Ariana Grande/Cher (12.20.2025)

Presidential Address

• I was a bit surprised that they would return to the standard "and now, an address from the President..." framing for a cold open centered around JAJs' Trump...until I remembered that the REAL President Trump actually did give an address like this so, again...they really had no excuse not to.

• Nothing really stood out to me here aside from the redacted Epstein files material and the random Indigo Girls reference (even if the "screen of heavily redacted files" gag is literally something I saw on Twitter earlier today) and the "second favorite r-word" joke. 

• Still, this is far from the worst cold open I could've envisioned for this episode (as part of me was envisioning a cold open similar to one we got in mid October...but our host tonight said that character was dead and buried and she stuck by her word). C-

Monologue 

• Well, I liked the "Domingo/sequel" joke even though it doesn't quite play as well after they actually made three sequels to Arianas' original Domingo sketch without her involvement.

• I liked the Mariah parody. I mean, it's FAR from the worst "All I Want For Christmas" parody I've seen this show do, but...this would've hit harder had I not come across this YouTube clip from Sabrina Carpenters' Netflix Christmas special from last year where she sings a song with the EXACT same premise with Kyle Mooney of all people as the mystery relative.

• I don't want to accuse the show of plagiarism or anything. I'll just say that I thought this monologue was the better execution of this concept simply for not being as heavily autotuned and utilizing the current SNL cast much better.

• One line I particularly liked was "I panicked and ordered a Yeti mug/the Christmas equivalent of a shrug". B+

Elf On The Shelf Support Group

• Hmm...decent premise for a sketch in a Christmas show.

• The further this goes along, the more I can deal with the high pitch voice modulator percmeating this sketch.

• I liked Jeremy, Ariana, Mikey and Kenan's performances the best along with the confetti explosions being triggered by "bad thoughts". Hell, they even found a way to work Kam into this sketch. B+

Home Alone

• Well, I was disappointed to see we were moving away from a showcase of Ashley Padillas' Catherine O'Hara impression to another anachronistic Christmas gore fest pretape. 

• Still, I was mostly OK with this since they mostly backed off if these for what felt like at least a year (probably more since the Grinch/Whoville themed one that got put up online was cut for time from Martin Shorts' episode).

• I did like the visual of Colin Jost as Buzz just getting absolutely shredded by a fan just before the reveal of this entire thing taking place in the mind palace of a sleep deprived Ashley (which, honestly, made up for this being another one of...those in my mind). B-

Coreographers

• At first it felt odd, that Marcello would be the male lead in this type of sketch in Bowens last episode until it became obvious from Bowens performance that this was very much an ensemble sketch.

• This sketch felt incredibly disjointed and unfocused (almost like it was five sketch premises jammed into one) but again, given the ensemble nature and the already odd structure to this sketch, those things actually worked in its favor.

• Everyone really got a moment to shine here (even JAJ and Chloe but especially Jeremy). Marcello and Ariana played strongly off each other and I liked his line about making diabetes "look like something you want". Plus, it was the perfect length for what it was. B-

Peacocks' Random Duet Spectacular 

• So, I guess they decided they should do an updated 2025 version of the "Christmas song" impression parades they did for each of Fallons' hosting stints from the early 2010s?

• I was a little wary of this given how modern SNL fans have pretty much conditioned themselves to be sick of impression parades and how...just, modern pop culture in general is way too soft on its celebrities (and especially pop music stars) in general (some times for perfectly valid reasons) for this to be worth anyone's time (maybe this was because I had just seen some tweets reminiscing about how In Living Color used to brutally roast their musical parody subjects 35 years ago) but there were some fun moments here.

• Ariana did a fine Katy Perry even if her inexplicable space trip seems like ancient news now (can't have her host SNL and NOT do some singing women impressions, can we?) and pairing her with JAJs' Bob Dylan was wonderfully odd enough for me.

• Not quite sure what to make of Sarahs' Kate Bush but Bowens' Yoko was funny.

• I liked how they used Dismukes' Springsteen (it seemed like they were just repurposing his and JAJs impressions from that red carpet sketch from last season at first) but Marcellos' Bad Bunny seemed too...needlessly jammed in for me.

• Kenans' Stevie Wonder was fine. I liked the visual of Benson Boone just flying into frame, crashing into things but part of me was hoping he'd just be played by a blue sequined dummy being brutally thrown around, but i guess they had to hire a professional stunt person.

• Boy oh boy, I'm sure SOMEONE I know who I hope is reading this was tickled pink that they let JAJ play Cameron Winter from Geese!

• Surprisingly, Chloe's Bjork actually worked for me and I got a kick out of seeing Veronika as Post Malone.

• I was glad to see they found an impression for Kam that works for him as well as a way for Jane to just play herself in this sketch.

• Ending this on a duet between JAJs Andrea Bocelli and Arianas' Celine was very sweet...but almost too sincere of a note to end this on. C+

Black Santas' Burglary Trial

• OK, so...this isn't so much a goofy Kenam focused "Miracle on 34th St." parody as much as it is setting the audience up for a Cher cameo, isn't it?

• Stopping the "Believe" parody for this back and forth between Kenan and Mikeys' prosecutor is...kind of killing the momentum of this sketch.

• What killed the momentum of this sketch more in my mind was the dull thud of an ending where Arianas' judge sides with Kenans' character as they all march out into the audience to Kenan's "Believe" parody...with no Cher cameo at all? 

• Was this just an intro to her first song that sounded so much like "Believe" that it just as easily could have come out in 1998/99 as it did in 2025? 

• Was this a situation like the one Maya and Fred faced when they did Prince Show sketches when Prince and Beyoncé were actually on the show between 04 and 06 and they each made damn sure they never got to ask them in person?

• Maybe she was asked about this sketch and turned down a cameo here in favor of...a different sketch we'll get to later?

• Oh, well. Some cast members have all the luck in the world, I guess.

• Anyway, this sketch may have been a little uneven, but it was just fine on rewatch...so, I'll just leave it there for now. C+

Weekend Update w/Jost & Che

• Josts' Best Jokes: RFK Jr, Trump/Santa

• Che's Best Jokes: Bill Clinton, "Zero Illegal Aliens", New Statues, MTG Engaged

• Nice to see Kam making up for lost time in this episode with a "character" piece that works for him and plays up on his supposed "bad boy" image without having to let him go full on Kill Tony.

• I'm glad that we not only got in a joke swap but that they changed the format and length of it so that only Jost tells Che written Jokes and the episode still has time for...more appropriate things.

• As much as the "trend forecasters" never quite hot for me, it was very sweet of Aidy to actually show up for Bowens' last show. Even if part of me was hoping for Cecily or Ego, it's nice to see Aidy make her first cameo since leaving outside of SNL50.

• This does make sense due the fact that they did this exact bit on Aidys last show in 2022. I am glad they decided to hold off on making any references to this being Bowens last show.

• Really, the only thing I chuckled at during this was the visual of Che in that Marge wig holding two rainbow pride flags. B-

Love Is Blind: The Reunion

• Wow, Mikey must've really liked playing the Grinch last week, hun? We know he must like playing the Grinch more than Pete did.

• Still, I got some mild season 20 vibes from this for how visually expensive and elaborate it looked in service of something that seemed so...empty.

• This felt like it was written by someone who wanted to parody specific tropes and moments from "Love Is Blind" more than anything and there wasn't much beyond this other than "what if we just drag-and-dropped Mikey as the Grinch and he just...played him like a regular douchey dating show contestant?"

• Still, I will say it was a very nice switch to have Mikey be the "weird" outlandish one with everyone else in the sketch questioning HIM in an incredulous manner! (and no, just as i don't buy the umpteenth jammed in joke about a wigged Sarah character being the ugliest or least pretty woman in the room...I WAY don't buy Dismukes & Chloe as Nick and Vanessa Lachey. What the hell was that casting?). C-

Cher Performs "Run, Run, Rudolph"

• I did get a kick out of Ariana introducing this song as her castration character "Antonio" from her previous episode. Now, THERE’S a sketch I did want her to genuinely revisit!

• Even if the sound mixing was more noticeably bad than usual and Cher was inaudible enough that one might think she was lip syncing, I also liked that they used the regular home base stage for this performance rather than the regular musical guest stage. For a second, it briefly felt like this performance came straight out of her 1987/88 episode.

Delta Sky Club

• I should've guessed that Bowen would've gotten the same type of thinly veiled low key meta workplace themed sketch that Cecily got around this time three years ago. 

• Seriously though, I was very genuinely touched by this and moved by how honestly, deftly and expertly it summed up his SNL career (from the good to the even self-admittedly bad) and how strongly he expressed his own gratitude toward the show for the opportunities it gave him and everyone he worked with (and for).

• I haven't felt this much emotion watching an SNL cast members' "farewell" sketch since Stefon and Seth got married 12.5 years ago (wow, it's really been that long, huh?)

• Say what you will about Bowen, you have to admit that on SNL, he bought his own voice and distinct semi-absurdist sensibility to everything he did. More importantly, he never once denigrated his own people and also bucked every cultural stereotype that people tried to put on him since before he even officially started in the cast.

• Yeah, he did a lot of gay themed sketches but they weren't ever "stereotypical". Coming from him they felt very genuine and from a place of Bowen being his true self.

• Boy, I've seen departing cast members get emotional during these types of sketches for them but Bowen...seemed like he was literally unable to keep from crying mid sketch. Kudos to him for keeping it together and pushing through this.

• I wonder if the bit of Bowen spraying Kenan with a bit of egg nog was planned or not?

• Ah, THERE’S the Cher cameo we were all waiting for! I gotta say, his big send off got lined up pretty perfectly because I can hardly think of two better people to bid farewell to Bowen live on air than Cher and Ariana (as much as her performance makes me think Sarah may have originally supposed to have been a part of this but backed out suddenly).

• Farewell, Bowen Yang. We hardly knew ye...but we do know you came along at a time when SNL needed you the most. You always stood out on this show and you'll always occupy a very unique space all your own in SNLs' history.

• There's no doubt you got noticed by the powers that be during your time on the show and you're already making a big splash outside of SNL...so here's to the very bright future you have ahead of you. A-

Ranking The 51st Season From Best To Worst

1. Nikki Glaser/Sombr (11.08.2025)
2. Glenn Powell/Olivia Dean (11.15.2025)
3. Melissa McCarthy/Dijon (12.06.2025)
4. Ariana Grande/Cher (12.20.2025)
5. Amy Poehler/Role Model (10.11.2025)
6. Miles Teller/Brandi Carlile (11.01.2025)
7. Josh O'Connor/Lily Allen (12.13.2025)
8. Sabrina Carpenter (10.18.2025) 
9. Bad Bunny/Doja Cat (10.04.2025)

Overall Thoughts

• Well, SNL gave me just what I wanted from them specifically for Christmas this year; a lower key episode similar to the McKinnon and Butler episodes from previous years that wasn't loaded with cameos and was more sketch and idea focused.

• I guess with Bowens' departure being confirmed the day before the show and the host and musical guest already being two of the biggest names in pop music/culture they decided they didn't want anything to steal too much focus from them, huh?

• Speaking of, I wonder why mid-season departures are ALWAYS more quiet, low key celebrations compared to the big, flashy blowouts we tend to get when established cast members are announced to be leaving the show during a proper May season finale? Is it because the holidays are already an emotional budget-stretched time that they don't want too add too much to? Is it also because they know they'll be coming back from a Christmas show in three or four weeks vs the three of four months they usually take to come back from a season finale?

• Anyway, even though this episode did actually give me what I wanted from it and had a solid host performance...I still wouldn't name ot the best of the season. It was a top five episode for this half of the season for sure, but not everything worked for me, so it was a little uneven in a way that I was totally expecting given the lineup. Still, it was another Christmas episode hosted by a big name that got by on holiday cheer and good, cozy yuletide vibes without just completely coasting on them.

• It feels a little odd to talk about cast usage for an episode where the main focus was on one single cast member but I have to point out what I did notice. Bowen felt like he was going to be used surprisingly lightly this episode until the very end but Sarah was ACTUALLY used shockingly lightly for Bowens' last episode considering how close they are. 

• Unsurprisingly, Kenan, Mikey and Chloe otherwise dominated the show. Dismukes and Ashley quietly provided support when needed. JAJ still gets chances to branch out from the White House little by little. Kam, Veronika, Jeremy and Ben really got to make up for lost time (so did Marcello to a lesser degree). Jane and Tommy seem to have taken some small hits, though.

Closing Thoughts 

• In three weeks time, the show returns in a new year with Finn Wolfhard as host, no doubt promoting the seemingly endless rollout of Stranger Things' final season which had somehow been stretched into movie theaters. 

• I was thinking about what an interesting choice this might have been seeing as...roughly 95% of the main Stranger Things cast would be the closest thing the show would be able to have to a "child actor" host these days until I read that Finn Wolfhard is 22 which must mean that none of the Stranger Things kids are really "child actors" anymore. 

• Still, I can't say I've seen enough of Finn Wolfhard in all of the things he's been in to be able to get a bead on how he would be as a host...so, in my eyes this makes him another "wild card" host (and we didn't have much luck with the last one we got a week ago...and January shows tend to be a bit of a dull wash anyway but I'll go into this episode with an open mind).

• In the meantime, I would encourage you all to listen to the newest episode of We Heart Hader that Deej & I just put out (and maybe, make sure to do so sometime before Thursday). 

• It's our first ever official Christmas episode AND our first ever movie review episode. We review the 2019 Disney+ title "Noelle" Starring Bill opposite Anna Kendrick as the children of Santa Claus who must prepare to take over their father's Christmas eve duties in the wake of his passing. It's exactly as heartwarming as it sounds.

• After that, we will finally release our long awaited review of SNLs' season 33 premiere hosted by Lebron James on January 2nd. I will post my own review of that episode right here on this blog the same date and time as the episode is released. 

• This date is important to me because it's not just my 35th birthday, but also the exact to-the-date one year anniversary of the podcasts debut. I'd like to thank Deej for allowing me a space to call my own with her in the SNL adjacent podcasting world and I'd like to thank anyone who's ever listened to We Heart Hader or read this blog. I wouldn't be doing any of this without you.

• Happy holidays and happy new year everyone!

Josh O'Connor/Lily Allen (12.13.2025)

Air Force One Press Briefing

• Yeah,they didn't fool me for a second into thinking this wasn't going to be Trump themed...but it's interesting from a visual/directing standpoint to see them try something different by framing this as a parody of Trumps Air Force One Press Briefings.

• Seeing the show seemingly comment on Trumps' treatment of female reporters seemed like an interesting angle until it was more about Trump "simping" over Karoline Leavitts' mouth (which did lead into a neat segue into "the line" at least) and then they backed away entirely.

• Seriously, this whole cold open just reeked of wasted potential. It seemed like they had plenty of new ideas from what was on the news this week to focus on but just glossed over each of them. Also, they've been making so much progress in changing the format of these and suddenly they throw that away to go back to doing the exact same things they were doing two years ago.

• Other than that, there sadly wasn't too much to differentiate this from any late season 48/season 49 cold opening centered around JAJ as Trump. I thought the "ambien vs adderall race" was OK. The Santa drone strike footage was cheap amd stupid but I liked Jeremy's reaction to it. C+

Monologue 

• O'Connor seems like your typical charming, self-effacing British actor host, but that's not enough to mitigate my own personal disappointment at a "host gets stuck on the idea of him being the lead in a live action Ratatouille remake" monologue that DOESN'T involve a sudden walk-on from Patton Oswalt.

• At least this was a fairly short monologue where O'Connor just got his plugs in and got out. Still, seems like he'll be a good host despite me not being into that monologue. C-

Let's Find Love

• A post monologue game show sketch where Kenan is a host named "Garth Vader". Ugh.

• Is this somehow going to be another play on Joshs' role in "Challengers"?

• Nope. Instead, the premise is the age cap is lifted to "as old as we can find".

• Well, at least Ashley is the obligatory 84 year old rolling in on a scooter.

• My basic take so far is that even if sketch feels too...empty for me to fully get into, it's still fun to watch Ashley make an absolute meal out of her part.

• The only lines from Ashley I really liked were "I've got a joke; my sister's a bitch" and the "Toy Story 5" stuff. C+

Uber Eats Wrapped

• Oof. Yeah, there's no way this didn't hit a little too close too home...conceptually with everyone watching this in one way or another.

• I liked both of Sarah's scenes in this and JAJ and Ashley played great off each other (as did Ben and Kam). Andrew did fine here, too. B-

Teaching Hospital

• Ah, a Bowen character I never got into. That's just great.

• Look, I'm not saying I'm hoping Bowen leaves next week or anything...but I am hoping that IF he is that it's the only reason he bought this character back this week.

• At least Josh and Andrew are doing...decent with the material they were given. Didn't care for the Bowen/Josh "hope" we're not related" stuff.

• I like Joshs' "plain English" line and I'll admit Bowens' "All That AND a bag of chips" line did get me. D+

Bachelorette Party

• Hmm...sensitive male strippers. Ok, at least this has a little bit more of a "concept" to it...and Ben being one of the male leads in this should make it worthwhile.

• This is a play on the type of "softboi" roles Josh mentioned he is known for playing in his monologue, isn't it?

• Ha, I wonder who did that sad, slow Bon Iver sounding cover of Ginuwines' "Pony"?

• I gotta say every line Jane shouted got me and Ashley played into the premise of this pretty well.

• Ben and Josh had great visuals (like them tearing off their sweaters and pants to reveal another sweater and anothe pair of jeans on each of them and them beating the hell out of a dummy of Mikey at the end). 

• I also got a kick out of Josh's line "I think the President should be Cynthia Erivo" but I wasn't crazy about the "Zorhan" tattoo on Bens' abs or the buildup of them kissing though. B-

Weekend Update w/Jost & Che

• Josts' best jokes: "Not My Fault, Sell Your Blood", Noem/Excorcist, "Trumps' days are lettered", Michael Che in "Hold Up, Madea Got A Daughter?", Waffle House Parking Lot

• Che's best jokes: "Fatmentia", Trump/Kennedy Center Events, Skydiving Accident

• Hmm, Marcello as himself? Doing his own standup? What is this, October 2022?

• OK, I liked the "you don't like the food, you just like having sex with my cousin" line.

• Isn't the "unwarranted sexual advice" bit just straight up lifted from that "ChatGPTio" sketch he did with Bad Bunny (which was apparently "lifted" from some random TikToker? Eh, nevermind).

• OK, he kinda lost me somewhere around the "phone calls from Santa/Spiderman/'Lorne'" bit.

• Ooh, another Jane Wickline song about the end of the human race. At this point, why the fuck not?

• Now, she's singing about how we should kill the cast of Stranger Things for absurd reasons. Because again, at this point...why the fuck not?

• What does it say about this episode that...THAT was genuinely the best part of it? C+

Wizard Of Oz: Deleted Footage

• A fake lost scene from "The Wizard Of Oz? Wow, what a truly innovative, original sketch concept that absolutely no sketch show has ever done before. I'm dead serious right now.

• So, we got Squirm as Dorothy...Kenan as the lion...Josh as the Tin Man...and Andrew as the Scarecrow...and Bowen as the "wizard"? Ok.

• The lion wants a "big ol' thang"? He...wants a big...ass or something?

• Oh, he wants a DICK! Like, a big, super long penis. I see.

• Yeah, this was something I was far too mentally checked out of this episode by this point to be able to get into...but I did admire the effort put into this by the performers (especially Kenan who seemed to be the only one trying with his impression...Dismukes came in a distant second...Sarah an even more distant third because I don't know what the hell she was even going for with that voice).

• As much as I disliked this sketch, I did appreciate it ending on a shot of a chroma keyed prostheticized Bowen. D+

Brad And His Dad

• Hey, it's...nice to see a Christmas one of these (even if I wasn't as into this one as I was into the first one from Nikki Glasers' episode from last month).

• Again, maybe I'm just mentally checked out if this episode at this point...but I liked the overall heartwarming nature of this more than anything. B-

College Class

• I have a feeling that pretty soon, the writers of this sketch may have to publicly claim (on the advice of their lawyers) that they've never seen or heard of "Young Sheldon" and that this is all a big coincidence.

• So...this sketch is half Bowen and Ashley screaming at each other and half Ben, Josh, Sarah and Veronika?

• Again, this is another sketch where I respect the performers commitment (Bowen and Ashley) specifically but I'm a bit too mentally checked out if this episode to get into it.

• Also, this feels like it went on way too long and as much as I saw the ending with Chloe and Josh coming a mile away, I just appreciated them ending it there. C-

Varietys' Characters on Characters

• OK, I do appreciate the absurd character nature of this, but maybe I'd appreciate these a bit more if I'd actually watched any of those "Actors on Actors" videos this is parodying...or, again, if I hadn't already burned myself out on this fucking episode about a third of the way into it.

• I did like the Mikey/JAJ and Chloe/Ashley scenes. Wasn't that into the Josh/Bowen and Marcello/Kenan scenes though. I did get a kick out of JAJs very last line as the announcer, though. B-

Lily Allen Brunch

• Wow, a sketch set around a restaraunt table. That's another fresh and innovative concept SNL is bringing to this season.

• So, someone mentioned tonight's musical guest, Lily Allen, and now this sketch turns into everyone going around the table...singing in her accent about however they've just been minorly slighted or inconvenienced?

• ...and presumably this is a musical parody sketch to the tune of one of the songs she sung earlier in the night? 

• Actually, going back and looking at her performances from the episode this doesn't sound like either of those songs, so maybe it's a parody of an album cut she *didn't* perform?

• Come to think of it, the running song in this sketch reminds me the most of Lily Allens' song "The Fear" which came out nearly two decades ago. Huh.

• ...and this ends with the real Lily Allen coming in and bring mistaken for a waiter because she is too polite to raise any objections?

• I didn't dislike this because they pretty much set up the audience for what this was but I feel like this will be lost on people who haven't listened to Lily Allen's new album who watch this on YouTube completely out of context from the rest of the show due to how fractured modern consumption of music is now.

• Still, it grew on me a bit on rewatch. I didn't hate the concept or the framework of this or anything but I did like the individual performances more, so...yeah, it kind of fits the theme of the night.

• I liked Veronikas performance (glad to see she got some standout moment for once) as well as Kenans. I did get a kick out of seeing Chloe just plain get steamrolled by Bowen. 

• Most of all, I liked Jane's performance just for the sheer strangeness of her talking at length about her ferret who mysteriously shows up and singing about her telepathy.

• I guess the thing I liked most about Jane's performance was her choice to not to her part in the hackiest cockney accent she could conjure. 

• I don't have much else to say about this sketch, so I'll just say that it doesn't bode well for the episode that I found the most interesting part of this episode to be the point where i figured out that it was actually Dakota Johnson hidden in the shadows at the end of Lily Allens' second musical performance (and that was at the very end so I figured it out at the same time you guys did. 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. Amy Poehler/Role Model (10.11.2025)
4. Melissa McCarthy/Dijon (12.06.2025)
5. Miles Teller/Brandi Carlile (11.01.2025)
6. Josh O'Connor/Lily Allen (12.13.2025)
7. Sabrina Carpenter (10.18.2025) 
8. Bad Bunny/Doja Cat (10.04.2025)

Overall Thoughts 

• Yeah, if you've read this far, you can probably tell by now that I didn't care all that much for this episode. It wasn't the absolute worst of the season, but it's definitely in my bottom five. Nothing in it was egregiously or aggressively bad, it was more like passively bad. This episode just felt like one big...nothing. Only two sketches felt like they had any thought put into them at all.

• Josh O'Connor wasn't a bad host, not Elordi level bad or anything. He just seemed like a host who gave it his all in spite of the writing staff not really knowing how to use him at all. 

• Considering who next weeks' host is, I got the sense that the show was just on auto pilot and running out the clock this week because they were saving all their energy and ideas (and hopefully not just their list of potential A-list cameos) for the big Christmas blowout they were planning.

• Cast use mostly seemed balanced. If anyone really stood out from the established names, it would probably be Kenan, Bowen, Mikey, Andrew and Ben. JAJ got to do a bit more non-Trump stuff this week. The women as a unit really shined with Ashley standing out as usual. I was really impressed to see the show finally start to figure out how to use Jane and Veronika in a way that makes them shine and plays to their strengths.

Closing Thoughts 

• Next week is this season's big Christmas show as well as the last new SNL of 2025 with Ariana Grande returning to host...surprisingly soon after just hosting in the first half of last season but hey...who else are they gonna be able to get to plug "Wicked For Good"? 

• Also, Cher is the musical guest for some reason...just like Stevie Nicks was the musical guest in Arianas' previous episode for some reason. I don't know how she's able to do it but somehow Ariana Grande is able to pull impossibly big name musical guests when she hosts.

• A lot of people seem to think Bowen Yang may be leaving this season and this may, in fact, be his last show based on...I dunno, the fact that's he's in the same movie that Ariana is plugging and he's got a deal to make another one...and that he's made his mental health struggles with the show quite public and that he posted the shot of the corkboard announcement of this episode to his Instagram story with the simple caption "byeeeeeeeeeeeee"? 

• I mean, we thought the same thing about Colin when his wife hosted last seasons' finale back in May based on similarly specious reasoning...but cast members of Bowens' ilk have left at Christmas time semi-unexpectedly (Maya, Amy, Cecily) so...I'd say it's plausible but I'd believe it when I see it.

• Well, any way you want to look at it, this sounds like it's gonna be a BIG show...but it's pretty obvious they've lost a great deal of the momentum for this season they've built up back in November, so at best...I'm cautiously optimistic.

• I'm not the biggest fan of Arianas in the world and probably not the target audience for this episode but I will admit that aside from maybe one or two specific sketches (you all know which ones, I'm sure) she turned out one of the more solid episodes of season 50 that I did enjoy and she's always performed well in sketches on the show. 

• The Christmas episode of that season however (hosted by Martin Short, another beloved performer who has a strong history with the show) was one I wasn't as big a fan of. I got the sense that it was a big, flashy Christmas blowout but it was one too heavily loaded with big name cameos and retreads of previous sketches that didn't quite work for me.

• This year's Christmas episode has the potential to go either way and I'm hoping it doesn't go the way of big flashy cameos again (which thankfully isn't something that Ariana relies on in her episodes at all) and gives us something a bit lower key and idea- focused like recent previous Christmas shows hosted by Kristen Wiig, Austin Butler and Kate McKinnon (so yeah, maybe keep the cameos to a minimum of two or three and make sure they're all performers the host has chemistry with).

• Hey...speaking of Christmas episodes, you may have heard me mention on the last episode of We Heart Hader that Deej and I would be doing a review of the SNL season 33 premiere hosted by Lebron James. Well, we had a very sudden changes of plans. We decided to push that episode back to a later date. That episode will now be released on Friday, January 2nd 2026 which is Noth my 35th birthday and the exact one year anniversary of our podcasts debut (thanks to all of our listeners, we couldn't have done it without you).

• As for our next episode coming out on December 19th, well...that will now be OUR Christmas episode. As for what we will be talking about or why and how it's now holiday themed, I will reveal that in due time. Check my socials.

• See you again soon!

Melissa McCarthy/Dijon (12.06.2025)

Pentagon Press Conference

• Smart of them to open with another Jost as Hegseth sketch. He pretty much owned this whole thing. Bowen, Ben, Ashley and Andrew played off him extremely well. 

• For some reason, the "Dane Cook/Super-finger" and "Anmaniacs/countries of the world references got me the most. This might be the strongest "acting" Jost has ever done on the show.

• I initially wasn't crazy about how they snuck Sarah's Matt Gaetz in there, but watching Bowen easily resist her attempts to break him was...a nice touch.

• Even though I knew EXACTLY how this was going to end, I at least appreciate how they actually transitioned to the JAJ/Trump "stream of consciousness" (although the Mamdani jokes seem a bit out of date). A-

Monologue 

• Nice to see Melissa back on this show again. I wasn't too crazy about the "mouth horn" bits and the snow thing I kinda saw coming from 50 miles away, but I got a big kick out of the physical business with the piano.

• The singing and dancing with Kenan and the others was a fine capper to this. I guess I was just expecting something a little more...sprawling around the studio from Melissa and less...a more broad version of an old Adam Driver monologue. B-

Free Samples

• Hmm, intriguing choice to pair Melissa with Jeremy right up top. I do like the idea of a woman (totally platonically...until the very end) reading WAY too much into the intentions of a simple grocery store employee offering free samples to the point of offering him her mother's ring. This is definitely the type of concept that ONLY Melissa McCarthy could make work.

• For some reason, I was expecting the return of Melissas' "Hidden Valley Ranch" character but I guess this is more one of Melissa's dimmer "not all there" Barb Kellner/"pass that mash" type characters. Looks like we're about to go on a bit of a journey, here.

• Out of the non-Melissa bits of the sketch, I liked the business with Ashley and the cart. Mikey telling Melissa to untie her racist dogs may have been my favorite part of this. B+

Helping Hand

• Hmm, a slight twist on a similar short from Billie Eilishs' 2021 episode where the elderly neighbor is still a psycho, but this time just actively torments those who lightly tease a very young child.

• I already like how there are different elements to this one that escalate the sketch to some new height of absurdity each time.

• I'm sure I'm not the only one who got a kick out of seeing Marcello tied up...or Sarah and Chloe as Anora-esque hookers. 

• I wonder how it would take Mikeys character until he fired the gun to mistake it for a "Nerf" one?

• The ending was wonderfully deranged, especially with Jeremy as the cop and Melissa as the new "snowman". It gives this a real air of "who is the real unreliable narrator here?" B-

UPS Personell Management 

• This seems like it’s going to be a cross between the Harry Styles Sara Lee sketch from 2019 and the horror flick test screening sketch from Melissas' 2016 episode (but with Ashley in the role that Cecily would've gotten).

• Maybe they sprinkled in a little bit of Barb Kellner, Hidden Valley Ranch Lady and Sheila Kelly in for good measure? I draw those specific comparisons as this character came off as "dim witted yet wildly aggressive".

• Even though this sketch kind of meandered without really escalating or going anywhere, I did get a kick out of the "peoples' elbow", the live bat, Melissas' "fainting" and the tearful "17 Days" line. This whole sketch might have been the closest I have seen Mikey come to breaking...ever.

• I didn't mind the USPS button so much as I was expecting something like this at the end. I just wish they had executed that gag completely differently. Maybe Donna could've been promoted to CEO of UPS or something more absurd and/or ridiculous than another fucking "unexpected" commercial button? B-

Weekend Update w/Jost & Che

• Josts' Best Jokes: Trump/MRI, Star Wars Ponchos, Epstein Island Photos, TikTok, White House Christmas Decoration

• Che's Best Jokes: Franklin/Dora, Speaker Mike Johnston, New Train Video Game

• Hey, Ben got his first Update feature! I mean, it's pretty much a way less one joke version of Alex Moffats' "Guy Who Just Bought A Boat" but still, good on him. He performed this very well.

• I wasn't crazy about the TV dinner stuff, but I loved the added detail that his extreme sunburn came from him falling asleep with his overhead reading light on from the plane ride to Ireland. The all ginger, all sunburned children's choir was a nice touch, too.

• As for Sarah's commentary, it's a lot different than previous update commentaries of hers where she played a talking animal or some other kind of non-human creature. Thankfully, she was less focused on Jost roasts to the point where the only two she got in really landed.

• This was a great showcase for her physical comedy skills, too. Honestly, part of what kept me drawn into this bit was the anticipation of how something so elaborate might fall apart so easily. For example, I don't know if her letting the bottle of alcohol fall over the desk was intentional or not, but she handled that along with the slight night vision Ring doorbell camera miscues like a total pro. B+

Truth Or Dare

• So, was this just "Mild Southern Lesbian Experimentation: The Sketch" or just a more repressed remake of "The Hunting Wives" without the guns or Amy & Aubrey? Either way, it was cute and charming and I certainly liked it.

• For some reason, I could see this sketch being done during the Kate/Cecily/Andy era. It was the first piece of the night that felt less like it was written specifically for Melissa McCarthy and felt more like any female host who could pull off a passable southern accent. Also, this seems to be Jane's first appearance of the night. Fitting.

• A mayonnaise AND yogurt dip? Ew, what the hell?

• I got a kick out of all the dares Sarah's character was involved in. I especially liked the use of the phrases "reveal our breasts" and "choke me sexually". I especially liked the visual of Jane and Sarah coming back from their pantry wearing each other's shirts backwards.

• This might go without saying but Ashley did a great job anchoring this sketch. I liked her revealing her Spotify age to be 210 (and apparently I don't even get to HAVE one myself right now since I only use Spotify infrequently to listen to certain specific podcasts...yes, including my own). C+

Sunday Supper

• This seemed like Andrew Dismukes just punched up and old Kyle Mooney sketch that someone submitted in, like, 2018 to better match his own "pure id" comedic style. Still, it might legitimately be the funniest sketch of the night.

• I got a kick out of the visuals of of Dismukes dressed as a hobo with a stick and bindle and a small suitcase with just a hat and feather boa from a "dress up box" and then just straight up drinking gasoline.

• I liked Melissa's anecdote about him trying to hop a freight train after accidentally saying "I Love You" on the phone to the pizza guy but coming back because he got scared after bring offered some crack.

• I got a kick out of Melissa saying she hopes Dismukes doesn't return because he is a burden on her right before he comes back saying "the neighbors' dog was outside and I got scared".

• Strange that this would be Kams' first and only appearance of the night. B-

Cousin Planet

• Did anyone else think for a second from those brief three seconds of Windows 95 desktop graphics we got upfront that we were about to get another Jarretts' Room?

• The janky ass graphics, DIY homemade costumes and set design paired with the handicam shot video style do make this feel like it could've been an early Lonely Island Digital Short. It felt out of a time and place sometime between "Laser Cats" and "Virganica Horsen".

• This was a lot of fun. I especially got a kick out of Melissa as the "mayor" explaining the "flexible" no hooking up rules.

• It's good to see they're letting Jane Wickline and Veronika Slowikowska branch out with their songs and musical showcases and even with all the Obama First Term era autotune this was pretty catchy. 

• Still, I gotta ask. We've seen Jane do a song where she said she was supposed to be Sabrina Carpenter and heard of a cut for time Update feature where she said she was supposed to be Harry Styles. Was she supposed to be Charli XCX for this one? It sure sounded like it. From what I've heard of her more recent music, this sounded like it would've been right at home in her episode from last year with her in Veronikas' place in it. B+

Christopher & Guillaume 

• Does "Weird Al" Yankovic know Bowen and Melissa have been raiding his wardrobe?

• I got a kick out of the Minion Nativity Scene and the "Gingerbread Slumlords" line but beyond that, I didn't quite know what to make of this...other than that I wouldn't want Bowen or Melissa to run into Nick Kroll or John Mulaney for a while.

• My biggest problem with this sketch is that it's mostly crosstalk and high speed patter which we get a lot of right out of the gate so...that alone made it a bit harder to not tune out long enough to parse crucial elements of it.

• As for Melissa's presence, this didn't feel written specifically for her either. This feels like it could've starred any host (male or female) in another era if Bowen didn't decide to make this a vehicle for just him and either Kate, Cecily or Sarah and stick the host in Tommys' reporter role.

• Speaking of Tommys' role, him revealing his name to be "Ribbed Con-Dom"...yeah, that bummed me out a little bit. 

• Back to Melissa, again...this isn't a sketch that plays to her strengths nor did this feel like a sketch only she could enhance (maybe except for her line explaining to Tommys' character that she is, in fact, a woman) so...yeah, this was kind of a wash. 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. Amy Poehler/Role Model (10.11.2025)
4. Melissa McCarthy/Dijon (12.06.2025)
5. Miles Teller/Brandi Carlile (11.01.2025)
6. Sabrina Carpenter (10.18.2025) 
7. Bad Bunny/Doja Cat (10.04.2025)

Overall Thoughts

• Overall, this was a pleasant show that started off strong, but it was a rather uneven one. Still, this was strong enough to make it into my personal top five of the season so far.

• The strange thing about this episode was that it felt like a tale of two halves. The first half of the show felt like they knew how to play directly to Melissa McCarthys' strengths as a performer. The second half felt like they were trying to fit Melissa into the modern show's templates. 

• While the latter type of sketch didn't bring down the show or anything, it does show how far the show is removed from the era of "Big theater kid energy" in which Melissa has previously thrived on the show.

• Still, I guess the more subdued and less wildly sprawling nature of this episode is partly due to Melissa herself having grown and matured as an actress and wanting to move away from the type of broad, physical humor that defined her previous hosting stints.

• Melissa managed to dominate the show anyway with Sarah and Ashley tied for a close second and Chloe a distant third. Of course, Melissa got some assists from Mikey as well due to their long time Groundlings connection, no doubt. Aside from people like JAJ, Jane, Tommy and Kam who were seemingly only used once or twice, everyone else seemed to get a fair amount of airtime.

Closing Thoughts

• Next week, Josh O'Connor makes his hosting debut. Now, THIS is the true wild card of the season. Here's an actor who isn't known nearly enough for anyone to get a bead on how he might do as a host. 

• Glenn Powell was a first time host who has previously cameoed on the show but outside of that he's a popular enough actor that people would've accurately guessed he'd do well on the show. Josh O'Connor is a guy we've got nothing on, but I'm still going into this show hoping to be pleasantly surprised.

• Hell, I'll be starting a new job next week anyway so I'm sure my review of that episode will be a little...off.

• Also, please listened to the newest episode of We Heart Hader that just dropped two or three nights ago. See you next week!

Top Five Bill Hader SNL Sketches & Moments From Season 32

The following blog post is a companion piece to the latest episode of the We Heart Hader Podcast with special guest, Demi Constantine, whom you might know from the SNN Patron Feedback Shows or as new permanent third cohost of the new Saturday Night Ladies podcast (which they very graciously allowed me to be a guest on very recently)

Give either one of our shows a listen, won't you?

5. The First Chocolate (Matthew Fox/Tenacious D - 12/02/2006)

The downfall of the once mighty and powerful Mayan civilization is attributed to the invention of hot chocolate. It's sheer overpowering sweetness is enough to completely destroy their fighting nature of their warriors.

• This is mostly a vehicle for Fred Armisen and Matthew Fox to ham it up over how great they find the taste of chocolate, but Bill stumbling in and delivering the world's first brownie recipe as he is dying from an arrow through his torso, switching from dramatic wounded warrior mode to casually talking about chocolate practically steals this.

4. Buying Beer (Shia LaBeouf/Avril Lavigne - 04.14.2007)

A convenience store cashier (Thompson) isn't persuaded by two obvious underage teens (LaBeouf and Samberg) to let them purchase two six packs without seeing their IDs despite their exaggerated talk of their adult ages, work histories, number of children or the other times they previously bought beer and cigarettes at other stores. He is then given a “certificate of responsibility” by an “official” ATF agent (Hader) whose wallet is taken by a “robber” (Forte) who assures everyone that the ATF agent's ID is very much real. 

• Yeah, this is mostly a patented goofy Samberg/Lonely Island sketch thar I have written and talked about before...but Bill does come in and unravel one of four additional layers that needed to be peeled away for this sketch to arrive at it's conclusion in a cheerfully stiff manner. 

• Still, he's very peripheral here and doesn't really show up to drive the plot until about halfway through the sketch.

3. Dry Eyes (Justin Timberlake - 12.16.2006)

A game show where host Gary Pierce (Hader) challenges contestants NOT to cry at heartbreaking/heartwarming scenarios and quotes researched from their own real personal lives or during a medley of emotionally charged songs during the final speed round. Today's competitors are school teacher Jerry Bertrand (Armisen) and 22 time returning champion firefighter Brett O'Connor (Timberlake) 

• This is the first of many game show host roles for Bill (setting up an archetype he would reliably excel at throughout his SNL career).

• He does a great job of setting up the basic premise and rules of this sketch, laying the groundwork for Armisen and Timberlake to flesh out the more emotional parts of it.

2. Late Night Movie: The Curse Of Frankenstein (Hugh Laurie/Beck - 10/28/2006)

Frankenstein (Hader) somehow turns the tables on a group of angry, torch wielding villagers (Laurie, Wiig, Poehler, Armisen) tricking them into going after Dracula (Sudeikis) instead of him but then shames them for judging his appearance too harshly when Dracula sends them back to him.

• I put this at #2 on my list because Bill anchored this and was the main focus of it especially calling out the angry mob at the end. You can actually read and hear more of my thoughts on this sketch in the previous podcast episode and blog entry I put out reviewing the episode it came from.

• The only thing keeping it from being #1 in my mind is that there is another more Bill centric sketch from this season that hit harder for me that I haven't talked about yet...

1. Al Pacino Checks His Bank Balance (Dane Cook/The Killers - 09.30.2006)

Al Pacino (Hader) calls Wells Fargo customer service because the mattress store won't accept his debit card. A Teller (Wiig) moves 620.00 from his savings to his checking leaving him with 606.00 to purchase a mattress.

• I put this at number one because it's pretty much pure, unfiltered undiluted Bill Hader dominating a scene in the season premiere by shouting pure nonsense doing one of his most famous impressions. Doesn't get much better than that.

• Bills' Pacino was a hit with the audience of the previous season's premiere so it makes perfect sense for him to this in a sketch in the following season's premiere. Plus, you get to see him put his theory of how impression sketches should work into practice (i.e. they work better when you remove them any of their previous acting roles place the subject into an everyday situation where they must deal with a mundane disappointment).

• Hmm, something about seeing someone talk to an actual person at their bank on a flip phone JUST to find out what their balance is makes this feel...quaint. I mean, obviously, this was the pre-iPhone/Android era when there were no apps on your screen designed by your bank to let you SEE your balance, but still.

• Kristen, of course, plays well off of him as the chipper customer service rep but Bill had so many great lines in this it's tough to single out just one. What does stand out to me though is that this is all in service of Bills' Pacino wanting to buy "an astronaut mattress that comes with a glass of wine on it."

• This may be a reference to a commercial that's very specific to this time (and may not be all that well remembered 20 years after it aired) but the performance by Bill sells this so well you don't need to know the reference to find it funny.

• Some light Googling does reveal that he was referring to a NASA designed memory foam mattress from Tempur Pedic, who around this time aired commercials where people would "test" their mattresses by jumping on one side with a glass of wine on the other to show that because the mattress absorbs energy WITHOUT transferring motion, the wine glass won't spill. Somehow, this was supposed to help you sleep better than a SleepNumber bed.

Honorable Mentions

Monster Under The Bed (Annette Bening/Gwen Stefani, Akon - 12/09/2006)

Casey (Poehler) sees a monster in her room which terrifies and alarms her parents (Bening, Forte) more than it does her. Eventually, Caseys' parents turn on her caring more about their own safety and well being than hers.

• This is mostly an insane, screaming Will Forte vehicle (and may be a cheap ripoff of a 32 yr old Simpsons joke, now that I think of if) but it still manages to be the most memorable moment of an otherwise "lame enough to never get repeated" episode of SNL mostly thanks to Bill.

• Hader steps out of Poehlers' closet as the "monster" in question, wearing insane gargoyle/demon makeup and singing "Have A Holly Jolly Christmas" way off key in a voice that can be best described as "Dean Martin meets Vincent Price" before being suddenly shot to death by Will and Annette, leaving Poehler to sleep next to a dead monster.

• Ladies and gentlemen, this is the only way you can truly follow insane, screaming Will Forte.

Monologue (Matthew Fox/Tenacious D - 12.02.2006)

After falling on dark, hard times since the cancelation of his previous hit series "Party Of Five", Matthew Fox has come to terms with being one of the only cast members from a hit TV series to not get asked to host SNL. After having a talk with Cheers' John Ratzenberger at a bar, he realized he's in the same league as Friends' Matt LeBlanc and Seinfelds' Michael "Kramer" Richards (Hader) who barges in to pitch him on the two of them cohosting SNL together as he's falling on even harder times after the Laugh Factory incident.

• Hmm, I...guess Lacey Chabert was either considered too young to host during Party Of Fives' heyday or the show got canceled before she even COULD host?

• Anyway, Bill comes roaring in to lighten up what was turning out to be a grim, creepy, almost too "low energy" for its own good monologue with a Kramer impression he was forced to study old Seinfeld clips come up with in two days time because it was one impression he didn't have in his back pocket then. 

• Apparently, whoever wrote this monologue insisted on keeping in Bill as Kramer. To Bill and that writer's credit, Bill developed an impressively good handle on this impression in such a short amount of time. I can tell how well he got the voice down by how many traces of Michaels Richards' early '80s pre-Seinfeld/Kramer "Fridays" era voice I can hear in there to point you'd think he'd studied whatever footage of that show was available at the time and just paired with with Michaels' exaggerated physical shtick as Kramer. The impression as a whole worked so well he decided to reuse it in a later sketch that season that turned out to be Vinny Vedeccis' talk show debut.

• Fun fact: in real life, Michael Richards was actually booked to host SNL in March 1994 but apparently NBC executives forced Lorne to dump him in favor of Nancy Kerrigan. He may have been booked again in 1998 but backed out saying he thought he couldn't do it anymore. A little "Fridays" related anxiety, perhaps?

Closing Thoughts

• …and that's my list of top five Bill Hader sketches and moments from his very first season of SNL which, once again, is the topic of the newest episode of the We Heart Hader Podcast. 

• Of course, my regular co host Deej Barens and our gracious guest Demi Constantine each made up their own lists which you will have to listen to the podcast to get from them.

• Also, I have more in depth thoughts on some of these sketches that I have already gotten into in previous episodes of the We Heart Hader Podcast. If you would like to hear them, please listen to this episode as well as this one and also this episode.

• I've also posted full length reviews of these episodes on my blog so if you'd simply like to READ my thoughts on these sketches and episodes feel free to read them here, here and also here.

• The next episode of the We Heart Hader Podcast will be another "Impression Spotlight" focused on Bills' James Carville impression. After that, we will start our season 33 coverage with a full length review of that season's premiere with host LeBron James & musical guest Kanye West.

• Before we get to either of those though, I will continue my own personal coverage of SNLs' 51st Season as it progresses with next weeks' Melissa McCarthy/Dijon episode. See you guys then!

Glenn Powell/Olivia Dean (11.15.2025)

White House Press Briefing

• Huh, Karoline Leavitt. Quite a role for Ashley. She's killing it as usual and even playing off the rest of the cast well.

• Hey, there he is. At least he just suddenly pops in to frame instead of doing the whole "freeze frame/tableau" thing. Better use of JAJs Trump to have him actually interact directly with the press corps instead of doing another semi-soliliquy.

• Hey, they managed to sneak in the obligatory "Putin has photos of Trump blowing Bubba" reference everyone was expecting.

• Nothing really stood out to me about that cold open but writing-wise it's a substantial improvement over most of the last three seasons of Trump related cold opens (especially in terms of length). B-

Monologue 

• I gotta say, Glenn Powell is doing extremely well as a first time host. He exudes an effortless charm without seeming to detached from the show.

• Perhaps the biggest kick I got out of this monologue was his setting up a 20 yr old clip of him lip syncing to Fall Out Boys first big hit as having a French art house influence.

• What I liked most about this monologue was how Glenn talked about how much the show meant to him without talking more about the show itself (aside from that quick Lorne impression he snuck in) and his connections to it than he did about a random UPS driver he happened to take a selfie with. 

• Considering the episode Glenn was originally supposed to host was literally canceled due to Covid, maybe it's for the best for him that he had to wait four years. B+

A.I. Photos

• Hey, Ashley playing the grandma and Sarah playing the young daughter! There's a switch!

• Another switch, Marcello isn't chewing scenery and he has the best lines in this.

• It was pretty smart to have Glenn play the guy in the old timey photos in this. I remember someone tweeting a couple years ago when "Anyone But You" came out that he and Sydney Sweeney have names that make them sound like actors from the 1940s so it's nice to see he, Veronika and Mikey can pull off the LOOK of that time, too.

• I do like how the entire premise if this was just pointing out how most A.I. generated content is so visually fucked up that no one could possibly mistake it for being real and how it functions as a commentary on how it contributes to making the boomers generations' rampant Fox News brainrot even worse than ever in ways we never previously thought possible.

• This function well as a companion piece to the A.I. classroom podcast sketch from Chalamets' episode from January and even expands further on the idea behind that.

• Perhaps the biggest laugh I got out of this was Mikeys' fake Ken doll smooth crotch popping up. B-

Missing My Exes' Dad

• Ok, they're just taking full advantage of Tommys' sheer "aw shucks" midwesternness and Bens'...ability to...convincingly play a generic male country pop singer at this point, aren't they?

• Wait...a country trap beat? Well, we did get Pete back in the building. Did he bring "Big Wet" with him and introduce them to Ben & Tommy?

• I liked the premise behind this music video and how evergreen it was with the twist NOT being that SNL tried to tie in another pretape to whatever the hell this month's tired ass viral trend is. Song is pretty catchy too.

• Glenn didn't quite pull off the role of "middle aged ponytailed guy" as convincingly as I had hoped but he made up for it with his singing and dramatic acting when falsely accusing Jeremy's character of trying to kiss him multiple times.

• I liked Sarah's reactions to just being blown off the whole time. I do think Kenan should've gotten a bigger part though because it felt kind of odd to see him get washed off the screen so easily.

• Hmm...I wonder if that was Bens' actual dad playing...his actual dad? After all, we know his dad never actually worked on this show before. B-

Sebastian Maniscalco

• Huh...so I guess Marcello was just dead set on getting his Sebastian Maniscalco impression on the air this season?

• I mean, I've seen just enough real clips of Sebastians' real standup to know that Marcello...has the voice and physical movements down decently without exaggerating them too much.

• Hell, I even liked his "Twister" bit and Glenns' sudden "Your Body Is A Wonderland" shout out.

• Still, this makes me a bit bummed that we never got to see Melissa Villaseñors' impression of this guy make it to air.

• Did Marcello audition with this impression or something? Did he and Glenn bond over a shared ability to do...passable impressions of this guy?

• Hey, we get Chloes' Jennifer Coolidge as the obligatory Bachelorette party stripper! That's...an ending I'm genuinely OK with. C-

Scent Of A Marriage 

• So, I guess Chloe is giving us a more grounded version of her "Ooli" character in a more cerebral setting?

• I wonder if this is an idea Glenn himself pitched? The premise of actors being overly hyped up in between takes of even the most dramatic, ennui-drenched Bergmann-esque art house films seems like something that would've come from the mind of someone who's spent most of their life on big movie sets

• ...and out of this sketches casts I'd say Glenn must've spent the most time on actual movie shoots with JAJ coming in a distant second and Chloe a distant third.

• I'm glad that this turned out to be the main "gag" of the sketch instead of the same take being ruined multiple times. I'm also glad Jane gave us the wackiest accent in this. 

• Perhaps most of all, I'm glad that Jeremy and JAJ added some variance to this sketch. Even when Chloe's doing something that works well for me, there's only so much I can take of JUST Chloe bring the main focus of something. B-

MacGruber?!?

• What...the...HELL?!? 

• Ok, the fact that this is completely unexpected (so unexpected that Chloe has to take the place of Kristen Wiig) automatically makes me WANT to place this slightly above the MacGruber from the episode Will actually hosted around the last time tonight's host was almost booked.

• Yeah, MacGruber being in the Epstein files isn't the most creative twist right now (and certainly feels a bit more out of character than him being an anti-mask/anti vaxx/J6 insurrectionist) but any unexpected Will Forte cameo is always a welcome surprise. C+

Slay Division

• Huh, were Bowen and Sarah watching Spice World at some point this week?

• Ok, I gotta say...for a sketch that seems designed in a lab or by some A.I. for me and others to hate...the performances from pretty much everyone in the cast (and Glenn) are actually saving this for me. Hell, even Tommy and JAJ somehow fit into the vibe of this sketch surprisingly well.

• I liked Bowens' "get the manager" line and Sarahs' quip about how they like to "listen to Tate McRae and do poppers until they pass out". Plus, another dolled up Sarah look. Not bad there.

• I didn't even mind the button on the end of this since I liked the performances so much and I still don't even know if "Zara Midtown" is even a real place.

• Yeah, the writing of this sketch seems to have "James Anderson" stamped all over it in big red letters...but really, it's like an old first draft of a James Anderson sketch was punched up by a much more competent and engaging sketch writer.

• Yeah, it also reminded me and others of that "It Girl Thanksgiving" sketch almost on it's exact one year anniversary but it seems more like whoever wrote that sketch rewrote it  to makes it roughly 1000x more accessible to the large swaths of SNLs audience who...didn't care for that sketch (and not just because it contained numerous references to people they don't know or care about). B-

Weekend Update w/Jost & Che 

• I suspect this might just be my (and many others) favorite Weekend Update since the one Tina and Jimmy did back when Conan hosted in March 2001 due to it's sheer length alone more than the way Jost & Che were able to work an already hyped up crowd (with Che especially being able to play them like a fiddle)

• Josts' best jokes: "duh", Dahmer email, Dementia Dome

• Che's best jokes: Epstien/"take him down", Home Depot, Trump/BBC, Different World/HBCU, Pennies, Hitler DNA. B+

Taken

• The more I chew on this sketch the more it sinks in that Glenns' pretty decent Liam Neeson impression alone isn't enough to distract me from the fact that this is basically another "Dismukes plays another cucked, emasculated dork to Chloes' character who just so happens to be the dumbest, horniest bitch ever" sketch.

• Still, I will say that it's a much better version of what they were going for with the Jason Momoa cast away sketch from two years ago. 

• Hell, I'll just go ahead and say it. This is a slight improvement over the same basic formula that gave us fucking Domingo (just swipe out Marcello for for any handsome male hosts the show may happen to have and nobody will notice it's the same basic sketch!)

• Oh yeah, I am relieved that they buried the closest thing they had to an "obligatory host is hot" sketch in the post Update half of the show. C+

MacGruber?!? II

• I...guess Jorma just called up Forte &  Lorne and pitched him this idea this week and Glenn was just game enough to go along with it because he's just a fan of the show and of Fortes' era in general?

• I liked MacGrubers' threats to furlough Glenns character just before adding him and Chloes' character to the list with a marker.

• I did like the twist that for once the bomb DIDN’T go off but MacGruber actually tried to get it to go off anyway to destroy the Epstein files by any means necessary. B-

Haircut

• I LIKE IT!!!

• ...but seriously, it was great to see Ashley anchor yet another sketch that manages to invert and tweak each individual element of her office birthday/fart sketch from last month that didn't work and yet still is unafraid to be as unashamedly goofy and absurd as any obscure [adult swim] series you could name.

• I liked how Ashley entered this scene immediately trying to sell us on the same sense of barely repressed shame and embarrassment she did in the office/fart sketch, but even more subtly and how she named other random made up celebrities whose hair her hairdresser has done.

• I also liked Mikeys' brief outburst of "I HATE IT!!!" before suddenly promising to get them a new waiter. I also liked how the sketch ended with Kenan as the new waiter revealing himself to be supportive and he has a similar "skin square" to Ashley's character as they have the same terrible hairdresser. B+

MacGruber?!? III

• Ok, the twist of MacGruber only being a ground crew member on the plane who's only "crime" was selling cut-with-playgroujd-sand cocaine and meth to Epsteins' actual "clients" worked for me because does feel more "in character" for him.

• The song could've been cut and I wasn't crazy about the ending though. Seemed a little too out of left field for me. 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. Amy Poehler/Role Model (10.11.2025)
4. Miles Teller/Brandi Carlile (11.01.2025)
5. Sabrina Carpenter (10.18.2025) 
6. Bad Bunny/Doja Cat (10.04.2025)

Overall Thoughts 

• Somewhat surprisingly, this turned out to be the second best episode of the season. I know some of you reading this would be more inclined to give it the top spot in your rankings but I'm placing it second simply because while I was pleasantly surprised throughout the whole show, I felt the highs of this episode weren't as high as last week's with Nikki (but the lows were middle of the road enough that they were practically non-existent). Even Olivia Dean made for a solid musical guest!

• I went into this episode with a mix of high and low expectations. I had high expectations for Glenn as a host because with him being a first timer my only real hope was that he wouldn't be a complete stiff and would be a game host for anything. He certainly exceeded my expectations there to the point that I would like to see him host again either next year or whenever his next movie comes out.

• The only low expectation I had for this episode was that it was the last one before Thanksgiving break and those are usually kind of a wash when they're hosted by a regular actor (and when a Thanksgiving episode is hosted by a comedian or pop star all bets are off) but something about this episode made all of its individual parts come together in a way that exceeded that expectation as well.

• Even the high levels of energy and electricity from last week were still everywhere in the studio because it was evident they were still trying new things and taking some new chances with old formats that paid off.

• Hell, they even found ways to use Chloe and Marcello in ways that actually made them seem likable and professional!

• Speaking of cast usage, Ashley absolutely dominated tonight (as well she should) and most everyone else the show leans on (Bowen, Kenan, Chloe, Sarah, Marcello, Mikey & Veronika) felt like her supporting cast (even Glenn at certain points).

• Ben, Tommy & Jeremy continue to make their presence known as the show tries out different types of roles for them to see what sticks.

• JAJ & Dismukes feel like they took some hits this week but that's mostly because they were relegated back to just playing Trump and/or various cucked losers from being used in more prominent roles through the night.

Closing Thoughts 

• Next week, Melissa McCarthy returns to host for her sixth time Overall and her first appearance on the show in eight and a half years (not counting the odd cameo appearance here and there) with musical guest Dijon (who may or may not be the Chinese phrase for "Oh, brother" according to Aunt Linda)

• Hey, you can read my review of that sketch and the episode that callback comes from here and listen to my podcast about it here.

• Seriously though, Melissa McCarthy has always been a reliably stellar host so it will be intriguing to see her return in an era where the show is substantially different from her last appearance. Let's hope SNL can keep on this upward trajectory to close out 2025!

• Before that episode airs, my next blog entry will be my list of top five Bill Hader sketches and moments from SNL season 32 as this will be the subject of the next episode of the We Heart Hader Podcast. Both the podcast and the blog post will be coming out this Friday with special guest Demi Constantine from the SNN Patron Feedback Shows and the newest regular cohost of my WHH cohost Deej Barens' other podcast Saturday Night Ladies (where they graciously agreed to let me be their second ever guest to review last week's Nikki Glaser/Sombr episode)

• Speaking of which, the release of that episode was the main reason my personal review of that episode was as late as it was so in case you didn't get to read it...feel free to because it definitely exists.

• Happy turkey day, everyone!

Nikki Glaser/Sombr (11.08.2025)

The following regular blog post is also a companion piece to the newest episode of Saturday Night Ladies, whose cohosts have graciously allowed me to be a guest on this week.

Saturday Night Ladies is the sister podcast to We Heart Hader launched by my regular cohost Deej Barens along with Shari Fesko and Demi Constantine (whom you might also know from the Saturday Night Network Patron Feedback shows).

As you can probably tell, I timed this publishing so as to no spoil what I would say on the podcast.

Give us a listen, won't you?

White House Press Conference 

• Hmmm....very bold, very risky choice. Let's see how they actually tackle this.

• Apparently Marcello is Dr Oz instead of Mikey? Ok. Fine, sure.

• Great RFK Jr there, Mr. Dismukes.

• Apparently, they're doing this JUST like they've done pretty much 99% of the JAJ/Trump cold opens they've done the past three seasons. 

• Don't know why I should've expected this to be that drastically different, but there are a few small touches of slight variance from JAJ here that I do like such as him tripping over the collapsed man and the "MRI/punch card" line. C+

Monologue 

• Ok, HERE'S what's sure to be the highlight of this episode.

• I wasn't that into the Trump/spray tan stuff until she transitioned into the insane "tan lung" class action lawsuit commercial.

• While I like how Nikki demonstrates her ability to flawlessly command the room with this set, I feel like I might prefer one of her previous specials to this monologue for how "safe for TV" this material had to be.

• I'm more used to seeing her starting with the raunchy sex stuff before winding down and transitioning into relationship stuff so it feels a bit strange to see her do the complete opposite here but the plus side is it brings the energy going up going into the first post monologue sketch (which is a crucial element to the show that they need to realize applies to live viewers)

• My biggest laughs in this monologue were the nails/short boyfriend "they go inside him/gun on the top shelf" stuff. 

• The "showering with her nephew" stuff was the perfect thing to end this on. B+

Family Karaoke Night

• Yeah, I figured the entire joke here would be "lol oblivious incest vibes" once Nikki & Tommy got on stage.

• Having attended the taping of Nikkis' "Good Clean Filth" special where she talked about having kissed her dad on the lips until she was 26, I figure this must be a Nikki-centric idea she bought to the show. Knowing now that Tommy has gone on tour with Nikki, I can definitely see more how this got on.

• Speaking of, this might be the first Tommy-centric sketch so far in his tenure. He already seems to be a slightly divisive cast member, but...this really didn't sway my opinion of him either way. We've seen his standup on Update but I haven't really gotten to get a bead on him as a sketch performer yet.

• Ok, I think this would be as good a place as any to say I'm really not crazy about this fairly new trend of Sarah being relegated to "straight woman sitting at table reacting in shock and disgust at everything" roles in sketches (even as much as she sells the absolute shock and horror of it all here).

• I do like how hard the sketch ground to a halt after Sarah's "humping his sister" line (especially after that Boyz II Men needle drop felt a little too obvious).

• The bit about the brother and sister sleeping in the same room until Nikki went to college and getting separate beds at 17 definitely felt like a Nikki punchline.

• I did get a kick out of Dismukes' Dad character singing "Too Close" with Nikki and Tommy singing "You've Got A Friend In Me" to Sarah but it felt like it ran a couple of beats too long in between those moments.

• Ending with Nikki deeply tongue kissing Sarah? Ok, I don't have a huge problem with that. C+

Hudsacillin

• Hmm. "The Jennifer Hudson Spirit Tunnell"? This feels like something I don't quite know was a thing because I've only see one or two clips of this on social media completely removed from any real context.

• Hell, I didn't even remember Jennifer Hudson even still HAS a morning show until just now. Do Kelly Clarkson or Drew Barrymore still have either of theirs?

• The biggest kick I got out of this was Nikki listing various bad dancing styles she tried at home in front of the mirror that didn't work.

• The thing that makes this work is, again, how specific this idea feels to Nikkis' mind that only she could do this and would have to play herself in it (although if these "spirit tunnel" videos truly are enough of a viral phenomenon that an SNL pretape could be based around them, I find myself agreeing with Jon Schneiders' take that some other testimonials could have saved this. I truly wouldn't have minded some extra cameos here because I can't really see how a cast impression would've improved this...especially not one of Chloe's).

• Still, I guess that's one of two things that separate this from most SNL fake prescription ads with the other being that it's a pill that actually makes you sick (similar to "Flaritin" from season 38?) instead of helping you achieve your goal which...yeah, seems like a better ending than just having Nikki dance happily. Steve Higgins voice over at the end really hung a lampshade on what a cop out that would've been.

• Speaking of the ending, I did also like the meta twist with Marcello dancing on the tunnel because he really wants it. C+

Beauty & Mr. Beast

• Boy, this sure feels like a non idea someone blurted out when called on at the Monday pitch meeting who had no other ideas.

• Nikki, Kenan and Bowens' costumes looked as slapdash and thrown together as the writing of this whole sketch felt but I did get a kick out Kenans' line about realizing $2500 isn't a lot if money.

• I liked how they at least found an impression for Ben Marshall that he could legitimately pull off. I did get a kick out of Bens' line about his "top half being beast and his bottom half being completely smooth". 

• This almost seems like another case where a cast member has too much of a soul or just too much behind the eyes to play whoever they're impersonating but Ben pretty well captured Mr. Beasts' empty eyed, soulless, half rictus grin that I keep seeing on all these weird snack products he slaps his name and likeness on at every frigging store I've gone to in the past year and a half which due to my advanced age are the only thing I know him from and thus  the only cultural context I have for this fucking guy.

• I guess beyond that Mr. Beast is a YouTuber who makes videos where he has regular people undergo bizarre challenges for amounts of money that are still less than the obscene riches he makes off doing this? 

• Hmm...maybe my only takeaway from this sketch SHOULD just be that it's just another one of those pieces where they explain some YouTuber or social media influencers' whole "deal" just to point out how sadly ridiculous it is that they're worth billions of dollars? That premise alone is becoming the new "tale as old as time".

• This started off feeling like something that would've been RIGHT at home on the old "MAD" Cartoon Network show if Mr. Beast had been around 15 years ago. Once Kenan and Bowen began singing "You're Depressed" to "Be Our Guest" (which parsed about as well as the rest of this sketch...which is to say not very well), it started feeling like something out of a Family Guy cutaway gag (and apparently there's evidence out there that this exact premise was done by Studio C, produced as early as last year but only aired/uploaded as early as last week, which isn't a great look for either side. I'd chalk it up to "parallel thinking" if the timing didn't seem so wonky, but...this sketch seems like it was destined to catch a fair amount of shit from smug pissant GenZers on social media anyway...and if you are one who's managed to find this review and make it this far, congratulations)

• The "I Don't Get It" - Every Person Over 25" review gag was my biggest laugh in this. That really hit and may have been the only time that a fake review gag in an SNL sketch was legitimately funny. Also, I'm vaguely familiar enough with who Kai Cenat is to get a chuckle out of "Kai-sablanca". C+

American Girl XL

• I can't believe the sheer number of sketches SNL has done about creepy grown ass men behaving inappropriately inside an American Girl doll store in the past eight years. 

• Ok well, now that I think about it's only been three but still...it's pretty weird that SNL has mined that very specific idea for comedy that many times.

• Of course, the guys all sold the creep-tastic nature of this and the timing of Nikkis concerned sideways looks at each of them was flawless. Due to the rapid fire pacing of this pretape, there were too many individual moments to list as favorites but I will single out most of Bens' lines and Kams' "biracial" doll being made to look like his brothers' wife as favorites.

• JAJ just suddenly barging in to take over the spokesperson role from an increasingly creeped out Nikki got possibly the biggest laugh of the whole show from me here. A-

Runaway Mechanical Bull

• I was hoping we'd get some kind of fun Nikki & Sarah (!!!) collab and even though there seemed to be quite a lot going on here for a live sketch, this turned out to be quite fun for the sheer heights of detail heavy absurdity it reached. 

• JAJ singing an Arlo Guthrie type score to this was just the icing on the cake. He reminded me quote a lot of the "train traveling/riding the rails" song from MST3Ks' "Girl In Lovers Lane" episode.

• Even Janes' first lines before suddenly just bailing on the sketch made me laugh (even if that's something they did before too in last season's Timothee Chalamet Starbucks sketch, IIRC)

• This functions well as a white trash companion piece to the "Two Bitches Vs A Gorilla" sketch from last seasons' Quinta Brunson episode.

• I liked the fourth wall twist of Sarah being called by her real name and the unintentional one of a pair of errant panties lying on the platform Jeremy was supposed to lay himself across to make is appear that was floating through space. A-

Weekend Update w/Jost & Che

• Che's best jokes: Curtis Sliwa/squirrels, FOX News on Mamdani, GenZ/"paying w/cash is 'cringe'"

• Josts' best jokes: RFK Jr, Mexican President, SeaWorld

• I'm genuinely surprised the extended applause break at Josts' first mere mention of Mamdanis' victory didn't result in another quick band shot at the end of the show from something getting cut for time.

• Oof. Yeah, that "Trump doesn't have to pay SNAP benefits" joke should've been cut...and the "Michael Jackson biopic" joke should've been rewritten.

• This wasn't a great Update Joke-wise for Jost & Che but at least it's great to see them actually having fun doing this again.

• Wow. Genuinely wasn't expecting a Pete Davidson cameo this...or any week really (especially to talk about his Staten Island Ferry fiasco w/Jost) but in spite of his reminding us that he did, in fact, play the Riadyh Comedy Festival...I enjoyed this more than I thought I would (which...I can say about a lot of stuff Pete did, but nonetheless).

• With his jokes about his father's death, potential ICE run ins with Staten Islanders and him, Jost & Che being potential Epstein clients in an episode hosted by Nikki Glaser, it's nice to see an attempt at making gleefully dark humor a running theme throughout tonight's show.

• More specific things from Pete I liked were his Lorne/Tina joke and the Classic Pete/"New" Staten Island jokes. B-

Sorority Meeting

• I like how intensely specific and weird this premise was right from the get go. It felt like something modern SNL would otherwise never attempt.

• Am I the only one who legitimately couldn't tell whether that was Tommy or Mikey under that "Rocky Dennis in White Chicks" looking mask until it came all the way off? 

• Seriously, the face screamed Tommy but the voice gradually suggested this was Mikey.

• I liked how Ashley was just straight up shamed for being the only one genuinely catching on to Mikeys' ruse (for which no other explanation was seemingly given besides watching bikini car washes from inside a garage with towells on his lap) as he was literally peeling the mask off to eat a donut.

• I liked even more how the cast soldiered on with this sketch in the face of what appeared to be a crucial prop malfunction with the vape smoke not appearing through the eye holes as they were literally explaining how that was supposed to be happening and the tears just barely working or even being visible (and how they obviously put up the dress version of this on YouTube where the complete opposite of this happened).

• Fortunately, what made up for it was how flawlessly the cut to the pretaped segment of Nikki pulling off her "mask" and revealing herself to be Andrew Dismukes was. B+

SNL Animated Short: Brad & His Dad

• Of all the odd one off attempts at animated segments SNL has tried to get off the ground in the post TV Funhouse era, this one I definitely liked the most because it clearly had the most effort, thought and care put into it since any previous animated segment put on SNL since Robert Smigel was still regularly producing them.

• It felt different and a lot more heartfelt than anything we've seen on SNL since at least the Jack Handey era. In fact, it felt very noticeably and stylistically different from the previous animated segments Mikey & Streeter did for the show last season.

• Speaking of, I can definitely tell that's Mikey as Brad...but who did the voice of the father? Was that Streeter or Dismukes?

• Anyone else get legitimate Kids In The Hall vibes from this? It felt like a ditect cross between one of their filmed sketches and the [adult swim] shows "China, IL" and "Brad Neelys' Harg Nallin' Sclopio Peepio".

• Anyway, the best moments for me here were anytime the dad put on a video game headset (especially the brief "never say that to me because I'm white" rant) as well as the playground/drone scenes (especially the ending call back).

• I get how the football scene gave some people nice, warm Peyton Manning flashbacks but it didn't quite hit the same for me (pun unintended yet unavoidable). B-

Pilot Announcement

• Well, I have been wanting to see more JAJ character pieces or just more non-Trump sketches with JAJ as the main focus. This was definitely more the latter than the former but he did well with the role he was given here. Kam as his wilder copilot giving him sexting advice was a nice touch even if he didn't exactly steal the scene or anything.

• With as many sketches set on delayed flights with rambling pilots and sketches about dating apps and sexting in general the show has done in recent years, he really had the chops necessary to elevate this into something unique. 

• This also might have been Sarah's best performance all night. I know, she’s still just "reacting to something" but I liked how she at least showed she's capable of having a similar type of chemistry with Dismukes that he has shown he has with Ashley to the point where they can bring each other just barely noticeably close to breaking.

• I also liked Kenan and Bowen silently gesticulating at each other as JAJ described specifically what type of gay guy he wanted advice from.

• As much as I love Nikki, this is the one sketch she didn't particularly shine in but good on her for letting some underutilized cast members share the spotlight. B-

The Make Believe Meadow

• Not quite sure which specific children's book this is a loose parody of (I'm guessing a cross between Narnia, Alice In Wonderland & Winnie The Pooh?) but one thing I am certain if is that Mikey and Jeremy's obsession with pinwheels made this feel too much like a bad ten-to-one Fred Armisen sketch from sometime between 2008 and 2010.

• More specifically, I am thinking of Freds' "calculator" sketch with John Malkovich from December 2008 and his "sparkling apple juice" sketch with Bryan Cranston from October 2010.

• While I do appreciate everyone's commitment to this premise (especially Mikey and Bowen), I can't say they put this over because this fundamentally just wasn't for me. C-

Ranking The 51st Season From Best To Worst

1. Nikki Glaser/Sombr (11.08.2025)
2. Amy Poehler/Role Model (10.11.2025)
3. Miles Teller/Brandi Carlile (11.01.2025)
4. Sabrina Carpenter (10.18.2025) 
5. Bad Bunny/Doja Cat (10.04.2025)

Overall Thoughts 

• I think I can safely say without my person bias creeping in that this is the best episode of the season so far. It got off to a slightly uneven start but ended up being the least uneven episode of the season so far (which is probably the worst thing I can say about it).

• Nikki was an excellent host if not a slightly green live sketch performer and I definitely think she should return at some point.

• This episode delivered everything that I was hoping for from any episode hosted by a stand up comedian who is new to the show in that their unique presence delivers a creative spark in the process and encourages the show to try out ideas they wouldn't try any other week (even if some of those ideas don't quite have universal appeal).

• I'd even go as far as to say that with the way this season has been going, I got almost the same thing from this episode that I got from John Mulaney's first two episodes from 2018/19 (which is even more impressive when you consider the fact that Nikki doesn't have the home field advantage of having written for the show for a number of years before her stand up career really took off).

• Cast usage was still a bit strange tonight, but I liked seeing a lot of Kam, Jeremy, Tommy, Dismukes & Sarah (as they slowly but surely figure out how to better use her), JAJ (being highlighted in non-Trump roles) and Mikey & Bowen (as long as they're playing to their better instincts as performers).

• I'm not quite as down on Marcello as some others are (like I definitely am with Chloe) but it's nice to see them being put on the back burner for a bit to give others a chance to shine along with Ashley & Veronika this week (and I'm NOT down on them at all but again, they've been doing a lot of solid work this season so it'll be nice to see them give others a chance to shine.

Closing Thoughts 

• Next week, Glenn Powell makes his hosting debut for the last show before Thanksgiving. These Thanksgiving adjacent episodes are typically a wash and I'm certain there won't be the same spark there was this week but I'm also sure that Glenn will be a game host who will bring some enthusiasm to the show.

• Hey, don't forget to listen to me in the newest episode of Saturday Night Ladies talking about this episode!

• Also, don't forget to listen to the latest episode of We Heart Hader where we continue our "No Small Roles" series and talk about Bill's guest spots on animated TV shows.

• In the coming weeks on We Heart Hader, Deej and I will be doing another "Impression Spotlight" episode focused on Bills' James Carville followed by the start of our SNL season 33 coverage with the LeBron James/Kanye West episode. See you then!