With the 50th season of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” set to premiere on September 28, we should be finding out the host of the season premiere any day now.

I’m sure the network and producer Lorne Michaels will pull out all the stops this season for the milestone 50th season of the show, with multiple anniversary specials set to air in the early part of 2025. I’m sure we’ll see many famous and fan-loved familiar faces joining the show during this season.
But it’s always been my hope that Michaels and SNL would celebrate the 50th season in a truly spectacular fashion by hosting all 20 of its episodes during the season by former cast members of the show.

Ideally, I’d like to see the show choose stars from each era of ‘SNL’ to host throughout the season. How about Dan Aykroyd representing the original cast? Eddie Murphy for the early ‘80s when he essentially saved the show from extinction. Dana Carvey for the late ‘80s. Adam Sandler for the early ‘90s. Will Ferrell could represent the late ‘90s. Tina Fey or Jimmy Fallon for the early ‘00s. Then, you could take your pick from Kristen Wiig, Jason Sudeikis, Andy Samberg, etc. Kate McKinnon could represent the most recent era.

Unfortunately, this dream is probably too far-fetched, especially in the entertainment business that relies so much on Nielsen ratings to measure success. Would the show feature more eyes with, say, Dana Carvey, returning to host it over someone like the summer star of 2024, Glen Powell? Probably not. No doubt, the ‘SNL’ fanatics would be pumped, but it wouldn’t drive the extra viewers that the network and show hope to boost the ratings.

I’m sure familiar faces will return to host the show this year. One’s who are relevant in the pop culture zeitgeist at the moment or are perhaps big enough to sustain a large audience on their own. But for some of the show’s legends, the best we can probably hope for is a fun cameo during the season or maybe on one of the star-studded anniversary specials, similar to what we saw 10 years ago for the show’s epic three-hour 40th anniversary special.

But if I had my choice of how I would like to see the episodes go this year, it would look something like this:

1. Dan Aykroyd & Bill Murray
Ideally, it would be great to let Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray each host a separate episode, but ‘SNL’ rarely has hosts the age of these guys. Aykroyd is 72 and Murray will be 74 by the season premiere. But if they could share hosting duties and swap off the amount of time each would need to appear on screen, I think it could be done. The only problem is whether they would want to do it. Murray is a member of the hailed Five-Timers Club, but he hasn’t hosted ‘SNL’ since 1999. Though Aykroyd has appeared on the show many times since he left after its fourth season, he’s only hosted once, and that came more than 20 years ago. Another thing that would be genuinely cool would be to see Chevy Chase return to the show to say, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night,” one last time. But he’s reportedly been long banned from the show for, let’s say, his cantankerous personality.

2. Eddie Murphy
Eddie Murphy seems like one of the more likely former cast members to return to host the show for its milestone season. He returned in December 2019, which was his first appearance on the show other than a brief 40th-anniversary cameo since the ‘80s. That 2019 show was an instant classic, and he seemed to enjoy his time on it.

3. Dana Carvey with David Spade (or Mike Myers)
Dana Carvey is one of the greatest cast members in the history of ‘SNL,’ though he may be the person on this list with the least successful post-‘SNL’ career. Still, that hasn’t kept him from returning to host in the past, as recently as 2011. Carvey is only one hosting gig away from the coveted Five-Timer’s Club and, surely, the show wouldn’t want to keep him from that honor. Pairing Carvey with his “Fly on the Wall” podcast host and former castmate David Spade would make perfect sense. Having him co-host a show with his “Wayne’s World” partner, Mike Myers, would also be a huge nostalgic moment. See, ‘SNL,’ there are options!

4. Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler was the biggest “why hasn’t this cast member returned to host the show” question mark for the longest time before he finally made his host debut in 2019. That hosting stint came on the heels of his Netflix comedy special “Adam Sandler: 100% Fresh.” His latest stand-up special, “Adam Sandler: Love You,” just dropped on Netflix, and that, combined with the show’s 50th anniversary, means there’s no better time for his second hosting gig.

5. Will Ferrell
Many consider Will Ferrell the greatest cast member in the history of ‘SNL.’ He was undoubtedly the MVP of his era. So, why wouldn’t you want that guy to return for the significant milestone? He’s probably one of the likeliest former cast members we’ll see host this season. Ferrell has hosted five times, most recently in 2019.

6. Tina Fey & Amy Poehler
Like Aykroyd and Murray before them, I’d be perfectly fine seeing Tina Fey and Amy Poehler host stand-alone episodes, but if you can get these two to do the show together, you definitely should. Fey and Poehler are two of the most successful and vital female cast members in the show’s history, and it was Fey’s turn as head writer of the show that turned the tide from ‘SNL’ as a boy’s club into a show that females could eventually dominate.

7. Kristen Wiig
Kristen Wiig is considered by many to be the MVP of her era, which contained some major heavy hitters and multiple names you’ll see on this list. She just hosted the show last season, her fifth time hosting, so it might be a bit soon for her and the show, but with it being a milestone such as this, they should throw that out the window.

8. Kate McKinnon
It didn’t take long for Kate McKinnon to take over as the ‘SNL’ MVP once Wiig left the show in 2012. For many people, if they don’t consider Wiig the greatest female cast member in the show’s history, then it’s McKinnon they would have at the top spot. Like Wiig, McKinnon returned to host ‘SNL’ just last season, but fans wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to see her every year if offered.

9. Maya Rudolph
Much like the two legendary ladies above, Maya Rudolph hosted ‘SNL’ last season, and it may be too soon for a return appearance as host. But the show has already announced that Rudolph will be reprising her role as Kamala Harris throughout the election, where we will get to see her go toe-to-toe against James Austin Johnson’s terrific Donald Trump impression. Might as well let her host one of the week’s she’s going to be at the show anyway.

10. Jimmy Fallon
I’m legitimately surprised we don’t see Jimmy Fallon host ‘SNL’ on an almost annual basis. He films “The Tonight Show” in the same building, seems to be the biggest fanboy of the show, and is close to Michael. Surprisingly, he hasn’t hosted since 2017. Maybe his day job takes too much of his time? But I’d be shocked if he wasn’t on the shortlist to host in season 50.

11. Seth Meyers
For some of the same reasons I said about Fallon, I’m surprised Seth Meyers hasn’t been back to host ‘SNL’ more often. Since leaving the show in 2014, he has only returned to host once in 2018. He’s less of a performer than Fallon, but I thought his hosting stint in 2018 was rather good. He’s probably the greatest living Weekend Update anchor the show has ever seen.

12. Bill Hader
Bill Hader is one of the most beloved cast members in ‘SNL’ history, both for memorable characters like Stefon and as one of the greatest impressionists the show has ever seen. I don’t know how truthful this is, but I heard on an episode of the Saturday Night Network podcast that it seems like Hader doesn’t have a lot of interest in returning to host ‘SNL.’ He returned twice in 2014 and 2018, but he seems happy doing his own projects. He’d be on my very short list if I were Michaels.

13. Jason Sudeikis
When Jason Sudeikis returned to host ‘SNL’ in 2021, it was one of the most joyous returns from a former cast member returning to host. I’d love to see him back. He may be a bit busy focusing on these rumors as to whether or not his Emmy-winning AppleTV+ series “Ted Lasso” is or isn’t going to return for a fourth season, though.

14. Chris Rock
Chris Rock didn’t have the most successful ‘SNL’ career, which is no fault of his own. Even in the early ‘90s, when he was on the show, the show still didn’t know how to feature an African-American cast member positively. He became a massive star following his departure. He’s returned to host the show three times, most recently in 2020.

15. Tracy Morgan
Few cast members have been as likable in their returns to host as Tracy Morgan, who returned to host in 2009 and 2015. Almost a decade without hosting the show is too long! Morgan has timeless characters, such as Brian Fellows and Astronaut Jones, that would easily play in today’s world.

16. Will Forte
Will Forte is one of those guys whose lack of high-profile work currently could keep him from returning to the show. He recently had a Netflix series, “Bodkin,” that looked promising but gained zero attention in the pop culture zeitgeist. Still, he’s a popular figure within Studio 8H and among hardcore ‘SNL’ fans. So, there’s a reason to hope.

17. Andy Samberg
Andy Samberg was one of the most influential cast members in ‘SNL’ history with the digital shorts he did with his The Lonely Island cohorts. Coming on the show around the same time YouTube debuted helped send his career and videos online into the stratosphere. Samberg has only returned to host the show once since he left in 2012, doing so in 2014. It’s time for him to return.

18. Cecily Strong
Cecily Strong is the only former cast member on this list who hasn’t returned to host the show, but that has a lot to do with her being the most recent on this list to leave the show in December of 2022. I hope her standing with the show is good, as I know she was initially supposed to be in the cold open of an episode last year but backed out after dress rehearsal, supposedly due to how offensive it was. Honestly, the show should’ve cut it. It bombed worse than any cold opening in show history. Hopefully, that’s not something Michaels and the show would hold against a legendary cast member.

19. Molly Shannon
Molly Shannon did a lot of heavy lifting in the late ‘90s on ‘SNL’ so the women of the last 25 years on the show could become the huge stars they are. It was great to see Shannon return to host just two seasons ago, her second hosting stint but first in 16 years. Hopefully, the show doesn’t wait as long between her second and third hosting stints.

20. Conan O’Brien      
So, this one is cheating just a little bit because Conan O’Brien was a writer on ‘SNL’ but never a cast member. It’s crazy that O’Brien has only hosted the show once, back in 1999 when he hosted ‘Late Night’ on NBC. He, of course, had a high profile falling out with NBC since then, getting screwed out of “The Tonight Show” gig. However, O’Brien has appeared on ‘SNL’ since then in a cameo in 2022. He currently has a travel show on Max, so if it were ever time to bring him back to Studio 8H to host, it would be now.

Season two of “The House of the Dragon” returned to HBO this summer. The prequel series to the massively successful HBO series, “Game of Thrones,” continued to show us the events that unfolded within the Targaryen family 300 years before the events of the original series.

As we know, King Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Constantine) had decided to make his daughter, Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), his rightful heir. This, of course, caused controversy because she is a female. He was given the crown over his sister, Princess Rhaenys (Eve Best), because of his gender. He overlooked his brother, Daemon (Matt Smith), who is now married to Princess Rhaenyra. On his deathbed, he told his wife, Queen Alicent (Olivia Cooke), of a prophecy of The Prince That Was Promised. She mistakenly believes that this means he is wanting their son, Prince Aegon II (Tom Glenn-Carney) to ascend the throne. Alicent’s misunderstanding pushes all the events of the war into motion.

Season two sees Princess Rhaenyra out for blood. The young prince, Aemond, has killed her son, Jacaerys, and she wants payback — his head on a stick! When the assassin cannot locate Aemond in the castle, the events that unfold lead to shocking deaths and consequences for everyone involved.

Rhaenyra struggles with the idea of the war. Is it avoidable? She wants to know for certain before waging it. When it becomes apparent that it is unavoidable, she struggles to find the best action to win it.
King Aegon II suffers a major blow to his rule and new leadership threatens to undermine him. Prince Aemond becomes even more arrogant and vindictive. Queen Alicent starts to feel remorseful that a war is going to take place at all ... it is impossible to feel sorry for her, though, knowing that she played a major role in it all happening in the first place. Finally, Prince Daemon battles some major inner demons that threaten his chances to be an asset to Princess Rhaenyra’s challenge to the throne.

“House of the Dragon” continued the high production value of its predecessor to almost perfection. The show has such beautiful production design, exquisite costumes, astonishing visual effects, and great acting, and it delivers shocking events in the perfect direction. You should never think any character is safe, even with a smaller cast. They are not. The feeling that no character was safe was one thing that made “Game of Thrones” so exciting to watch and that same uneasiness for a character’s fate remains in ‘HOTD.’

One thing that hurts this series is that the momentum was able to continue a little easier in the original “Game of Thrones.” This is probably because there were so many characters and so many stories. If the progression of one story took longer, we could focus on more interesting ones for the time being. The scope of the prequel is focused solely on this small portion of characters, making it more difficult for the writers to keep everything compelling.

One thing is for sure, though: the season starts with a huge bang. The first five episodes are truly compelling and suspenseful television. The problem is that it isn’t able to sustain that momentum throughout the entire season (even with the episode total being reduced from 10 in the first season to just eight for the second season). It is clear, though, that this season does appear to be really setting the scene for an epic third season.

Hopefully, the less compelling moments of season two will lead to an action-packed blockbuster of season three. One thing is clear, though: war (and winter) is coming. 

The Clinton Presidential Center Presents program featured the “What’s Next? The Legacy of “The West Wing,” a conversation with actors and authors Melissa Fitzgerald and Mary McCormack on Monday, August 26, at the William J. Clinton Library and Museum in Little Rock, Ark.

The program was held in conjunction with the center’s newest exhibition, Commanding the Screen: The American Presidency in Film and Television, which began on August 17 and will run through March 23, 2025. That exhibition explores cinematic performances of fictional and real-life presidents and features original costumes, props, and other memorabilia from TV and film featuring the American presidency. I hope to check it out soon.

Dr. Jay Barth, the director of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum, moderated Monday night’s event asking Fitzgerald and McCormack questions over the hour-long program about the impact of “The West Wing,” some behind the scenes of the show and how it has impacted society, both in American and abroad.

Barth also took questions from audience members who appeared live at the center and via a live stream and had previously submitted questions when registering for the event.

Fitzgerald portrayed Carol Fitzpatrick, assistant to press secretary C.J. Cregg (Allison Janney) for the entire seven-season run of “The West Wing.” Since the series ended, Fitzgerald has left acting behind to focus on civic duty as the Senior Director for the nonprofit organization Justice For Vets.

McCormack, who claimed at the Q&A that she’s “always late to the party,” joined the cast of “The West Wing” in the show’s fifth season as Deputy National Security Advisor Kate Harper and stayed with the show until it ended with its seventh season in 2006. Since the end of “The West Wing,” McCormack has starred in the USA Network drama “In Plain Sight” and the excellent but unfortunately short-lived ABC sitcom “The Kids Are Alright.”

Fitzgerald and McCormack’s book What’s Next: A Backstage Pass to The West Wing, which was available for purchase at the event and the authors signed for fans following the Q&A, was published by Dutton, an imprint of Penguin Random House, on August 13. The two have been on a book tour since.

Fitzgerald mentioned that she had been approached to write a book about “The West Wing” around 2019 and had asked McCormack to collaborate with her at a birthday party for fellow cast member and friend Janney. They joked that they decided upon it after being a bit overserved at that party.

There were a lot of interesting anecdotes during the Q&A event, like talk of who some ideal casting may have been for some of the roles – some of which I’d known (like Sidney Poitier as President) but others who weren’t known for acting like former Secretary of State Colin Powell and former New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. The original idea for the series was to focus solely on the President’s staff, with the President rarely seen. That all changed, of course, when the fantastic Martin Sheen was cast as President Josiah Bartlet.

Fitzgerald shared a story about how generous Sheen was with the entire cast and crew from day one on the set, how he shook hands and held conversations with every background artist, Sheen’s preferred term for “extras,” and how everybody was part of a family.

The show ended 18 years ago, but Fitzgerald and McCormack's words about their cast mates and friends show that the feeling of being a family is still felt by all today. Much of the cast is evidently in the same text chain, with the exception of Sheen, who’s more of a Luddite.  

Fitzgerald and McCormack's discussion was a terrific way to begin the celebration of the 25th anniversary of “The West Wing,” which premiered on NBC on September 22, 1999. I can’t wait to dig into their book, as I have been waiting for such a thing to exist for many years.

​“Evil” wrapped up its terrific four-season run on Paramount+ on Thursday, August 22, with its finale, aptly titled “Fear of the End.”

“Evil” and its showrunners, Robert and Michelle King, were put in a box in bringing their beloved series to an end. They were informed after the originally 10-episode fourth season was through filming that it wouldn’t return for a fifth season but were gifted an additional four episodes to wrap the story. It was a gift for the show and the fans but also an unenviable task to try to wrap such a complicated story in such a short amount of time.

The series features three people: Kristen (an agnostic psychologist), David (a Catholic priest), and Ben (an atheist scientist), who come together to attempt to access and solve supernatural religiously related cases.

The show had such a high with its 10th episode of season four, which was supposed to be the fourth season’s finale, in which Leland Townshend (Michael Emerson), the show’s main villain over its run, having a final showdown with his ex and Kristen’s mom, Sheryl (Christine Lahti), which ended the season in tragedy and would’ve set up perfectly for a fifth season.

The additional four episodes that concluded the series were entertaining. Still, certain aspects were clearly rushed, especially how the show dealt with Kristen’s marriage to Andy (Patrick Brammall) and its ultimate path to dealing with Leland.

The Kings, being the witty, sarcastic writers and showrunners they are, dealt with the final four episodes by throwing the fact that they had been canceled into the faces of the network hosting them. Not only has “Evil,” the show, been canceled, but so has the Church’s accessors program and St. Joseph’s Church itself, which is being sold off to help the Catholic Church financially.

I never expected that our trio of heroes would be able to defeat evil itself. I don’t know if anything could beat the idea of evil. So, there would always be a feeling of not necessarily receiving closure with the show. But it at least felt like the show would end with Leland’s defeat – and in a way, it did, but it also had to be left open-ended enough for the possibility of the show continuing elsewhere. The Kings and the cast want to continue work on “Evil,” but I feel like if there were going to be a savior for the show, it would’ve come by now – but maybe another entity like Netflix, which has seen success streaming the series’ first three seasons – was waiting for the series to finish airing and seeing the response and numbers before deciding.

And, so just as the show has been put in a box by its abrupt cancellation and limited wrap-up, Leland too has been placed in a box, literally, with his new home being the box at a silent monastery from season two’s fantastic episode “S is for Silence,” which was supposed to have held a demon before Kristen (Katja Herbers) accidentally let it loose.

It’s a good enough place to store Leland while the show is potentially in limbo, but I have a feeling it’ll be his place for eternity.

Our three heroes' friendship will never be defeated by evil, but their paths have been forced to diverge due to the assessor’s program in New York coming to an end. Ben (Aasif Mandvi) has taken a high-paying desk job that he can’t pass up to travel across the world with David (Mike Colter) and Kristen, who have left for the Vatican to continue their job trying to uncover and defeat evil.

The show always seemed to be on the path of Kristen and David winding up together – whether they end up as an actual romantic couple or remain two friends who love and need each other – but that path was forced into hyperdrive by the show’s untimely ending. This may have been how it would always end for these two characters. Open-ended.  

Ultimately, I think “Evil” did the best it could, given its circumstances. It’s not the complete closure I would’ve wanted from one of the best TV shows of the last half-decade, but it’s nice to have at least the chance to have an ending.

Paris Olympics (Peacock) – Friday, July 26 – Sunday, August 11
Don’t let Olympic fatigue set in so soon! There’s still plenty of the Games to go and you can see every event on Peacock between now and Sunday, August 11. The games have already seen a bunch of memorable moments, but there are plenty more left, from team sports like basketball, volleyball, and soccer to individual sports like gymnastics and track & field. 

Mr. Throwback (Peacock) – Thursday, August 8
NBA superstar Stephen Curry is making his foray into acting with Peacock’s “Mr. Throwback,” which sees him playing himself in a six-episode mockumentary from “Happy Endings” creator David Caspe and writing duo Matthew Libman and Daniel Libman. Adam Pally will play a down-on-his-luck memorabilia dealer who looks for redemption with the help of Curry, his former sixth-grade teammate. 

Dark Winds & Monsieur Spade (Netflix) – Monday, August 19
A slew of AMC drama series will be making their Netflix debuts on Monday, August 19, including two I’m thrilled will have the chance to receive a bigger audience. The Netflix factor is real, as we’ve seen shows from other networks have a second life or become big again once added to the world’s most popular streamer – look at what the former USA Network drama “Suits” did on Netflix. The series I’m most excited to gain viewers is “Dark Winds,” which has had two fantastic seasons – especially its first – on AMC following the cases of Navajo tribal policeman Joe Leaphorn. The show will return to AMC for a third season in 2025, and my hope is it will gain enough viewers from people catching up on Netflix to keep it going on AMC for a while. The other show I’m excited for people to see on Netflix is “Monsieur Spade,” which has been my favorite drama series of 2024 thus far. The series, a partnership between AMC and France’s Canal+, sees Private Investigator Sam Space of “The Maltese Falcon” notoriety essentially retire to France, where he becomes involved in a mysterious case involving a child believed to possess great powers. Clive Owen plays Spade and knocks the performance out of the park, saying a lot, as Humphrey Bogart’s shoes are mighty hard to fill. It’s unlikely more viewers on Netflix would help “Monsieur Spade” receive a second season. Still, it works as a completely wrapped-up miniseries either way. Other AMC shows coming to Netflix on August 19 include “Interview with a Vampire,” “Fear the Walking Dead,” “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon” and “Mayfair Witches.”

Only Murders in the Building: Season 4 (Hulu) – Tuesday, August 27
Yep, there are still murders being committed in the building. But season four of the popular Hulu series that pokes fun at while also adoring true crime podcasts will see a big locale switch as our fearless podcaster crime-solvers, played by Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez, travel to Los Angeles to find out who was trying to kill Martin’s Charles. The fourth season will see the return of Meryl Streep, while also adding Melissa McCarthy, Eugene Levy, Zach Galifianakis and Molly Shannon. Season three, which featured the behind-the-scenes of a Broadway musical, wasn’t really my bag, so I’m hoping the show can right itself in season four. 

Kaos (Netflix) – Thursday, August 29
I’ve never been a huge fan of Greek mythology but seeing Jeff Goldblum in a contemporary reimagining of Greek mythology exploring modern themes of gender politics and power with a dark-comedy twist is too good to pass up. Goldblum will play Zeus in the series, co-staring Janet McTeer, David Thewlis, and Billie Piper.