by Julian Spivey The 50th-anniversary special for “Saturday Night Live” aired on Sunday, Feb. 16. It was a star-studded event featuring legendary cast members from the show’s past and former hosts and musical guests throughout a three-and-a-half-hour comedy marathon. There was much great stuff throughout the evening, which I will get to below. Still, I also had one major criticism: the show didn’t focus much on the first half of its legendary 50 years, with most sketches done throughout the evening from the last 25 years. That didn’t sour the night much, but it was certainly noticeable and likely a con of the evening for many who’ve followed the show throughout the majority or entirety of its run. Here were my 10 favorite moments from the evening in the order they appeared on the show: Paul Simon & Sabrina Carpenter Perform “Homeward Bound” Paul Simon is probably the first musical guest most folks who’ve been watching ‘SNL’ for many decades would think of is asked about frequent musical acts on the show. He appeared on the show's second episode in the fall of 1975 and has been on episodes in every decade and era of the show. The 50th-anniversary special was a homecoming for numerous cast members who returned to the famed Studio 8H in Rockefeller Center, and it made for an excellent opening performance. Sabrina Carpenter is one of the more notable musical guests of the recent seasons, though she’s only made one appearance on the show thus far. Though seeing Simon perform alone certainly would’ve been great, the duo made for a nice passing-the-torch moment. Goulet Meets Dooneese When I saw the image of Fred Armisen as Lawrence Welk, I admit I flinched a bit because I knew it meant Dooneese, Kristen Wiig’s significantly foreheaded, tiny-hands character that was one of my least favorite recurring characters in the show’s history, was coming. But my all-time favorite cast member, Will Ferrell, saved the bit with his wild impression of lounge singer Robert Goulet. It was a mixture of Ferrell’s Goulet interacting with Wiig’s Dooneese that, for the first time, had me chuckling at Dooneese’s antics, as Ferrell’s lusty Goulet played off them so well. Tina & Amy Answer Questions The questions segment is a holdover from past ‘SNL’ anniversary shows, and it makes for a fantastic bit – especially when in the hands of legends like Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, whom I’m sure wrote it together. In the segment, Fey and Poehler field questions from the star-studded audience members, which included modern stars like Quinta Brunson and Ryan Reynolds, as well as a legend like Keith Richards, who wondered if anybody had seen a scarf he left at the show in the late ‘80s. My favorite part of the segment was Jon Lovitz having to be seated in the American Doll store across the street as Julia Louis-Dreyfus needed the seat for her service dog, who is blind and helping it. Fey played a hand in writing parts of the special, but frankly, there wasn’t enough of her on screen. Digital Short: Anxiety Even though Andy Samberg and his Lonely Island cohorts have gotten a couple of Digital Shorts onto the show in its 50th season, there was still expected to be one on the 50th anniversary, as there had been 10 years ago for the 40th special. There was, and it was about the anxiety experienced by cast members and crew alike on the show on a weekly basis featuring Bowen Yang. It wasn’t the best digital short to appear on the show this season, but still a highlight of the evening. Weekend Update Weekend Update was my most anticipated part of the show, and though it was one of the best parts of the special, it was also a bit disappointing. The good parts were guest appearances by a couple of Update Hall of Fame correspondents in Cecily Strong’s The Girl Who Talks Too Much at a Party and Bobby Moynihan’s Drunk Uncle, an appearance by Seth Meyers (my second all-time favorite Update anchor behind Norm Macdonald) with Vanessa Bayer and Fred Armisen playing childhood friends of ‘SNL’ creator and producer Lorne Michaels. It also found a spot to use Bill Murray on the show. However, for Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, not appearing in this segment was a shocker. It was also disappointing not to see other Update anchors of the past like Kevin Nealon, Dennis Miller, Chevy Chase and Jane Curtin. Some of the biggest laughs of the evening were in this segment, but it also felt like one of the more significant misses of the show. There not being much of a Macdonald tribute was also disheartening. Colleen Rafferty The greatest recurring character on ‘SNL’ over the last decade has been Kate McKinnon’s alien abductee Colleen Rafferty. It was nice to see the return of Rafferty on the ‘SNL’ 50 special, even if Ryan Gosling – a frequent co-abductee in the sketches wasn’t available. Pedro Pascal and Woody Harrelson stepped in as Rafferty’s co-abductees, who got the better end of the alien’s treatment while she was once again pantsed and sexually harassed by those blasted gray aliens. The sketch featured the debut of Rafferty’s mom, played by Meryl Streep in her ‘SNL’ debut. Adam Sandler's Musical Tribute to SNL The most touching moment of the evening was Adam Sandler’s musical tribute to ‘SNL,’ which didn’t necessarily start that way, but certainly ended that way with tributes to his former castmates and friends, Chris Farley and Norm Macdonald. The song wasn’t as funny as many of Sandler’s songs have been over the years, but this special needed more tear-watering moments and it was nice to see Sandler supply one. Mulaney Musical John Mulaney’s many hosting stints over the last half-decade-plus on ‘SNL’ have been notable for his musical parodies, some better than others over the years. His trip through the decades of ‘SNL’ featuring musicals of each decade was one of the better ones he’s done. It began in 1975 when Pete Davidson and David Spade arrived from their small hometowns in the Big Apple. It featured comedic parodies of “The Lion King,” “Les Miserables,” “Hamilton” and more with a large ensemble that included former cast members Beck Bennett, Kyle Mooney, Alex Moffat, Ana Gasteyer, Maya Rudolph, Cecily Strong, Kristen Wiig, Jason Sudeikis, Taran Killam, Will Forte and Kate McKinnon. It also featured current cast members, most notably Sarah Sherman, and former hosts of the show, most notably Scarlett Johansson and Paul Rudd. Seeing former ‘SNL’ band leader G.E. Smith and band member Paul Schaffer was a nice touch, too. Debbie Downer One of the funnier bits of the evening came late in the show when Rachel Dratch brought back her memorable Debbie Downer character, who was employed at the bar for the celebration and shared some devastating factoids with Jimmy Fallon, Drew Barrymore, Ayo Edebiri and Robert De Niro, who got so fed up with the depressing facts attempted to strangler her at one point. The most shocking aspect of this sketch was that Fallon held it together, even when Dratch’s character tried to poke him with a recurring bit about how she can’t have children. Scared Straight The special’s very last sketch was the one I laughed the most at all night, and I think it’s because it’s one I’ve missed so much. I loved Kenan Thompson’s recurring Scared Straight sketches that appeared on ‘SNL’ eight times from 2008-2012 and then disappeared, I thought forever. I wasn’t surprised to see Colleen Rafferty, Dooneese, Debbie Downer or really anything else that appeared on the special during the night but was almost knocked out of my seat by the return of Scared Straight, and the fact that it featured Eddie Murphy alongside Thompson was priceless. Thompson and Murphy were side-bustingly hilarious doing their best to scare some teens into acting right. When Will Ferrell showed up as Big Red it upped the ante even more. What was your favorite part of SNL50?
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by Julian Spivey *portions of this list have previously been published on The Word on Pop Culture. 50. Ashlee Simpson Is Busted It likely wasn’t the first time anyone had ever lip-synced on “Saturday Night Live.” There have probably been performances of lip-synched music on the show in the two decades since. Still, Ashlee Simpson’s malfunction on the Oct. 23, 2004, episode of “Saturday Night Live” remains one of the most jaw-dropping flubs in the show’s history and one of the few times the show’s ever had to cut abruptly to a commercial. According to Simpson, she was suffering from vocal cord inflammation caused by acid reflux on the day of the live broadcast, which caused her to lose her voice and unable to complete the final rehearsals for the show. Because of this she decided to use a pre-recorded vocal track as support for the show’s two scheduled performances. The first performance of the episode “Pieces of Me” went off without an issue. When it came time for the second performance, “Autobiography,” an incorrectly played vocal from the previously performed song was mistakenly used before Simpson reached the microphone. The vocal was immediately lowered, but in an attempt to mask the error, Simpson’s band began to synchronize with the notes of “Pieces of Me.” This caused even more confusion for Simpson, who reacted with an awkward, short jig on stage before leaving the stage in horror after about half a minute. The band continued to play, but without a singer on stage, the show was forced to cut to a commercial break. The performance of “Autobiography” on the show never occurred. During the goodnights portion of the episode, the night’s host, Jude Law, asked Simpson to explain the incident. She said: “My band started playing the wrong song, and I didn’t know what to do, so I thought I’d do a hoedown. I’m sorry. This is live TV. These things happen!” Simpson and the show faced criticism for lip-synching performance. Days after the episode, Simpson called into MTV’s “Total Request Live” to explain the mix-up. The CBS newsmagazine “60 Minutes” just so happened to be filming behind the scenes of the show on the same night of the Simpson performance, and their footage supported Simpson’s account of what happened. ‘SNL’ producer Lorne Michaels stated that he was unaware of Simpson’s plan to use lip-synching and that had he been aware, he wouldn’t have allowed it. He also said it was the only time in the show’s history that a musical guest walked off the stage during a live telecast. The incident would appear to leave an irreparable mark on Simpson’s career, which floundered afterward. Today, she’s arguably remembered for the ‘SNL’ mishap more than her music career. 49. Stunt Casting Gone Wild Stunt casting on “Saturday Night Live” is a relatively new phenomenon. Sure, there were moments in the past like John Goodman, a frequent host of the show, coming in to portray Linda Tripp during the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky scandal and Tina Fey portraying Sarah Palin during the 2008 Presidential election, when it was noticed the two resembled each other. But when Larry David really hit the mark as Sen. Bernie Sanders around 2012 the show realized it could make headlines and bring in viewers by getting celebrities outside of the cast to come in and portray famous people, usually politicians. There was some good early on with this: David as Sanders, Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer and the earliest moments of Alec Baldwin as Donald Trump. However, the stunt casting quickly went awry, especially with more than four years of Baldwin portraying Trump and the worst of all stunt castings Jim Carrey as Joe Biden. It became something that many fans of the show grew tired of and began to severely eye roll. The show’s still doing it to this day with varied degrees of success. For instance, the 2024 Presidential Election having Maya Rudolph as Kamala Harris and Dana Carvey as Biden worked for me. It’s always nice to see legends of the show return to their natural habitat, but when they rely on celebrity look-alikes like comedian Jim Gaffigan portraying Harris’ running mate Tim Walz it always comes off as poor utilization of the show’s cast and a ratings ploy on the part of the show. Hopefully the days of stunt casting will end soon, but it’s gone on for more than a decade now. 48. 'SNL' Bows to Trump for Ratings “Saturday Night Live” is in the television business, which means it’s in the ratings business. It hopes to entertain, but its priority is bringing in viewers. So, when the show can bring in an A-list superstar over a likely funnier host, it does so because the business demands it. But what about when some of the most famous people who might draw in significant numbers of viewers are despicable? The show came into this predicament in 2015 when it brought in Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump to host an episode (he had hosted previously in 2004 when he was merely a rich game show host). At the time, it may have felt like Trump wasn’t a real threat to win the White House, but he had begun his candidacy with thinly-veiled racist attacks against Mexicans by calling them rapists and murderers. Still, the show thought, “We should get this guy. He’ll bring in viewers.” Well, he did. And it didn’t matter to the show and NBC if it had to shed some moral high ground to get those viewers, even if the show’s cast wanted nothing to do with Trump as host. Cast member Taran Killam, who once impersonated Trump on the show, told NPR in 2017, “It was not enjoyable at the time and something that only grows more embarrassing and shameful as time goes on.” The show, which Trump now includes often among his hate-filled social media tirades, may not have done much to get Trump elected, but it certainly helped normalize him. The show would do something similar, though less controversial at the time, in 2021 when Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk hosted the show. He wasn’t nearly as controversial then as now, but he made for an incredibly awkward host and was rude to cast members. He even made cast member Chloe Fineman cry due to his reaction to a sketch she had written. 47. Extremely Stupid Breaking character is always going to be an issue with live television, particularly live comedic television. Sometimes the jokes you say or the humorous antics you have to perform for a live audience and the millions watching instantaneously at home are just too funny not to laugh to or at yourself. ‘SNL’ fans have always had a love/hate relationship with performers breaking character on the show. Some are strict in their opinion that professionals should never break character while others love the fact that cast members occasionally crack themselves up and admit that at times breaking character actually makes a sketch much funnier than it would have been otherwise. There have been many memorable instances of breaking character on the show from the almost-never-to-crack Phil Hartman doing so in Frankenstein makeup to Bill Hader’s hilarious crack-ups at last second joke inserts by writer John Mulaney during Stefon bits on Weekend Update. The most famous “breaking character” cast members were Jimmy Fallon and Horatio Sanz, whose frequent crack-ups were a common annoyance to those who hate seeing such things. Perhaps the best-timed flub in the 50 year history of “Saturday Night Live” came in its early years and started a crack-up so hilarious that it almost completely brought the entire sketch to a standstill … and in doing so turned what certainly would’ve been a long forgotten sketch into a classic. It happened on Dec. 11, 1976 during the show’s second season and the third episode of the series hosted by actress Candice Bergen in just a year-and-a-half span. It was a simple plot. Bergen was supposed to be the straight woman in the sketch about a message from the Right to Extreme Stupidity League about how all Americans deserve their right to extreme stupidity. Gilda Radner was to be the American diagnosed with “extreme stupidity.” Bergen’s character is named ‘Fern’ and Radner’s is named ‘Lisa,’ but at some point in the sketch Bergen mistakenly flip-flops the names and says, “You’re not too bright are you Fern [breaking character by laughing at her mistake] Whatever your name is! [continues laughing].” Radner interjects “Lisa!” to which Bergen continues with the sketch as written, “As a matter of fact you’re extremely stupid.” Radner says, “Well, you’re right Fern. And, you know I’m proud of it. [At this point she turns to the camera for emphasis] You know, we all can’t be brainy like Fern here … [the emphasis she puts on the name is something only a comedic genius like Radner could do].” At this point Bergen absolutely loses it to the point where she is in tears and can barely continue the sketch. I’m not sure whether the “we all can’t be brainy like Fern here” line was written as part of the sketch or improvised on the spot by Radner, but it feels totally improvised when you watch it, and it makes it seem all the more hilarious. I’m sure if you asked ‘SNL’ fans what their favorite memory of Radner is from her time on the show they’d probably name one of her memorable characters like Roseanne Roseannadanna or Emily Litella, but her quick wit and perfect timing upon Bergen’s misfortune in this sketch is my favorite memory of her. 46. Colonel Angus I have to admit that the first time I saw the Colonel Angus sketch live in February 2003 it wasn’t one of my favorite sketches. I laughed but never thought years later I’d look back on it with such fondness. In the sketch, the week’s host, Christopher Walken, a noted member of the Five-Timers Club, played a Civil War hero returning home from war. His name was Colonel Angus, and for some reason, the ladies around Shady Thicket absolutely loved him. When you hear the name Colonel Angus said with a Civil War-era Southern accent, you begin to realize why they’re so fond of him. I think I truly began to appreciate this sketch years after I saw it when I found out that it was written by Tina Fey and revisited it. Something about a sketch with such ribald, tawdry wordplay written by a woman piqued my interest, because such things in the past had typically been considered with a “boys club” mentality. Here was Fey, who thanks to her magnificent NBC comedy series “30 Rock,” I’d grown to absolutely love, respect and admire for her acerbic sense of humor, showing the world that women could be just as raunchy and dirty-minded as the men when it came to comedy. Some would say that the writer of a sketch shouldn’t matter all that much when it comes to the overall greatness of it, but if Adam Sandler had written the Colonel Angus sketch it just wouldn’t have felt the same. It would have been typical Sandler. From Fey the numerous double-entendres that make Colonel Angus so much fun weren’t as expected and it really adds to the humor and greatness of the entire bit. It’s nice knowing which writers have a hand in writing which sketches, but that’s something that unfortunately isn’t well-known or publicized throughout the great history of ‘SNL.’ We remember the cast members and lines that made us laugh, but rarely get a chance to know the genius behind the words or plots. Colonel Angus came at a particularly important time in ‘SNL’ history when female cast members like Fey, Amy Poehler and later on Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and more were about to steal a show that had always been dominated by men. 45. Uncle Jemima's Pure Mash Liquor Tracy Morgan had many memorable moments during his seven seasons on “Saturday Night Live” from recurring characters like Brian Fellow and Astronaut Jones to great one-off sketches like Big Bernard. I’d say he’s undoubtedly one of my favorite ‘SNL’ cast members of all time and I believe his most outstanding comedy achievement actually came shortly after his ‘SNL’ tenure when he joined the cast of Tina Fey’s incredible NBC comedy “30 Rock” as Tracy Jordan, essentially a more absurdist version of Morgan himself. Tracy Jordan is one of the greatest sitcom characters ever, in my opinion, but out of all of the things Morgan did on ‘SNL’ the most memorable for me remains Uncle Jemima’s Pure Mash Liquor, which might be the greatest fake commercial in the show’s 50-season history (and believe me that’s truly saying something). It’s also the only ‘SNL’ commercial parody to make this list. The idea behind Uncle Jemima, the husband of pancake maven Aunt Jemima, is simply genius. It also shows just how good racial humor can be when it’s done right. The Uncle Jemima’s Pure Mash Liquor commercial is set up perfectly as a parody to the long-forgotten and deeply buried Disney movie “Song of the South” with Uncle Jemima staring into the camera trying to sell his Pure Mash Liquor. The faux-commercial is perhaps one of the most quotable bits in ‘SNL’ history (again, that’s truly saying something) with memorably hilarious lines like “I’m Uncle Jemima. You probably know my wife, Aunt Jemima, the Pancake Lady. Now, she says that sellin’ booze is degradin’ to our people. I always say that black folk ain’t exactly swellin’ up with pride on account of you flippin’ flapjack!” and “Uncle Jemima's Pure Mash Liquor has a 95 percent alcohol content, and that's per volume. That means you get f***** up for less money!” Uncle Jemima’s Pure Mash Liquor is such a simple concept, but Morgan’s performance and reading of such truly funny lines make it one of the greatest of all time. 44. Robert Goulet's Coconut Banger's Ball: It's a Rap Will Ferrell will appear on this list an incredible number of times, which is a good reason why I believe he’s the greatest cast member in the 50-season history of “Saturday Night Live.” I believe many others think this too – after all Ferrell is the only cast member to ever have multiple ‘Best Of’ specials dedicated to his work on the show. The fact that Ferrell had an impersonation of lounge singer Robert Goulet in his bag of tricks was uniquely and hilariously absurd. That he portrayed Goulet as pompous ratcheted up the laughter even more. But Ferrell’s Goulet impression was at its peak when he paired the old-school crooner with some of the day’s biggest hip-hop songs. Listening to Ferrell as Goulet croon Sisqo’s “Thong Song” and The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Poppa” a capella is one of those ultimate ‘SNL’ moments I will never forget and constantly find myself thinking of whenever I hear any of those songs. The idea of Goulet singing songs with the content of those hip-hop hits is enough to make somebody almost bust a gut. Goulet claims in the sketch that he can do hip-hop better than the gangsta rappers selling millions saying, “You wouldn’t let a clown fix a leak in the john, so why let these hooligans tear down the biz?” I only wish Ferrell had been able to do more hip-hop classics as Goulet. Frankly, his other Goulet sketches never quite lived up to this one. However, the funniest part of the sketch isn’t even Goulet trying to pimp his record “Coconut Banger’s Ball: It’s a Rap” but toward the end of the sketch when the big horn mountain goat – the true reason he drives out to the middle of nowhere – comes wandering by and the two engage in an epic staring contest concluding in the hilarious “you win, you always do” line by Ferrell. Few cast members in this show’s history could pull off such a ridiculous sketch idea as Robert Goulet performing rap songs and then having a staring contest with a goat and make it work as hilariously and effortlessly as Ferrell. That’s one of the many reasons he was the best. 43. Tom Brokaw Pre-Tapes Dana Carvey is one of the all-time greatest cast members in “Saturday Night Live” history, but one of Carvey’s finest moments on the show came in a hosting stint on Oct. 25, 1996, his second hosting appearance after leaving the show in 1993. In the episode, Carvey impersonated then NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw who was about to go on a multi-week vacation and needed to pre-tape some breaking news bulletins in the off-chance that specific big news stories broke while he was away. The big news story the producer (never seen on camera but voiced by writer Robert Smigel) of the NBC Nightly News is anticipating as a possibility during the sketch is the death of former President Gerald Ford. Carvey as Brokaw does a straight take of himself breaking the fake news of President Ford’s death and thinks everything’s a wrap and he’s ready to embark on his much-needed vacation. Not just yet. The producer needs Brokaw to record specific takes for possibilities of how President Ford might die. This is where the sketch takes a turn for the utterly brilliant and hilarious, and even, at times, macabre. Carvey, one of the greatest impressionists to ever grace ‘SNL,’ is supremely hilarious doing a spot-on Brokaw announcing President Ford being eaten by a pack of wolves, overdosing on crack cocaine, being chopped into tiny bits by an airplane propeller and being strangled to death by the corpse of Richard Nixon. The absolute funniest bit of the sketch is toward the beginning when Brokaw is pre-taping news of President Ford being assassinated by gunshot, and the producer wants him to insert the word “senseless” into the take. Brokaw snidely replies with: “Gerald Ford shot dead today, at the senseless age of 83.” Interestingly this sketch didn’t actually have its origins on ‘SNL,’ but Carvey’s very short-lived sketch comedy series “The Dana Carvey Show” on ABC in 1996. That series only aired seven episodes but featured many of today’s biggest comics on its staff. Now disgraced Louis C.K. was the show’s head writer and Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell were a part of its cast. The Tom Brokaw Pre-tapes sketch was written for the eighth episode of “The Dana Carvey Show,” which never aired. Its loss was a massive gain for ‘SNL.’ 42. 'SNL' Does Frank Sinatra “Saturday Night Live” has had the great luxury of having two incredible Frank Sinatra impressions over its legendary 50-season run on television. Joe Piscopo was the first, as he essentially owned the impression of “Ol’ Blue Eyes” in the early ’80s on the show. It was his greatest achievement during his ‘SNL’ tenure and the thing he’s most known for more than 40 years after leaving the show (he appeared on the ‘SNL’ 40th anniversary special as Sinatra rather than himself). Piscopo’s Sinatra may be the ultimate – or greatest – Sinatra impression there’s ever been. But it’s something the ‘SNL’ higher-ups actually had to talk Piscopo into doing. Piscopo said in Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live by Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller: “The Sinatra stuff was early on, and they had to talk me into that too, because I didn’t want to disrespect my hero. When I first started doing him, I wrote him a letter and I sent him an album through his attorney – we put out this ‘I Love Rock and Roll, Sinatra Sings the Rock Tunes’ kind of thing. I was a North Jersey Italian American just like the Old Man, as we affectionately referred to Mr. S., and he couldn’t have been nicer. Matter of fact, he sent out cease-and-desist letters to anybody who’d even think of doing him and he never sent me a letter.” Piscopo’s greatest moment as Sinatra was probably when he teamed up with Eddie Murphy’s spot-on Stevie Wonder to do a play on the hit Wonder had with Paul McCartney in the early ’80s called “Ebony and Ivory.” The parody version had Sinatra singing hilarious lines like: “You are blind as a bat and I have sight/Side by side, you are my amigo, Negro, let’s not fight.” The other legendary ‘SNL’ cast member with an iconic impression of “The Chairman of the Board” was Phil Hartman. Hartman’s Sinatra was more mean-spirited than Piscopo’s, probably meaning Hartman didn’t have the same closeness to the source. According to Piscopo the Sinatra family wasn’t happy at all by Hartman’s impression. “The Sinatra family was not happy with the impression Phil was doing at all, again rest his soul. There was a meanness there to the Hartman thing. That was Lorne [Michaels] too, man. And I think there’s some kind of law: Don’t even attempt to do Sinatra unless you’re Italian.” The greatest Sinatra sketch in the show’s history, in my opinion, was a Hartman one and came during the Jan. 19, 1991 episode hosted by musician Sting. It was a unique idea to take The McLaughlin Group news show, which the show frequently parodied, and have it hosted by Sinatra with a panel of the day’s biggest recording artists like Sinead O’Connor (Jan Hooks), Billy Idol (Sting) and 2 Live Crew’s Luther Campbell (Chris Rock). Watching Hartman’s jerk of a Sinatra grill and make fun of these younger stars was an absolute blast, especially when he’d taunt or throw insults at them. Hartman could own a sketch with the best of them in the history of ‘SNL’ and this is, without a doubt, one of his ultimate highlights. 41. 'SNL' At Home One of the most admirable things “Saturday Night Live” has ever done was finish out its season in 2020 when the Covid-19 outbreak took over America and the rest of the world forcing the abrupt end of many TV seasons and changing the way late-night television was made in the U.S. Thanks to modern day technology that allowed for things to be done via phones, laptops, etc. over things like Zoom the show was able to re-tool itself to provide 90 minutes of laughs in one of the scariest times in modern history. The final three episodes of season 45, referred to as “Saturday Night Live at Home,” saw the show’s cast members doing comedy sketches from the safety of their homes during the pandemic. Sure, the show’s weren’t live, but they were still prepared weekly and gave the show a DIY feel like you would see if the show were done on a social media app like TikTok. The ‘SNL at Home’ period was weird but it certainly beat not having new material to finish out the season. I’m not sure there was anything on the three episodes that will stand the test of time as iconic ‘SNL’ moments, but the fact that the show just didn’t pack it in and call it a season is something I’ll never forget. 40. Patriotic Shorts Patriotic Shorts was a very important sketch at the time for “Saturday Night Live” as it came less than a month after the tragic terrorist attacks of 9/11 had caused so much pain to not only New York, where the show is, of course, performed but the entire nation. It was important, I think, for two reasons. 1) Because people really could use a good laugh after so much tragedy and 2) Because the nation had already been taken over by over-patriotic symptoms (that frankly, it hasn’t gotten over in the decades since), and that’s something that needed to be poked fun of to some extent. Will Ferrell is arguably the most outstanding cast member in the 50 seasons of ‘SNL,’ and this is probably one of his greatest hits on the show. The sketch, which appeared in just the second episode of ‘SNL’ after 9/11, features the week’s host Seann William Scott as a boss of an office who, wanting to show his American pride, allows his employees to wear patriotic attire like ties adorned with the flag or flag pins. One employee, Ferrell’s Dale McGrew, takes things just a little bit too far when he shows up for a company meeting wearing a half shirt that says ‘USA’ that completely bares his midsection and flag shorts that have been cut into a thong. The sketch's punchline is Ferrell’s wacky attire that shows off a sense of over-patriotism. Things get uncomfortably hilarious when McGrew wanting to pour himself a cup of coffee turns his back to the camera showing off both of Ferrell’s butt cheeks. Ferrell was known to be the one cast member to go above and beyond for laughs, and this was a clear sign of his willingness to make people laugh. A great aspect of the Patriotic Shorts sketch is how the rest of the cast members (Horatio Sanz, Rachel Dratch, Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers) struggle to keep their giggles under wraps throughout the six-plus-minutes, often failing to do so. Things get particularly hilarious when Ferrell leans back in his chair and places his feet upon the meeting room’s table, completely exposing his red, white and blue crotch. Patriotic Shorts was the perfect sketch for “Saturday Night Live” to air less than a month after our nation’s worst tragedy. It was probably the first time some people had laughed since before 9/11. 39. Deep Thoughts with Jack Handey Few writers in the history of “Saturday Night Live” have ever become widely known in the pop culture lexicon. Many of those who did actually became popular well after their tenures as a ‘SNL’ writer like Conan O’Brien who became popular for his late night talk show gigs. Jack Handey is one of the very few, along with Robert Smigel and some others, that became not quite household names, but at least known to many. Handey became known for his “Deep Thoughts” which are merely one-liner jokes, usually leaning toward the surrealistic or absurd. This was a very unique and unusual thing to see on a sketch comedy show, but the quick segments were so uproariously funny that they’ve always stuck with me. Handey initially had his “Deep Thoughts” published in National Lampoon magazine in 1984 and in various publications in the years before his stint at ‘SNL.’ In Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller’s compilation “Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live,” Handey said that his “Deep Thoughts” were unforeseenly important to the show. “They proved to be pretty popular. And also they have a utilitarian purpose on the show, which I didn’t foresee, which was that a lot of times they need, you know, 30 seconds to move cameras from one set to another, so they can just drop in something like that, and so it was helpful in that regard. I probably did more than 200 of them,” Handey said. After Handey left the show in the late ’90s, he would occasionally do guest writing, including the less popular but still hilarious “Fuzzy Memories” and “My Big Thick Novel” segments. Handey was also the creative genius behind two of the more wacky characters in ‘SNL’ history: Phil Hartman’s Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer and Toonces the Driving Cat. 38. Get Off the Shed Will Ferrell is the greatest cast member in the 50-season history of “Saturday Night Live,” in my opinion. I know that’s going to be controversial for some, and I agree that legends like Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, John Belushi, Eddie Murphy, Chris Farley, and others are right up there with him, but for me, it’s Ferrell. Nobody has made me bust out into uproarious laughter more on ‘SNL’ than Ferrell and it all started on his very first episode on the show. How many other cast members can you think of having an all-time classic sketch on their very first episode? It’s one of the most simplistic sketches in the show’s history, with essentially only one repeated punchline, and honestly, it shouldn’t even be all that funny, but in the hands of Ferrell, it turns into a masterpiece. Ferrell plays Frank Henderson who’s having a backyard grill party with his wife, played by the week’s host Mariel Hemingway, when two new neighbors drop by (David Koechner and Nancy Walls). Frank is having a nice, typical conversation with the neighbors while flipping burgers on the grill when he notices his kids (whom you never see onscreen) playing on top of the shed. Frank politely asks his kids to get off of the shed and continues on his previous conversation. Throughout the entire sketch those blasted kids of his return to playing atop the shed and Frank admonishes them for it, but with each admonishment getting louder and angrier as he goes until he’s finally screaming full throttle at them to “GET OFF THE DAMN SHED!” It’s one of the great up-the-ante sketches that Ferrell was so fantastic at where he’d start out mild-mannered and end up almost psychotic by the sketch’s end, and every single time, have you in stitches. Interestingly, the ‘Get Off the Shed’ bit was one of the pieces that Ferrell auditioned for the show with, and you know Lorne Michaels and crew must have really enjoyed it if it ended up as a centerpiece of his very first episode. 37. Fan Campaign Leads to Betty White Hosting For as long as TV stars had been such a thing, Betty White had been one. From the earliest days of television when she starred on the sitcom “Life with Elizabeth,” to her turns on numerous game shows, roles in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “The Golden Girls” and later “Hot in Cleveland,” she had been one of television’s icons. But White had never hosted ‘SNL,’ despite ‘Golden Girls’ being an NBC show. Supposedly, according to ‘SNL’ producer Lorne Michaels, the show had asked White to host on three separate occasions between the ‘70s and ‘90s and was turned down each time. Then something remarkable happened in early 2010, when a campaign, which began on the social media site Facebook titled “Betty White to Host SNL (please?)!”, started to become noticed, receiving almost 190,000 people urging the show to have White as host, Michaels asked White, who was 88 at the time, again. This time White relented and gave the fans what they wanted. To my knowledge, it’s the only time in the show’s 50 seasons in which it listened to the petitions of fans to have a host without it being the show’s idea. White’s hosting stint would be one of the most memorable in the show’s history, not simply for having the TV legend host, but also for bringing back some of the great female cast members of the show, like Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Rachel Dratch, Molly Shannon and Ana Gasteyer to appear alongside side her in sketch, leading to memorable moments like talking about her dusty muffins on Delicious Dish with Gasteyer and Shannon and playing opposite Shannon’s Sally O’Malley. White also appeared in some of the show’s best sketches of that era, as in MacGruber alongside Will Forte and in Scared Straight alongside Kenan Thompson. It was a unique moment in the show’s history in which the show’s viewers desperately wanted something, the show listened and magic happened. 36. Fear Punks 'SNL' One of the most infamous, unpredictable and likely wildest musical performances in the 50 seasons of ‘SNL’ came when the Los Angeles punk band Fear, unknown to the masses, made its national television debut on “Saturday Night Live” on October 31, 1981. Former ‘SNL’ cast member John Belushi had become a fan of the band after seeing them on an episode of the L.A. based “New Wave Theatre” and wanted to get the band on the soundtrack for his film “Neighbors.” When the band didn’t make the cut for the soundtrack, Belushi asked ‘SNL’ producer Dick Ebersol for a favor in booking the band as an apology. The band's performance was to include slam dancing (with Belushi as one of the dancers), popular in the punk music community, which scared the show’s director. The show relented to the dancing when Belushi offered to appear in the episode it would. Belushi’s appearance would be a wordless cameo in the show’s cold opening. Fear performed “I Don’t Care About You,” “Beef Bologna” and then its frontman Lee Ving stated: “It’s great to be here in New Jersey,” members of the punk mob could be heard saying “fuck” on the air and the band began playing “New York’s Alright If You Like Saxophones.” Following the rowdy performance, the band dedicated it’s next song, “for all of you who voted – Republicans and Democrats alike” and began “Let’s Have a War,” before the live feed was cut off. A previously aired, filmed piece was shown in its place. Fear would never appear on ‘SNL’ again, and Belushi would be dead from a drug overdose less than half a year later. 35. Season 11's Cliffhanger The eleventh season of “Saturday Night Live” has been dubbed the “weird year” as the show was hanging by a thread after 10 seasons of ups and downs, mostly downs in the last half decade. The show had undergone something of a resurgence in its 10th season with an all-star cast that included Billy Crystal, Martin Short and Christopher Guest, but when Dick Ebersol left as executive producer after four seasons and Lorne Michaels returned to take over the show he created and ran for its first five seasons he decided a complete overhaul was necessary. This overhaul resulted in an odd cast that included veteran actors like previously Oscar-nominated Randy Quaid, along with youngsters like Anthony Michael Hall and Robert Downey Jr. The cast never really gelled and the now overly-used “Saturday Night Dead” tag was given to the show. The eleventh season really only had one standout, Jon Lovitz, who debuted his Pathological Liar and Master Thespian characters that immediately caught on with the audience. NBC president Brandon Tartikoff was likely going to cancel the show when Michaels came up with a unique cliffhanger idea that remains one of the most controversial sketches in the show’s 50 years. He was going to have that week’s co-host Billy Martin, the often fired manager of the New York Yankees set fire to the set with the entire cast locked inside – except for at the last minute, Michaels saves Lovitz from the blaze. At that point, the rest of the cast knew who the golden god was, and they were almost certainly about to lose their jobs. The story of this season is told in the brilliant documentary, “Season 11: The Weird Year,” as part of the series of ‘SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night’ on Peacock. 34. John Belushi's Feelin' Alright John Belushi is among the most beloved cast members in the illustrious 50-year history of “Saturday Night Live,” known for many great characters and impressions. Perhaps his best impression was that of English singer Joe Cocker. Cocker is considered by many to be one of the best vocalists of all-time thanks to his gritty, bluesy voice that led Rolling Stone magazine to name him the 97th greatest singer of all time, but it was for his incredibly spastic body movements while performing in concert that he’s perhaps most known. These body movements mimicked by Belushi that truly made his impression of Cocker one of the most iconic in ‘SNL’ history. Belushi impersonated Cocker five times on the program. Some might choose his first appearance doing Cocker’s cover of The Beatles’ classic “With a Little Help From My Friends” in October of 1975 to be his finest Cocker turn, but my favorite was his final appearance as the singing legend in October of 1976 when Belushi got a chance to out-Cocker the real Cocker when the performer happened to be the night’s musical guest. It’s the only time I can remember in ‘SNL’ history where an actual musical performance is turned into a fantastically funny comedy bit thanks to a cast member’s impression. The musical performance starts with just Cocker performing his hit “Feelin’ Alright” dressed in white pants, a white sports coat and a black T-shirt underneath that had ‘Stuff,’ the name of his band, written in pink lettering. After Cocker finishes the first chorus, Belushi comes out onto the stage dressed identically to Cocker and performs the second verse of the song. Seeing Belushi’s impression right next to Cocker proves just how brilliant it was. Belushi, of course, takes it a little bit further by drinking a beer and wildly pulling at his frizzy white boy afro during the song. 33. Brasky Buddies Bill Brasky is a son of a bitch. He’s a larger-than-life man who makes the Most Interesting Man in the World from those Dos Equis commercials look like a little boy and his buddies, who like to get hammered and talk of Brasky’s epic feats at the bar, are among the funniest characters to ever appear in the grand 40-year history of “Saturday Night Live.” The Brasky buddies were always led by the hilarious Will Ferrell in the mid-to-late ’90s, typically with cast members of that era, David Koechner and Mark McKinney, by his side and one of the week’s hosts (usually Alec Baldwin or John Goodman). They would drink together at a bar or occasionally another venue, like their son’s little league baseball game, and get to bragging about their experiences with their shared friend Bill Brasky. The group’s descriptions of Brasky always started out relatively normal with things like “I know Bill Brasky. He’s a big fella, goes about 6’4’’, 280. He loves his Scotch.” However, the descriptions of Brasky get more and more Paul Bunyan-esque as the sketch goes on, and the drunk buddies try to one-up each other until the sketches reach absolute hilarity. By the end of the sketch, Brasky would go from 6’4”, 280 to “a ten-foot-tall, two-ton son of a bitch who could eat a hammer and take a shotgun blast standing!” The sketches would always end with the shadowy figure of Bill Brasky showing up and offering to buy a round for the buddies. The sketches appeared five times from 1996 through 1998, and then in late 2013, after 15 years, a miracle happened – in an episode hosted by actor Paul Rudd, the Brasky Buddies returned. Rudd was supporting the movie “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues,” which co-starred former Brasky buddies Ferrell and Koechner. The three were joined by then ‘SNL’ cast member Taran Killam to recreate the sketch, which would probably become the funniest sketch of that season on the show. 32. King Tut Does anybody remember that comedian Steve Martin actually had a top 20 Billboard hit in 1978 with his comedy song “King Tut”? True story. The novelty song released by Martin and the Toot Uncommons (members of the popular group Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) from Martin’s comedy album A Wild and Crazy Guy became a massive hit, selling over a million copies. It debuted on an episode of ‘SNL,’ hosted by Martin, on April 22, 1978, widely regarded as the greatest single episode in ‘SNL’ history. According to authors Doug Hill and Jeff Weingrad, in their book Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live, Martin came to the show that week and asked producer Lorne Michaels if he could perform it live on the air. Michaels put everything he had into the performance, and as a result, it became one of the most expensive productions to appear on the show to that point. “King Tut” is a satirical novelty song about the Treasures of Tutankhamun traveling exhibit, which was popular in the United States at the time and celebrated the life of the Egyptian pharaoh. Watching Martin perform “King Tut” dressed in Egyptian pharaoh garb while doing crazy Egyptian dances that wouldn’t be made famous for almost another decade when The Bangles had a hit with “Walk Like an Egyptian” is a blast. Among my favorite lines of this zany tune are: “Buried with a donkey/he’s my favorite honkey” and “Dancin’ by the Nile/The ladies love his style/Rockin’ for a mile/he ate a crocodile.” The fact that “King Tut” was a satire of the disco fad at the time also adds significantly to the piece's humor, which might be lost on many hearing it for the first time today. Among the highlights of the ‘SNL’ performance is saxophonist Lou Marini, part of the first ‘SNL’ house band led by Howard Shore and a member of the Blues Brothers backing band, stepping out from a golden sarcophagus to play a blazing sax solo. Martin, who has become quite the banjo virtuoso over the years, would revisit “King Tut” in 2011 as a bluegrass song on his album Rare Bird Alert with the Steep Canyon Rangers. Interestingly enough, both albums featuring this song were nominated for Grammy Awards. 31. The Abduction of Colleen Rafferty “Saturday Night Live” doesn’t seem to do recurring characters as often in the last decade-plus of the show, but one of the show’s all-time great characters, and one that never failed to provide laughs for both the audiences and those within the live sketch, was Collen Rafferty, Kate McKinnon’s alien abductee with wildly vivid remembrances of being probed and prodded by her celestial captors. The character has appeared eight times on the show, with its debut coming on December 5, 2015, in an episode hosted by Ryan Gosling. In the debut sketch, Gosling infamously couldn’t keep from consistently breaking character at the outrageous things McKinnon says as Rafferty about her encounters with the beings from beyond. Gosling has appeared in three of the eight Colleen Rafferty sketches, including one in April of this year in an episode in which Gosling hosted, and McKinnon returned to the show in a cameo to perform. McKinnon was the M.V.P. of her era on ‘SNL’; this is most likely the character she’ll most be remembered for playing. 30. The Return of Eddie Murphy Eddie Murphy might not be the greatest cast member in the history of “Saturday Night Live” – though if you argue he is, I wouldn’t put up a fight – but I don’t think there’s any argument that he isn’t the most important cast member in the show’s history. If it weren’t for Eddie Murphy in the early ‘80s, this show likely wouldn’t make it to its 10th anniversary, let alone its 50th. But there was a large swath of time in which Murphy wouldn’t return to ‘SNL.’ Many attribute the reason why to being offended by a joke David Spade made on his Hollywood Minute segment of Weekend Update in the mid-‘90s, in which Spade referred to Murphy as a “falling star” in reaction to the box office failure of Murphy’s film “Vampire in Brooklyn.” In 2024, Murphy told the New York Times: “It was like: ‘Yo, it’s in-house!” I’m one of the family, and you’re fucking with me like that?’ It hurt my feelings like that.” He also called it a “cheap shot.” Murphy notably didn’t attend the show’s 25th anniversary special. He would make a brief appearance during the show’s 40th anniversary special in which he appeared at the center of Studio 8H and equated it to being like “returning to high school.” But the moment was awkward because he didn’t appear in any bits during the three-hour event. This moment may have piqued his interest in returning to host an episode, though, which he would do in season 45, hosting the Christmas episode on December 21, 2019. During the episode (his first ‘SNL’ appearance in more than 35 years, not counting the 40th-anniversary special cameo), Murphy reprised some of his greatest recurring characters like Mr. Robinson, Gumby, and Velvet Jones, and it was one of the most watched and talked about episodes of the show’s modern era. It's the highest-rated episode by fan rankings on IMDb. It was a legend coming home where he belonged and it’ll never be forgotten. 29. Lorne Michaels Tries to Reunite The Beatles One of the most memorable moments of the debut season of “Saturday Night Live” was producer Lorne Michaels’s attempt at reuniting The Beatles. On the April 26, 1976, episode, Michaels appeared in a bit facing the camera, in which he held a $3,000 check and offered it to the four members of The Beatles, which had been broken up for nearly seven years at that point, to perform three Beatles songs on the show. The bit was a mixture of tongue-in-cheek humor and a bit of hope that it might entice the members to take the gig. Michaels joked: “$1,000 for ‘She Loves You, yeah, yeah, yeah.’ You know the words – it’ll be easy.” John Lennon happened to be watching the episode live. A week later, Paul McCartney was visiting Lennon in New York City, and Lennon explained the bit to him and suggested they should play along, show up to the studio, and attempt to claim half the cash. They ultimately decided against it. However, a similar joke would be made in the second season of the show, when on the November 20, 1976, episode, George Harrison appeared (in previously recorded bits) as musical guest with host Paul Simon, and a cold opening in which he attempted to claim the money or at least negotiate a price for one Beatle. 28. David S. Pumpkins, Any Questions? Every now and then throughout the half-century run of “Saturday Night Live,” there has been a sketch or character that broke out of the show’s little fan community and gone into the pop culture lexicon almost instantaneously. Usually, it’s a moment from a cast member debuting a new character, but sometimes, it’s a performance given by one of the show’s hosts. Such a moment occurred on the October 22, 2016 episode hosted by Tom Hanks, when a strange Halloween character named David S. Pumpkins (Hanks) was born. The brainchild of Mikey Day, Bobby Moynihan, and Streeter Seidell, David S. Pumpkins is essentially the Santa Claus of Halloween, but when he pops up to spectators at a Haunted Mansion-type ride, he is more confusing than scary. The character wears a suit and tie covered in pumpkins and has the catchphrase “Any Questions?,” to which the people on the ride have plenty. David S. Pumpkins is also accompanied by two skeletons (Day and Moynihan) who dance awkwardly during the bit. The sketch immediately became an instant classic for ‘SNL’ and led to an animated special the following year. Hanks reprised David S. Pumpkins in an episode he hosted in season 48. 27. Five-Timer's Club “The Five-Timers Club,” which originally appeared on Tom Hanks’ fifth hosting stint on Dec. 8, 1990, and was hilariously reprised during Justin Timberlake’s fifth hosting appearance in 2013, and a few times since, is one of the most memorable moments in the great history of “Saturday Night Live” just for the sheer quantity of talent involved. “The Five-Timers Club” is an exclusive club that only includes those select few celebrities who have had the great opportunity to host ‘SNL’ at least five times. The club currently includes 27 members. But, when the sketch debuted with Hanks in 1990, he was only the group’s seventh member along with Buck Henry, Steve Martin, Elliott Gould, Paul Simon, Chevy Chase and Candice Bergen. The debut of “The Five-Timers Club” was a memorable moment because it featured so many famous faces who had hosted the show before with Martin, Simon and Gould (Chase and Bergen did not appear). It was also funny to see cast member Jon Lovitz, who frequently appeared in sketches with Hanks, as the club waiter. It’s also fun almost 35 years later to see Conan O’Brien, a then-unknown ‘SNL’ writer, as the club’s doorman. Hanks recalled how the sketch initially came about in the terrific 2002 book Live From New York: The Complete, Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live As Told By Its Stars, Writers And Guests by Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller: “The Five-Timers Club’ is still one of my favorite sketches. By that time, I had figured that the secret of being the host of the show is to concern yourself only with the monologue. Because if you have a good monologue, everybody thinks the entire show was great. So, by the fifth time, I was like pushing for something slam dunk. We must have a magnificent monologue. And I think [‘SNL’ creator/producer] Lorne [Michaels] said, ‘Well, why don’t we do something like, you get to join a select club?’ And that was that.” The Timberlake “Five-Timers Club” monologue is perhaps even better because it features more members of this exclusive club that Timberlake dubbed “the most exclusive club in New York.” Timberlake’s version featured Simon, Martin, Chase, Bergen, Hanks and Baldwin and included the nice touch of ‘SNL’ legends Dan Aykroyd as club bartender and Martin Short, who is the club’s most recent member, as waiter. 26. Debbie Downer Now and then something will happen on “Saturday Night Live” that will wind up permanently engrained in the American lexicon. Debbie Downer is one of those things. Even people who have never seen a single one of the Debbie Downer sketches on ‘SNL’ know what the term “Debbie Downer” means and have probably used it on an occasion or two. “Debbie Downer” has become synonymous with a depressing person seemingly bent on destroying any positive atmosphere within a group. The character, who quickly became the greatest and most recognizable of veteran cast member Rachel Dratch’s tenure on the show, debuted on May 1, 2004, in an episode hosted by Lindsay Lohan. The character's outrageousness and, more importantly, the giggles it created amongst every single member of the sketch instantly made it a classic. Debbie Downer would go on to appear on the show six more times, but it never quite lived up to the hilarity of the first time. In the first appearance Debbie Downer (Dratch) is eating breakfast at a restaurant at Walt Disney World, the supposed happiest place on Earth, with her family members played by Lohan, Jimmy Fallon, Amy Poehler, Fred Armisen and Horatio Sanz. The family is extremely pumped about their breakfast, except for Debbie Dower, of course, who interjects depressing facts about the horrors of life amidst her families’ excitement. Dratch’s punchlines as Debbie Downer are hilarious, but the real humor of the bit comes early on when the entire cast seems to come down with a fit of the giggles on live television. The first sign of the giggles comes after Debbie Downer’s interjection about Roy from Siegfried and Roy not doing well, and the slide trombone sound effect seems to make her break character ever so slightly – which sets notorious gigglers Fallon and Sanz off immediately. Within a half-minute the entire cast in the sketch has completely lost it. The best part of the whole thing is how much Dratch loses it because of how depressing her character is supposed to be. The first Debbie Downer sketch is one of the most memorable sketches in ‘SNL’ history because it’s incredibly rare to see every single member of the sketch in hysterics and almost unable to carry on. At one point in the sketch, you see Sanz wiping tears from his eyes because he’s laughing so hard. It’s one of those sketches they probably couldn’t keep together during dress rehearsal and just tried their best during the live show. The cast’s reactions to the sketch make it so memorable. 25. Dana Carvey as President George Bush “Saturday Night Live” has been known for its political humor over its legendary 50 years on television such as Will Ferrell as President George W. Bush, both Darrell Hammond and Phil Hartman as President Bill Clinton, and many more. I believe Dana Carvey's President George H.W. Bush was the first truly great political impression on ‘SNL’. There had been political impressions before. Hartman did a good President Ronald Reagan, and Dan Aykroyd had done a good President Jimmy Carter, but Carvey’s Bush was the very first, I believe, that essentially changed the country’s impression of the president, at least in some minor ways. Carvey absolutely became President Bush, and the impersonation likely became the one Carvey was most synonymous with – and Carvey is probably one of the three greatest impressionists in ‘SNL’ history alongside Hammond and Bill Hader. The interesting thing about Carvey’s Bush impression is that it wasn’t something he already had in his bag of tricks, but was actually assigned to him and he had to learn on the spot. “I was just assigned George Bush, and I couldn’t do him at all. It was just a weird voice and weird rhythm. It’s one of those things where you go, ‘There’s nothing to do.’ But then over time, after Bush won the election, one night I just sort of hooked it, and it was that phrase ‘that thing out there, that guy out there doin’ that thing,’ and that sort of hooked it for me, and from there on I kind of refined it,” Carvey said in Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live by Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller. Carvey’s terrific impression of Bush would revolve around these great little Bush-isms that I’m not even sure President Bush ever actually said or not, but have become synonymous with him because of Carvey’s impression like “not gonna do it” or “it wouldn’t be prudent at this juncture.” Almost 35 years after Bush’s presidency ended and long since Carvey has left ‘SNL’ I still consider “not gonna do it” and “it wouldn’t be prudent at this juncture” among the show’s best catchphrases and ones I always find spots for in my daily conversation. I think that’s the mark of a great impression. 24. Andy Kaufman's Mighty Mouse Andy Kaufman was a misunderstood genius. What he did for comedy was so before its time that a lot of people at the time, and probably even some now just don’t understand. The thing was he wasn’t really a comedian in the natural sense. He didn’t tell jokes. In fact, he once said: “I am not a comic, I have never told a joke. ... The comedian's promise is that he will go out there and make you laugh with him. ... My only promise is that I will try to entertain you as best I can. ... They say, 'Oh wow, Andy Kaufman, he's a really funny guy.' But I'm not trying to be funny. I just want to play with their heads.” Kaufman was a performance artist. And somehow the fact that he just wanted to mess with people more so than even make them laugh makes him all the more endearing to me. On many occasions he would both mess with people and still make them laugh. One such time was his first appearance on “Saturday Night Live” during the show’s very first episode in October of 1975 when he lip-synched with gusto to a record of the “Mighty Mouse” theme song. It was a variation of his Foreign Man routine, which would later be adapted into the character of Latka Gravas on the popular ABC sitcom “Taxi,” which was a source of frustration for him as he hated sitcoms. That very first episode of “Saturday Night Live” is not only one of the most important episodes of the series’ great run, but also one of the all-around best and it can be argued that Kaufman’s act was the highlight of it. According to ‘SNL’ creator Lorne Michaels, Kaufman’s bit was an integral part of that first episode saying in the terrific Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live by Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller: “I taught at an art school in Toronto, I was teaching improvisations, the conceptual art movement which was being talked about and on the edge of things in the early ’70s. Where that and entertainment met was what Andy Kaufman was doing. It wasn’t just that he lip-synched to ‘Mighty Mouse’; it was that he only did that one part in it, that one line, and stood around for the rest. It was very conceptual, and it instantly signaled to the brighter part of the audience that that was the kind of show we were going to do.” Kaufman would appear on ‘SNL’ 15 more times between 1975 and 1983, when the show ran a bit where Kaufman would either keep appearing on the show or be voted off forever. Votes were taken via a phone line and Kaufman was dumped by a 195,544 to 169,186 vote. He never appeared on the show again, but it was never admitted whether this was purely a gag or not; true to Kaufman’s style. Kaufman would die a year later in 1984 of cancer at age 35, although there have always been claims that he faked his death. Today he’s criminally unknown by many, despite his iconic television moments on ‘SNL,’ “Late Night with David Letterman” and “Fridays.” He was honored in 1999 with the terrific biopic “Man on the Moon,” in which Jim Carrey portrayed the legend in arguably his finest film performance. 23. Charles Rocket's F-Bomb “Saturday Night Live” may be a late-night comedy show, but it still airs on NBC, a broadcast network. This means there are certain standards and rules that must be followed. The word “fuck” has been uttered on ‘SNL’ a handful of times over the show’s run, but never more brazenly and intentionally so as on February 12, 1981, in the sixth season of the show, when cast member Charles Rocket, the breakout star of the show’s sixth season (the first without Lorne Michaels as producer), broke the rules in a big way in a running sketch parodying the popular television drama “Dallas.” The episode was hosted by “Dallas” actress Charlene Tilton, and throughout the episode, there was a running gag based on the titillating storylines of “Dallas” in which Tilton and Rocket flirted with each other to the jealousy of the show’s other cast members. At one point, Rocket is shot by a sniper in a moment parodying the famous “Who shot J.R.?” plotline of “Dallas.” During the episode’s goodnights segment, Tilton asked Rocket how he felt about being shot. In character, Rocket ad-libbed: “Oh man, it’s the first time I’ve ever been shot in my life. I’d like to know who the fuck did it.” Tilton and the show’s cast members burst out in awkward laughter. Due to declining ratings, NBC would replace the show’s new producer Jean Doumanian after one more episode, with Dick Ebersol taking over the show. Ebersol would put the show on hiatus for one month, during which he fired Rocket, several of the show’s writers and a few other cast members. Ebersol would only have one episode in season six before the show ended abruptly due to the 1981 Writers Guild of America strike. Ebersol used the off-time to retool the show further, and by the next season only Eddie Murphy and Joe Piscopo had been retained from season six. 22. Norm Macdonald Owns Weekend Update & Gets Fired Weekend Update has been the centerpiece of “Saturday Night Live” ever since the show debuted 50 years ago. The fake news segment has seen numerous fantastic fake news anchors over the show’s five decades from the very first one Chevy Chase to Dennis Miller, Kevin Nealon, Seth Meyers and the duo of Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon. But the one guy who did the fake news better than anybody else in the show’s incredible history, in my opinion, was Norm Macdonald. Macdonald is considered by many to be an acquired taste, and some never seemed to have acquired that specific taste. For this reason, this selection on this list might be controversial. Macdonald had an incredibly dry and sarcastic wit and tone to his Weekend Update delivery that just worked for mocking the news. He took those witty jokes, many of which he collaborated on with legendary ‘SNL’ writer Jim Downey and put his own unique brand of “I don’t give a damn” on top of it that just sent the jokes through the sarcasm stratosphere. I think it’s the closest it has ever gotten to if David Letterman, another comedy hero of mine, had been tasked with anchoring Weekend Update. Macdonald was at his best when he was telling jokes where you couldn’t quite believe he actually went there with the punchline, even though you were well aware he had done similar things time and time before. This shock factor made his version of Weekend Update the most fun it’s ever been on the show. I don’t think there will ever be a more entertaining version of Weekend Update again, and I doubt anything really even comes close. Update will certainly never be that dangerous again. It was the dangerousness of Macdonald that made him so brilliant, but it’s also what got him fired from anchoring Update when NBC executive Don Ohlmeyer, a first class idiot, deemed that Macdonald was “not funny.” Many speculated over the years that it was Macdonald’s frequent shots at O.J. Simpson during his mid-90s murder trial that got Macdonald canned, as Ohlmeyer and Simpson were friends. I believe this is a more likely reason, because Ohlmeyer is an executive and what do those guys know about being funny anyway. Macdonald turned the firing into a classic late night talk show bit when he went on the “Late Show with David Letterman” just days after getting his pink slip. He recalled this in the fantastic anthology Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live by Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller saying: “I thought it would be funny to go on ‘Letterman’ and talk about it, because I knew that Letterman had been fired from NBC and stuff like that. I got fired on a Monday, so I called up the people at ‘Letterman’ and said, ‘Hey, you should have me on, because I got fired. It would be funny if I just said on the show that I got fired, you know?’ And so they booked me and I went on. And I remember Letterman during a break goes, ‘This is like some Andy Kaufman thing with fake wrestling, right?’ And I go, ‘No, no. It’s serious.’ Like he thought it was just a gag. Then the next day there was like some big reaction at ‘SNL.’ All of a sudden people didn’t want me to get fired, because they saw it as some sort of big network president against the little guy. So then they pretended like they liked me the whole time.” 21. Choppin' Broccoli Dana Carvey has already appeared on this list multiple times, which pretty much proves he’s one of the all-time greats when it comes to “Saturday Night Live” cast members. Perhaps his funniest moment ever as a cast member on the show actually came on his very first episode. Is there anybody else in the show’s history that can say that? Carvey had a bit he did in his stand-up routine that mocked the vapidness of pop music at that time as if the lyrics to many of the most popular hits were being made up right on the spot at the time of their recording. This became the song “The Lady I Know,” which had come to be known to fans more over the years as “Choppin’ Broccoli.” The first episode of season 12 of ‘SNL’ was a new era for the show as it marked the debut for not only Carvey but also Phil Hartman, Jan Hooks, Victoria Jackson and Kevin Nealon – all who’d become longtime members of the show. Actress Sigourney Weaver hosted the episode, and she and Hartman played a couple of record executives looking to sign the next big music star when an English singer-songwriter by the name of Derek Stevens comes into the studio to go over his demo. There’s just one problem. Stevens has yet to record it. He says that he’d prefer to play his songs for them live. When they insist on him doing so he gets behind the piano and starts coming up with wacky, nonsensical lyrics about a woman going downtown to a grocery store, purchasing some broccoli, taking it home and then chopping it up. The lunacy of the lyrics, coupled with the effort in which Carvey’s Stevens tries to sell them, really makes the bit work. “Choppin’ Broccoli” is also incredibly infectious and will literally get stuck in your head for days at a time upon hearing it, which is alright because you’ll laugh the entire time. Carvey probably had the greatest first episode of ‘SNL’ in the show’s 50-year history as he also debuted his iconic Church Lady character that night. Carvey has been performing “Choppin’ Broccoli” for more than 40 years, and it remains an essential part of his stand-up routine. In 2014, Carvey performed a brilliant orchestral version of the song on “The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon.” by Julian Spivey February is a HUGE month for some of the most significant moments in pop culture. The biggest events in music, the NFL, and NASCAR are all happening on consecutive Sundays this month! Here are the events and shows you shouldn’t miss in February… Grammy Awards – Sunday, February 2 on CBS @ 7 p.m. (CST) Hailed as music’s biggest night, the 67th annual Grammy Awards are broadcast live from Los Angeles’s Crypto.com Arena on Sunday, February 2, at 7 p.m. (CST). The broadcast will be telecast on CBS and available to stream on Paramount+. For the fifth consecutive year, the telecast will be hosted by comedian Trevor Noah. Performers at the Grammy’s will include Sabrina Carpenter, Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, Charli XCX, and more. The night’s most nominated artists include Beyonce, Taylor Swift and the previously mentioned performers. 9-1-1: Lone Star Series Finale – Monday, February 3 on Fox @ 7 p.m. (CST) Fox’s best active drama series, “9-1-1: Lone Star,” says goodbye on Monday, February 3, after five seasons and 72 episodes. The series, which stars Rob Lowe as the captain of a fire station, has maintained a consistency of solid and almost always wild drama and nice performances from its supporting cast, most notably Jim Parrack. At times, the sequel to “9-1-1,” which now airs on ABC, has been more entertaining than its predecessor. I haven’t begun the final season, so I’m not sure how solid it’s been (especially after the departure of Sierra McClain), but hopefully, it’s kept up its solidly wacky and entertaining pace. Super Bowl LIX: Kansas City Chiefs vs. Philadelphia Eagles – Sunday, February 9 on Fox @ 5:30 p.m. (CST) The most watched television event annually in America is the Super Bowl, and this year’s matchup is a rematch of the one two years ago when the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in a hard-fought, tight game. Viewers should expect an equally entertaining and exciting game this year with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes trying to make the Chiefs the first NFL franchise in the Super Bowl era to win three straight titles. The Eagles are attempting to win the second Super Bowl in franchise history behind a great ground game led by running back Saquon Barkley. There are also dozens of highly anticipated commercials and a Super Bowl halftime show featuring arguably hip-hop’s brightest star, Kendrick Lamar, with a guest appearance by SZA. Daytona 500 – Sunday, February 16 on Fox @ 1:30 p.m. (CST) The Daytona 500 is often called NASCAR’s Super Bowl, even though it begins the racing season instead of ending with it and comes just one week after the NFL’s big game. The sport’s biggest race sees 40 cars bunched together in a pack at speeds nearing 200 mph, where any small mistake can lead to a crash known as the “big one,” and whichever driver wins will be remembered forever in the sport’s lore. Saturday Night Live: 50th Anniversary Special – Sunday, February 16 on NBC @ 7 p.m. (CST) NBC’s long-running sketch show “Saturday Night Live” is celebrating a half-century on television with a three-hour primetime special on Sunday, February 16 at 7 p.m. (CST), which will also include a one-hour red carpet preshow at 6 p.m. (CST). There isn’t a whole lot known about the star-studded event featuring current and former cast members and legendary hosts from the show’s past, but if you’ve seen the show’s previous 25th and 40th-anniversary specials, you’ll know it’ll be a must-see-event for ‘SNL’ fans. The live event will also be streaming on Peacock. The White Lotus – Sunday, February 16 on HBO @ 8 p.m. (CST) HBO’s anthology series “The White Lotus,” created by Mike White, debuts its third season on Sunday, February 16 at 8 p.m. (CST) and can be streamed on Max. The satire always features different characters and storylines in a different locale, with the fictional White Lotus resort as the setting. Season three is set in Thailand and features a cast of Leslie Bibb, Carrie Coon, Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Parker Posey and more. “The White Lotus” has won 15 Emmy Awards for its first two seasons and will undoubtedly be one of the most talked about shows of 2025. Zero Day – Thursday, February 20 on Netflix Robert De Niro stars in “Zero Day,” dropping on Netflix on Thursday, February 20. The six-episode series, created by Eric Newman, Noah Oppenheim and Michael Schmidt, is a political conspiracy thriller centering on a global cyberattack. De Niro plays a former U.S. President who is called out of retirement to find the source of the attack, which sounds incredibly far-fetched but, honestly, pretty badass. The talented supporting cast includes Lizzy Caplan, Jesse Plemons, Connie Britton, Dan Stevens and Angela Bassett. What are you most looking forward to watching in February?
by Julian Spivey Timothee Chalamet has been one of the most frequently chosen hosts over the last half-decade of “Saturday Night Live,” with his third episode as host coming Saturday night (Jan. 25), marking the second consecutive season of his hosting. Chalamet fits in well with the show's current cast and seems game for anything the writers throw at him. This time around, he even served double duty as host and musical guest, hot off his Oscar-nominated performance as Bob Dylan in director James Mangold’s “A Complete Unknown.” Chalamet’s two previous hosting stints were among my favorite episodes of those respective seasons, so I had high hopes for this episode. It was a complete letdown. Here are the highs and lows from the 12th episode of season 50… Best: So, I have to acknowledge something upfront about the “Dog Run” sketch, which was one of my favorites of the evening. My full-time job is a Doggie Daycare supervisor, so I work 40 hours a week with dogs. Thus, this particular sketch about dogs' particular and peculiar behavior was right up my alley. I say this because I understand it may not have been the funniest sketch of the night for others. The writers of this sketch and the performers, led by Chalamet and Mikey Day, completely got the behaviors of dogs right for this bit that included moments like Bowen Yang as a dog that has gotten the zoomies and Andrew Dismukes as a Pomeranian who wants everyone to know he jumped up on a bench all by himself. Worst: OK, so not only was this the worst sketch of the episode, but I also believe it to be the worst sketch of season 50. The sketch is called “Grandma’s Birthday,” but it should be known as “Fart CPR.” And yes, the title it should have is precisely what it sounds like. An elderly woman (Sarah Sherman) passes out and is revived by a doctor (Chalamet) who farts into her mouth. I don’t understand how producer Lorne Michaels and head writer Streeter Seidell could have allowed this all the way through the writing process and on to the live show. It’s the kind of moronic, infantile humor that a show of this caliber should be so far above. Somebody should’ve been fired over this. Best: I’m over President Donald Trump, and I wish ‘SNL’ would feature him less on the show. I understand that’s not what this show does – part of it is capturing the current moment of life in America, and this is happening – but I’m tired of it. That being said, James Austin Johnson’s impression of Trump is the best the show has ever seen, and his performance and the writing that goes into it still make me chuckle, even if I despise the man being portrayed. Of course, the show’s cold opening this week would involve the inauguration in some form, and they chose to bring in Lin Manuel Miranda to do what appears to be an updated version of “Hamilton” before he’s interrupted by Trump. It quickly became one of the frequent bits where everybody behind JAJ’s Trump freezes, and he goes on an elongated monologue about why they stay behind him, trying to keep still. The funniest part of the bit is that JAJ always tries to make someone break during these moments, and it was LMM this time, and it almost worked. Worst:
I was intrigued when it was announced that Chalamet would also be serving as the episode’s musical guest, even though I immediately knew it was simply a ploy to try to help him win the Academy Award for his portrayal of Bob Dylan in “A Complete Unknown,” which is frankly disgusting awards politicking and campaigning. On Saturday’s show, Chalamet didn’t perform any of the numbers he did in the film; instead, he chose some more obscure Dylan songs that meant something to him. The first performance featured “Outlaw Blues,” from Dylan’s 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home, and “Three Angels,” off Dylan’s 1970 album New Morning. This performance was nice because it was Chalamet’s own take on the songs and not an attempt at a Dylan impression. The show's second performance was “Tomorrow Is a Long Time,” an outtake from New Morning that has been released on bootlegs. The second performance was my favorite, but it was also Chalamet impersonating Dylan. The songs and performance may well end up being among the best of the season for my musical takes. Still, I don’t like what they were – gaming the Oscars – and wish ‘SNL’ had given the musical slot to an actual musician to showcase their work than using it as a publicity stunt. Worst: I’ll admit I wanted two things from this episode going in, and it’s always a bad thing to have expectations or hopes for an episode because you’re instantly let down if they don’t happen. The first thing I wanted was a third “Tiny Horse” sketch. When Chalamet first hosted ‘SNL’ in December 2020 he did a musical sketch about a tiny horse that was among the most delightfully absurdist things I’ve seen on the show in the last decade. I laughed so hard that I nearly passed out. When he returned last season to host, they revived the Tiny Horse character for a sequel that wasn’t quite as good as the first sketch, but I still enjoyed it. I never expected the sequel, but once you bring it back, viewers will expect more. I was disappointed Tiny Horse didn’t make his triumphant return. The thing that bothered me the most about this episode, though, was that James Austin Johnson does a fantastic modern-day Bob Dylan impression, which we saw in a recent episode. Pairing JAJ’s modern Dylan with Chalamet’s younger Dylan for a sketch made perfect sense. It was easy pickings for the show, but they failed to give it to us. by Julian Spivey Dave Chappelle has become the guy who hosts the big episodes of “Saturday Night Live.” Typically, his hosting stints have come after Presidential elections. Chappelle even commented in his monologue that ‘SNL’ producer Lorne Michaels called and asked if he’d host the post-election episode. Chappelle rebuffed and said to give him the one closest to January 6. But this time, it’s the weekend before the second inauguration of Donald Trump. It was an odd episode, as episodes in which Chappelle hosts typically are, because his monologue is usually two to three times longer than that of most hosts. The 10 segments that appeared on the show on Saturday night (January 18) are the fewest to ever be in an episode in the show’s 50 seasons. Here are the highs and lows of the 11th episode of season 50… Best Dave Chapelle’s nearly 17-minute monologue, the longest in the show’s history (Chappelle has the three longest monologues in ‘SNL’ history), was a mixture of laughs and moments of sincerity. Among the things that Chappelle poked fun at were the reaction from middle Americans to the Los Angeles fires, fame and many Sean “Diddy” Combs jokes. The funniest joke of the monologue was about how the L.A. fires are the most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history because of where they occurred. “I think that’s because people in L.A. have nice stuff. I could burn 40,000 acres in Mississippi for like six or seven hundred dollars,” he joked. One of the monologue's sincere, touching moments came when Chappelle remembered something the late Jimmy Carter had done in the Middle East and the humanity he saw in him. He said, “The presidency is no place for petty people.” Then, he turned his sights on incoming President Trump and pleaded for him to do better this time around than he did the first time. It was a nice sentiment that will no doubt fall on deaf ears. Chappelle is a controversial figure, and rightfully so. I realize some people do not want to see him on a platform such as SNL, and I have mixed feelings about that myself. But, when he does host you can be assured the monologue is going to be one of the highlights of the evening. Worst Cold openings can be a problem for ‘SNL’ as this is the one place, other than Weekend Update, where the show will try to shoehorn current events and politics into the show, even if they should probably focus on anything else. The cold opening for this episode featured MSNBC and its personalities, all played by different cast members of the show, the most notably being Sarah Sherman as Rachel Maddow and Andrew Dismukes as Rachel, err, Chris Hayes. The sketch revolved around the MSNBCers talking about how they’d like to ignore all the idiotic things President Trump says in his next term and focus on real news while being unable to resist the breaking news of his idiotic statements. The only really funny part of the sketch was the repeated referring to Hayes as “Rachel” because of some similarities in looks. I know this isn’t fair to Sherman, but it’s often hard to see her impersonating famous people because her uniqueness always comes out. I’m not sure she can fade into an impression as others do. Best My favorite sketch of the evening was the Immigrant Dad Talk Show, a recurring bit that features Marcello Hernandez as an immigrant dad talking to other immigrant dads in his neighborhood. Hernandez previously did this sketch with host Ramy Youssef last season and it was one of my favorite bits of the year. This week, Chappelle joined him. The two essentially mock their sons for the modern-day things they do. Then, they welcome their white neighbor, played by Mikey Day, who is a bit too close to his son. I hope this is a sketch that continues in the future. With all due respect to Hernandez’s new hit, Domingo, this is his best character. by Julian Spivey Monday night’s (Jan. 13) episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on ABC was a shining example of what late-night television can be and one of the finest episodes of Kimmel’s long-running show. At the moment, Kimmel’s ABC show is the only late-night television talk show that records in the Los Angeles area after James Corden’s “Late, Late Show” ended in 2023 and “The Tonight Show” moved from Burbank to New York City more than a decade ago. This makes it the only show of its kind directly impacted by the horrific wildfires that have devastated parts of Los Angeles over the last week-plus. “Jimmy Kimmel Live” canceled a show or two last week due to the fires. Kimmel, who can be quite emotional when the moments call for it (and has been unfairly maligned for it at times), was almost choked up and in tears before he could speak on Monday’s episode. His monologue mostly eschewed jokes in favor of praise for the hard-working firemen combating the fires, volunteers helping those who’ve lost everything in the fires, and generally giving the rest of the country an idea of what was happening in the area. It’s a fire that, while it hadn’t affected his home, had affected those close to him, including members of his staff. Having watched more and more of his show over the last 10 years or so, especially in moments like this, I know how caring and empathetic Kimmel is for his fellow man. It’s his most endearing quality, even over his ability to make us laugh. He’s been a member of the Los Angeles community for at least two decades, and it’s obvious he cares about the community. Monday night’s show worked in part as a fundraiser for fire relief efforts. For those locally, Kimmel’s studio lot accepted items folks needed to get by, like drinks, snacks, toiletries, etc. Throughout the broadcast, websites were mentioned and appeared on screen for viewers to donate. Kimmel’s lead guest on Monday’s episode was hip-hop legend and all-around pop culture personality Snoop Dogg, perhaps the most famous son of Los Angeles. The two commiserated on the tragedy and how much they loved the city and spoke of all the good work Snoop Dogg has done during his career, including his football league for under-advantaged children, which has led to multiple NFL players. The evening’s second guest was comedian Roy Wood Jr., who flew in from New York City to promote his new Hulu comedy special, “Lonely Flowers.” Wood showed a video of him visiting a fire station in Compton, which isn’t near the wildfires of L.A., but included a comical ride-along, which resulted in him helping to put out a literal dumpster fire, which led to a comical retort by Kimmel about the incoming President. One of the most emotional aspects of the episode for me was the night’s musical performance from L.A.’s own Dawes, the brother duo of Taylor Goldsmith (vocals and guitar) and Griffin Goldsmith (drums) to perform a stripped-down version of their 2011 song “Time Spent in Los Angeles.” Any fan of Dawes realizes how much their hometown means to them as performers and songwriters. This performance took on a more emotional tone by the fact that Taylor had lost the home he shared with his wife, actress Mandy Moore, and his children just days before in the fire. Griffin had lost a studio, which housed much of his recording equipment and instruments. The performance was to raise money for MusicCares to help musicians in need. Overall, Monday’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” was an emotional and important episode that showcased what can happen when people care about each other and band together to help out in times of hardship and how television can play a role in rebuilding. by Tyler Glover Record-Tying Nominations for "Wicked" My favorite film of 2024 was definitely Universal Pictures’ Broadway adaptation of “Wicked.” It has been doing well this award season picking up four Golden Globe nominations (winning one), 11 Critics’ Choice Award nominations and it even won the National Board of Review Award for Best Picture. Because of this, I was anticipating that “Wicked” would get a few nominations at the Screen Actors Guild Awards this morning. What I was not anticipating is that they would also nominate the show for Stunt Ensemble and include Jonathan Bailey for Best Supporting Actor. Before this nomination, Jonathan Bailey had only been nominated for an individual award at the Astra Film and Creative Arts Awards. Every other nomination he has had this awards season has been as part of the ensemble. Jonathan Bailey does deliver a performance full of charisma and charm. The five nominations today for “Wicked,” ties it with “The Banshees of Inisherin,” “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” “Doubt,” “Shakespeare In Love” and “Chicago” as the most nominated film ever at the Screen Actors’ Guild Awards proving the film to be very “Popular!” Demi Moore for "The Substance" “The Substance” was a film that intrigued me for weeks before I finally watched it. I had heard there was some gore and that some audiences were being nauseated. I wasn’t sure I could make it through that. However, the story that “The Substance” was telling intrigued me enough to give it a shot. I am so very glad that I did. “The Substance” is without a doubt one of the best films of the year and Demi Moore’s performance is Oscar-worthy. At the Golden Globe Awards last Sunday, I was surprised and very excited to see Moore win the award for Lead Actress for Musical/Comedy for “The Substance.” Her speech made me love Demi Moore even more ... if that was possible. Moore portrays Elisabeth Sparkle, an aging former Oscar winner who is fired when she turns 50 from her job on an aerobics television series. What is brilliant about Moore’s performance is most of her scenes are just her in them. Moore manages to convey all of the complex emotions Sparkle feels to us and makes us really think about how we are all too hard on ourselves. We all buy into society’s definition of beauty and this film warns us to embrace who we are. I am hoping Moore’s Globe win is positioning her as the favorite to win the Oscar for Best Actress. Hacks My favorite show of 2024 was Max’s comedy series, “Hacks.” So often, television shows will have excellent first seasons and great second seasons. However, the third season will dip dramatically in quality making you feel that it isn’t necessary to continue on with the series. You stop caring. That is something that hasn’t happened with “Hacks.” This series tells the story of comedy legend Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) who is trying to make a comeback with the help of younger writer, Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder). The chemistry between these actresses is electric. They are so incredibly funny and a match made in Heaven. “Hacks” is in the middle of filming season four, and I am hoping they maintain the quality. For now, though, I am happy that the Screen Actors Guild Award is recognizing this incredible cast, who really are some of the best actors and actresses in the business. Nicola Coughlan for "Bridgerton" I have been a diehard “Bridgerton” fan from Day One. The romance between the Duke of Hastings (Rege-Jean Page) and Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) had me instantly interested in the series. Then, the scandal of the secret identity of the infamous Lady Whistledown got me hooked. The first season was nominated for Outstanding Drama Series at the Primetime Emmy Awards and received a Drama Ensemble nomination at the Screen Actors Guild. However, the accolades were mostly absent from season two. The quality did dip a little but season three came back guns blazing and it was spear-headed by Nicola Coughlan’s performance of Penelope Featherington. Penelope’s character makes us all remember the difficulties of loving someone you cannot be with and the complexities of trying to keep a friendship with that person. However, we get to see Penelope start to live a fairy tale before her world turns upside down. Coughlan does not miss a beat. She shows us the multiple layers of Penelope and makes us all think of what we would do to feel seen and heard. Kathy Bates for "Matlock" When I first heard CBS was doing a show called “Matlock,” I rolled my eyes big time. Reboots of classic television series have been done so many times. Most of the results are awful and somewhat tarnish the brilliance of the first. I decided to give this “Matlock” a chance though and I am so glad I did. There was a twist at the end of the first episode that hooked me and showed us all that this series is different and it is going to be great. Bates’ performance as Madeline Matlock shows us all why Bates has won so many awards in her career, including an Academy Award. I won’t spoil the twist but it is going to give Bates tons of material to sink her teeth into and I know she will deliver. I was very happy to see Bates nominated at the Golden Globes and Critics’ Choice Awards and I was beyond excited that the Screen Actors Guild Awards recognized her excellent performance.
*Note* The 2025 Critics' Choice Awards have been postponed until Sunday, January 26 due to the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles.
Transcript: Julian Spivey: Welcome back to The Word on Pop Culture Podcast. I'm Julian Spivey, Creator, Editor of The Word on Pop Culture. You can find us online at thewordonpopculture.com And this podcast can be found pretty much anywhere podcasts are. As always, please give us a like rating and review. It helps people find us. I've got Tyler Glover back with us today, and we are going to discuss the Critics' Choice Awards. Welcome back to the show, Tyler. Tyler Glover: Yes, excited to be here, excited to dive in. JS: This is something we started doing a few years ago. I kind of prefer the Critics' Choice Awards to the Golden Globes, which just happened last night as we were recording this. They may not be as popular as the Golden Globes, but I feel like there's more weight to them, like they mean a little bit more coming from the critics. I don't know if you believe that, Tyler, or not. TG: No, I definitely do. JS: All right, well, the Critics' Choice Awards will be held on Sunday, January 12th. That's this upcoming Sunday. The telecast can be seen on the E! Channel this year. It's been on the CW the last few years. So make note of that if you like to watch them. It'll be on the E! Channel this year. And they'll start at 6 p.m. And for the third year in a row, they will be hosted by comedian Chelsea Handler, who usually does a funny and good job, at least the monologue portion of that very long award show. Wicked and Conclave are the most nominated films, with 11 nominations apiece. And FX's drama Shogun is the most nominated television series, with six nominations. We're gonna go ahead and we're gonna discuss who we think are gonna win these awards. So mostly predictions. If we have opinions, if we've seen enough of the performances and shows and movies, we can give our opinions as well. I'm not going to personally for the movie portion, because I haven't seen enough of them. I probably will during the television portion. I think it would be fair to start out with the movie portion of the Critics' Choice Awards. That way, if people are listening and they don't really have any interest in the television awards, they can just tune out after we do the movie. So we'll start with the movies, Tyler. How does that sound? TG: Yes, that sounds good. JS: Our first category we'll discuss is Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture, and the nominees in that category are Danielle Deadwyler for The Piano Lesson, Anjanue Ellis-Taylor for Nickel Boys, Ariana Grande for Wicked, Margaret Qualley for The Substance, Isabella Rossellini for Conclave, Zoe Saldana for Emilia Perez. Tyler, we've seen Zoe Saldana win a lot of these awards. She just won the Golden Globe. Do you think she has any competition here or is this hers to win? TG: Well, you know, I know most of this awards race. It's kind of been a weird awards race for supporting actress because Danielle Deadwyler like started out in the lead at the start of the season, and they thought she was going to win. And now some people think she might not manage an Oscar nomination. But I feel like Ariana Grande and Zoe Saldana are the two that are probably to have the best chance. I will say Margaret Qualley was really, really good in The Substance. And I'm really excited that she's kind of peaking and that her odds of getting an nomination at the Oscars are really good too now. So I'm really excited about that. See, I honestly thought last night would kind of give us a hint of whether or not Zoe Saldana was vulnerable at all. And with her win last night, I feel like this might be a steamroll all the way to the Oscars, honestly. JS: Yeah, I kind of feel like Saldana has pretty much got this award season in the bag. I think that there are three of these ladies, there are locks for Oscar nominations. I think Saldana, Grande and Rossellini are all locks for Oscars. So Qualley, Deadwyler, Ellis-Taylor, they should be all among the actresses fighting for the other two slots when it comes to the Academy Awards. But we're pretty much in unison here on Zoe Saldana winning Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for her role and Emilia Perez. Let's go on to Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture. And the nominees are Yura Borisov for Anora, Kieran Culkin for A Real Pain, Clarence Maclin for Sing Sing, Edward Norton for A Complete Unknown, Guy Pearce for The Brutalist, and Denzel Washington for Gladiator 2. This seems like the biggest lock of the movie side of the night. It has been in other awards. I think it will continue to be all the way through the Oscars. Kieran Culkin has been winning this award everywhere for A Real Pain, directed by Jesse Eisenberg, who wrote and co-stars with him. In that film, is there any chance anyone can knock out Kieran Culkin, Tyler? TG: Honestly, I don't think so. He's one of the last time I counted, it was like 20 Critics' Prizes, more than anybody. There was nobody else even in double digits, if I remember correctly. And so he's managed to pull off the Globe win last night, too. So I definitely feel like it's his to lose. If there is anyone that could even challenge him a little bit, I feel like that person would be Guy Pearce from The Brutalist because The Brutalist is really peaking. And I've heard a lot of critics saying that this is the best performance of Guy Pearce's career. And it kind of makes me think, with The Brutalist, it kind of makes me think of Oppenheimer last year because I feel like it could be a picture supporting actor kind of situation. But I don't think that's going to happen. I do think that Kieran Culkin is, like you said, pretty much a lock. I feel like if there's anyone to challenge him, that's the only one that possibly could. JS: I think Clarence Maclin could be the potential dark horse here. He wasn't even nominated for Golden Globe. But you know who wasn't also nominated for Golden Globe last night? Marianne Jean-Baptiste for Hard Truths, who's been winning a lot of critic prizes for Best Actress. And she was not nominated at all. And if you look through some of the categories last night, Anjanue Ellis-Taylor wasn't nominated at all. Daniel Deadwyler wasn't nominated at all. The Golden Globes have done some things to fix their reputation, but they still have a major issue when it comes to nominating. African-American or Black actors and actresses. So I think Clarence Maclin could actually be the dark horse here, but yes, I think Kieran Culkin has this one on lock. And there is a little bit of controversy as we hear at these sort of things, because Culkin is considered by many to really be a co-lead of that film with Jesse Eisenberg. So this is maybe a little bit of a category fraud in an attempt to get him an Oscar. TG: Yeah, and I think that there's a lot of that actually this year too, because even in Supporting Actress, Saldana and Grande arguably too. So I feel like there's a lot. This is a definitely a year of category fraud. JS: So once again, we have agreed on Zoe Saldana for Best Supporting Actress and Kieran Culkin for Best Supporting Actor. Let's get on to the Best Actress in a Motion Picture. And the nominees are Cynthia Erivo for Wicked, Karla Sofia Gascon for Emilia Perez, Marianne Jean-Baptiste for Hard Truths, Angelina Jolie for Maria, Mikey Madison for Anora, and Demi Moore for The Substance. This is the one that I don't think is gonna line up like the Golden Globes have, because these are the critics. I think this is gonna line up more with what we've seen from a lot of the critic prizes. So I'm actually gonna pick Marianne Jean-Baptiste for Hard Truths, the director Mike Leigh film. I hear she plays in a completely unlikable character in that film. I have yet to see it. But I hear she gives an incredible performance, which is why she's been winning these critic prizes. I think this is one she's gonna win, and it might surprise people because again, she was left out cold from the Golden Globes. TG: This category is the one that I am having the hardest time with because I feel like Angelina Jolie is probably the only two that I couldn't see winning. Honestly, everybody else I feel like has a pretty good shot. If you would have asked me before the Golden Globes, I would have said Mikey Madison for Anora would probably be the front runner and still could win because she's won a lot of critics prizes for it. So she could be the winner here. And like you had said, I'm really struggling between Demi Moore, Mikey Madison and Marianne Jean-Baptiste. I'm really struggling because I really feel like it could be any three of those. But I feel like I'm going to go with Demi Moore for the substance after that surprise win last night. And I'm hoping it's kind of a hope for me, too. Honestly, it might be more of a hopeful prediction because I loved her in this film so much. So it might be a kind of a wishful prediction, but I am going to go ahead and go with that prediction. JS: I think last night, Demi Moore became the favorite for the Oscar. I think she surpassed both Mikey Madison and Karla Sofia Gascon as the favorite to win best actress at the Academy Awards. But like I said, because this is the Critics, I think Marianne Jean-Baptiste has a leg up over them. And I think if you drop Angelina Jolie out of this category, because there are six actresses in this category, there will only be five at the Oscars, I think if you drop Jolie out of this category, you pretty much have your five Oscar nominees. TG: Yes, I totally agree. JS: The nominees for best actor in a motion picture are Adrien Brody for The Brutalist, Timothee Chalamet for A Complete Unknown, Daniel Craig for Queer, Colman Domingo for Sing Sing, Ralph Fiennes for Conclave, and Hugh Grant for Heretic. I think this is a three-man race. It could be a four-man race. My inclination is to say it's a three-man race between Adrien Brody, Colman Domingo, and Ralph Fiennes. I know a lot of people think Timothee Chalamet's performance is Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown. Some people even think it's the favorite to win the Oscars, and who knows? The Oscars do things like that. They've given it to worse performances before of people basically impersonating rock stars. But I'm going to say that Adrien Brody, who has won an Oscar before for The Pianist, is the front-runner here for The Brutalist. And I'm going to predict that he'll win the Critics' Prize on Sunday night. Maybe as we have a couple months before the Oscars, he may not necessarily be the favorite for the Oscar, but I think he'll ride the high of winning the Golden Globe and is going to take the Critics' Prize as well. What do you think? TG: One thing that I think is interesting about this race here is at the Golden Globes, they pretty much snubbed Sing Sing except for Colman Domingo's nomination in Lead Actor. But here at this award, they really seem to love it and give it more nominations, like even Best Picture. So it seems to be more heralded by the Critics versus the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. JS: Well, as I said, the Golden Globes have a clear race problem. I mean, Cynthia Erivo gets in because she's green, but otherwise, they have a clear race problem at the Golden Globes, I believe. TG: Yeah. And I know Colman Domingo has won a lot of Critics' prizes. So I feel like he has definitely won to watch and I could totally see him pull off a win here. I feel like it is between Brody, Chalamet, Domingo and finds pretty... I do think that Chalamet was peaking a little bit. I was actually kind of thinking he might win last night over Adrien Brody, but Adrien Brody managed to win. So but I honestly am going to go with you though. I feel like it's going to be Adrien Brody for The Brutalist. I feel like that movie is the front runner for Best Picture at the Oscars too. And I feel like this movie is going to manage to pull off several wins in the big category. JS: Tyler and I are agreeing on our prediction with Adrien Brody for Best Actor in a Motion Picture. Our first disagreement has come, whereas I'm picking Marianne Jean-Baptiste for Best Actress for Hard Truths, and he has Demi Moore for The Substance. So, let's get on to Best Director. The nominees are Jacques Audiard for Emilia Perez, Sean Baker for Anora, Edward Berger for Conclave, Jon M. Chu for Wicked, Brady Corbet for The Brutalist, Coralie Fargeat for The Substance, RaMell Ross for Nickel Boys, and Denis Villeneuve for Dune Part II. Now, I think, oh man, this one's tough. I'm going to say that Brady Corbet wins for the three and a half hour drama, The Brutalist, but here's the thing, I think because it's the critics, I'm gonna say watch out for RaMell Ross. He's been getting a lot of great press for directing Nickel Boys, which supposedly is this like majorly differently directed and shot film. I haven't seen it yet, but there's been a lot of good press for RaMell Ross, so it would not surprise me. But my prediction is Brady Corbet for The Brutalist. TG: Yeah, that's definitely who is my prediction for Best Director is Brady Corbet. Because even when it seemed like Anora was the front-runner for Best Picture, which is very arguable now after last night, it's getting completely shut out. I've seen Anora and I don't direct the direction of the movie, it's really not the thing that really stands out about the movie that much. I felt like even if it would manage the Best Picture, when Best Director would go to somebody else, and Brady Corbet definitely has this sweeping epic that tends to win a lot of the directors this award. JS: Again, something tells me that with the critics, it would not be surprised to see RaMell Ross, but yeah, I'll go with Corbet. I feel like it's the easier, more likely pick. Nominees for Best Motion Picture are Anora, The Brutalist, A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Dune Part II, Emilia Perez, Nickel Boys, Sing Sing, The Substance and Wicked. It's a tough year. There doesn't seem like a huge favorite here. I feel like half of these films have a decent shot to win at the Critics' Choice at least, and even going forward to the Oscars. But maybe I'm just riding the wave from the Golden Globes. Maybe I shouldn't be, but maybe I am. So I'm going to predict the Brutalist wins this one. TG: Yeah. And spending, like I said a few minutes ago, after I watched Anora, I remember texting you and being like, I can't believe this is the front runner that they're saying is the front runner. A lot of these prizes for Best Picture, and my immediately thought was looking at all of the list. I was like, the Brutalist feels like right up the alley of what critics tend to like and what Oscar voters tend to like, which the Academy is expanding their voters, so their taste might change. But it feels like the kind of movie that critics and the Academy will get behind. And I would personally love for Wicked or The Substance to win. I don't feel like either one of them have a real good shot of winning. JS: So once again, we are agreeing here with Best Picture going to the Brutalist. All right, that does it for the movie portion of the Critics' Choice Awards. We wanted to get that out of the way first in case we don't have any TV watchers who are listening in, because we have a ton of TV categories to get to. So thanks for joining us if you were just here for the movie portion. We'll get into television now, and we'll start with limited series categories. The best actor in a limited series nominations are Colin Farrell for The Penguin, Richard Gadd for Baby Reindeer, Tom Hollander for Feud, Capote vs. The Swans, Kevin Kline for Disclaimer, Ewan McGregor for A Gentleman in Moscow, and Andrew Scott for Ripley. Tyler, where do you see this one going? TG: I feel like Colin Farrell, Richard Gadd, and possibly Andrew Scott, like those three for me feel like the frontrunners in this race. I completely agree. After last night, Colin Farrell managed to beat Richard Gadd at the Globes. So that kind of, I was like, whoa, you know, because Richard Gadd is who I pretty much thought would win every time he was nominated. So part of me wants to say Colin Farrell for The Penguin after last night, but I don't know. I just, I still am holding on that it might be Richard Gadd for Baby Reindeer. JS: Yeah, the interesting part about this is because of when they premiered and aired, Baby Reindeer was eligible for all of the Emmy Awards from the past year, but The Penguin was not. So until the Golden Globes last night, we haven't seen Colin Farrell versus Richard Gadd. But I'm going to say Richard Gadd is going to take this because it's the Critics. I actually think if Gadd has competition here, it may be Andrew Scott for Ripley, whom he beat at the Emmy Awards. And honestly, they're both two of my favorite performances from 2024. And I think that there's this great monologue, an 11-minute monologue that Richard Gadd does toward the end of the Baby Reindeer series that I think has won him the awards that he's won. Otherwise, if it weren't for that, it may actually go to Andrew Scott. The nominees for best actress in the limited series are Cate Blanchett for Disclaimer, Jodie Foster, True Detective Night Country, Jessica Lange for The Great Lillian Hall, which is actually made for TV movie, Cristin Milioti for The Penguin, Phoebe Rae Taylor for Out of My Mind, also a TV movie, and Naomi Watts for Feud: Capote Versus the Swans. Jodie Foster has been winning all the prizes in this category. She won the Emmy Award. She won the Golden Globe Award. And I'm going to predict that she's gonna win the Critics' Choice Award here, but I have a slight feeling that Cristin Milioti may be a surprise on Sunday night, because I know the Critics absolutely loved her performance in HBO's The Penguin. So we'll see. We'll see if a superhero or super villain type character can unseed one of the all time great actresses in Jodie Foster. TG: Yeah, I definitely am going with Jodie Foster and feeling like she's gonna ride this way from the Emmys and from the Golden Globes on to winning here. You know, what I will say, one thing that surprised me about this race is I felt like Cate Blanchett doing TV would be like, wow, like, and she might win everything because Cate Blanchett is fantastic. So I'm surprised I haven't seen Disclaimer, though, so I don't really understand why it's not why it's been not fully managing to bring it on to a win. But I just know that that's kind of shocked me that she hasn't been seeming to be able to win because I felt like she could easily win. Like I said, I do think that it's going to be Jodie Foster. But I'm thinking that Cate Blanchett could possibly spoil. I don't know if it's just because I'm in love with her. JS: Well, I have seen Disclaimer and she is good in it. The issues with Disclaimer are probably more in the script than anything else. It didn't get that much press when it came out. But like I said, it was OK. It wasn't bad. But I still feel like Foster or Milioti are the two to beat here. All right, let's get to the nominees for best limited series. And they are Baby Reindeer on Netflix. Disclaimer on Apple TV+. Masters of the Air from Apple TV+. Mr. Bates vs. The Post Office from PBS. The Penguin from HBO. Ripley from Netflix. True Detective Night Country from HBO. And We Worth Lucky Ones from Hulu. I will say that one of the great things I like about the Critics' Choice Awards is they will pick out some shows and performances that other awards bodies just do not even think to do. And one of those is in this category with Mr. Bates versus the Post Office. It was like a four episode based on a true story of something that happened over in England in the early 2000s. And it was on PBS Masterpiece Series. And I was enthralled by it. It wouldn't be my choice over Ripley or Baby Reindeer, but I love the fact that it's included here. I think Baby Reindeer is going to win this, much like it did at the Emmy Awards. But like I said, the Penguin wasn't out at that time. Disclaimer wasn't out at that time. But I'm still going to go with Baby Reindeer. What do you have, Tyler? TG: Yes, I agree with you that Baby Reindeer will be the winner. But like you, I'm interested to see if the passion for the Penguin will lead to getting some wins here, like in any of these categories, honestly, because I was thinking about it, too. And Baby Reindeer has been out, you know, a lot longer, too. So I wonder if that matters at all. It could make a difference. JS: There could be an impact there. TG: So that's what makes me think that, you know, it could be a spoils... You know, the Penguin could really spoil them here. But I'm going with Baby Reindeer, but I do feel like there could be a real... This is a category that there could definitely be an upset. JS: Yeah. All right. Well, let's go to the drama series. The nominees for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series are Moeka Hoshi from Shogun, Allison Janney from The Diplomat, Nicole Kidman from Lioness, Skye P. Marshall from Matlock, Anna Sawai from Pachinko, and Fiona Shaw from Bad Sisters. And I think this is one of the most wide open categories of the television side of the Critics' Choice Awards. I really did not know where to go here. It's almost a toss up. TG: I agree with you 100%. I look at this and I'm like, man, I literally could see them say every single name on here and would not be shocked. Like it's- JS: Bad Sisters is the only one of these I've seen in full. I've seen the premiere of Matlock and enjoyed it, but I don't know what Skye P Marshall does in the rest of that series. Fiona Shaw was really good in Bad Sisters. She plays a really unlikable character. Sometimes that can hurt somebody, but she's really good at it. So I could see her winning. Shogun's been winning everything, but I will say this is the first time we've seen Hoshi as a nominee for anything from that show, so it makes me wonder if it's going to have the success the other ones have had. It would not surprise me if I haven't seen the second season of Pachinko on Apple TV+, but Anna Sawai is a lock to win for Shogun in the lead actress category, so I wonder if it'll be a record-breaking night for Anna Sawai, and she'll win both lead actress for Shogun and supporting actress for Pachinko. But my gut is leaning towards Allison Janney winning for the second season of Netflix's political drama, The Diplomat. TG: It's funny because I thought when you were talking about how wide open the race was, I was like, oh, this is probably going to be one that we differ on. And what's so funny is that we both came back to the same conclusion because I thought of Allison Janney and how beloved she is, and I feel like this is a really meaty role from what I hear, and she gets to be kind of a villain a little bit, and also kind of be in the political atmosphere, kind of taking her back to The West Wing also. So it just felt like kind of like something that the critics would just eat up. And they seem to love The Diplomat too with getting nominations for drama series, lead actor and lead actress, and then also getting this. So it feels like the support is definitely there for her to win, and she's so beloved. Nicole Kidman has star power, but with the Lioness getting nothing else, it just feels like she got here because she's Nicole Kidman almost. And I will say, Skye P. Marshall for Matlock, that was one of my favorite nominations when the list came out. I've loved Matlock. I've gotten to see about probably about six of the episodes so far, and I just love her and Kathy Bates. They're both so fantastic in the show. JS: Yeah. Going to best supporting actor in the drama. The nominees are Tadanobu Asano for Shogun, Michael Emerson for Evil, Mark-Paul Gosselaar for Found, Takehiro Hira for Shogun, John Lithgow for The Old Man, and Sam Reed for Interview with the Vampire. I think this one's less up in the air. I think it's going to be Tadanobu Asano, who just won the Golden Globe for the same category, and he was also nominated for an Emmy Award. He did lose to Billy Crudup for The Morning Show, which I believe would have wasn't eligible. So I think Asano is going to win this. I love that they've nominated Michael Emerson for his great performance in Four Seasons on Evil. Just truly a wonderful performance. I love that they have nominated John Lithgow here for The Old Man, which unfortunately was canceled after two seasons on FX. It was really good. And honestly, I haven't seen Shogun, so I can't compare Asano to Lithgow. But if I had a vote here, I have seen three of these performances. I'd probably have to give it to Lithgow. But I think this is a lock for Asano. What do you think? TG: Yes, 100%. You know, I was actually having a hard time with this category for some reason until last night. And then because I was I didn't know which Shogun guy it might be. And then I know I know that the Critics especially really love evil. Like they have championed it even when the Emmys have overlooked it, when the Golden Globes have overlooked it. They have they've really latched on to it. They have nominated it pretty much almost every year, I think. JS: And this is this is why we should let the Critics pick more awards. TG: Yes. JS: They're just better at it. TG: Yeah, I think it's because they take that's only take the time to actually watch everything more. And I feel like some of the industry insiders are just busier. So they I feel like they only get to see like the main one. So, you know, and what's buzzy. And that might be why we don't see a lot. These contenders have managed to get in on the Critics Choice. But yeah, I was I was also not sure between the Shogun guys, which one at first, but then last night kind of made me feel like, OK, I feel like it's going to be Asano. JS: Yeah, he and Hira were both nominated for the Emmy. So, I mean, Hira could have a shot here. But but yeah, I think I think Asano is the one. All right. The nominees for best actor in a drama series are Jeff Bridges for The Old Man, Ncuti Gatwa for Doctor Who, Eddie Redmayne for The Day of the Jackal, Hiroyuki Sonada for Shogun, Rufus Sewell for The Diplomat, and Anthony Starr for The Boys. Sonada won the Emmy Award for Shogun. Sonada won the Golden Globe for Shogun. It would be shocking if Sonada didn't win the Critics' Choice Awards for Shogun. I don't see this going anywhere other than Hiroyuki Sonada. TG: Yeah, if I was any of these other guys, I would not prepare a speech for that category. JS: I love Jeff Bridges in The Old Man. Ncuti Gatwa has done wonderful things in his portrayal of The Doctor on Doctor Who. But yeah, this is going to Sonada. It would be one of the biggest shocks of the evening if it went anywhere else. TG: Yes, it really would. JS: All right, best actress in the drama series nominees are Catriona Balfe for Outlander, Kathy Bates for Matlock, Shanola Hampton for Found, Keira Knightley for Black Doves, Keri Russell for The Diplomat, and Anna Sawai for Shogun. It was a big night for Shogun at the Emmy Awards. In fact, the biggest night ever for a drama series. It was a big night for Shogun at the Golden Globe Awards. It's gonna be a big night for Shogun at the Critics' Choice Awards. Anna Sawai's got this one in the bag. TG: Yes, I completely agree. And you know, it's funny because when I was really looking at this, part of me was like, I wonder if Kathy Bates has any shot for Matlock. And then I was looking at the list, and I saw that Anna Sawai managed to get two nominations, and I was like, absolutely not. They love her, and this is the one she's winning everything for. There's no way. Like, I mean, that honestly, I mean, like, I feel like if there anybody else might win, it would be Kathy Bates for the Matlock. But I feel like this is one of the easiest, like, lock for the night, honestly. JS: Yeah. And the nominees for Best Drama Series are The Day of the Jackal, which you can see on Peacock, The Diplomat, which is on Netflix, Evil, which is on Paramount Plus, Industry, which is on HBO, Interview with a Vampire on AMC, The Old Man on FX, Shogun on FX, and Slow Horses on Apple TV+. I'm shocked that the Critics are recognizing Slow Horses here, but they did not recognize Gary Oldman as a nominee in Best Actor in a Drama. That's interesting. But it doesn't matter, because Shogun is going to win this honor. TG: Yeah, definitely one of the locks of the evening. It's just when it's just you'd manage to do it at the Globes and Emmys managed to just dominate in all the major categories, and I feel like it's just going to continue. JS: Yeah. And let's get on to the Comedy Series nominees for the Critics' Choice Awards. These are the ones I've seen the most performances and shows of. And it also has some of the biggest head scratchers for me, too. Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series nominees are Paul W. Downs for Hacks, Asher Grodman for Ghosts, Harvey Guillen for What We Do in the Shadows, Brandon Scott Jones for Ghosts, Michael Urie for Shrinking, and Tyler James Williams for Abbott Elementary. How in the ever-loving hell is Harrison Ford not a nominee for Shrinking? Anybody who's seen the second season of Shrinking and tells me Harrison Ford isn't more deserving than Asher Grodman, who plays the pantsless Trevor on Ghosts, the CBS sitcom Ghosts, is out of their mind. Harrison Ford should not only be nominated here, he should probably be the winner of this category. But I'm going to predict that Tyler James Williams for Abbott Elementary, who I believe has won this category before at this award show, will win it. And you're going to hear this come up again because I know Shrinking is eligible because Michael Urie is in this category. But this is the only time you're going to hear Shrinking as one of the nominees. I just don't understand it. The Apple TV+ comedy is one of the best shows on television. TG: This is one of the ones where I really struggled to figure out which one I could think could win. So I decided to go with Harvey Guillen for What We Do in the Shadows. I've looked back and saw that he's been nominated, one of the nominees consistently every year. And with this not seeming like it has just an obvious front runner, it made me wonder if maybe they will finally, because What We Do in the Shadows is definitely a show. They've championed too and really latched on to it, given award attention. So part of me just wonders if this might be the year that they give him that award. And with this race seeming wide open, it made me wonder. I'm also wondering, I will say as a Hacks fan, I would love it if Paul W. Downs somehow won. But I'm not sure of it, but it is wide open. JS: It wouldn't surprise me if Paul W. Downs wins this category. This was the final season for What We Do in the Shadows for the FX Vampire Comedy. So if Harvey Guillen wins, it'd be huge for the fans of that show. They'd be very happy about that. But I think going with the old reliable Tyler James Williams is probably the safest bet. Michael Urie is great in shrinking, by the way. It wouldn't surprise me if he won, but how he got in there over Harrison Ford, I just don't understand that. The best supporting actress nominees in the comedy series are Liza Colon-Zayas for The Bear, the only Bear actor or actress nominated in this year, Hannah Einbinder for Hacks, Janelle James for Abbott Elementary, Stephanie Koenig for English Teacher, Patty LuPone for Agatha All Alone, and Annie Potts for the final season of CBS's Young Sheldon. Potts has been in this category quite a few times, so that's kind of like a Harvey Guillen choice. I am shocked that Sheryl Lee Ralph didn't make this category this year. TG: Me too. JS: Not that I would have voted for her, it just seems like she's somebody who should be there. Liza Colon-Zayas did win the Emmy Award. That was actually for season two, though, of The Bear. This nomination is for season three. She did have an excellent episode in season three, though, so that wouldn't be a shock here. Janelle James would not be a shock. I would not be shocked if they voted for Potts or Stephanie Koenig either. She's great in English Teacher, the FX comedy. But I think this is finally the time that Hannah Einbinder is going to get an award for Hacks, and it's about goddamn time. TG: I've really went back and forth on this one, because I do feel like it's ultimately going to be Hannah Einbinder or Colon-Zayas. I feel like this race is definitely between them. And I want to go, my heart, because who I would like to see win would be Hannah Einbinder. But I don't know, part of me was like, well, this was the only bear nomination, so there's probably no chance. But then I thought about it and I was like, well, but this was a show that has been beloved, and she did manage to get in. And I know about, I've heard about the buzz around season three in her episode. So I'm predicting that she might manage to still win, even though the bear didn't have the love. At first, I thought it was a detriment, but then I thought about it and was like, well, this also could mean the significance of how much they loved her. JS: Yeah, she stood out a lot in that particular episode that I'm thinking of. So yeah, it could mean she's the most likely to win this category, but man, I think it's Einbinder's time. TG: It honestly is. She is my should win in that category. JS: Yeah, she would be mine too. But I swear this is the time to do it. So maybe I'm just wishful thinking, but it's time. The nominees for Best Actor in a Comedy Series are Brian Jordan Alvarez for English Teacher, Adam Brody for Nobody Wants This, David Alan Grier for St. Denis Medical, Steve Martin for Only Murders in the Building, Kayvan Novak for What We Do in the Shadows, and Martin Short for Only Murders in the Building. It's interesting that Jeremy Alan White is not nominated for The Bear. I think we finally got into The Bear is not a comedy aspect with the Critics, at least. And they also just didn't care for the third season as much as the first two. So I think that's why The Bear is not shown very much in these categories. But I'm still surprised that Jeremy Alan White didn't crack the category. And also, where in the ever loving hell is Jason Segel for Shrinking? I like David Alan Grier a lot. St. Denis Medical is okay. It's nothing special. But I like David Alan Grier a lot. How the hell is he here for St. Denis Medical over Jason Segel for Shrinking? I just don't understand it. This one's pretty wide open. I may surprise some people with this because I don't feel like a lot of people watch the show, but I do know that the critics absolutely adored it. I think Brian Jordan Alvarez is going to win for English teacher. TG: Yeah. So for this category, I feel like the only murders of the building guys aren't going to happen. I feel like they would have probably not if they were going to. So I have I did think it could be Alvarez. I'm ultimately going with this might shock you. The one that I'm going with is Adam Brody for Nobody Wants This. I've heard that I have not gotten to see the show personally, but I have heard he is fantastic in it and a real big standout. And I know some people were even thinking he would beat Jeremy Allen White last night and he didn't. But I don't know. I just feel like I feel like he might do it. JS: I would be 100 percent okay with that. In fact, if I had a vote in this category and I have seen every performance in this category, I would vote for Adam Brody. Not only is he funny in that show, but he is probably the most charming character on television of all 2020. So I would definitely recommend getting to that as soon as you can on Netflix. I would also be thrilled if Kayvan Novak won after six great seasons of What We Do in the Shadows. I just don't really see that happening. But again, it's wide open, so maybe it will. But again, Alvarez is my pick, but I would not have any issues at all. In fact, would prefer it if Adam Brody won this category. The nominees for best actress in a comedy series are Kristen Bell for Nobody Wants This, Quinta Brunson for Abbott Elementary, Natasia Demetriou for What We Do in the Shadows, Bridget Everett for Somebody Somewhere, Jean Smart for Hacks, and Kristen Wiig for Palm Royale. Man, I don't know. I really don't know. I am predicting Jean Smart. She's won the Emmy all three seasons. She's won the Golden Globe for two of the three seasons. I'm pretty sure she's won this honor before, probably multiple times. I'm going to give it to her again. I think she was great. I think Hacks was the best show on television in 2024. But damn, I love Bridget Everett's performance in Somebody Somewhere on HBO. Again, I don't think a lot of people have seen it, but man, it is a great performance. But it's also one that is, whereas Jean Smart is just funny all the time, Bridget Everett is a mixture of funniness and great dramatic acting, which is why I'm surprised Jason Segel, which is the same for comedy, didn't make it for Shrinking, but Bridget Everett is here for Somebody Somewhere. If I had a vote, I might even give it to Bridget Everett, but my brain is telling me this is Jean Smart's award. TG: Yeah, it's definitely, it's not good to go against her at all because like you said, she had the Emmys, the Golden Globes, and then I looked and she won for both of the first two seasons for Hacks here too.So I don't feel like there's like an obvious challenger, honestly either. So it might be... JS: I think it is Bridget Everett. I think if there was a challenger, it would be Everett. TG: Yeah. JS: All right, the final category we're going to talk about tonight for the Critics' Choice Awards is Best Comedy Series. I have seen every one of these, and the nominees are Abbot Elementary on ABC, English Teacher on FX, Hacks on Max, Nobody Wants This on Netflix, Only Murders in the Building on Hulu, Somebody Somewhere on HBO, St. Denis Medical on NBC, and What We Do in the Shadows on FX. Where in the Ever Loving Hell is Shrinking? Man, this one is hard. I looked at a lot of best TV shows of 2024 lists toward the end of last year, and Somebody Somewhere was number one on multiple lists, and English Teacher was towards the top on many, many lists. They were higher than Hacks on many lists that I saw. I don't necessarily agree with that, even though I liked both of those seasons. But it makes me think English Teacher or Somebody Somewhere may surprise and win this award, but again, as much as they're loved by Critics, I don't know if they're seen as much by Critics at large. I don't know if that makes a whole lot of sense, but that's leading me to pick Hacks over Somebody Somewhere and English Teacher. And Hacks did win the Emmy Award, and Hacks did win the Golden Globe Award. So maybe that's in my head too, but I'm going to Hacks here. TG: Yeah, and see, you know, one thing too, Hacks has not won this category yet either. So this would be their way of kind of almost playing catch up, you know, to the Globes and the Emmys, giving that comedy series. And it's kind of riding the wave, you know, now too with the Emmys and the Golden Globe. I feel like that this will be the year that Hacks finally gets that Critics' Choice Award. JS: Yeah, I can't believe, I'm just laughing. I can't believe Denis Medical is here. Shrinking is not, The Bear is not, Ghosts is not. I don't understand that. Do you have anything else you want to say about this category or about Hacks? TG: No, just that I love it. And I'm excited that they were talking last night at the Gloves about them being in the middle of filming Season 4. That was exciting to hear. JS: Yeah, it was your favorite show of 2024. It was my favorite show of 2024. So even though I'm thinking a show might sneak in there, it would be probably the most deserving win if it won this category. Well, I want to thank Tyler Glover for joining me once again here on The Word on Pop Culture Podcast. And I hope you all enjoy the Critics' Choice Awards on Sunday, January 12th. Again, you can see that telecast on the E! Channel starting at 6 p.m. Central Standard Time hosted by comedian Chelsea Handler. Thanks for joining me, Tyler. TG: Yes, I loved it. JS: All right, you have a good one. by Julian Spivey Going Dutch (Fox) – Premieres: Thursday, Jan. 2 What I’d really like is for Fox to go back in time and give a second season to military comedy “Enlisted” and also go back in time and give a third season to family comedy “The Moodys,” but I suppose I’ll have to settle for ‘Moodys’ star Denis Leary in a new military comedy, “Going Dutch,” premiering Thursday, January 2 at 8:30 p.m. (CST). “Going Dutch,” created by Joel Church-Cooper, sees Leary as Col. Patrick Quinn, who, as punishment, is reassigned to an Army base in the Netherlands, which happens to have his estranged daughter (Taylor Misiak) as its interim leader. I’m hoping the show makes a formidable partner to the underrated “Animal Control,” which will be its lead-in. Will Trent: Season 3 (ABC) – Premieres: Tuesday, Jan. 7 ABC’s detective drama “Will Trent,” based on the novels by Karin Slaughter, has been one of network television’s best drama series throughout its first two seasons. The third season premieres on Tuesday, Jan. 7, and viewers are wondering where the show might go after a massive series-altering season two finale, which saw Will (Ramon Rodriguez) make a decision that might blow up his entire life. Gina Rodriguez, of “Jane the Virgin” fame, will join the cast in season three. All Creatures Great & Small: Season 5 (PBS) – Premieres: Sunday, Jan. 12 Despite entering its fifth season, “All Creatures Great & Small,” which focuses on a quaint veterinarian practice in England’s Yorkshire Dales, still feels like one of the most underrated gems on television. The fifth season, premiering on PBS on Sunday, Jan. 12, sees the world amid World War II and everybody still trying to find their footing while James (Nicholas Ralph) is still away serving his country. Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Documentaries (Peacock) – Premieres: Thursday, Jan. 16 In celebration of the milestone 50th season of “Saturday Night Live,” which is currently airing, a four-part documentary series about aspects of the legendary NBC sketch comedy show premieres on Peacock on Thursday, Jan. 16 with all four episodes dropping simultaneously. The documentary series, “SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night,” will feature more than 60 contributors and alumni from the show. The first episode, “Five Minutes,” showcases the audition procedure for the show and will include never-before-seen audition footage from some of the show’s greatest cast members. The second episode, “Written By: A Week Inside The SNL Writers Room,” will look into the process from idea to live show. The third episode, “More Cowbell,” will solely be about arguably the greatest sketch in ‘SNL’ history in which Will Ferrell memorably recorded the cowbell track for Blue Oyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper.” The fourth episode, “Season 11: The Weird Year,” will be about one of the most pivotal seasons in ‘SNL’ history when the show was forced to reset and was hanging by a thread. Severance: Season 2 (AppleTV+) – Premieres: Friday, Jan. 17 The first season of “Severance,” which aired nearly three years ago, was one of the best TV shows of its year (it ranked No. 2 on this site’s list). However, the layoff due to strife behind the scenes and the writers/actors strikes of 2023 have pushed it almost out of the minds of many viewers. I also worry that the quality might dip in the second season. There’s only one way to find out, though, and that’s to watch when it premieres on AppleTV+ on Friday, Jan. 17. The first season saw a group of corporate workers unaware of the fact that they lead dual lives while they’re at work, as their memories are wiped when they leave the building and the realization of this as the mysterious season goes on. If you’re interested in one of TV’s best dramas, you can binge season one for free this weekend (Jan. 3-5), as AppleTV+ will be free for everyone. Paradise (Hulu) – Premieres: Tuesday, Jan. 28 Sterling K. Brown has a magnetism that ensures I’ll follow him to any television series or film he lends his talents to. And the fact that he’s teaming up with his former “This Is Us” showrunner Dan Fogelman for his TV follow-up makes me even more excited. Hulu’s “Paradise,” which premieres Tuesday, Jan. 28, sees Brown as head of security for the President of the United States (played by James Marsden) and is the last person to see the president alive after he’s found dead. It should be a thrilling series. by Julian Spivey 10. Gaius (Kirk B.R. Woller) - The Chosen I admit I initially had no interest in “The Chosen,” an independent drama series by creator Dallas Jenkins that follows Jesus of Nazareth and his disciples. It was a favor to my wife, and throughout the first few seasons, I somewhat half-watched the show. But every time Kirk Woller was on the screen as Roman centurion Gaius I couldn’t help but be intrigued. Granted, the character fits one of my ideal models of an interesting character – one who stands up for what he believes in, even when those around him don’t. Woller plays this role perfectly and has one of his shining moments in the series when he asks Jesus for a miracle in “Calm Before.” 9. President Joe Biden/The Church Lady (Dana Carvey) - Saturday Night Live Dana Carvey is a “Saturday Night Live” legend and one of the show’s five greatest cast members, so it’s been lovely seeing him featured in its milestone 50th season since it debuted in late September. Carvey’s most significant focus on the show was portraying President Joe Biden in the lead-up to the Presidential Election. The show has memorably portrayed Biden before, most famously by Jason Sudeikis, as a more rapscallion figure during the Obama administration, but Carvey’s impression playfully and accurately pokes fun at the older, current President in a way that is funny but also respectful. His recent return as The Church Lady was also one of the show's shining moments. 8. Derek (Ted McGinley) - Shrinking Ted McGinley’s Derek is probably the eighth most important character on AppleTV’s hilarious and heartwarming comedy “Shrinking,” and yet it’s such a standout that it’s the one that makes this list this year. Derek isn’t Jewish, but the word that would properly explain him the most is “mensch.” The show has built him up as almost the perfect man and he’s pretty damn close, even if we see in season two how he could be more intuitive in his relationship. It’s such a joyful performance by McGinley, a TV veteran who may end up being most well-known for this role, that’s always good for some of the biggest laughs of each episode. It was a minor role in season one that I’m happy the showrunners/writers have fleshed out more in season two. 7. The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) - Doctor Who This certainly isn’t the first time a “Doctor Who” performance has found its way onto my favorite characters of the year list. The Doctor, being an alien who can regenerate into different looks, allowing multiple actors to play the part and put their spin on the character, allows for it. There’s never been a Doctor like Ncuti Gatwa before. Sure, there have been charismatic, attractive young men who’ve played The Doctor, and Gatwa is undoubtedly that, but he’s both the first person of color and the first non-heterosexual actor to portray the role, and it’s brought some things to the role, that we’ve never had the pleasure of seeing before. 6. Tom Ripley (Andrew Scott) - Ripley Andrew Scott gets the naturalistic acting award of the year in television for his ability to do so much without saying anything at all. His performance as the shark-eyed conman Ripley in the Netflix limited series of the same name is one of the steeliest, sleekest, and outright scary performances of the year, as Scott portrays a man who will stop at nothing to take on the identity of his latest target. 5. Saira (Sarah Kameela Impey) - We Are Lady Parts The first season of the U.K. Channel 4 and Peacock collaboration “We Are Lady Parts,” about an all-Muslim, all-female British punk band, was mostly told through the point-of-view of Amina, a brainy microbiology student whose lifestyle doesn’t fit the punk mode. But I became more interested in the band’s leader, Saira, played by Sarah Kameela Impey. Saira became the P.O.V. for the excellent second season, which sees the band grow in appeal and potential and the ups and downs that come with trying to be true to oneself as an artist while also being successful. It was a beautiful performance. 4. Joanne (Kristen Bell) & Noah (Adam Brody) - Nobody Wants This I don’t often go with a duo on this list, but Kristen Bell and Adam Brody’s chemistry on the Netflix romance-comedy “Nobody Wants This” was easily the best I saw on TV in 2024. Bell plays a sex-life podcaster, and Brody plays a rabbi. Neither character seems to have anything in common except for the fact that they fall for each other almost immediately, and every time they’re together on screen, you can’t help but smile at them. It’s the kind of chemistry that makes you want the episodes to go on longer after they end. 3. Donny Dunn (Richard Gadd) - Baby Reindeer Richard Gadd became an all-in-one wunderkind with his Netflix limited series “Baby Reindeer” this year, in which he created, wrote and starred – reminding me of a male version of Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Gadd based the series, which sees a struggling comedian dealing with a stalker and past sexual assault, on incidents that happened in his own life. It’s clear how lived-in Gadd’s performance is. There probably wasn’t anybody who could portray these moments the way he did, which brilliantly all comes to a head in a moment on stage during a comedy competition that may have been 2024’s single best acting moment. 2. Sam Spade (Clive Owen) - Monsieur Spade As a fan of the film noir classic “The Maltese Falcon” and Humphrey Bogart, I never could have imagined any other actor portraying the role of author Dashiell Hammett’s private eye Sam Spade as well as Bogart did. However, Clive Owen didn’t take long to assuage my fears in “Monsieur Spade,” a collaboration between AMC and France’s Canal+. Owen seemed like the perfect actor to play Spade, a brash American detective living out his retirement in France, with the brashness coming through when necessary but also finding this quiet contentment in his new life. It’s a performance and show that I feel went unheralded and unnoticed this year, but it is now streaming on Netflix, and hopefully, it will find more viewers. 1. Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder) - Hacks This is the second time in three years (and consecutive seasons) that Hannah Einbinder’s character of Ava Daniels on Max’s comedy “Hacks” has topped this list – and I don’t even like to honor the same character multiple times on these things. Einbinder’s performance and the writing of the character are just that good. Einbinder’s performance as a Gen Z comedy writer having to collaborate with and continue a professional relationship that bleeds into friendship with a boomer comedy legend in Jean Smart’s Emmy-winning Deborah Vance is side-splittingly funny while also probably being TV’s best performance of a twentysomething. Ava’s character took a significant step forward in confidence and dominance in the excellent season three finale of “Hacks.” I can’t wait to see how it impacts the relationship between her and Vance in season four. How has Einbinder not won an Emmy for this show yet? |
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