Category: saturday night live: season 47

John Mulaney comes home to ‘Saturday Night Live’

by Therese Odell, posted in saturday night live: season 47

Saturday Night Live
John Mulaney & LCD Soundsystem
February 26, 2021

John Mulaney is BACK! After an event-filled couple of years (more on that in a minute), Mulaney came home to Saturday Night Live to host for the fifth time, earning him a spot in the increasingly less-exclusive Five-Timers Club.

The hosting gig also served as a chance for Mulaney to show the world that he survived the hurricane that hit his life mere days after the last time he hosted in 2020. Mulaney seems older now, a little more tired, a little darker — of course, that’s what happens when life happens to you. But he’s just as funny, just as observant and clever. He seems to have found his grounding; let’s hope he keeps it.

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Willem Defoe’s first ‘Saturday Night Live’ is a messy affair

by Therese Odell, posted in saturday night live: season 47

Saturday Night Live
Willem Defoe & Katy Perry
January 29, 2022

Considering how successful Christopher Walken has been on Saturday Night Live over the years, it might surprise you to learn that this week was the first time fellow weird actor Willem Defoe has ever hosted SNL. Unsurprisingly, he was a natural, throwing himself entirely into each role, be it a dog show announcer, an onanistic cartoon character, or himself. The episode itself was all over the place, weighed down by too many sketches that were too long and immature. But between a few sketches that had moments of universal truth and Defoe’s commitment to the task at hand, the episode wasn’t a total loss.

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Will Forte finally returns home to ‘Saturday Night Live’

by Therese Odell, posted in saturday night live: season 47

Saturday Night Live
Will Forte & Måneskin
January 22, 2022

During his time on Saturday Night Live, Will Forte created a specific space for himself, playing creeps, hysterics on the edge, goofy weirdos, and, of course, MacGruber, a thinly-veiled and loving tribute to 80s TV action hero MacGyver. It’s taken a while for Forte to return to host the show — he left in 2010 and has seen a number of his former cast members host the show since. But he finally came home this week, in an episode that felt like a genuine showcase for his signature weirdos. The sketches didn’t always land (see the final bit), but for longtime fans of Saturday Night Live, having him back was as familiar as putting on a worn but well-loved sweater.

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‘Saturday Night Live’ introduces the next big thing: Ariana DeBose

by Therese Odell, posted in saturday night live: season 47

Saturday Night Live
Ariana DeBose & Bleachers
January 15, 2022

Ariana DeBose is not a household name … yet. But the recent Golden Globe-winner and Broadway star has talent and charm for days, which is why Saturday Night Live invited her to host — after all, it never hurts to have a triple threat lead your show. Particularly when that show’s last airing was … weird … to say the least, has recently lost one of its talented head writers, and most of its writers are still mentally on holiday break — at least based on the weak sketches from this week’s show. As someone who performs regularly in front of live audiences, it’s no surprise that DeBose handled the assignment like a pro. It’s just a shame the material she had to work with didn’t exactly live up to her multitude of talents.

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Paul Rudd sorta hosts his sorta fifth episode of ‘Saturday Night Live.’ Sorta.

by Therese Odell, posted in saturday night live: season 47

Saturday Night Live
Paul Rudd & Charli XCS
December 18, 2021

Thanks to this fucking virus that will never go away, Saturday Night Live had to very suddenly sorta-but-not-really cancel its final episode of the year in what feels like a metaphor for the whole 2021 holiday season. The episode, which was supposed to be Paul Rudd’s entry into the five-timers club still happened, but instead of a live production performed in front of a studio audience, the show consisted of a few new filmed pieces set amidst a bunch of classic Christmas sketches from years past. Each sketch was introduced by Rudd, Tom Hanks, and Tina Fey with assists from the only cast members on hand, Kenan Thompson and Michael Che, while a skeleton crew chuckled in the dark. It was weird, it was awkward, it was kinda sad, but God bless them for making the best they could out of a shitty situation. It’s really all any of us can do at this point.

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Billie Eilish is not the bad guy on a strong ‘Saturday Night Live’

by Therese Odell, posted in saturday night live: season 47

Saturday Night Live
Billie Eilish
December 11, 2021

Wanna feel old? Billie Eilish is the first person to host Saturday Night Live that was born in this century because SHE IS NOT EVEN 20 YET. She is literally younger than one of my children, and now I have to go lie down for a while.

~siiiiigh~

Anyway, despite her youth and relative inexperience acting in front of live audiences, the singer was a very good first-time host: enthusiastic and game and genuinely funny. She had moments of wobbliness, but who wouldn’t. Overall the episode was the strongest of the season, not because the sketches were particularly hilarious, but instead because there weren’t any real duds that dragged the whole thing down. Also, after being missing for the first seven episodes, our girl Kate McKinnon is back and firing on all cylinders. Now promise you’re not going to disappear on us again, Kate. We obviously need you.

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Simu Liu serves up a solid Thanksgiving ‘Saturday Night Live’

by Therese Odell, posted in saturday night live: season 47

Saturday Night Live
Simu Liu & Saweetie
November 20, 2021

I am going to be completely honest with you: I had never heard of Simu Liu until Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings came out. I’m not a Marvel fan, so I haven’t seen the movie, and I’m not Canadian, so I haven’t seen his other two big roles, Blood and Water or Kim’s Convenience. But! Based on his handling the hosting of a live comedy sketch show, I predict big things for this kid, who is handsome, charming, has a great sense of comedic timing, and can manage to not completely lose it while co-starring with an uncooperative Golden Retriever. Just go ahead and get me a desk at CAA, because I can spot up-and-coming talent (after they’ve starred on television for 5 years, been the star in a Marvel movie, and hosted SNL). I’m a Hollywood genius!

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Jonathan Majors does his best with a middling ‘Saturday Night Live’

by Therese Odell, posted in saturday night live: season 47

Saturday Night Live
Jonathan Majors
November 13, 2021

Jonathan Major is not exactly a household name, having only been in a handful of projects since his first breakout role in the 2017 ABC miniseries When We Rise. His role familiar to most people was starring as Atticus Freeman in HBO’s 2020 horror series, Lovecraft Country, for which he was nominated for an Emmy and the Critic’s Choice Television Award. And thanks to his good looks and magnetic charm, SNL clearly thinks he’s a star on the rise, and tapped him to be the host of this week’s episode. Though he’s not known for his comedy chops, Major handled the job with aplomb and managed to make even mediocre material a little better. But “a little” are the operative words here, as much of the night was very mediocre.

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Kieran Culkin lifts up ‘Saturday Night Live’

by Therese Odell, posted in saturday night live: season 47

Saturday Night Live
Kieran Culkin
November 5, 2021

Thirty years ago, Kieran Culkin began his acting career in a small role in his brother Macaulay’s breakout hit, Home Alone, playing one of the McCallister cousins. (And he was pretty cute):

In fact, Kieran’s career has long played out in the shadow of his older brother’s, despite being a very talented young actor in his own right. Go watch Igby Goes Down when you get the chance — he’ll blow you away.

It wasn’t until Kieran’s bitingly sharp role as Roman Roy on HBO’s brilliant Succession that audiences began really appreciating Kieran as the talent that he is.

It’s tempting to pull the ol’ “I liked him before he became cool” card with Kieran Culkin, but the truth is I’m just happy he’s finally getting the recognition he’s deserved for literally decades now. And in terms of hosting Saturday Night Live, he was just as nimble and funny as you would expect, able to play the straight man or the comedic focus with equal ease. All in all, another solid performance from baby brother.

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Jason Sudeikis proves you can go home again on ‘Saturday Night Live’

by Therese Odell, posted in saturday night live: season 47

Saturday Night Live
Jason Sudeikis & Brandi Carlile
October 24, 2021

I really liked Jason Sudeikis as a cast member on Saturday Night Live — he is handsome, but Every Man-ish enough to play everything from a gum-smacking asshole to a smirking sports announcer to a manic backup dancer. And recently the world has fallen in love with Jason Sudeikis as the endlessly optimistic and sweet Ted Lasso, a soccer coach possibly out of his depth in the Emmy-winning series (and best comedy on television) Ted Lasso.

So it was a delight to have him return to Studio 8H as host of SNL for the first time — a role that he clearly embraced with a certain degree of reverence. That reverence, for the show and how it changed his life, came through not only in his monologue but also in his performance in every sketch. And in turn, those performances elevated what could have easily been another so-so episode into one of the best episodes of SNL in a long while. Come back more often, Jason, we’ve missed you.

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