10. Forbidden Romance
Andrew Dismukes is one of my favorite current cast members on “Saturday Night Live,” and you can often tell when he has a significant hand in creating a sketch by the zaniness of it. He had a couple of standout moments this season, but my favorite Dismukes sketch was “Forbidden Romance” from the episode hosted by Michael Keaton. The sketch, set in 1955, adopts a “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” theme, featuring an interracial couple (Dismukes and Ego Nwodim) as they attempt to explain their love to their respective parents. OK, normal, if not a bit old-timey stuff, so far … and then Dismukes’ character says he has a song that explains his love … and breaks into the 2009 Train song “Hey Soul Sister.” I lost it. 

9. The Second Amendment
Walton Goggins was one of my favorite hosts of Season 50 and one of the few first-time hosts to get a chance to shine. His Second Amendment sketch is one where the performance truly shines and leads to laughter, maybe more so than the comedy writing itself. Goggins plays an unheard-of founding father of the U.S. named Matt, and after his fellow founding fathers have finished the First Amendment, they ask for ideas for the second. He has one word: “Guns.” And the way he says it provided one of my biggest laughs of the year. I’d watch an entire movie about Matt. 

8. Here I Go: Digital Short
Andy Samberg was brought into the 50th season primarily to portray Doug Emhoff, Kamala Harris’ husband, during the election season. He wasn’t great at it. But being in the studio for the first few months of the season allowed for him and his Lonely Island counterparts to give us the first new Digital Shorts we had seen since the 40th anniversary special. I think there were three new Digital Shorts in Season 50, and the consensus will probably be that the first of these, 'Sushi Glory Hole,' was the best. However, I enjoyed 'Here I Go,' from Charli XCX’s episode, more. “Here I Go” sees Samberg and Charli XCX singing about being neighborhood narcs who will call the cops on literally anything from Girl Scouts selling cookies in the neighborhood to dogs being walked by their house … and it also somehow turns into an anti-cop song. It was weird, but I loved the performances from both Samberg and Charli XCX. 

7. Family Feud: Election
Everybody knew that the primary focus of ‘SNL’ for the first few months of season 50 was going to be the 2024 Presidential Election; that’s just how the show operates in election years. Over the last decade or so, the show has gotten to where it’s both hard to mock politics because of how crazy it has become and also does more word-for-word/moment-for-moment stuff rather than having an actual humorous take on things like presidential debates. That’s why my favorite political sketch of the season was when the show ignored the debates and focused on something more abstract, such as the presidential candidates and those close to them, on an episode of “Family Feud.” ‘SNL’ hadn’t utilized Kenan Thompson’s excellent Steve Harvey impression in a ‘Feud’ sketch in quite a while, so it was a nice reprisal. It was the perfect way for the show to poke fun at the idiocy of American politics, while also showcasing some great political impressions like James Austin Johnson’s Donald Trump, Maya Rudolph’s Kamala Harris and Dana Carvey’s President Joe Biden. 

6. Parking Lot Altercation
One of the funniest sketches from Season 48 of ‘SNL’ was during ‘Abbott Elementary’ star Quinta Brunson’s hosting debut on the show, when she and cast member Mikey Day had a traffic altercation, sending pantomimed hand gestures back and forth to each other. It was so good that it was our No. 3 best sketch of that season. But it was one of those, how do you possibly do this again and have it just as funny sketches. Well, the show answered that this season during Martin Short’s episode, with Day and Short fighting over a parking lot spot, and the ante being upped with guest star Melissa McCarthy showing up as Short’s unhinged wife. The sketch was funny without McCarthy, but her “I’ll do anything for a laugh” comedic personality is what got this sketch back to the top 10. The show would also reprise the sketch during Brunson’s sophomore hosting gig this season, and while it may not have been as funny as her first or Short’s, it was still a winner. 

5. George Washington's Dream II
The funniest sketch from the 49th season of ‘SNL’ was during stand-up comedian Nate Bargatze’s hosting debut when he portrayed George Washington giving a speech to his soldiers during the Revolutionary War about his dream of an American future. The joke lies in the differences between America and other countries, for instance, the unusual measuring systems we use. When Bargatze was announced early on as a season 50 host, many pondered whether the show might do a similar sketch, with many fans thinking it would be a bad idea because the first couldn’t be topped. Early on in Bargatze’s second hosting stint, he appeared once again in Washington’s garb. I’m sure many of us watching groaned – but dammit if the show didn’t pull it off once again – this time focusing on the wildness of the English language, like calling the number 12 a dozen, but other words not having a special word. Bargatze’s monotone delivery hits home the absurdities of it all. 

4.  The Church Lady
I had great hopes that season 50 of ‘SNL’ would become this season-long celebration, where we would see legendary cast members coming in and out to host and bring back some of the show’s greatest recurring characters. We achieved that in the smallest possible way, as you can see from the digital short and the inclusion of this particular character on this list – but as a lifelong fan of the show, I wanted a bit more. Still, having Dana Carvey – a top-five all-time cast member of the show – in studio for the first half of the season was incredible, and seeing him reprise The Church Lady, maybe the most-used original recurring character in the show’s history, was terrific. The Church Lady is somehow perfect for 2024 America, or as The Church Lady called it, “the most Satanic year in history,” and proof that Carvey’s character will likely never be out of style. The sketch featured Sarah Sherman as politician Matt Gaetz and Marcello Hernandez as baseball superstar Juan Soto, but the real highlight was show alum David Spade appearing as Hunter Biden. Carvey and Spade are good friends who host a podcast together, and it was great seeing their chemistry on the show. Of all the throwbacks during season 50 that weren’t the anniversary special, this was my favorite.   

3. Weekend Update Christmas Joke Swap 
The Weekend Update joke swap that co-anchors Michael Che and Colin Jost have been doing for much of their time at the Update desk has been one of the biggest highlights for fans of the show over the last few seasons, especially with the two doing it more frequently as of late – season 50 saw Che and Jost do it at the midseason finale and again on the season finale. The segment sees the two write jokes that they want their counterpart to say, usually with Che making Jost say something racist for a laugh. The Christmas joke swap at the end of 2024 was likely the best one the duo has ever done, with the ante being upped by Jost’s wife, Scarlett Johansson, being in the studio for the episode, and watching the bit from backstage on camera: the best, and most disturbing, joke compares Costco roast beef to Johansson’s anatomy.  

2. Pip 
‘SNL’ has always primarily focused on live sketches, which is the whole point of being a live show. However, the show has also done pre-tapes or short films in addition to the live sketches. Over the years, the number of pre-tapes has undoubtedly increased, which may be to the dismay of some long-time viewers, but they’ve also been among the funniest moments on the show (two appear on this list). One of the genuine surprises of season 50 was writer Dan Bulla’s new short film series, Midnight Matinee, which aired four or five times and, for the most part, knocked it out of the park. My favorite pre-tape of season 50 was Bulla’s “Pip,” which came in the fantastic episode hosted by Lady Gaga. Gaga plays a high school student sympathetic to Pip, a mouse who is bullied when he wants to compete in the school’s weightlifting competition. Pip's training for the competition, while Gaga sings a heartwarming song, was incredible. But when tragedy strikes at the event, it gives Pip his chance to shine … and an ending that, while you can probably see it coming shortly before it happens, is still one helluva tag on the film. 

1. Scared Straight
Some viewers of the show might find this to be cheating on my part, or for the sketch to be non-canonical because it appeared during the 50th anniversary special, rather than one of the 20 episodes that comprise Season 50 – and that’s fine. If you feel that way, “Pip” can be No. 1, but nothing made me happier during this 50th season of ‘SNL’ than the resurrection of Kenan Thompson’s “Scared Straight,” more than a decade after we’d last seen it. Thompson’s recurring sketch featuring his Lorenzo McIntosh character, a prisoner used to scare teens straight so that they don’t wind up like him, featured heavily in the era of the show that had Jason Sudeikis, Andy Samberg and Bill Hader as cast members. In the show’s 50th anniversary special, Thompson’s McIntosh is brought in with ‘SNL’ legend Eddie Murphy as prisoner “All the Way” Ray May to help scare teens played by Mikey Day, Marcello Hernandez, and Michael Longfellow from a life of crime. Seeing Thompson and Murphy do this sketch together was a dream I didn’t even know I had come true. Murphy plays this role exquisitely. The ante was upped – and things got truly creepy – when Will Ferrell enters the sketch as a prisoner named “Big Red.” Seeing Murphy and Ferrell go ham in this sketch is something I’m never going to forget.  

Jaws (Tubi) – Sunday, June 1
Steven Spielberg’s horror-drama “Jaws,” which helped bring the summer blockbuster into the modern era of cinema in the summer of 1975, celebrates its 50th anniversary this month. “Jaws” originally premiered in the U.S. on June 20, 1975, and instantly made a star of the young director and became the highest-grossing film of all time (a feat it would only hold for two years until 1977’s “Star Wars” came along). Hopefully, you’ve already seen the film and want to celebrate its half-century anniversary with a re-watch, which you can do for free (though with commercial interruption) on Tubi, starting today, but if you haven’t, the tale of a giant great white shark that terrorizes a New England summer resort town featuring fantastic performances from Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and, especially, Robert Shaw should be a “can’t miss” for any film buff. 

Stick (AppleTV+) – Wednesday, June 4
AppleTV+ did wonders for the sport of soccer with the excellent “Ted Lasso,” which aired on the streamer for three award-winning seasons, and there’s hope for a fourth. “Stick” is hoping to do the same for golf when it premieres on Wednesday, June 4, on the streamer. “Stick” stars Owen Wilson as a washed-up pro golfer named Pryce Cahill who turns to a young star in hopes of turning his game and life around. The comedy, created by Jason Keller, co-stars Peter Dager, Marc Maron and Judy Greer. 

NBA Finals (ABC) – Thursday, June 5
There’s going to be some new blood in the NBA championship this series with the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Western Conference champions, hosting the Indiana Pacers, the Eastern Conference champions, in the 2025 NBA Finals, beginning Thursday, June 5 on ABC with broadcasters Mike Breen, Doris Burke and Richard Jefferson on the call. The best-of-seven series will feature the young Thunder squad, led by league M.V.P. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, attempting to make their mark on the league and win the first title since the franchise moved to Oklahoma City from Seattle in 2008. The Pacers are looking for their first title in franchise history. 

Resident Alien: Season 4 (USA/Syfy) – Friday, June 6
It feels like “Resident Alien,” the sci-comedy that began on Syfy in 2021, has aired more than just three seasons already, but that’s probably because season two wound up being split into two eight-episode parts. The series features the wonderful Alan Tudyk as Harry Vanderspeigle, an alien who crash-landed on Earth and assumed the identity of a small-town doctor in Colorado. His initial job was to destroy Earth and the human race, but after becoming friends with his nurse, Asta, played by Sara Tomko, that mission has undergone a slight change in the show’s three seasons. Season four, premiering on Friday, June 6, will be broadcast simultaneously on Syfy and USA Network, with Universal Productions aiming to capitalize on the series' growing popularity following its appearance on Netflix, which has helped build a larger audience. 

​The Bear: Season 4 (Hulu) – Wednesday, June 25
“The Bear” was the hippest (and best) series on television for its first two seasons. Then it started winning all of these awards and became a bit of a pariah, especially for those upset that it was nominated in comedy categories, despite being perceived by many as a half-hour drama (I get what people are saying, but I also find a lot of dark humor in the series, so I don’t personally mind). The third season, which aired in 2024, also didn’t match up to the greatness of the first two seasons, though I think it was still better than most shows on TV – it probably didn’t miss this site’s top 10 by all that much. For some reason, I thought season four would be the last for the show – and that may turn out to be true – but I haven’t seen anything official regarding it. The season will find Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) and Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) in the aftermath of a bad review being written about their recently opened restaurant. At least parts of the 10-episode fourth season were filmed in unison with the third season, so it’ll be interesting to see if it has the incredibly manic personality of season three. The fourth season of the show drops in its entirety (which I think is a mistake and has always been) on Hulu on Wednesday, June 25, and I wonder how viewers will react to it. Will “The Bear” return to best show on TV status, will it just be another good, but somewhat disappointing season or will it crash and burn? 

by Julian Spivey
The second season of HBO’s apocalyptic drama video game adaptation “The Last of Us,” which wrapped its season on Sunday, May 25, proved to be quite controversial among the show’s fan base.

​Often TV/film viewers will find controversy when the show/film they are watching doesn’t stick closely enough to the source material, but in a rare instance, “The Last of Us” seems to be controversial because it hues rather closely to its source material, which in the case of the second season was 2020’s “The Last of Us Part II” video game.

There will be spoilers ahead for those who haven’t seen the second season of “The Last of Us.” 
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I never played “The Last of Us” or “The Last of Us Part II.” I’m not much of a gamer, personally. But I found myself entranced by this darkly dramatic series in its first season, thanks to its storyline and terrific performances by Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey and a mesmerizing supporting cast of guest actors and actresses.
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So, when the second episode of season two came to an end, I was in for a shock that those who played “The Last of Us Part II” knew that the death of Joel, whose perspective the majority of the first season had followed, was coming at some point.

Showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, the latter of whom also co-created the games, had me hooked, as did this world they had built, so I wasn’t about to give up on the series due to the death of a popular and amazing character, as some immediately did. I had to see their vision through to the end. This was sticking to the source material, and I respected that.

Much of the remainder of season two sees Ramsey’s Ellie, the orphan Joel had taken under his wing who is immune to the fungal infection that transforms its hosts into zombie-like creature, and her best friend, and love interest, Dina (the wonderful Isabela Merced), go on a revenge quest to find the person who murdered Joel.

Many watching season two seemed to find these episodes disjointed at best, but I was intrigued enough by the Ellie character, her relationship with Dina, and other side storylines like those involving former FEDRA sergeant turned WLF leader Isaac (the incredible Jeffrey Wright) that I remained interested in and entertained the rest of the season.

Sunday’s finale, “Convergence,” seemed like another controversial moment for the series, as it wasn’t a wrap on the season, like the show had done in season one. Season one was the story of the first “The Last of Us” video game in its entirety. Seasons two and an upcoming season three are being produced in split perspectives, similar to how I believe “The Last of Us Part II” video game was created (though, again, I haven’t played it, so I could be wrong about that). The majority of season two has us watching Ellie’s version of revenge. Season three will shift us to the perspective of Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) and have us follow her as the main character until the moment that ended season two, a showdown between her and Ellie, which effectively ended season two with a giant cliffhanger of a gunshot being fired from Abby and the screen going dark.

Cliffhangers will always be a matter of controversy. People typically don’t want to wait a year, especially in the streaming universe, though with a show like “The Last of Us,” it might be even longer before they have a resolution. It feels like “The Last of Us” is going to make viewers wait even longer, with season three likely following Abby for a large swath of time before we get to what happened between her and Ellie.

I don’t mind cliffhangers, as long as there is a payoff in the end, and I’ve seen nothing from Mazin, Druckmann, and the fine cast and crew of the show to lead me to believe I have anything to worry about. I’m invested. I find the different perspective aspect of “The Last of Us” to be unique and interesting, and the writing and performances in the show haven’t led me astray yet.

 
Jimmy Kimmel canceled a taping of his nightly ABC talk show, “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” on Monday, May 19, and social media was abuzz with rumors that the veteran late-night comedian did so to retaliate against one of his scheduled guests that evening.
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The truth, which was fairly easy to find if one wanted facts, was that Kimmel was about to become a grandfather for the first time, as his daughter Katherine (33), one of his two adult children from his first marriage to Gina Maddy Kimmel, had given birth to a baby on Monday.

However, if you were perusing Threads and likely other social media sites (I shitcanned X late last year) on Monday and Tuesday you would’ve been under the impression that Kimmel’s show was canceled on Monday because he didn’t want to either interview CNN newsman Jake Tapper, one of the night’s scheduled guests, who’s book Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, And His Disastrous Choice to Run Again co-written with Alex Thompson, was to be released the next day.  

This incorrect assumption was prevalent on social media and even ran the next day on the so-called entertainment website showbiz411.com (and it’s still up!), with numerous people congratulating Kimmel for sticking it to Tapper and not allowing him to promote his book on the show, when they should have been congratulating him on becoming a grandfather. Tapper’s book is controversial in some circles, and he’s been a target of online hatred since the book was recently revealed.

If Kimmel didn’t want Tapper to promote his book on his show, wouldn’t it have been easier to cancel Tapper’s guest spot than cancel an entire taping that included “The Studio” star Seth Rogen instead? Or do we just no longer use our brains?

On Tuesday’s episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” Kimmel officially revealed the reasoning for the cancellation to be the birth of his granddaughter. He said: “Katie and her husband, Will, had a baby girl right at the time we shoot our show last night. So, I decided to be there instead of here.”

I hate how easily fake news is proliferated and shared on social media. It has been an online epidemic for a long time, but it seems to be seeping into parts of life where it has no business being, and people don’t seem to care that they're sharing disinformation. They want to believe what they’re sharing, and they don’t take the time to fact-check it.

I expect as much from a particular group of people, and I’ll just come out and say it … conservatives. They have a history of believing what they want to believe online, falling for disinformation and willfully sharing said information.

But that’s not what happened with this fake Kimmel/Tapper story. Most of the people I saw sharing the news thanked Kimmel for standing against Tapper. They wanted to believe he canceled his show to symbolically rebuke Tapper or stand up for the legacy of President Biden.

The conservative party has fallen so far down the well of disinformation that I fear many will never climb back out. I don’t want to see the rest of us fall with them. While the liberal version of disinformation may not be as racist, homophobic, transphobic, etc. as the conservative version, it’s still wrong and could lead to a slippery slope.

Let’s get our facts straight.

by Julian Spivey
The milestone 50th season of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” concluded on Saturday, May 17, with an episode hosted by five-timer club member Scarlett Johansson, marking her seventh appearance as host.

It was the worst season finale of the show I can remember in my 20-plus years of watching it live, which made it a fitting way to end the 50th season.

There was a great deal of anticipation and excitement leading into this season – the expectation that we would likely see more legendary cast members returning to host or appear in cameos than usual. And, while we did see some returning legends – mostly Dana Carvey and Mike Myers (though somehow never together) – this was mostly relegated to the 50th anniversary special, which unfortunately paled in comparison to the show’s 40th anniversary special.

The finale on Saturday was dishearteningly bad. It felt like the writers were ready to call it a season early and wound up giving the absolute worst ideas and sketches. 
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Here are the highlights and lowlights from the episode:

Best
‘SNL’ seems more obsessed with President Donald Trump than any other president who has come before him. Maybe it’s because James Austin Johnson’s impression is probably the most accurate Presidential impression in the show’s history? Perhaps it’s just that President Trump truly is that omnipresent? While I’d like the show to not open almost every episode with JAJ’s Trump, there continue to be highlights from these cold openings, even when the entire sketch isn’t hilarious. The part I enjoyed most about this cold opening was JAJ breaking the fourth wall by taking his Trump into the audience, sitting next to them and joking about things like the attractiveness of the show’s audience: “Sevens or more sit on the floor, six and below to the bleachers you go.” 

Worst
Where to start with this episode?

Let’s go with the final sketch of the season – the ridiculous Victorian Ladies at Lunch sketch, which sees Johansson, Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner and Sarah Sherman eating the strangest of things, like jellied eel and picked cow’s feet. The joke is that these posh women eat the most disgusting of things, in the most disgusting of ways, and afterward discuss what the foods did to their digestive systems. The cast seemed to be enjoying it at least.

Worst
Johansson and Kenan Thompson played intimacy coordinators on the set of a lesbian romance. The biggest joke of the sketch was Thompson’s character not understanding how lesbians can have sex. It felt like a middle-schooler wrote it.

Worst
Johansson and Bowen Yang played a couple of “Entertainment Weekly”-type TV hosts interviewing the cast of a popular TV show filled with young adults, with the one joke being about how Marcello Hernandez’s character is so cute, while throwing gotcha journalism-type questions to the female cast members, played by Heidi Gardner, Ego Nwodim, Jane Wickline, etc.

Worst
In a sequel to last season’s “Bowen is Straight” film with Sydney Sweeney, we got “Bowen’s Still Straight,” where Johansson falls for Bowen Yang, despite being married to the show’s Weekend Update co-anchor, Colin Jost. Again, it’s one recycled joke – what if Yang were portraying gay on television, while being this super masculine heterosexual behind the scenes? It’s worth one chuckle, and that’s it.

by Julian Spivey
There have been dozens of great recurring characters in the 50-season history of “Saturday Night Live.” But there have also been characters we loathe. The kind of characters we despise so much that we roll our eyes or even groan when they appear on our screens.

​Some characters probably should make this list, like Dana Carvey’s horrific racial stereotype Ching Chang, which appeared six times from 1986-1990 and then again in 2000 (how the hell did that happen?!). But I’ve never seen it for myself, so I can’t really speak to the horrors of it, though I certainly can imagine.

Here are my choices for the five worst recurring ‘SNL’ characters: 
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5. Joey Mack
Jimmy Fallon likely has two or three characters that could appear on this list, but the one I always hated the most was his morning radio show DJ Joey Mack of Z105, which appeared five times from 2002-2004, including three times over five months in 2004. Truthfully, Joey Mack may have been an accurate portrayal of radio morning show DJs and their hijinks, but that doesn’t make it any more palatable. It was a bit for Fallon to act wacky and use different voices, including some of his better impressions, but it was never actually funny, and the thing I remember most, more than 20 years later, are what seemed like never-ending fart jokes. 

4. Richard Laymer
I have quoted this character within the last few weeks, so more than 30 years after leaving ‘SNL,’ Rob Schneider’s most memorable character still holds some pop culture cache. And I must admit there may be some slight bias here because I loathe the human Schneider has become (maybe he was always this way?). But Richard Laymer, who you probably wouldn’t even remember by that name, but more as “The Richmeister,” was a one-note, annoying character that somehow found its way onto the show 12 times in less than three years in the early ‘90s. I’m thankful the show doesn’t overdo recurring characters anymore. I’d be shocked if you remember anything besides “makin’ copies” from this character. 

3. Jonathan Cavanaugh-san
I liked Taran Killam on ‘SNL,’ but he had some recurring bits that made me cringe each time they came on. I still have nightmares about Mokiki, which may have been on this list had it been a recurring bit. There’s a specific kind of person, usually white male, whom I’d rank very high had I a “most annoying persons” list, who is fascinated by Japanese culture to the point of cultural appropriation. I don’t know if Killam was one of those people or was just so good at mimicking or even mocking them that it was too believable. His Jonathan Cavanaugh-san, co-host of the J-Pop America Fun Time Now! show with Vanessa Bayer’s Rebecca Stern-Marcowitz-san, was that exact character. The bit only appeared four times, but I hated it every single second. If there was ever a recurring bit completely not for me as an ‘SNL’ viewer, it was J-Pop America Fun Time Now!

2. Dooneese
Probably my most controversial ‘SNL’ opinion is that I didn’t like Kristen Wiig. I found most of her recurring characters to be derivative of each other, too annoying, and constantly shoved down our throats. But none of her characters come close to being as horribly unfunny as Dooneese, the ugly duckling of a sister who performs on “The Lawrence Welk Show,” which appeared 10 times on the show, most recently in February’s 50th anniversary special. Dooneese is a sight gag – she has tiny hands and a gigantic forehead – and the male singers in these sketches are always horrified by her. It’s the same joke every single time. 

1. Pat
Pat is a character who would never make it to air in 2025. The show even remarked about how insensitive the character was in a bit on the 50th anniversary special in February. It’s a shame that it’s probably the only real thing Julia Sweeney is remembered for, not just on ‘SNL,’ but in her career. Pat was androgynous, and the entire joke of the character and every sketch was that nobody knew exactly what Pat was – male or female. That’s it. And for some reason, it was one of the most popular and most-used characters on the show during the early-90s, appearing a whopping 14 times from 1990-1994, and even spawning off a critical and commercial bomb of a feature film crudely titled “It’s Pat” in 1994. It’s not even just the crudeness around Pat’s gender that makes this the worst ‘SNL’ character, but the fact that Sweeney played Pat as such a whiny, grating personality.  

by Julian Spivey
​The penultimate episode of the milestone 50th season of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” proved to be a standout moment for first-time host Walton Goggins, fresh off recent seasons of HBO’s “The White Lotus” and “The Righteous Gemstones.” The nearly perfect episode showcased Goggins’ willingness to do anything and was one of the best overall episodes of the season.

Here are the best and worst moments from the episode…

by Julian Spivey
Quinta Brunson, star of ABC’s “Abbott Elementary,” made her sophomore hosting appearance on “Saturday Night Live” on Saturday, May 3. She made her ‘SNL’ debut just two seasons ago.

​Brunson hosting ‘SNL’ is sort of a throwback to when the show had actual TV stars hosting it—the show has shied away from TV stars, especially those on network shows, hosting over the last couple of decades.

Here are the best and worst moments of Saturday’s episode. 
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Best
I realize this sketch is probably highly offensive to addicts who attend addicts anonymous meetings. Still, I couldn’t help but find Kenan Thompson playing a cocaine addict, new to town, trying to find out the best places to score cocaine at such a meeting to be hilarious. It’s the kind of sketch that wouldn’t have been out of place in the first few years of the show – the only difference being some of those cast members were unfortunately addicts. It’s one of those one-note sketches that probably only works in the hands of the cheery Thompson. 

Worst
One of the biggest stories online this week was, “Could 100 men defeat a gorilla in a fight?” – you know, because we’re a country not struggling to survive. It was prime ground for ‘SNL’ to mock and they did so with a sketch that should’ve worked for me: Two Bitches vs. a Gorilla, in which Brunson and Ego Nwodim played said bitches. The sketch shows the two women who have entered a gorilla enclosure in a zoo, insulting the gorilla. Despite my admiration for these two performers and the good idea, it didn’t work. 

Best
The fact that the Jerry “Jackrabbit” Tulane sketch that ended the episode worked so much for me might prove that the show’s comedy has aged out of my demographic, even though I’m still younger than some of the show’s cast members. In the sketch, Brunson played Jerry “Jackrabbit” Tulane, a brash, fast-talking, wise-cracking boxer in the mold of Muhammad Ali – there’s only one problem, Tulane is WAY smaller than his opponent Bo Shannon (Devon Walker). Despite Tulane’s confidence and never give up attitude he keeps getting the ever-loving crap beat out of him. It’s an old-school sketch idea and performance by Brunson, but I enjoyed it. 

Best
Michael Longfellow’s Weekend Update bit about refusing to get a Real ID was funny, but I want to focus on one specific line from the segment. I like when the show focuses on the “inside stuff,” and this following bit from Longfellow got me:

Longfellow: I’m not going to the DMV on my day off. You’re out of your mind. I work way too hard, like 12 hours a week.

Colin Jost: You’re at ‘SNL’ and you only work 12 hours a week?

Longfellow: When you love your job, it never feels like work. No, I’m just not in that much stuff this season.

​It’s funny because it’s true. Longfellow’s dry wit makes him a good showcase for face-to-camera Weekend Update bits, but his style doesn’t really suit him well for sketch comedy. As a result, he might not be around the show much longer, but I enjoyed the funny because of its honest approach.

Four Seasons (Netflix) – Thursday, May 1
Tina Fey’s latest foray into television is “Four Seasons,” an eight-episode limited series based on Alan Alda’s 1981 film that saw three middle-class married couples who vacationed with each other through the different seasons of the year. Despite being well reviewed, I didn’t care too much for the film, even though I’m an Alda stan. But I’m willing to give Fey the benefit of the doubt, especially with a supporting cast that includes Steve Carell, Will Forte, and Colman Domingo. The entire limited series drops on Netflix on Thursday, May 1. 

A Double Dose of Conan O’Brien: 2025 Mark Twain Prize (Netflix) – Sunday, May 4 & Conan O’Brien Must Go (Max) – Thursday, May 8
May will be a big month for fans of the supremely hilarious Conan O’Brien. In late March, O’Brien was honored with the 2025 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. That evening, which featured some of O’Brien’s biggest friends and fans in comedy paying homage to Irish funny man, was recorded and will debut on Netflix on Sunday, May 4. O’Brien’s humorous travel series, “Conan O’Brien Must Go,” which debuted last year, returns for its second season on Max on Thursday, May 8. Unfortunately, that season only includes three episodes, with O’Brien visiting and making a mockery of himself in New Zealand (May 8), Spain (May 15) and Austria (May 22).

Poker Face: Season 2 (Peacock) – Thursday, May 8
When it debuted on Peacock in early 2023, “Poker Face,” which sees the wonderful Natasha Lyonne getting her best Columbo on with a new mystery each episode, was one of the year’s best shows. After a more than two-year wait, the show, which was created by Rian Johnson, the genius behind the “Knives Out” films, returns on Thursday, May 8, with 12 new episodes, debuting once a week through mid-July. Between Lyonne’s quirky performance, Johnson’s steady hand as a leader (though it appears he didn’t write any of the season two episodes), and the show's excellent guest of the week aspect, it should continue as one of TV’s best outings. Season two guest stars include Cynthia Erivo, Carol Kane, John Mulaney, and Kumail Nanjiani.  

Sirens (Netflix) – Thursday, May 22
Before writing this piece, I only knew about Netflix’s limited series “Sirens” was that it featured Julianne Moore as a lead and could draw some Emmy love when nominations are announced this summer. That was enough to pique my interest. Looking further into it, it’s a black comedy about an explosive weekend at a lavish beach estate and is described as an “incisive, sexy, and darkly funny exploration of women, power, and class,” which immediately draws comparisons to HBO’s “The White Lotus.” The limited series, created by Molly Smith Metzler based on her own 2011 play “Elemeno Pea,” features a supporting cast of Meghann Fahy, Kevin Bacon, Milly Alcock and Glenn Howerton. The series drops on Netflix on Thursday, May 22.   

Adults (FX) – Wednesday, May 28
One of the breaths of fresh air TV comedies of 2024 was FX’s “English Teacher,” created and starring Brian Jordan Alvarez (though some of that fresh air turned sour by reports of his past behavior). FX is probably hoping for some of the hype from that series, without the controversy, of course, with its latest comedy, “Adults.” The show, created by Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw, is about a group of friends doing their best to survive young adulthood with its many challenges and stars a cast of potential up-and-coming actors, none of whom I’ve ever heard of. The show premieres on FX on Wednesday, May 28, and episodes will be streaming on Hulu the next day.

​Mountainhead (HBO/Max) – Saturday, May 31
Fans of the much-lauded and award-winning HBO series “Succession” have been waiting with bated breath to see what creator Jesse Armstrong’s next project will be. That project, an original HBO movie called “Mountainhead,” premieres on HBO and Max on Saturday, May 31, which happens to be the final day of Emmy Award eligibility. Being an Armstrong project, it will likely be the instant front-runner for Outstanding TV Movie. “Mountainhead” is a satirical comedy about a group of friends who meet up amid an ongoing financial crisis. That group of friends is portrayed by the incredible cast of Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman, Cory Michael Smith and Ramy Youssef.  

by Julian Spivey
For the second straight week, “Saturday Night Live” brought back a memorable host from the show’s past who hadn’t hosted the show in some time, with Jon Hamm, who hosted three times during his “Mad Men” heyday.

​During his monologue, Hamm explained that although it had been 15 years since he last hosted the show, he hadn’t exactly been a stranger to it, making a whopping 14 cameo appearances in the years since.

Here’s the best and worst from Hamm’s episode… 
​

Best:
It may have been on the nose. Hell, TV reporter Josef Adalian joked about it on social media earlier in the week, posting: “I was messaging someone about a certain HBO show and autocorrect changed it to ‘the white POTUS.’ There’s your SNL skit right there.” This made me chuckle when the show parodies “The White Lotus,” a week after its season three finale, with “The White POTUS.” I wonder if they saw Adalian’s post?

“The White POTUS” is nearly a pitch-perfect parody of “The White Lotus,” with the only blemish being Sarah Sherman’s take on Aimee Lou Wood’s character, which was horrible. It was so bad that Wood has already called it out for being “mean and unfunny,” which I’d typically roll my eyes at, but it was pretty awful.

The rest of the sketch was perfect with President Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson) taking on the Jason Isaac’s role and almost catatonic, Chloe Fineman playing Melania Trump but with the outrageous North Carolina accent used by Piper Posey in the HBO drama, and the Ratliff kids from the show being the Trump kids with terrific cameo reprisals by Alex Moffat as Eric Trump and Scarlett Johansson as Ivanka Trump. It was also nice to see Beck Bennett return to the show in a reprisal of his Vladimir Putin impression. My biggest laugh was their use of actual show footage of Jon Gries from “The White Lotus,” because you know he will be there. He’s always there. 

Worst:
Hamm was considered one of the show’s best hosts when he frequently stopped at Studio 8H 15-plus years ago. However, I don’t remember those episodes well and have not re-watched them. So, I greatly anticipated what the show would give him to do this week and was disappointed when it was not much of anything worthwhile. He played a game show contestant so scared of embarrassing himself on TV that everything he said or did was the worst thing he could say or do, which came with a horrible fart sound effect. Later, he played part of a gay couple with Bowen Yang, who appeared at a friend's event with a baby they hadn’t had the night before and were annoyed by the questions about how they got it (there were some laughs, but not enough). The Icebreaker sketch, where Hamm’s icebreaker reveal is that his mom killed his dad on an episode of “Jackass” was equally bad. The show just seemed to be running on steam on its third consecutive week of shows.

Best:
It’s not often that one singular punchline from a Weekend Update joke will give me the biggest belly laugh of any ‘SNL’ episode, but that happened Saturday night with a Michael Che joke I didn’t see coming. Che set up a joke about an incident that occurred on a New York City subway in which a person robbed and sexually assaulted a dead passenger. The punchline was simply Che singing “Concrete jungle where dreams are made of,” from the Jay-Z/Alicia Keys song “Empire State of Mind,” it was so unexpected, it was perfect.

Best:
Lizzo in comeback mode, though it hasn’t been all that long since she was atop the pop game, proved to be one of the best musical guests of season 50 with a medley of “Love in Real Life,” which saw her ripping on guitar (didn’t know she had that in her bag) and “Still Bad,” which proves exactly what the title says. For her second evening performance, she put on her best Tina Turner/Aretha Franklin with “Don’t Make Me Love You,” a quieter ballad than what we typically see from Lizzo, but I felt it worked well. It’ll be interesting to see how her upcoming album Love in Real Life fares among listeners, after some controversies in her life might have her less beloved than she once was, but what I heard on Saturday night was nice.