Jack Black/Jack White (04.04.2026)

NCAA Final Four Post Game Show

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Monologue 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kathy

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

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

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

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

Words To Live By

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

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

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

Ultimate Dojo

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Carry On My Wayward...Husband?

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

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

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

Weekend Update w/Jost & Che

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The 300

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

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

Spring Break AirBnB

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

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

Ranking The 51st Season From Best To Worst

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

Overall Thoughts

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

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

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

Closing Thoughts 

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

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

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

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

Jack Black/Elton John & Brandi Carlile (04.05.2025)

Trumps’ Tariff Speech

• Speaking of numbers, I guess we're back to paint-by-numbers JAJ Trump Cold Opens again, huh?

• Well, at least they're making, uh, improvements to his makeup here.

• The “Make America Great Depression Again” stuff was OK, I guess.

• Hey, Dismukes is a commerce secretary. Neat.

• The forced Borat reference was completely unnecessary and the Cheesecake Factory McDonald Island jokes were…eh.

• I did like the gag of Trump explaining the “formula” though. Kind of reminded me of the equation in the background of the White And Nerdy video.

• The “reciprocal/bedroom” joke was good for a “wait, what? Oh nevermind” type near shock laugh.

• C'mon guys, that brief “God's country” callback wasn't worth a frigging applause break. Even JAJ himself looked slightly annoyed at having to deliver that nonsense. I liked the 30 Rock/Tina reference just fine.

• At least Mike Meyers’ Elon likened this up a little. The “self vandalizing Tesla” animation may have been the true highlight of this. I also liked the “tariffs sound dumb” ending. 

• Part of me has to wonder if JAJs line “it's time to never see you again” could possibly mean that Mike Myers has too busy of a schedule to play Elon again at any point in the season and this is his last cameo of season 50? C+

Monologue 

• After everything I saw last week, it's so nice to see Jack Black call band guitarist Maddie Rice by her first name and then kick off the show with a big Tenacious D style musical number that sprawls around the studio…even if all he's doing so far is just listing all the big paycheck family friendly films he's done since he last hosted.

• Heidi and Marcello were great sports. You can tell Heidi was clearly having a blast.

• Huh, quite odd to see them not call ANY attention to Bill Burr and Kieran Culkin being in the audience (straight from tonight's performance of “Glengarry Glen Ross” I see). B-

Love Match

• Hmm…this is the hardest sketch to get a bead on I've seen on this show in YEARS.

• I chuckled a bit at Marcellos’ “the true answer is butt” line.

• The premise seems to be “what if a regular, sincere guy dressed like Indiana Jones whole vehemently denying knowing anything about Indiana Jones at all?”

• I have to say this feels like a premise we've seen numerous times but Black & Dismukes are acting the hell out of this.

• This does seem like a very Andrew Dismukes-centric idea too as it is reminiscent of his “Joker Wedding” and “Jumanji” sketches from the past few years.

• I chuckled a bit more at his line about Marcellos’ character looking 12 years old and JAJs’ character looking just like Jane Lynch.

• Most of all, I liked the very tight writing and pacing of this. Even once we saw Bowen revealed to be a guy dressed as Capt. Jack Sparrow (possible Lonely Island shout out there?) this never felt like it overstayed its welcome. B-

Flamin’ Hot Preparation H

• Ok, I liked how hard this leaned into its own gleeful stupidity and I liked how it gave us two back to back Jack Black/Andrew Dismukes pairings. (Yes, that was Andrew as the voice of the cheapest CGI Chester Cheetah you've ever seen).

• It was nice to see Jack Black INTENTIONALLY sweating his ass off for once (pun unintended but fuck it, I went with it anyway). C+

One Uppers

• Another “hip group of young, trendy people at a restaurant” sketch AND another “people constantly try to out do one another” sketch rolled into one. How…innovative?

• Ok, so maybe the framework of this isn't very new but I do admire the show risking a minor derailment and nearly throwing its own timing out if whack just for the sake of putting something on that very nearly defies accurate description. 

• Seriously, the best way I could describe this was just “Eagle Screech Whip Pans”.

• I did like the needle drop of Disturbeds’ “Down With The Sickness” during one of Ego's closeups.

• Even just a stupid fart noise punctuating Sarah & Dismukes announcing that they were “poly” just before Heidi summons the cheapest eagle puppet you may have ever seen made me chuckle when couched in with this chaos. B-

The First Play

• Another unique and creative premise on display here that genuinely feels the least like anything they've done before.

• I immediately liked the idea of people witnessing the historic moment of the first ever acting performance treating it as a dialogue or normal conversation because they may be unfamiliar with the basic concepts of “acting” or “pretending” even just “lies”.

• I loved the gag of Longfellow pulling a red streamer out of Bowens’ chest plate to simulate his stabbing death.

• I feel like the promise of later nudity in the play was a kind of cheap ending but this sketch (and this host in particular) had enough gravitas to put that over. A-

Goth Kid On Vacation

• I liked the bait-and-switch/mislead of this better than the main joke once it got revealed but hey, nice use of Longfellow here.

• I liked Jack Black singing “Black Parade” (THEMES!!!) possibly most of all here. C-

Weekend Update w/Jost & Che

• Come on, guys. Just let this Morgan Wallen thing die already!

• I liked Che's “Trump will not stand for plundering/Chinese tariffs/D.E.I. school funding/Matt Gaetz” jokes just for how much bite he gave them. Josts’ “#WhyVinDieselTrippin” and Kid Rock jokes were Ok.

• I'm actually pleasantly surprised to see Marcello and Jane's severely mismatched couple return. I actually liked these characters during their debut in Mulaney's episode from November and I still think this is the best use of Marcellos “loud shouting man” persona.

• Among Marcellos’ stand out jokes were Romeo & Juliet, going “stupid on a woodwind”, Doctor Who and doing dishes/cooking.

• The gag of Jane deadpanning risqué, suggestive/aggressive lines still works.

• The Russell Brand/Chris Brown flashback from Jost worked for me the way they intended, though. I ALMOST liked that code breaker joke.

• I liked Josts’ Subway Nachos/Goofy stuffed animal joke but the HBCU joke that preceded it may have been the point when the joke portion of this Update started to lose its sharp focus (hey, at least Che got through another whole Update without another “hey, it's the ‘90s”). The Hooters joke could've derailed it completely but the next commentary stopped this whole Update from falling off a cliff.

• I was DEFINITELY on board with Ego “Ms Eggy” Nwodim as a Queen Of Def Jam Comedy from the get go (even if her “voice” seemed to be a mix of Lisa From Temecula, Esther from Sanford & Son, her “TSIDDAHN!!!” teacher and her “Rich Auntie With No Kids” among possible others.  

• Her reaction to certain unexpected audience reactions really made this for me (and made me genuinely wonder if there could be any “fallout” from this or if this portion could be included in any possible 10pm “vintage” rerun slot). B-

Making Love

• Right off the bat, this seems like an exact cross between a similar high wire sketch from 2019 with Cecily Strong and Chance The Wrapper and both of Melissa Villaseñors’ “dirty talk” sketches with Aziz Ansari and Donald Glover.

• The “champagne” joke worked for me. Not sure we needed Bowen as the “third” but Brandi Carlile as the “fourth” fully justified his appearance.

• I could see this not quite working as well with any lesser hosts (or musical guests for that matter) but Jack Black and Brandy Carlile really had the gravitas to hit this out of the park. 

• I also liked how they pulled out to reveal the stagehands operating the cables on the side of the stage. B-

Bass Lake Jam Session

• Hmm, what if a cover performance of Tom Pettys’ “Free Fallin'” had so many bass players it literally caused structural damage to the pier it was being played on?

• Well, this proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jack Black is the only performer on Earth that can make this specific sketch premise work. I love how he provided the detail heavy nature that needed to work.

• Is that Dismukes on drums?

• Thankfully, this didn't turn out to be a sketch that Heidi would ruin with her newest impossibly dumb one off character being the main focus. I mean, I wasn't exactly worried this sketch would tank when I saw her show up. Well, let's just say I was more…distracted…than worried and leave it at that (‘cuz I couldn't quite tell if those were 100% her real ones either…but anyway, moving on).

• I got a kick out of Marcello bringing up spoons and then saying they were just for crack.

• I got a kick out of Bowen bringing up his base in a keyboard shaped carrying case.

• Hey, any sudden appearance of The Simpsons theme song is A-OK in my book!

• The gag with Ego's dog being a bass player too was just goofy enough to work for me.

• Oh hai, Devon & Ashley.

• This reminded me a bit of an MTV Spring Break sketch with Cameron Diaz where Amy Poehler is taking song requests and is increasingly frustrated that everyone keeps requesting “That Don't Impress Me Much” by Shania Twain…even Tracy Morgan. Anyone else? No? Care to watch the sketch on TikTok? No? How about this other sketch from season 27 that the Preparation H thing reminded me of?

• Anyway, a surprisingly strong sketch for the back half of the show. 

• …and yeah, while I'm posting links to random season 27 sketches i found on TikTok I might as well share this one with you since it was the one that this sketch apparently reminded everyone else of. B+

WWII Times Square Kiss

• Hmm, I feel like I may have heard a joke with this exact same premise somewhere recently, but that didn't stop me from enjoying this one. 

• All the performers in this did a fine job of selling those old timey ‘40s voices. Kenan and Mikey were…there, too.

• I did like the added detail of Jack's character just being an anti-Asian propaganda cartoonist whose work is considered too shockingly racist even for war time in the 1940s. C-

Ranking The 50th Season Best To Worst

1. SNL50: The Anniversary Special (02.16.2025)
2. Jack Black/Elton John & Brandi Carlile (04.05.2025)
3. Nate Bargatze/Coldplay (10.05.2024)
4. John Mulaney/Chapell Roan (11.02.2024)
5. Bill Burr/Mk.Gee (11.09.2024)
6. Chris Rock/Gracie Abrams (12.14.2024)
7. Paul Mescal/Shaboozey (12.07.2024)
8. Lady Gaga (03.08.2025)
9. Timothee Chalamet (01.25.2025)
10. Mikey Madison/Morgan Wallen (03.29.2025)
11. Dave Chappelle/GloRilla (01.18.2025)
12. Martin Short/Hozier (12.21.2024)
13. Ariana Grande/Stevie Nicks (10.12.2024)
14. Charli XCX (11.16.2024)
15. Shane Gillis/Tate McRae (03.01.2025)
16. Jean Smart/Jelly Roll (09.28.2024)
17. Michael Keaton/Billie Eilish (10.19.2024)

Overall Thoughts 

• Ok, this may or may not be a hot take but I say this episode may be perhaps the strongest contender for best episode of the entire season (if you don't count the 50th anniversary special from February as an “episode” like I do).

• I know that last week set a ridiculously low bar for this episode to clear but the show played so well to Jack Blacks’ dynamic energy and strengths as a host that you would think he may have been heavily involved with the writing and pitching.

• It also helped that after a week packed with old recurring sketch templates this episode gave us a lot of fresh, unique ideas that felt very original for this era of SNL (or at least put some new twists on some old concepts we may have seen before).

• While Ashley and Devon took some minor hits in airtime this week, it still felt like a week where no cast member was shut out entirely. In particular, James, Andrew, Heidi and Ego made great strides this week.

Closing Thoughts 

• Next week, another four timer Jon Hamm makes his return to hosting after a 15 year absence of his own (minus the odd cameo every now and then).

• Whether in cameos or as a host, Jon Hamm was always a performer the show knew how to use effectively and two of his three host outings are certified classics, so let's hope that SNL can keep this weeks good, strong vibes going and hopefully ride that energy all the way to the end of the season next month.

• After I review that episode, the next post you're likely to see on this blog will be a review of the Julia Loius-Dreyfus/Paul Simon episode from season 31. Of course, this is going to be the next full length SNL episode that me and Deej will review for the We Heart Hader Podcast.

• Oh, that reminds me. You'll also be seeing a review of the Steve Martin/Prince episode on both the blog and the podcast this coming Thursday, April 10th.

• Have a good one, guys!