Season 45 was a season unlike many others. It aired from September 2019 to May 2020, unlike any others in the show’s history; it was also cut off by a worldwide pandemic that forced to show to try new strategies that it’s never done before. How have our roundtable of reviewers come to terms with its ups and downs? Well, without further ado: here’s the SNL45 Wrap-Up Extravaganza!
JOHN:
What are your general thoughts on the season?: All I could think about when I tried to figure out what to put here was how much tension and conflict dominated the discourse through most of season 45. This had been building for years, especially since the time Trump hosted, but the whole Gillis fiasco was the powder keg. Even after that matter settled, there was so much going on, whether it was podcasters going at it with writers on social media, all the Michael Che conflicts, the Pete Davidson saga (which decayed to the point they actually had to devote an entire promo to trying to defuse the controversy), past cast members complaining about the cameo parades, etc. At the time it felt like barely a week could pass without some kind of unpleasantry or commentary on top of commentary. This isn’t even getting into all the increasingly unhinged commentary on the debate sketches or the usual neo-lib-under-my-bed takes from some quarters of Twitter. I do wonder now how much that affected my viewing of the show.
Season 45 was my first full season back as a viewer in nearly twenty years, and my first as part of the fandom (or one of the many subsets of the fandom), which, looking back, made me have too many expectations (no matter how much I told myself I wasn’t) and overanalyze to the point of tedium. I remember how dispirited I was by the quality of the J. J. Watt/RuPaul/John Mulaney run, and how gloomy I was over the direction of the season.
This sense of angst would soon feel very quaint compared to the “real world” problems steadily creeping into those episodes, culminating in the finale-without-being-a-finale hosted by Daniel Craig (one of the few modern episodes to have a theme—one no one ever would have asked for).
Since that time, I have tried to not get so far into a downbeat or circular mindset with the show, which has increased my overall enjoyment (or at least given me a brighter coat of apathy to wear). That makes me see this period as an important personal transitional point, even if it was not the transitional point for the show itself that we likely would have had sans COVID.
I still wonder what might have been if the season had played out as originally intended. For instance, Lauren Holt was meant to join in the last 5 episodes, which would have given her more of a contrast to the cast likely to depart (Aidy, Kate, Cecily—one or all three) rather than her just being stuck on a road to nowhere. Colin had also suggested he was leaving, which would have led Update, and the writing room, into a huge change they have since not seemed willing to make. There’s a good chance Pete would have left. And just going into the hosts we would have had, like Issa Rae and Bill Burr, they likely would have brought a strong comedic identity a number of the hosts this season simply did not.
We didn’t get that season, so instead I will just ponder what we did get—the disparity of Aidy in all the Kate/Drezen sketches that made me never want to see them paired up again vs Aidy having some of my all time favorite solo pieces of her 10-year run; the Gillis horrors vs the incredibly dignity Bowen displayed in handling it (and providing some terrific comedy and star-making personality right out of the gate); the juxtaposition of stalwart male cast members like Mikey and Beck feeling overshadowed by the long parade of dynamic male hosts while Kyle “cut for time” Mooney ends up having one of his most surprising, entertaining seasons; and how a season that started feeling so disconnected from any emotion beyond fatigue concluding with some of the most openly emotional pieces in years (“Dreams” and the beautiful tribute to Hal Willner).
We can say this about any season, but I do believe once you take season 45 out of the time and circumstance it aired in and go over the various pieces, you will be pleasantly surprised more often than not.
What was your favorite thing that you covered this season?: There were many individual sketches, lines, performances, but my favorite thing would have to be getting the chance to cover an at-home episode, one of only three in 47 seasons. Not to give a beauty pageant response, but for me it was something of an honor.
Favorite sketches?: Only for episodes I did not cover — “Del Taco”, the Scarjo cold open, the Driver monologue, “Bop-It”, “Pizza Place”, “Check-Splitting” (guilty pleasure #1), “Dreams”, “Airline Pilots” (guilty pleasure #2), “Mid-Day News”, “Overnight Salad”, Chance monologue, “Bottle Boi” (Update), “Girl You Wish…” (Update), Kyle’s milk-spewing character (Update), “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, Dad, Mid-Day News, “North Pole News Report”. “Andre 2000” (the main Pete Davidson Raps! I repeatedly watch), “Middle-Aged Mutant Ninja Turtles”, “Eleanor’s House”, “Dad Prank Video”.
Favorite episode(s)?: David Harbour, Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson.
Hot takes?: I have a much more positive opinion of several episodes this season (like Kristen Stewart and Will Ferrell) than some fans do. The inverse is that I do not like the John Mulaney episode much at all—I let my expectations get away from me and was left feeling very dispirited.
I don’t really mind the Elizabeth Warren cameo. While I’m not a Warren devotee, or a fan of political cameos on sketch comedy, I found her appearance fairly charming. Awkward, yes, but awkward in a good way, helped by the audience not clapping along with every word as they weren’t as enamored as some of the cast and crew were. She’s a real sport here, and as much as I may complain about Kate’s political pieces, her clear admiration for Warren and happiness at getting to appear with her is genuinely touching.
CARSON:
What are your general thoughts on the season?: If it weren’t for a global pandemic, I could have justifiably described Season 45 of SNL thusly: Season 45 was another season of Saturday Night Live. The Kenan Reacts of it all. The Mikey Explains of it all. The Pete No-Shows of it all. The Kaidiness of it all. The Melissa Was Screwed of it all. The new perennials (Mulaney, Driver). The old perennials (Johannson, Ferrell). The inexplicable returns (Lopez). The explicable returns (Murphy). The cameos, oh, the cameos. The bumbling, fumbling politics. The overwritten sketches. The stumbles into greatness (Mid-Day News, “Aww man, I’m all outta cash”). And lo, the rap parodies. It was all there.
But the pandemic happened and just another season of the forever cast became…thrown off its axis. Limitations were imposed and a show beholden to rigid formulas and reliable framing devices had to pivot. It was the same hit or miss show, but it was a looser, more experimental kind of hit or miss. Oh sure, SNL still stubbornly tried to be the SNL of the before time—the stunt casting, the rap videos, the game show sketches, a fan service version of What Up With That? that people really fucked with for some reason—but a new, scrappy version of SNL emerged in spite of itself. That was a version of the show, even in just three wildly uneven episodes, that I really loved. The three At Home episodes are imprecise and really elemental in their comedy (I described some of the pieces as feeling like audition reels), but that was the charm. In an era where SNL has become a monolithic, buttoned-down corporate machine, it felt like a thrill to see it be so…unkempt—like a resurgence of the 1975 spirit. The show will spend the coming season (Season 46) trying to steer the ship back around to normalcy, but even then it took time. We are now in an era where the show has had to redefine itself. Watching it struggle with that reality is half the battle. Season 45 gave us the first, jarring taste of a new paradigm and it’s the most compelling I’ve found the show in years.
What was your favorite thing that you covered this season?: I didn’t get a lot to do this season, a result of me being too deferential for my own good, but the two episodes I was given—Eddie Murphy and the first At Home episode—were both really interesting, rewarding episodes to review. The At Home episode, in particular, was a lot of fun and gave me ample opportunity to go to bat for some sketches that I thought had value and explore what an unpolished SNL would look like (“Hit or miss!”). I don’t think I would trade either of those episodes for, I don’t know, an extra J. J. Watt episode. In terms of what sketch I was excited to write about, I think it may have actually been the Henriette & Nan sketch from the At Home episode. I didn’t give it five stars or anything, but I like having the opportunity to cheerlead something that may have gone against general consensus. I love giving overlooked sketches their due, and that was the one that I felt had the highest potential to be dismissed because of the Kaidy-ness of it all.
Favorite sketches?: Here’s my Best of 2019-2020:
COLD: Dershowitz In Hell (Adam Driver)
MONO: Adam Driver
COMM1: Duolingo For Talking To Children (Kristen Stewart)
SKETCH 1: Mid-Day News (Phoebe Waller-Bridge)
SKETCH 2: Henriette & Nan (Tom Hanks)
SKETCH 3: Grouch (David Harbour)
SKETCH 4: First Impressions Court (Chance The Rapper)
SKETCH 5: Santa’s Workshop (Eddie Murphy)
SKETCH 6: Overnight Salad (Daniel Craig)
WU 1: Gumby (Eddie Murphy)
WU 2: White Male Rage (Adam Driver)
WU 3: Jeanine Pirro (Eddie Murphy)
SKETCH 7: Del Taco Commercial Shoot (Adam Driver)
COMM 2: Father-Son Podcasting Microphone (David Harbour)
SKETCH 8: Melissa’s Big Date (No Host)
SKETCH 9: Ventriloquist (Will Ferrell)
SKETCH 10: Love At First Sight (Chance The Rapper)
SKETCH 11: I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (Scarlett Johannson)
SKETCH 12: Dreams (Kristen Wiig)
Favorite episode(s)?: Despite their having so many inherent flaws, I found the At Home episodes to be even more invigorating than this season’s big successful episodes (of which I would probably point to Adam Driver as the best). Yes, they were sloppy and as guilty of the sins one would expect from modern SNL, but they also tapped into the wild experimental energy of the show’s first season. This was especially a breath of fresh air for this current era where, frankly, when they’re not absolutely hitting, they are stale AF. The At Home episodes felt free to roam. The success and failure rates never really changed, but there was an added energy and tweaked sensibility that felt like a necessary reset on this current cast.
Hot takes?: I’ve got three in ascending order of spiciness.
1. The least spicy of all—The At Home episodes are canon. In addition to delivering a few of the best sketches of the season (Melissa’s date, for one), they were SNL in every sense but the “live” portion and, frankly, the “live” portion has been largely jettisoned anyway with so many pre-tapes. The 19-20 season is really only uniquely interesting because of these three episodes, so we might as well embrace them as core pieces of this season.
2. The Kaidy duo is NOT actually that big of a problem. I know we’ve all complained about the indulgence of this pair and the liberties they seem to be allowed to take, but a Kaidy sketch being awful is not necessarily a given thing. They’ve done sketches that you all seem to love that I’m ambivalent about (The Corporal) and sketches that I love that y’all are ambivalent about (Henriette & Nan, Chickham’s Apple Farm, Bartenson’s Grocery Store). I don’t know. All this hand-wringing about Kate and Aidy being used ad nauseum, but their batting average seems pretty solid from my vantage. Maybe—and I’m not suggesting this is how I actually think—the Kate and Aidy combo is actually a bit…underrated?
3. Ooh boy, this one might be a bit too spicy for this board, so I’ll tread carefully…but…*deep sigh*…ithinkshanegillismighthaveactuallybeenreallygoodontheshow.
OK…there I said it.
Everyone still with me? OK, let me explain…
When the whole unpleasantness went down, I stayed gleefully in my corner of the comedy landscape. I didn’t offer an opinion, I didn’t seek to have an opinion. I avoided the damning clip that got Gillis in so much hot water and I also avoided all the other clips that would further elucidate me to his brand of funny. I made some assumptions about him and, frankly, I was probably right. Gillis was/is a bro. His comedy is edgelord bro shit and is probably not the right guy for a certain sensibility. That said, I never threw in with the anti-Gillis crowd either. The general culture of comedy these days seems to be impervious to context (if anyone in the “fuck Shane Gillis” crowd wanted to describe exactly what he said and the context in which he said it, I’ll give them a dollar).
Now, I’m not going to start whining about “cancel culture” and “wokeness” like so much Joe Rogen, but I also pretty emphatically don’t believe that comedy’s job is to “punch up” or “be a balm in these troubled times.” Comedy that makes me feel good about my worldview but fails to make me laugh is no comedy at all (it’s a genre called “late night”). Comedy is a meritocracy that generally follows the laws of supply and demand. The market will bear what the market will bear. Currently there’s still a market for Dave Chapelle’s humorless TERF rants because people are buying a brand, but the market will readjust when people realize there’s been a drop in that brand’s reliability
Anyway…Gillis.
So Gillis found himself on the wrong side of the comedy market pendulum swing and he was summarily made an example of. He’ll live. We will too. SNL didn’t need him and he’ll find a home with the Joe Lists, Sam Morrills and Mark Normands of the world—reliable neo-Comedy Cellar road acts carrying the tradition of Jim Norton, Nick DiPaolo and Patrice O’Neal.
But a few months ago I stumbled across Gillis’ Live In Austin standup special and it was fucking hilarious. Like, there have been a few people killing it over the last few years in standup (Mulaney, Nate Bargatze), but this was a full-on 10 for me, the best special since Norm’s Me Doing Standup. So I got into a little bit of a Shane Gillis rabbit hole and discovered that… yeah, he’s an edgelord bro who comes up on the wrong side of certain cultural pivots (I bet he’s a total pronoun klutz), but he’s legit funny. It’s in his bones. Even his sketch work is strong—clear, culturally aware but still rough enough around the edges.
And that would have been great for SNL. Not that SNL’s not funny, but SNL benefits from conflict, from an outsider’s perspective. SNL needs a guy to say “that’s fucking corny, don’t do that” and I’m not sure they have that guy right now. If nothing else, Gillis actually seems like someone who has at least talked to a Trump voter—I couldn’t say that about anyone else in the cast.
Although these performers can sometimes be problematic, SNL always had a lack of performers who are pure about their comic voice and cynical about the artifice of the show. Oh sure, I think Pete Davidson and Michael Che have some of that DNA, but you linger around the show for long enough and you get woven into that artifice of the show yourself. You start “playing” yourself a bit. I feel like Gillis would have/could have/should have been that necessary outsider voice.
But alas, he was doing a bit on his podcast and dropped a slur (in character, and ultimately making a progressive point, but we do not have the capacity for Blazing Saddles anymore, so…). He shouldn’t have. Context or not, a line has been drawn culturally and it is foolish to not know the line. Do I think Gillis is a racist? I think he’s used the language, certainly, and know that he’s probably more than likely to engage in the kind of discussion that many people would find uncomfortable (although I wouldn’t necessarily call it unproductive), but I also think the lines between “racist” and “racial” can get blurry and not everyone is willing to weed through the nuances. Especially not a network TV show.
Long story short, Gillis is a funny guy who stepped in shit and was taught a hard lesson (and he seems to have a good perspective on it all). He could have been a necessary and hilarious asset to the show, but the thorniness of it all was definitely a short-term loss for Lorne Michaels et al.
Then again, I’m about 75% certain he would have been Null-ified anyway, so…
Anyway…too much? Should I have just said “I liked something that Kabir hated”?
ANTHONY:
What are your general thoughts on the season?: I don’t know if you guys know this, but in 2020 we had to adjust to some major life changes. Things we hadn’t even thought of as luxuries before like going outside or basic human interaction were suddenly stripped from us, and, as you would assume, this kind of threw us for a loop. It left us feeling isolated, going through the motions while longing for a true sense of purpose.
Now what happens when you’re SNL, and that’s how you start the season? SNL’s felt pretty shell-shocked ever since Trump won, as the show never quite grappled with this bit of stunt casting we were suddenly stuck with. And I’m referring to Trump there. Baldwin was a drain anytime he appeared, but that was more and more infrequently over the years (though we have one last long rank gasp of his to come). The show’s bigger problem was just never figuring out what it wanted to say in Trump’s America. What function did it want to serve, what goals it wanted to accomplish, what show it wanted to be? These were things the show was constantly unsure of and trying to figure out for 4 years, so when something so destabilizing happened that none of us, not a single one, knew what to do with ourselves, SNL thrillingly shrugged its shoulders and said “fuck it” and gave us a series of shows where it stopped trying to find those answers. For the most part the At Home episodes finally weren’t concerned with what the show “should” be and just acted as an extension of what these people found funny and wanted to see on TV, as it always should have been. It made for fascinating and often very rewarding television.
Oh, and there was a season of SNL leading up to that. It’s all been said, and it will be again below. It went through the motions, occasionally doing really good stuff, more often doing stuff that was not really good. I’ve mentioned before I watched the show somewhat passively from 43-45. It was the only time I wasn’t catching episodes live (the only pre-At Home episode this season I made a note to watch live was Pluto Nash). I watched this season the way I assume the majority of its audience did: next day and in chunks online, to be pretty much immediately forgotten afterwards. And while you can’t entirely blame the show for that, that’s just media consumption habits these days, it’s also not hard to shake the feeling of how disposable a majority of this season is, definite highlights aside. I’m glad the At Home shows were the spark of energy they were—enough to completely renew my interest in the show (and boy would I need that boost for 46….)—but it also makes sense why I was so checked out before, as 45 for the most part really does just round out the trilogy of this era’s coasting seasons.
What was your favorite thing that you covered this season?: Doing a collaborative review was a lot of fun. One of the things I love about this site is the—say it with me!—diversity of opinion, so it was nice to have a review that really showcased that one take is not the definitive take with this show and we can all coexist in harmony even when we disagree.
“The Corporal” was also a piece I was glad to cover. I feel like some may have dismissed it as typical smug Kaidy goofery, and even some Kaidy offenders around here seem to find that one more of a cute shrug, but there’s a timelessly silly quality to that one I’ll always appreciate, and I was happy I was able to give it its flowers.
Favorite sketches?: “Mid Day News” is obviously the big success story of the season, one of the few times this era felt like it was pulling off an instant classic in the moment. Also not raising any eyebrows, “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” was the best pre tape of the season, as well as a top 3 Cecily moment in her lifetime on the show—just a through and through solid execution of a simple but great idea that you could slot into any era and would still work. Hell, Mikey even scores big laughs in that one. Speaking of, Seiday get rightfully ragged on for the formulaic nature of their pieces, and how well polished but ultimately empty they can feel. And while it’s true they sometimes turn in pieces that feel like they came straight from The Sketch Factory, that also means they can turn in perfectly assembled pieces like this.
Favorite episode(s)?: The At Home home episodes were a fascinating and worthwhile experiment, but they’re such a different beast it feels odd putting them here. I do count them as official, canonical SNL episodes, but they still don’t feel like “SNL episodes” to me. So if we’re looking at the regular episodes, of the ones I reviewed: Craig. Of the rest, well, see Hot Takes….
Hot takes?: First off: sorry Kabir, Boop It’s great.
Next, I don’t hate the dog sketches. Yeah, they’re easy ways to get the audience on your side and could potentially take away from more challenging material getting on air, but the same could be said for pretty much any recurring sketch ever. And for a show ever increasingly intent on running away from the final word in its name over the years, I’m always down for a (non terrified seeming) animal to throw a bit of spontaneity and chaos into the mix.
I didn’t quite love the Driver on the level most everyone else did. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a strong, above average episode, but I definitely don’t put it on the “definitive episode of this era, all time highlight” level some do around these parts. To me it sits pretty comfortably with the other above average episodes this season (Harbour, ScarJo, Murphy): fun and energetic outings that don’t quite hit the A range but which have my admiration nonetheless. I’m gonna get the blood really boiling here and even say I always just found “Aww man, I’m all out of cash”… solid. It’s fun! I get some laughs out of it. I do not and have never seen the undeniable classic y’all see with that one though.
On Gillis—I’ll take your word he’s the next Pryor or whatever but I’m good on ever checking him out. And that’s less because I was personally offended by anything said in that clip that cost him the job, and more because I’m just off-put by how damn hack the material is. I mean I’m sorry to publicly disagree with a coworker in such a fashion, but are we seriously praising someone for making a “progressive point” in the same video where they’re doing “Asian waiter” bits? If we’re gonna start celebrating the daring nature of people for reenacting bits from Delirious, I shudder to think of SNL’s AIDS coverage next season. I mean, sure, Gillis is probably a guy who would have the sense to call out “To Sir With Love” as the pandering trash it is. He’s also a guy who, had he been hired in season 20, would have likely written several awful endless yellowface and male rape sketches, so I guess pick your poison. Listen, I’m all for a diversity of voice in the writer’s room, but it feels like we skipped a step in looking for someone who sounds like they talked to a Trump supporter here. And again, that’s not even my biggest personal opposition to him, more just… if my first exposure to you are jokes that would have been hack in 1984 it’s gonna be hard for me to swallow how secretly genius you are.
KABIR:
What are your general thoughts on the season?: This was a decent season. It didn’t hit the heights of some of the show’s best years, but it was a lot better than the middling (or worse) periods we’ve had. There were definitely memorable moments, though, that made this season stand out: Eddie Murphy’s return, the “At Home” shows, and seeing Bowen and Chloe come alive.
What was your favorite thing that you covered this season?: Of the three episodes I covered, I’d have to say RuPaul’s.
Favorite sketches?: Eddie Murphy’s monologue.
Favorite episode(s)?: Eddie Murphy.
Hot takes?: The political cameo-fests seem to just get bigger and bigger this year until COVID hit. And then we got a very different kind of cameo fest since so many people could just Zoom-into the show. A nice change. Also, “Boop It” makes sense—it’s just boring and poorly constructed. But I understand why my fellow reviewers like it: because they hate comedy. (I’m kidding!)
MATT:
I love comedy 😦
What are your general thoughts on the season?: I feel like I’m the person here with the most positive opinion of this season. I don’t think that it’s any particularly great shakes, but it’s a definite improvement over last season and perhaps in line with the spotty but generally-rewarding S43. This is the season not without its blemishes—the inane, endless political cold opens, the cast imbalances and misuse, the annoying controversies that ultimately amount to little difference on-screen while making things feel icky all the same (Pete’s lashing against the show, the Shane Gillis nightmare)—but they’re the sort of blemishes that, as a modern SNL fan, we’re all forced to reconcile with.
I’m more drawn to this season over the last, or the one that follows, because once those annoying things are accepted, there’s usually more than enough to enjoy. Almost every episode boasts at least one strong piece, though usually a handful; the host selection remains strong, with some pleasant surprises (David Harbour killing it, Eddie Murphy making a triumphant return, Adam Driver finally getting a strong outing); and the cast’s newbies increasingly work their way into the show and become part of its evolving image (Ego and Bowen especially). Evolution is, of course, slow, a general grievance with this era as a whole, but good things are happening. If not for the pandemic striking, it makes me wonder what next season could have looked like as opposed to becoming the understandably difficult, mixed bag that we ended up receiving.
I would be remiss not to mention the At Home episodes here. It’s hard for me to know how to consider them, truthfully, though I do agree that they are a part of the show’s canon. They always just fall disconnected from my perception of the season. I do agree with the opinions of my compatriots about them: they’re rewardingly experimental episodes that rose to the impossible challenge that they were presented, and they stand out as the most daring and ambitious episodes of the show in recent memory. I suppose I simply hesitate to compare them to the rest of SNL because they didn’t enable any change within the way the show operates or the sort of material it chooses, and it feels unfair to continually talk about them as if a window into “an SNL that will never be.” Pressure makes diamonds and SNL, sadly, can’t be expected to feel that pressure on a weekly basis. I accept them as a standalone triumph, but I don’t hold their success against the trappings of the modern-day SNL grind.
What was your favorite thing that you covered this season?: Tough to say, as I’m pretty happy with all of my work! I think the Adam Driver review was one of my favorites that I’ve worked on in some time; it’s always a challenge talking about episodes I really adore and trying to communicate just how much I adore them, and I’d like to think my efforts paid off there. I was also thrilled that I got to cover an At Home episode, and the finale was the one I was most interested in discussing from the start. It definitely has less of a reputation than the other two, but that just means I have more work cut out for myself, and my favorite episodes to write about are the ones that fans don’t have a strong opinion on. (See also: J. J. Watt. I really liked writing about that one. Not a lot of people seemed to care about it, lol.)
Favorite sketches?: As usual, I’ll list all of my favorites in chronological order, rather than numerical. I’ll also include monologues, since I feel like this season made a lot of fun strides in the monologue department, as well as a smaller section for At Home pieces (since I’d rather not consider them pretapes, as they had to be pretaped by design).
Favorite Live Sketches:
Mid-Day News (Phoebe Waller-Bridge)
Love At First Sight (Chance the Rapper)
CFT: Cast List (Will Ferrell)
Del Taco Commercial Shoot (Adam Driver)
Marrying Ketchups (Adam Driver)
Favorite Pretapes:
Father-Son Podcasting Microphone (David Harbour)
Tasty Toaster Tarts (Chance the Rapper)
DuoLingo For Talking To Children (Kristen Stewart)
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (Scarlett Johansson)
Boop-It (RuPaul)
Favorite Update Features:
Chen Biao (Phoebe Waller-Bridge)
Scooter Rineholdt (Harry Styles)
Gumby (Eddie Murphy)
Christmas Joke Swap (Eddie Murphy)
Melissa’s “White Male Rage” (Adam Driver)
Favorite Monologues (sure, why not?):
Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Chance the Rapper
Scarlett Johansson
Adam Driver
John Mulaney
Favorite At Home Pieces:
Sky Sport Report (#1)
Melissa’s Big Date (#2)
Dreams (#3)
Favorite episode(s)?: Adam Driver, of course, is a favorite, though you’ve already heard all my thoughts on it. Eddie Murphy’s is indisputably charming, and I’d ultimately call it a fun show even if it’s couched in nostalgia—barring the cold open, everything has a spark to it, and even if there perhaps aren’t big season highlights, it’s greater than the sum of its parts. Lastly, Scarlett Johansson and David Harbour are more classically good SNL episodes, wielding the gameness of their hosts to great effect; it’s great to see ScarJo finally get an episode worth writing home about, and David feels like a revelation with how naturally he pals around with the ensemble and commits himself to the process. I’d love to see him become a five-timer even if the show hasn’t called him up for anything since (which is somewhat shocking).
Hot takes?: There seems to be something of a split in terms of the opinions surrounding the Will Ferrell episode, and I’ll further that divide: while it’s certainly an episode with some real dogs pushed to the front, I think it’s a pretty gratifying episode as a whole. I would never want to defend the characteristically bad political material, nor one of Che’s most muddled and borderline offensive sketches ever, but I feel like the rest of the night offers a lot of fun originality and quirky premises, all of which land perfectly for me. It’s the same reason I quite like Will’s last stint in S43, though Anthony also disliked that one; Will seems less interested in reprising his greatest hits by this point so much as letting his comedic voice be sculpted by the show’s current writers and performers, and that makes me really enjoy the way he integrates into everything he’s provided (and ultimately enhance it). Everyone can agree the pretapes and the cut “Cast List” sketch are wonderful, but I wanna talk about all those other weird sketches that seem to be entirely ignored in conversation about the episode, too. Both the ventriloquist and Wizard of Oz sketches are big, guilty pleasures of mine (simple ideas that pop with finely-tuned performances), though I’ll especially single out the “pizza ad” sketch as perhaps my favorite Kate sketch from this point in her tenure. She’s usually playing to the cameras so much, seemingly incapable of being nonchalant, that to suddenly have her be deflated and casting a gray cloud over the entire scene delightfully subverts the expectations in a way that I think, at this point, is crucial to Kate’s success. I’m tired of seeing her “on” and being wacky—give us more of this off-kilter deadpan, because she can do it!
I also do want to tentatively defend the John Mulaney episode, if not partially for the personal reason that it was an episode I attended. It’s definitely on the lower end with his stints and I’d place it as the second lowest of his five (so far), and it’s definitely a disappointing episode that he feels significantly less involved with writing or orchestrating than his first two, but it trudges forward alright for me all the same. You get your excellent monologue, a sturdy Kyle pretape (even that has proven polarizing though for some reason), the last truly great Mulaney musical, and what I’d like to defend the most: I think it has one of the greatest Jost/Che iterations of Weekend Update of all time. It skirts past the usual political material and instead lays focus on Che, who devolves into ranting and reconciling with the possibility of the pandemic happening with a glass of scotch in his hand. I get how the reality subtext could hurt it, but I think that makes it feel more captivating on revisiting as a window into a very specific period of time rampant with anxious thoughts and uncertainty. It’s loose, pointed, and most importantly, personal work from Che; in other words, it’s some of his best.
Lastly, as an Asian-American who has been struck by the pains of being the only person of color in the room, I have to say fuck Shane Gillis, since I have the obligation to balance this section out. To some (read: non-Asian) people, I know how the jokes Shane told might be considered cheap and lame but ultimately not damning enough to warrant being fired, but that’s the thing that we have to deal with every day: this casual racism and the idea that it’s a lesser racism than the sort wagered on other races. We were granted the label of “modern minority” as a reparation for the terrible ways we’ve been treated historically, and that’s placed us in this arbitrary position where we have it “easier” than others and it’s more okay to snipe us, but it’s not, and it’s stifled our ability to be properly respected within culture. The fact that Shane has emerged unscathed, continuing to make hacky jokes at our expense without any further criticism (he responded by saying, “I do want everyone to know that I’ve been reading every one of my death threats in an Asian accent.”… cool! Good perspective!), is as infuriating as it is disappointingly expected.
Further, I hate that his firing granted him attention and allowed him to become some too-cool-for-mainstream, contrarian folk hero. He isn’t a folk hero; he’s a representation of the same ignorant, posturing side of SNL—the side that schmoozes it up with ScarJo and vacays at the Hamptons, that hero-worships RBG to a fault, and that tries to humanize Elon Musk—that holds it back. The fact that the hiring of the first true Asian-American cast member has to be overshadowed by someone hired at the same time who made an onslaught of hacky anti-Asian “jokes”—and further, the fact that he’s continued to pal around with Colin and Michael and do gigs together—is the most torturously SNL thing I could ever imagine.
Oh yeah, also, to wash that awful taste out of our mouths: I love Kyle as Scooter Rineholdt talking about the dairy industry on Update. He’s hit-or-miss with his one-off Update segments (let’s pretend Baby Yoda can fall in that camp because it’s certainly one-joke) but this is one of my favorite live performances of Kyle’s—just chaotic madness, screaming, squirming, and milk-sputtering. Perfect.
VAX NOVIER:
What are your general thoughts on the season?: From the announcement of Eddie Murphy’s long-awaited return a month before the premiere and coasting on that hype throughout the first half, to its premature end due the deadly virus emerging, season 45 certainly acted as a landmark year for better or for worse.
The season, in progress, was really defined by the overuse of celebrity cameos, reaching its pinnacle after slowly building up for several years. Apart from the recurring group of cameos appearing over the course of several debate sketches (you know it’s bad when even Larry David’s Bernie wears out its welcome), the selection of guest stars playing political figures reached a new low with visitors like Matthew Broderick and James Corden occupying the screen while taking airtime away from the ever-growing cast, the latter having zero prior affiliation with the show before his appearance.
This was also around where the pre-S42 cast officially began to overstay their time at the expense of the newer members. While there were moments that suggested focus was moving toward the next generation, the heart of the show remained firmly rooted in 2014-16 SNL, creating a stagnant atmosphere that would remain for at least two more years due to unforeseen circumstances.
If the final result of the season can be defined as anything, it would be as a series of open questions for the future. What if they were able to do those last two months of episodes without a hitch? Would the quality improve or get even worse? Would any of the senior cast members depart as planned? Would the newer cast members get more time to shine, or would the celebrity cameos dominate the show even more going forward? The post-election hype era of seasons 43-45 aimed for grabbing headlines while holding on to the past instead of preparing for a new direction, and a global pandemic almost feels like a fitting end to all of it.
What was your favorite thing that you covered this season?: I selfishly picked the Chance and Scarjo episodes to talk about some of my favorite sketches of the season. Tasty Toaster Tarts and the Macy’s ad are highlights for the year, but the greatest moments came from Cecily with Love At First Sight, the Santa Claus video, and even Hot Tub Ghosts.
Favorite sketches?: From what I didn’t cover…
Favorite Live Sketches:
Mid-Day News (Phoebe Waller-Bridge)
Little Miss Teacher’s Friend (David Harbour)
New Paint (Kristen Stewart)
Sara Lee (Harry Styles)
CFT: Cast List (Will Ferrell)
Sisters (Jennifer Lopez)
North Pole News Report (Eddie Murphy)
Del Taco Commercial Shoot (Adam Driver)
Marrying Ketchups (Adam Driver)
Favorite Pretapes:
Grouch (David Harbour)
Duolingo For Talking to Children (Kristen Stewart)
Doug (Harry Styles)
That’s The Game (Harry Styles)
Potty PM (Jennifer Lopez)
Food Dudes (J.J. Watt)
Favorite At Home Pieces:
MasterClass Quarantine Edition (#1)
Sky Sport Report (#1)
What’s My Name? (#2)
Melissa’s Big Date (#2)
Eleanor’s House (#3)
Dad Pranks (#3)
Dreams (#3)
Favorite Update Features:
Riley Jenson (Kristen Stewart)
Scooter Rineholdt (Harry Styles)
Gumby (Eddie Murphy)
White Male Rage (Adam Driver)
Chloe Fineman (RuPaul)
Girl You Wish You Haven’t Started A Conversation With At A Party (Daniel Craig)
Favorite episode(s)?: Adam Driver out of the shows I didn’t cover, and Eddie Murphy for fulfilling the bare minimum.
Hot takes?: I find it difficult to defend the lineup of the Will Ferrell show due to missing the live broadcast and watching the cut sketches beforehand. This episode serves as one of the best representations of how this era could falter when quality concepts such as “Cast List”, or even the date sketch to an extent, are cut in order to devote a quarter of the show to Baldwin’s lethargic Trump, yet another 10 minute debate sketch devoted to more celebrity cameos, and that baffling Pocahontas piece that only made it to air due to featuring alumni! I deliberately avoided watching Eddie’s big return live a month later because I was expecting another jumbled disaster by that point. And while that episode managed to alleviate those pitfalls by combining the Trump and debate material, it still sacrificed the opening 10 minutes to resistance buzz few were really asking for there.
I’ve also gone back and forth on how to classify the At Home shows when they initially aired. It was easy to consider the first one a separate special from the regular canon. I stood by that belief after the second, and I had come around to considering them official episodes just before the third one came out. Though ever since the following season premiered that fall, I consider them official episodes that are hostless and separate from season 45. I think Carson put it best in his review when explaining why they should be considered legitimate shows in spite of the format. With that in mind, however, the upcoming Paul Rudd episode is another story…
BLUE:
What are your general thoughts on the season’s musical performances?: Reviewing S44 left me feeling very burnt out, as neither the highs nor the lows of that season’s MG picks balanced out all the mediocrity. S45 was much less of a chore, thankfully—perhaps because there were fewer acts I had to review, perhaps because I actually had more to say about them. I was pleasantly surprised to discover hidden depths to famous artists about whom I had never really thought before—Niall Horan and Camila Cabello especially, the former of whom has come into his own after casting off the shadow of One Direction, and the latter of whom wowed me with her powerful vocals. (Even if she was lip-syncing, she still had to sound that good when she recorded her parts). Camila Cabello’s performance was also one of several that stood out for its stagecraft—the others being Billie Eilish (an excellent choice to open the season), David Byrne (thanks to American Utopia), Coldplay (whose first performance I definitely would have rated lower had they not gone all out with it), and Halsey (par for the course for her SNL performances).
Speaking of which, it’s been nice getting to review returning artists over the course of this project—Halsey being the main one, as she’s made an appearance during each season that I’ve gotten to review and it’s been a handy way of tracking the growth of her career, but I also enjoyed comparing Taylor Swift’s performance to the very first one that I reviewed for this project. As far as ratings go, I do have to say that this is the first time I’ve significantly disagreed with myself once the reviews have been posted. If DaBaby deserved 1 star (which I understand is very subjective, but not even the fun onstage choreography could save such boring songs, for me), then surely Justin Bieber also deserved 1 star for “Yummy,” as the only part of that performance that I really liked was the intro. Also, it’s very fitting that David Byrne was the first MG of the season to receive a 5 star rating, as he is my favorite musician, but honestly, I’m very surprised I didn’t rate at least one of Lizzo’s performances 5 stars. I’ve been very stingy about the 5 and 1 star ratings, though, since both feel like such extreme reactions… but I don’t think I’m overhyping Lizzo here or showing too much bias, I think she genuinely deserved it. Finally, I have to mention both King Princess and Luke Combs, two very different musicians who checked off two specific boxes, the first being “obligatory indie artist for the season” and the second being “obligatory country artist.” It may have been due to the truncated season, but I keep wishing that SNL would have a more even balance of musical styles, especially in terms of country artists. Come on, there are so many talented musicians in the country and folk sphere that deserve more attention than Luke Combs of all people… But I understand the desire to get big names, plus the preference for artists who have an album coming out that they want to push. Still, understanding it doesn’t mean I have to like it.
Favorite performances?: It’s not every day your favorite musician plays SNL, so David Byrne was a real treat. I also adored Lizzo, and had a lot of fun with Chance the Rapper and The Weeknd.
Overall rankings: The At Home episodes theoretically skew these rankings a bit, since all three episodes featured only a single performance. However, even if I was going by gut opinion and not by ratings, I would probably keep those performances where they are on the list.
1. David Byrne
2. Chance the Rapper
3. Lizzo
4. The Weeknd
5. King Princess
6. Billie Eilish
7. Niall Horan
8. Camila Cabello
9. Boyz II Men
10. Harry Styles
11. Halsey
12. Taylor Swift
13. Miley Cyrus
14. Chris Martin
15. Coldplay
16. Luke Combs
17. Justin Bieber
18. DaBaby
AND NOW, SOME DATA!!
4501: 5.4 (Woody Harrelson) – Kabir
4502: 7.2 (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) – Matt
4503: 6.8 (David Harbour) – John
4504: 6.6 (Chance the Rapper) – Vax Novier
4505: 5.8 (Kristen Stewart) – John
4506: 5.9 (Harry Styles) – Kabir
4507: 5.5 (Will Ferrell) – Anthony
4508: 5.1 (Jennifer Lopez) – Anthony
4509: 7.2 (Scarlett Johansson) – Vax Novier
4510: 7.6 (Eddie Murphy) – Carson
4511: 7.9 (Adam Driver) – Matt
4512: 5.4 (J.J. Watt) – Matt
4513: 6.1 (RuPaul) – Kabir
4514: 5.7 (John Mulaney) – Vax Novier
4515: 6.3 (Daniel Craig) – Anthony
4516: 6.5 (At Home #1) – Carson
4517: 6.4 (At Home #2) – John
4518: 5.9 (At Home #3) – Matt
Best Episode: Adam Driver – 7.9 (Runner up: Eddie Murphy – 7.6)
Worst Episode: Jennifer Lopez – 5.1 (Runner up: TIE – Woody Harrelson & J.J. Watt – 5.4)
Season Average: 6.3 (with or without the At Homes)
HIGHEST RATED SKETCHES
5 STARS:
Monologue (Waller-Bridge; Matt)
Mid-Day News (Waller-Bridge; Matt)
Grouch (Harbour; John)
Peter, Paula, & Murray (Harbour; John)
Father-Son Podcasting Microphone (Harbour; John)
Love At First Sight (Chance; Vax)
Duolingo For Talking To Children (Stewart; John)
Corporate Nightmare (Stewart; John)
CFT: Cast List (Ferrell; Anthony)
The Corporal (Lopez; Anthony)
Macy’s (Johansson; Vax)
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (Johansson; Vax)
Mister Robinson’s Neighborhood (Murphy; Carson)
Monologue (Driver; Matt)
Del Taco Commercial Shoot (Driver; Matt)
Marrying Ketchups (Driver; Matt)
Facetime With Rudd (At Home #2; John)
Melissa’s Big Date (At Home #2; John)
Dreams (At Home #3; Matt)
CFT: Animal Crossing (Assorted CFTs; John)
4.5 STARS:
The War In Words (Waller-Bridge; Matt)
Tasty Toaster Tarts (Chance; Vax)
New Paint (Stewart; John)
CFT: Open Mic (Stewart; John)
Joan (Styles; Kabir)
Heinz (Ferrell; Anthony)
Hoops (Lopez; Anthony)
Hot Tub Christmas (Johansson; Vax)
Monologue (Murphy; Carson)
Weekend Update (Murphy; Carson)
North Pole News Report (Murphy; Carson)
The Science Room (Driver; Matt)
Slow (Driver; Matt)
Monologue (Mulaney; Vax)
CFT: You Go Show (Mulaney; Matt)
Salad (Craig; Anthony)
Henriette & Nan (At Home #1; Carson)
Middle-Aged Mutant Ninja Turtles (At Home #1; Carson)
Visualizations With Aidy (At Home #1; Carson)
Eleanor’s House (At Home #3; Matt)
CFT: Rom-Com Trailer (Assorted CFTs; John)
4 STARS:
Weekend Update (Waller-Bridge; Matt)
Little Miss Teacher’s Friend (Harbour; John)
Dance Rehearsal (Chance; Vax)
Weekend Update (Stewart; John)
CFT: Ooli’s Fashion Vlog (Stewart; John)
DJ Casket Twins (Styles; Kabir)
Potty PM (Lopez; Anthony)
Monologue (Johansson; Vax)
Celebrity Sighting (Johansson; Vax)
Home For The Holidays (Murphy; Carson)
Medieval Times (Driver; Matt)
Food Dudes (Watt; Matt)
Big Willie’s Pizza (Watt; Matt)
Monologue (RuPaul; Kabir)
San Diego Library (RuPaul; Kabir)
Thirsty Cops (RuPaul; Kabir)
CFT: You Go Show (Mulaney; Matt)
Monologue (Craig; Anthony)
Deep Quote Game Night (Craig; Anthony)
Monologue (At Home #1; Carson)
Sky Sport Report (At Home #1; Carson)
What Up With That: At Home (At Home #2; John)
Released Early (At Home #2; John)
Let Kids Drink (At Home #3; Matt)
Dad Pranks (At Home #3; Matt)
CFT: Message To The Girls (At Home #3; Matt)
CFT: Momming With Denise (At Home #3; Matt)
LOWEST RATED SKETCHES
2 STARS:
Impeachment (Harrelson; Kabir)
Half-Time Locker Room (Harrelson; Kabir)
CFT: New Play (Waller-Bridge; Matt)
Weekend Update (Harbour; John)
Sauce (Harbour; John)
Dog Court (Harbour; John)
Dazzle Designs (Chance; Vax)
Elizabeth Warren Town Hall (Stewart; John)
A Proposition (Stewart; John)
2020 Democratic Debate (Ferrell; Anthony)
Monologue (Lopez; Anthony)
Them Trumps: Rally (Lopez; Anthony)
Pet Translator (Johansson; Vax)
CFT: Holiday Gig (Murphy; Carson)
Frozen II (Watt; Matt)
Robbie (Watt; Matt)
Olay Eye Black (Watt; Matt)
My Fair Bigfoot (Watt; Matt)
New Hampshire Democratic Debate (RuPaul; Kabir)
CFT: Baby Doctor (RuPaul; Kabir)
White House Press Conference (Mulaney; Vax)
Uncle Meme (Mulaney; Vax)
The Admiral (Mulaney; Vax)
The Ingraham Angle: Coronavirus (Craig; Anthony)
Acting Coach (Craig; Anthony)
In Depth (At Home #2; John)
OJ Address (At Home #2; John)
The Reveal (At Home #2; John)
Virtual Graduation (At Home #3; Matt)
Weekend Update (At Home #3; Matt)
CFT: Quarantine Cooking (Assorted CFTs; John)
CFT: Dr. Birx Add (Assorted CFTs; John)
1.5 STARS:
CFT: Giuliani & Associates (Harbour; John)
Trump Rally (Chance; Vax)
Hero Dog Press Conference (Stewart; John)
Stargazing (Stewart; John)
Days Of Our Impeachment (Styles; Kabir)
Childbirth Class (Styles; Kabir)
Baby Faye (Styles; Kabir)
NATO Cafeteria (Lopez; Anthony)
Chad & J Lo (Lopez; Anthony)
Boop It (RuPaul; Kabir)
Working Out At Home With RBG (At Home #1; Carson)
1 STAR:
Impeachment Strategy (Waller-Bridge; Matt)
Rosie The Riveter (Stewart; John)
Impeachment Press Conference (Ferrell; Anthony)
First Thanksgiving (Ferrell; Anthony)
Hip Hop Carolers (Lopez; Anthony)
Wisconsin Women (Lopez; Anthony)
Sixth Democratic Debate (Murphy; Carson)
The Trial You Wish Had Happened (Watt; Matt)
Drake Song (At Home #1; Carson)
Danny Trejo Rap (At Home #3; Matt)
Lighthouse Keeper (At Home #3; Matt)
CFT: The Last Dance (At Home #3; Matt)
CFT: Quarantine Delivery (Assorted CFTs; John)
OUR PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS ENTIRE SEASON, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS, IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
COMING SOON
SNL returns to 8H with Chris Rock for the S46 premiere, as covered by Vax
The “One SNL A Day” Project 2.0 