Saturday Night Live
Miles Teller & Brandi Carlile
November 1, 2025
Miles Teller returned to host Saturday Night Live last night, his second time on the 8H stage since 2022, where I praised his work despite finding him “very punchable.” I’m happy to report that last night he came off considerably less punchable: he seems to have matured in the past few years, and grown more comfortable in his own skin. And that worked well for him last night, as he was a solid presence in a very solid episode. The episode faltered towards the end; but for a good 80% of the show, the writing was sharp, the performances funny, and the jokes, especially the political ones, were whip sharp.
The cold open is a spoof of the recent New York City Mayoral Debate between Andrew Cuomo (host Miles Teller), Zohran Mamdani (Ramy Youssef who is SO GOOD as Mamdani), and Curtis Sliwa (Shane Gillis), with NY1 journalist Errol Louis (Kenan Thompson) moderating. And of course, James Austin Johnson’s President Goofus interrupts because he can’t stand not being the center of attention. Leaving aside the presidential interlude, the rest of the sketch is so on the nose as to almost be a documentary — but in a good way! This mayoral election has been crazy, and the writers manage to capture each of these candidates’ weaknesses and peculiarities.
All that said, I’m curious: did this sketch play for non-New Yorkers? 1. I used to live in New York many many years ago, and (small brag), my husband actually ran the 1997 Mayoral Debates (I got to meet Al Sharpton! He’s very short!), so I always enjoy a good debate sketch. And 2. I go to New York about once a month these days, so this election has been in my line of sight all year. I know that Fox News is making a whole thing out of the election because they are terrified of Mamdani, but do people with no connection with the city actually care? Do y’all really know how batshit crazy Sliwa is? Or even who he is? Also, did y’all get the Hudson Yards joke? (It was dark. Very dark.)
Grade: A+
Miles Teller’s monologue was fine: he talks about moving around a lot as a kid; dressing as the “Night at the Roxbury” guys for Halloween (but just looking like some Greek guys), and losing his house in the Pallisades fire. I’m not a huge Teller fan — he often reads like the kind of star that would be rude to fans — but he is not as obnoxious here.
Grade: B
“What Did I Do Last Night” is the game show spoof of the night, in which three very hungover contestants struggle to remember what they did the night before at Halloween parties, the grand prize being a large Pedialyte and a bacon, egg and cheese. Questions include, “Which Uber faux pas did you commit?”, “Who did you bite and where did you bite them?” “Who gave you that black eye: this old lady, small boy, or a stop sign?” and “Who did you make out with: same choices.” Very funny, and sadly very relatable in my younger years.
Grade: A
Here, the Propety Brothers (both played by Teller) are hired to build the White House Ballroom, and it might be the best political sketch of the season so far. The set design was excellent, the idea of using a home renovation show to mock the tragic destruction of the East Wing and building of an unnecessary ballroom was inspired, and overall, it’s just very well-written.
“Were you sad to lose the historic Presidential movie theater? You know, Bill Clinton called it the best perk of being President.”
“Bill Clinton said that? He said the best perk for him was the movie theatre!?”
Grade: A+
Here, three NHL hockey players film a PSA, one a New York Ranger, one a Los Angeles King, and one a Nashville Predator, which is a real and unfortunate name of a hockey team. The Predator is given lines like, “I’m a Predator in the community. When you see this face, just know that a Predator is in your community.” And, “As a Nashville Predator, I work at hospitals to make sick kids feel touched.”
Apparently, this is based on reality:
The inspiration behind the Nashville Predators sketch..
byu/Small-Conclusion3452 inLiveFromNewYork
Oooooof.
Grade: A-
A Netflix documentary about three men whose wives have gone missing — except the women aren’t missing at all, they are on business trips or in the bathroom because men are helpless babies who don’t listen. The truth hurts, my dudes.
Grade: B+
A news broadcast has remodeled its set so that viewers can see the employees at work. Instead, there are a lot of pratfalls and anime porn and copier hijinks. It’s very similar to the amazing Waffle House sketches in which all of the action is taking place behind the principals, but it falls short, in part because the news broadcasters here feel compelled to comment on the activity that is going on behind them. Still, a pretty funny bit, especially for fans of physical comedy.
Grade: B+
“Weekend Update” felt a little flat this week, despite having tons of political material to work with. They hit on Halloween at the White House, the Lincoln bathroom remodel, the revocation of SNAP benefits, and the dumb lawsuit our dumb state has filed against Tylenol, but there isn’t much zing here.
Grade: B
George Santos, fresh from prison, visits the “Weekend Update” desk to lie some more. This is buoyed by Bowen Yang’s diabolical Santos.
Grade: A-
Andrew Dismukes and Ashley Padilla also visit the “Weekend Update” desk as Two People Who Just Hooked Up, here to discuss the government shutdown. These two’s chemistry makes the whole thing work.
Grade: B+
Easily the worst bit of the night is this sketch set at a press briefing about a murder, wherein one journalist, Andrew Dismukes, uses it to promote his comic book, Gar Girl. Sometimes, absurdist nonsense is just nonsense.
Grade: C+
The final sketch is a date at an Italian restaurant where the waiters hit on the girlfriend and insult the boyfriend. There are puns. It’s not good.
Grade: C+
Final Grade: A-.
Saturday Night Live airs at 10:30/11:30 p.m. Saturdays on NBC and streams on Peacock.