Saturday Night Live
Harry Styles
March 14, 2026
This is Harry Styles’ second time to host Saturday Night Live, and I think we have enough information that we can just go ahead and call it: Harry Styles is not a good Saturday Night Live host, and from here on out, he should only be invited as a musical guest.
Back when he hosted in November 2019, I noted that Styles was handsome and charming, but he’s not an actor, much less a comedic actor. Since then, he starred in the mess of a film, Don’t Worry Darling, where he was called “the weak link,” “utterly and helplessly adrift,” and “cute, but a dud.” Last night’s performance suggests that he hasn’t improved in the four years since then.
Because this episode, it wasn’t as bad as his debut performance in 2019, but that’s thanks to a strong “Weekend Update” that he was not invited to, and a series of sketches that he was not tasked with carrying. Instead, in most bits, he was little more than a pretty piece of furniture. And when he was given a line or two … it was painful to watch. He has no sense of comic timing and can barely seem to read the cue cards.
Sure, the audience was losing their damn minds over everything he said and did, but that’s because he’s Harry Styles, not because he’s good at any of this. And that’s the real problem, right? Styles will bring in the eyeballs, and so he’s always going to be invited to be on SNL. But maybe once and for all, we can finally declare that the good-looking singer should stay in his lane and just perform his hit songs and wear his little gender-bending outfits and leave the comedy to the professionals.
For this cold open, a family frets about the high gas prices, only to have the scene “freeze” so that President FIFA Peace Prize and Jost’s Pete Hegseth can yell at us about the Iran war and try to make Marcello Hernandez and Ashley Padilla break. The writers clearly got the memo that Jost’s Hegseth is working, and they’re going to milk it for all it’s worth, until we beg them to stop.
Grade: B
Harry Styles’ monologue touches on his music, his fashion sense, and the accusations of queerbaiting, the allegations of which he will never beat, no matter how many beautiful women he dates (and engagements he destroys). The delivery is stiff, awkward, downright hard to watch, and I fear we are in for a long night.
Grade: C+
And the first post-monologue sketch of the night does nothing to assuage my fears. Marcello revisits his Sebastian Maniscalco impersonation, this time in a courtroom, and like the first time they broke out Marcello’s Sebastian Maniscalco, I have to ask the writers and Marcello himself: “Who do you think this is for?” Because I just refuse to believe that SNL‘s younger, more female-skewed audiences have any idea who Sebastian Maniscalco even is. I mean, I’m sure other stand-up comedians think this is funny — it feels like a very meta stand-up community joke — but I’m not sure that translates to a broader audience. Also, Harry Styles’ impersonation of Marcello’s impersonation of Maniscalco is honestly painful. I don’t understand why this was so early in the night — maybe so the only people who have any idea who Sebastian Maniscalco is could catch it before going to bed?
Grade: C
One of the stronger sketches of the night was a spoof of The Pitt, but all the medical professionals are Robert Kennedy Jr. approved MAHA quacks. It’s very funny! BUT, I have to point out the similarities to a McSweeney’s piece that was published on Wednesday: “Next Season on David Ellison’s The Pitt.” It’s the exact same conceit, except without the Paramount takeover of HBO overlay. I’m not suggesting that the SNL writers stole this — comedy writers come up with similar takes on current events all the time — but to drop this in the same week is curious.
Grade: A-
Here, Styles and Chloe Fineman are cruise directors on a German cruise, introducing all of the on-board entertainment. It’s mostly the cast doing very bad German accents and hoping that it is funny enough. BUT! Just as I was about to write the whole thing off, out comes French Def Jam superstar, Jean K. Kean, who hasn’t been on SNL in THIRTEEN YEARS. ZUT ALORS! I’ve missed him so much! LE JUSTICE FOR JEAN K. JEAN!
Grade: B
A Best Buy employee, Mr. Pooty, finds himself drawn to his co-worker’s strong bisexual energy. This is one of those lazy, “Make Kenan Do a Funny Voice and Put Him in a Silly Wig and Hope for the Best” sketches, and I do not care for those.
Grade: D+
“Weekend Update” touches on Iran, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Oscars, Jeffrey Epstein, and Kim Jong Un. It’s solid.
Grade: A
Visiting the “Weekend Update” desk is Jeremy Culhane’s spot-on Tucker Carlson impersonation to discuss the Oscars. WHERE HAVE WE BEEN HIDING THIS, YOU GUYS? Amazing, perfect, utterly punchable. Culhane nails it.
Grade: A+
If you were worried that Bowen Yang leaving the show would mean the end of unexpected inanimate objects visiting the “Weekend Update” desk, I have great news. Here, Marcello Hernandez and Mikey Day visit the desk as the most popular emoji (Red Heart) and the least popular emoji (Aerial Tramway). Day brings this entire bit to life with his energy and an amazing costume, but I don’t want to give too much away, other than to say: 🏤 🟧 ➗ 🤿.
Grade: A+
Harry Styles is a popular football player working the drive-thru at White Castle, where Jane Wickline and Veronika Slowikowska work up their courage to ask him to the high school dance. Wickline and Slowikowska have become a strong duo — Slowikowska doesn’t just add to Wickline’s awkward energy, she makes it blossom in a way that even Wickline haters have to appreciate. I haven’t loved everything these two have done together so far this season, but I do appreciate that they have seemed to have found their comedy partner in each other. This sketch in particular is a great example of how working together, their awkward humor is greater than the sum of their parts.
Grade: A-
In this taped bit, guys sing about how their expectations about certain women — that she’s a dancer, a cook, or “good with her hands” — are upended by the fact that actually they are Irish. Happy St. Paddy’s Day, everyone! Also, cabbage is delicious.
Grade: B+
Finally, Harry Styles introduces “Harry for Him,” a line of clothing for normal men based on his own stage and red carpet outfits, which, spoiler alert, doesn’t exactly translate for your average guy. It’s genuinely very funny — props to the costume department for recreating these looks — and for a change, a great use for the host. But how did they not call this “Harry Styles’ Styles”? IT’S RIGHT THERE.
Grade: A
Oh — and Styles’ performances were excellent, but perhaps more notably, they were introduced by last week’s host, Ryan Gosling, and the wonderful Paul Simon. 🥹
Final Grade: B+. “Weekend Update” saved this episode. 🚡🚡🚡🚡🚡🚡🚡
Saturday Night Live airs at 10:30/11:30 p.m. Saturdays on NBC and streams on Peacock.