hip Hop

• Oh Hai, Kam (sorry, rule of threes)

• Oh, so this is the sketch they showed s brief preview of during the game at halftime? If this wasn't the ten to one originally, they made the right call moving it here because it definitely has "latest possible slot in the rundown" energy.

• This reminded me a lot of that old school Hip hop crew sketch that Chance The Rapper did on this show in 2017 (which was also a favorite of mine)...but with an extra layer of passive aggressive snark toward changing societal attitudes.

• Still, with the way this episode went...it was my favorite live sketch of the night and gave me my second genuine laugh of the whole show. B+

Ranking Season 52 From Best To Worst

1. Dakota Johnson/Turnstile (10.03.2026)
2. Druski/The Strokes (11.07.2026)
3. Inde Navarette/Gracie Abrams (10.31.2026)
4. Shane Gillis/Rosalia (10.10.2026)
5. Jalen Brunson/KATSEYE (09.26.2026)

Overall Thoughts

• Well, this seems to have been a more successful experiment than I predicted. Druski was a servicable host that bought some of the energy to the show that the season needed (some is the operative phrase there). 

• From what I've seen so far, this episode is getting quite a bit more positive reaction online among Druskis' fans so I guess there's less people who are "over" him at this point than I thought.

• Aside from one specific sketch, he did fit into the show's mold well (it's not like the show had to meet him more than halfway outside of maybe a couple of moments).

• This episode gets a bonus point for being one of the more consistent and less uneven shows of the season without being quite as thoroughly dull as Jalen Brunsons'.

• Cast usage felt all over the place tonight. Somehow, Andrew Dismukes had one of the strongest nights of his career. Jeremy Culhane and Veronika Slowikoska did too but that's not quite as surprising. They're two of the newbies the show should rightfully be running the ball too right now. 

• Tommy Brennan also had a decent night and Marcello Hernandez was used to an appropriately restrained degree. Somehow, Mikey Day, Kenan Thompson and (perhaps most shockingly) Kam Patterson were next to invisible...but Saidah Belo-Osagie just barely wasn't. She was just kinda...there in mostly straight support roles along with every other name I didn't mention specifically.

Closing Thoughts

• Next week, John Mulaney returns for his seventh time hosting. So, I guess this is another mid November comfort food on the couch binge for the show? Either way, I'm fine with it.

• So far, I haven't seen anything just yet to disprove my personal theory that season 52 will turn out much like season 48 where the Sep/Oct/Nov shows are real rough guts but the show finally gets it's shit together enough in Dec/Jan to start producing some strong enough episodes to hint at a new creative direction for the show.

• Let's see if Mulaneys' next episode sets a similar trajectory in motion much like the non-monologue portions of Dave Chappelles season 48 monologue did. It should, I mean...John Mulaneys last two episodes were surprisingly pretty good.

• Oh, and keep an eye and an ear out for the next episode of the We Heart Hader Podcast coming out soon. Deej and I have wrapped up our coverage of season two of Documentary Now and we're covering both parts of the season two finale "Mr. Runner Up: My Life As An Oscar Bridesmaid" (a parody of the infamous Robert Evans documentary "The Kid Stays In The Picture"). 

• After that, we're releasing our 50th episode of We Heart Hader. We've got something special planned which we'll let you in on when that episode comes out and you get to hear it.

• See you soon!