Tag: snl

Colman Domingo brings the vibes to ‘Saturday Night Live’

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

Saturday Night Live
Colman Domingo & Anitta
April 11, 2026

You might not know who Colman Domingo is — no judgment! My husband had no idea, for instance. But as Domingo points out in his monologue, Dhemingo has been in the business since the 90s (one of his first credits is as an extra in Friends), and he genuinely deserves to be more famous than he is. I first came across him in Fear the Walking Dead, where he was honestly the best thing on the show, and I walked away from that series a huge fan of his. Like his Fear the Walking Dead character, Victor Strand, Colman Domingo just oozes coolness and sophistication (you should definitely Google “Colman Domingo red carpet looks”) and intelligence.

However, aside from his role in Netflix’s The Four Seasons, there’s not a lot of comedy in his CV. I wasn’t sure if Domingo could tackle comedy, much less broad sketch comedy that might require him to drop the cool act — this is a man who was in Lincoln, Selma, and Sing Sing, hardly yuck fests. But it also turns out one of his early recurring roles was in the cast of an early 2000s sketch comedy show, The Big Gay Sketch Show, where he was cast members with the likes of Kate McKinnon. And that experience shone through in last night’s performance: Domingo was goofy, game, and genuinely funny on his own, helming one of the best episodes of the season, all without losing a shred of his effortless cool. Bring him back, Lorne; he’s a gift.

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Let Aubrey Plaza have joy.

by Therese Odell, posted in watch this

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UPDATED: With two cut sketches. Jack Black and Jack White rock ‘Saturday Night Live’ and Five-Timers jackets

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

Saturday Night Live
Jack Black & Jack White
April 4, 2026

Jack Black last hosted SNL almost exactly a year ago. At the time, we all learned that Black hadn’t hosted SNL in TWENTY YEARS before that night, which is simply lunacy. Black went on to deliver one of the best episodes of the season (with an assist from two cast members who are no longer on the show: shout-out to “Goth Kid on Vacation” and “Miss Eggy”) with his manic rock star energy and specific brand of pure, distilled goofiness. Fortunately for all of us, SNL realized their mistake and brought Black this week, where he picked up his well-earned Five Timers jacket and helped his musical guest — Jack White — bring down the house. Not everything stuck the landing in this episode; I don’t think it was nearly as sharp and unexpected as the last time he hosted. But Jack Black is a natural fit on the 8H stage and should be on a regular rotation.

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I keep telling you, ‘Saturday Night Live,’ Harry Styles is not good at this.

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

Saturday Night Live
Harry Styles
March 14, 2026

This is Harry Styles’ second time to host Saturday Night Live, and I think we have enough information that we can just go ahead and call it: Harry Styles is not a good Saturday Night Live host, and from here on out, he should only be invited as a musical guest.

Back when he hosted in November 2019, I noted that Styles was handsome and charming, but he’s not an actor, much less a comedic actor. Since then, he starred in the mess of a film, Don’t Worry Darling, where he was called “the weak link,” “utterly and helplessly adrift,” and “cute, but a dud.” Last night’s performance suggests that he hasn’t improved in the four years since then.

Because this episode, it wasn’t as bad as his debut performance in 2019, but that’s thanks to a strong “Weekend Update” that he was not invited to, and a series of sketches that he was not tasked with carrying. Instead, in most bits, he was little more than a pretty piece of furniture. And when he was given a line or two … it was painful to watch. He has no sense of comic timing and can barely seem to read the cue cards.

Sure, the audience was losing their damn minds over everything he said and did, but that’s because he’s Harry Styles, not because he’s good at any of this. And that’s the real problem, right? Styles will bring in the eyeballs, and so he’s always going to be invited to be on SNL. But maybe once and for all, we can finally declare that the good-looking singer should stay in his lane and just perform his hit songs and wear his little gender-bending outfits and leave the comedy to the professionals.

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Ryan Gosling breaks ‘Saturday Night Live’ for the fourth time

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

Saturday Night Live
Ryan Gosling & Gorillaz
March 7, 2026

BIG NEWS, GUYS: Lorne Michaels reads my blog! Because how else can you explain that the last time Gosling hosted in 2024, I wrote this:

I’m pretty sure the entire world agrees that Ryan Gosling is not just a pretty face, he’s genuinely hilarious, and clearly delights in being funny. But maybe he delights a little too much in being funny, especially if you’re one of those people who hates when the host and/or cast begins breaking mid-scene. Because Ryan Gosling Can. Not. Keep. It. Together.

Hating it when the cast breaks is a legitimate complaint that many people have — I’m old enough to remember Jimmy Fallon and Horatio Sanz making each other crack up which felt like a cheap way to make the audience laugh with them when the sketch wasn’t otherwise working. That said, Gosling’s giggles seem genuine, and they are, like it or not, highly contagious.

Bring him back sooner THAN SEVEN YEARS FROM NOW, Lorne.

And then not only did Lorne not wait another seven years to bring Gosling back, they also made THE ENTIRE EPISODE about Gosling breaking! Which, OK, now that I know Lorne Michaels is reading this — and he definitely is — a couple of notes:

  1. Great job on bringing Ryan Gosling back quickly.
  2. Making the cast break is like cumin: a little goes a looooooong way.

Turns out, when everyone in every Goddamn sketch is struggling to keep it together, it’s distracting, and sometimes even irritating. It’s not that it’s not fun, at least at first– it is very contagious — but when every sketch is an exercise in breakage, when you explicitly tell us you are trying to make the cast break, the gimmick becomes obvious: it becomes cheap, and the magic dies a little.

Some gentle suggestions, Lorne Michaels:

  1. Let’s get Ryan Gosling in that Five-Timers smoking robe sooner rather than later.
  2. But less breaking. At the very least, pretend it’s organic.

Great talk, Lorne! Let me know if you want my thoughts on who should replace you!
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Connor Storrie clowns around on a strong ‘Saturday Night Live’

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

Saturday Night Live
Connor Storrie & Mumford & Sons
February 28, 2026

So Connor Storrie. I’ve seen some conversation online asking if Storrie is the freshest new star to have ever hosted Saturday Night Live (meaning, someone with the fewest credits to their name), and it was concluded that the only other person to challenge this might be Regé-Jean Page, fresh from his breakout role on Bridgerton. But even Page had some 17 credits going back to 2001 (including a speaking role in a Harry Potter movie) before charming his way through Netflix. In comparison, Heated Rivalry, the show that introduced the world to Connor Storrie and co-star Hudson Williams this winter, is Storrie’s third IMDB credit, with his first acting credit coming in 2024. What I’m saying is Connor Storrie is the freshest of fresh meat, and considering that his claim to fame is a steamy (sometimes borderline pornographic) gay hockey series, most of America probably has no idea who this young man is.

But after this performance on Saturday Night Live, I’m willing to bet that he will be a household name sooner rather than later. Don’t get me wrong, Storrie is terrific in Heated Rivalry, but 1. a lot of people have not and will not see that, and 2. Heated Rivalry is hardly the showcase for this young man’s range. And range, he’s got. He is very charismatic and charming, is clearly game for anything, and has terrific comic timing, presence, and physicality largely thanks to his time working as a clown — yes, a clown — in Los Angeles for two years. In fact, he brought one of his clown characters to SNL in this episode, delivering maybe the funniest sketch of the night. 

That said, his debut SNL episode is something of a mixed bag — there are definitely some sketches that needed a little more work or thought — but none of the show’s failings are Storrie’s fault. He gave his all and then some, and as far as your neighborhood SNL blogger is concerned, he’s welcome back anytime.

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Alexander Skarsgård is a lovable goof on ‘Saturday Night Live’

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

Saturday Night Live
Alexander Skarsgard & Cardi B
January 31, 2026

Alexander Skarsgård is a goofy little guy. Well, not little, I guess. He’s actually pretty tall. And handsome. And often cast in serious roles about serious men. But from everything I’ve ever read about him, in real life, Skarsgård refuses to take himself seriously: showing up to red carpets in Farah Fawcett drag; using a pantless photo of himself for his IMDB page; bringing his best friend, Jack McBrayer, to some of the biggest awards ceremonies and red carpets of his career, and doing prom poses with him … Skarsgård’s a goofy little guy!

And he’s no stranger to comedy. Despite being the lead in movies like The Northman and on shows like Big Little Lies, Skarsgård got his start in America in comedy — namely Zoolander — and became famous for his consistently hilarious portrayal of pansexual Eric the Vampire on True Blood. He has since appeared in other comedies, including Drunk History, Eastbound and Down, a delightful little cameo on What We Do in the Shadows, and most recently on Murderbot. So, it’s somewhat surprising that this is his first time hosting Saturday Night Live, as he’s a natural fit: he’s funny, he’s obviously game for anything, he has amazing range and can play with expectations.

And it worked. Skarsgård’s debut on SNL was easily one of the best episodes of the season, in large part because the writing staff was clearly writing specifically for him and not just plugging him into generic sketches, but also in equal part because Skarsgård is, as previously noted, a goofy little guy.

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Teyana Taylor hosts a tone-deaf ‘Saturday Night Live’

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

Saturday Night Live
Teyana Taylor & Geese
January 24, 2026

Saturday Night Live had a tough task ahead of them this weekend. That Saturday morning in Minneapolis, Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse at the Veterans Administration, was murdered by ICE agents after he stepped in to help some women. By the time we rolled around to 11:30 p.m., EST, we didn’t have all the information about his killing (we still don’t), but we had all seen the videos and the government was already talking out of its ass, and SNL had a show to put on. The result was a show that didn’t address the situation in any meaningful way aside from a throwaway joke on “Weekend Update,” and a sketch that skirted the issue. Viewers, especially those in Minneapolis, felt the lack of acknowledgement was disrespectful, and folks began angrily tearing the entire episode apart online. The result was an episode that, despite actually having a few very funny sketches, will be remembered for all the wrong reasons.

As for the host, Oscar-nominee Teyana Taylor was fine, though she was best used in a sketch that spoofed her film One Battle After Another, which didn’t exactly suggest she has a lot of comedic range. The show tried to play to her singing and dancing strengths, but I genuinely feel she would have been better served had she not been the only woman of color in the episode. She wasn’t a bad host — but she isn’t going to be remembered as being a great host, either.

And then there’s the musical guest controversy which … look … my husband and son are huge fans of Geese, so this was not my first experience with them. That said, I am decidedly not a fan, so I’m just going to stay out of that mess altogether. But good luck if you dare to tread into the discourse.

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Finn Wolfhard hosts a strangely disappointing ‘Saturday Night Live’

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

Saturday Night Live
Finn Wolfhard & A$AP Rocky
January 17, 2025

Finn Wolfhard has spent the last ten years of his life as one of the stars of Netflix’s biggest series, Stranger Things, and he (along with the rest of the cast) is VERY READY to move on with their adult careers now, please and thank you. To that end, he hosted the first Saturday Night Live of 2026 where Wolfhard … talked about Stranger Things, starred in a Stranger Things sketch, played Harry Potter, portrayed a 16-year-old podcaster, and was cast as a teen who rejects his boy band family legacy. To be fair to SNL, 23-year-old Finn Wolfhard is young-looking (just check out those 12 hairs on his chin), so I get casting him over and over again as a teenager. But to not be fair to SNL, they could have tried to write better teen sketches for him to lead.

As a host, Wolfhard seemed a little nervous at first, but by the end of the night, he had relaxed into the role and seemed to genuinely be having fun with it. As for the episode itself, I’m going to assume that it appealed to Wolfhard’s natural audience who are my kids’ ages — if not younger. It just wasn’t particularly appealing to me. /oldpersonrant

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‘The Hunting Party’ will give us the ‘Manifest’ reunion no one asked for

by Therese Odell, posted in watch this

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