Amy Poehler commits to the bit in a mixed ‘Saturday Night Live’

Saturday Night Live
Amy Poehler & Role Model
October 11, 2025

As a woman of a certain age, it probably doesn’t surprise you to learn that I consider Maya Rudolph, Tina Fey, and Amy Poehler my queens of comedy and that I essentially believe they can do no wrong. I was thrilled to learn that Poehler would return to SNL to host this, the episode airing on the actual 50th anniversary of the show. It feels like a fitting tribute to both the show’s history, and to Poehler (and Fey) and their contribution to Saturday Night Live and its longevity.

As for the episode itself … it was a mixed bag. But then aren’t they all? Tina Fey swung by for a couple of inspired bits, as did Seth Meyers and Aubrey Plaza. And Amy Poehler, bless her, she’s a professional who obviously commits to every bit, even when they aren’t worth it. And, boy, there were some sketches in here that were definitely not worth it. Still, the writing was stronger than last week. Let’s hope that the writers are getting their legs under them.

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Charli xcx does her best to keep ‘Saturday Night Live’ from being a turkey

Saturday Night Live
Charli xcx
November 16, 2024

Here’s what I know about Charli xcx: She’s a pop star. She is British. She is responsible for the whole “Brat summer” thing. She’s friends with Troye Sivan who was on The Idol. She had a collaboration with Billie Eilish this summer that was kinda naughty and all over TikTok. What I didn’t know is that she’s been around for about a decade, she’s pretty funny, quite natural in sketches and in front of a live audience, and she’s very happy to make fun of herself and her entire persona.

Now, that said, she wasn’t given a lot of great material to work with this week as the host (and musical guest) of Saturday Night Live. It wasn’t a terrible episode — I can point to countless worse episodes (including last week’s) — but the writers gave her a combination of recurring sketches that are starting to feel a little worn around the edges, and mediocre bits that needed some punching up. The biggest shame, though, is one of the best sketches of the night, and the one where she best shone, was cut for time. I’ll never understand the decision-making process of Mr. Lorne Michaels.

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Welcome to the scariest Halloween of our lifetimes!

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Oscar Isaac charms his way through ‘Saturday Night Live’

Saturday Night Live
Oscar Isaac & Charli XCX
March 5, 2021

It’s kinda hard to believe, but this is the first time Oscar Isaac has graced the Studio 8H stage with his magnetic presence (I’m going to do my best to not be too gross in my drooling over Isaac through this recap, but I’m only human). Isaac is one of those Very Serious Actors who is also incredibly charismatic and clearly has a sense of humor — have you seen the red carpet video with Jessica Chastain? So it is somewhat surprising that it took us this long — nearly 10 years after his breakthrough role in Inside Llewyn Davis (which, admittedly, no one saw) — for him to grace the stage he is so natural on. It’s not a perfect episode by any means, but Oscar Isaac is a comfortable fit, and I hope will be back soon.

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Get ready to say goodbye to ‘Atlanta’ … just as it comes back.

 

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Hey, if you’re thinking about hosting a ‘Squid Game’ party … maybe … don’t?

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