Tag: fred armisen

Jenna Ortega brings her dark charms to ‘Saturday Night Live’

by Therese Odell, posted in saturday night live: season 48

Saturday Night Live
Jenna Ortega & The 1975

March 11, 2023

By now you know who Jenna Ortega is. Or … maybe you don’t. My own husband came into the bathroom this morning to complain to me that his Twitter feed had been taken over by “someone named Jennie Ortega” and he didn’t understand why. For my husband, and those of you like him, Jenna Ortega is the star of Netflix’s big hit Wednesday; she is starring in Scream 6 which just came out; and before that she had roles in everything from You to Jane the Virgin to Elena of Avalor. As your Twitter feed might demonstrate, Ortega is kinda having a moment with her Aubrey Plaza-esque goth vibes.

But Ortega wants people to know that she does have a sense of humor despite all the darkness, and she demonstrated as much in a middle-of-the-road episode of Saturday Night Live. The episode wasn’t bad, per se, it just wasn’t particularly memorable or outstanding — with the exception of one brilliant sketch that stole the night, and maybe the season.

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Sure, the country is a hellscape, but hey! ‘Succession’ is back in production!

by Therese Odell, posted in Uncategorized

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Natasha Lyonne hosts an exceptional and emotional ‘Saturday Night Live’

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

Saturday Night Live
Natasha Lyonne & Japanese Breakfast
May 21, 2022

It’s almost unfair: Natasha Lyonne is one of my favorites — a wonderful actress and a New York classic, and if she had hosted any other episode, that would be the story. Fortunately, she hosted one of the best episodes of the season. Unfortunately, it was the final episode for four now-legendary cast members: Kyle Mooney; Aidy Bryant; Pete Davidson; and the great Kate McKinnon, who, along with Kennan Thompson, has been carrying this show on her back for ten years now, and that will be what this episode is remembered for. Not that it’s a bad thing: the goodbyes are sweet and funny and well-deserved. I just hope Natasha Lyonne is invited back soon: she had great chemistry with the cast, had terrific comedic timing, and held her own in a challenging episode.

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These 18 shows are in danger of being canceled. If you could only save one, which would you choose?

by Therese Odell, posted in Uncategorized

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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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Y’all better send Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney some biscuits, ‘Ted Lasso’

by Therese Odell, posted in Uncategorized

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Honestly, Former President Insurrectionist would have been better off if he had hired Cat Lawyer — or an actual cat — to represent him at his impeachment trial

by Therese Odell, posted in Uncategorized

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“It affects virtually nobody.”

by Therese Odell, posted in Uncategorized

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I don’t know who needs to hear this, but no one wants to see your panties on morning TV.

by Therese Odell, posted in Uncategorized

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‘Saturday Night Live’: Still not live, still from home

by Therese Odell, posted in saturday night live: season 45

Saturday Night Live
At-Home, Part 2
April 25, 2020

Those wacky kids over at SNL, they did it again. Using Zoom, phones, plenty of wigs and green screens, and a lot of creativity, the cast and writers of SNL managed to put on yet another 90-minute episode satirizing this insane situation we all find ourselves in. They also seemed to have worked out some of the bugs that didn’t work so well for them the last time they tried this (thank you, “Weekend Update,” for losing the laughter — that crutch was there for you guys, not the audience) and have embraced the adage, “brevity is the soul of wit.” Even when a sketch didn’t work — and not all of them did — they never lasted more than about 3 minutes, and your suffering would soon be over. And keeping that in mind, I will get on with it already:

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