Saturday Night Live
Will Ferrell & Paul McCartney
May 16, 2026
Speculating about when Lorne Michaels will retire has become something of a national pastime. After all, Michaels is 81 years old, and has helmed Saturday Night Live for nearly all 51 of its years on air. So when it was announced that Will Ferrell, one of SNL‘s greatest performers, was hosting the final episode of this season with living legend Paul McCartney as musical guest, the speculation began a’speculating.
Having seen last night’s episode, count me amongst those who are skeptical of the retirement theory. Sure, Paul McCartney came out for an encore at the end of the episode, and performed “Coming Up,” which happened to be the very first song he ever performed on SNL, which was the fifth season finale, and Lorne Michaels’ last episode before he went on a five-year hiatus from the show. And there’s a lot to be read into that, I suppose.
But if I were Lorne, I’d be a little disappointed if last night’s was my final episode. It wasn’t terrible by any stretch, but considering how great Will Ferrell is and can be, and considering how strong the writing has been in the second half of this season, hopes were raised, and the episode just didn’t quite live up to them. Furthermore, while there is a universe in which Lorne does not announce his retirement and just quietly steps away because he doesn’t want all the fuss, I have a very hard time imagining that NBC wouldn’t want to celebrate his tenure in some way, much less not milk every last bit of a final season or even just a few final episodes. I think Lorne will be with the show for a bit longer, and when he finally does take his leave, there will be more former cast members than just Will Ferrell and Molly Shannon to see him out.
James Austin Johnson returns to the cold open as President Buffoon, fresh from his trip to China. While taking a nap, he is visited A Christmas Carol-style by the ghost of Jeffrey Epstein, as played by Will Ferrell, and shown visions of the future for Kristi Noem, Pete Hegseth, and Kash Patel. Many dark — but deserved — jokes slip in here, and even the folks who hate the President Dingus cold opens have to admit this was a solid one.
Grade: A
Will Ferrell’s monologue got off to a clever enough start: instead of Ferrell, Chad Smith of The Red Hot Chili Peppers (and Will Ferrell’s doppelganger) comes out, impersonating Ferrell. Ferrell remedies the situation only to then bring Paul McCartney up to the stage, and Ferrell names as many McCartney songs that he can think of. Good start, weak finish.
Grade: B-
Here, Ferrell is a doctor visiting his patient following a gall bladder surgery, only to break the bad news that things went … sideways. It’s a strange bit to start with: it’s a one-joke sketch that I don’t want to spoil for you. However, I will just say as a urologist’s daughter, I enjoyed it, and Mikey Day simply can not hold it together to save his life.
Grade: B+
In this pretape, a Hobbit makes the ultimate sacrifice to save his friends … except he doesn’t. The art direction, costuming, and makeup on this are great, and I personally enjoyed the twist, such as it is, but I’m seeing a lot of people online disappointed in it.
Grade: B+
As you can see, the title of this sketch is “Cast List 2,” but if you don’t remember the first iteration of this sketch, that’s because it was cut for time from Ferrell’s last time hosting, back in 2019. The idea is the same: Ferrell is a bitchy drama teacher in a high school who enjoys watching the theater kids spin out before putting up the cast list for the big play. Apparently, the original sketch became something of a viral favorite, and this sequel, while hitting almost all the exact same notes, demonstrates why. Bonus sexy Molly Shannon.
Grade: A
“Weekend Update” didn’t do as much with the China trip as I would have expected, but they do land a zinger about the recent assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, and an amazing joke about the highway that my dumb Senator from Texas wants to rename for President Adjudicated Rapist.
Grade: A-
Jeremy Culhane is back at the “Weekend Update” desk as “Mr. On Blast,” the comic who “speaks truth to power” alongside some very wacky sound effects. I don’t know, you guys, he might be growing on me.
Grade: B+
And as it is the final episode of the season, we are once again blessed with the biannual joke swap. I don’t want to give anything away, but I will say this is the first time Jost might have had the upper hand.
I’m just going to leave these two images here and let you sort it out:
Grade: A
“What it Feels Like Talking to a Mechanic” features a couple at the car shop, trying to understand what is wrong with their car while a trio of mechanics say a bunch of nonsense words and make weird noises at them. It went on way too long with little payoff. One of the cut sketches below would have been a better fit here.
Grade: C+
Finally, a young woman brings her boyfriend home to meet the parents, only for him to be horrified to discover they all wear backless outfits that reveal their undergarments. It feels very old school SNL, like the sketches where the family is overly and inappropriately affectionate with one another, just not as funny. Or outrageous. Or subversive.
Grade: C+
Cut for time: Here, Will Ferrell harnesses his more manic energy as a security guard at a children’s performance, wherein he is WAY too aggressive with the kids. Will Ferrell and little kids are always a winning comedy combo; see: Pearl the Landlady.
Also cut for time is this ad for Hormuz Jeff, a drifter who promises he can transport anything you need through the Hormuz Strait. Both of these sketches are perfect vehicles for Will Ferrell, and I literally don’t understand the decision to cut both of them in favor of some of the other bits that made it on air.
Final Grade: B+.
Saturday Night Live airs at 10:30/11:30 p.m. Saturdays on NBC and streams on Peacock.