Tag: ramy youssef

Jalen Brunson fumbles (?) strikes out (?) as host of ‘Saturday Night Live’

by Therese Odell, posted in saturday night live: season 52

Saturday Night Live
Jalen Brunson & Katseye
September 26, 2026

The thing is, it’s not Jalen Brunson’s fault. The man is a star; a great NBA player who gave his city a championship three decades in the making. And so I’m not in the least bit surprised that the cast and crew of Saturday Night Live wanted to meet him work with him — so much so that they pushed up the season premiere to accommodate his schedule.

But the bottom line is, Jalen Brunson is a professional athlete. And if you’re a professional athlete, unless your last name is “Manning,” you’re not going to be great at reading lines, doing comedy, or acting. That’s not part of your job description, and no one expects it to be! And yet, every couple of years, Saturday Night Live has a bout of amnesia and thinks, “Yeah, but what if [Famous Athlete] could act and/or be funny?” And here we are again.

You gave it a shot, Jalen. But maybe stick to the court.

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Miles Teller stabilizes a strong ‘Saturday Night Live’

by Therese Odell, posted in saturday night live: season 51

Saturday Night Live
Miles Teller & Brandi Carlile
November 1, 2025

Miles Teller returned to host Saturday Night Live last night, his second time on the 8H stage since 2022, where I praised his work despite finding him “very punchable.” I’m happy to report that last night he came off considerably less punchable: he seems to have matured in the past few years, and grown more comfortable in his own skin. And that worked well for him last night, as he was a solid presence in a very solid episode. The episode faltered towards the end; but for a good 80% of the show, the writing was sharp, the performances funny, and the jokes, especially the political ones, were whip sharp.

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Who’s returning? Who’s leaving? Let the ‘SNL’ cast speculation begin!

by Therese Odell, posted in watch this

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A quick fact-check of last night’s tsunami of bullshit and lies

by Therese Odell, posted in watch this

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Former President Orange Supremacist met with the National Association of Black Journalists and it went exactly as well as you thought it would

by Therese Odell, posted in watch this

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Happy ‘Bridgerton’ day to all who celebrate!

by Therese Odell, posted in watch this

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Ramy Youssef charms an otherwise forgettable ‘Saturday Night Live’

by Therese Odell, posted in saturday night live: season 49

Saturday Night Live
Ramy Youssef & Travis Scott
March 30, 2024

Ramy Youssef is one of those interesting characters who it doesn’t feel like has had his big breakout moment yet, despite being the creator and star of an Emmy-nominated Golden Globe-winning series that is named after him; being the co-creator of a different Peabody Award-winning show; the star of two HBO stand-up specials and being the co-star of a multi-Oscar-winning film this year. And yet, I don’t think he’s quite a household name … yet.

So I’m pleased he hosted last night’s Saturday Night Live where he was able to show the country his careful, clever, empathetic style of comedy. Last night, Youssef was saddled with an otherwise mediocre set of sketches; there wasn’t an obvious stinker in the group, but there wasn’t anything in here (aside from his monologue) that is going to be remembered in a couple of months. Still, he was able to add to the show a little bit of his culture and comedy about being Muslim-American, introducing it to a new audience during a particularly fraught moment in geopolitics.

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Let’s do an Oscars post-mortem, shall we?

by Therese Odell, posted in watch this

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Now Disney is just pissing everyone off …

by Therese Odell, posted in Uncategorized

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Any day that begins with Roger Stone being arrested is a good goddamn day.

by Therese Odell, posted in Uncategorized

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