All posts tagged: SNL

Lady Gaga Brought the Absurd to ‘SNL’

Lady Gaga Brought the Absurd to ‘SNL’

Published by skeptic

Lady Gaga’s talent for the absurd worked well for the show. Rosalind O’Connor / NBC March 9, 2025, 1:34 PM ET Lady Gaga made her name bringing a touch of strangeness to whatever she does, and on Saturday Night Live last night, where she played the host and musical guest, she delivered with over-the-top costumes and theatrical choreography in performances of songs off her new album, Mayhem. For the two musical interludes, Gaga was at her most exacting and confrontational. During the dark pop-dance track “Abracadabra,” she lorded over a horde of stone-faced dancers like a priestess of terror, wearing a sparkly red, full-body jumpsuit and wielding a cane—hunching over when she wasn’t executing the thrashing dance. For a performance of “Killah,” she donned an oversize purple suit with ballooning shoulders. She seemed to channel both David Byrne and Prince as she pranced through the studio’s halls, occasionally writhing on the floor. These acts were mesmerizing displays of Gaga committing to the eccentric. But the artist’s talent for the absurd translated to this week’s comedy …

Why Dana Carvey skipped the SNL 50 special despite recent appearances as Joe Biden

Why Dana Carvey skipped the SNL 50 special despite recent appearances as Joe Biden

Published by skeptic

Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Dana Carvey last year returned to Saturday Night Live to play President Joe Biden and revive his Church Lady character. The 69-year-old comedian and actor was an SNL cast member from 1986 to 1993, yet he was notably absent from this weekend’s 50th anniversary celebrations. Variety reports that Carvey came down with a “bad flu” and was too sick to attend. Other notable former cast members who missed the star-studded event were Bill Hader, who reportedly had a “longstanding scheduling conflict”, and Dan Aykroyd, who also had “prior commitments.” Aykroyd did praise the event on X, writing: “Cracking a Head with pride at having been a co-founder of SNL along with everyone we were together with in those four years, five decades ago. “This telecast is as historical as the next moon landing. Comedy stars of our age all gathered under the aegis of America’s greatest …

The ‘SNL’ 50th-Anniversary Special Played It Safe

The ‘SNL’ 50th-Anniversary Special Played It Safe

Published by skeptic

Produced by ElevenLabs and News Over Audio (Noa) using AI narration. Listen to more stories on the Noa app. Fifty years is a long time. But you wouldn’t necessarily know that from large portions of SNL50: The Anniversary Special, the much-hyped celebration of the long-running sketch show that aired in prime time last night. SNL50 was meant to commemorate the program, created and executive-produced by Lorne Michaels, for achieving five decades of cultural relevance. But the evening’s rundown suffered from a severe case of recency bias, with sketches that were more inclined to play it safe than honor the show’s extensive, complicated, and fascinating history. With a couple of notable exceptions, the three-hour special primarily revived recurring segments from the past 20 years. Kristen Wiig brought back Dooneese, the bizarre young woman with doll hands who performs with her sisters on The Lawrence Welk Show; she debuted the character in 2008. This time, Dooneese’s sisters were played by Ana Gasteyer and two celebrity guests, Kim Kardashian and Scarlett Johansson; Will Ferrell dusted off an old …

Inside SNL: Al Franken Reveals How Saturday Night Live Is Crafted Every Week

Inside SNL: Al Franken Reveals How Saturday Night Live Is Crafted Every Week

Published by José

As Sat­ur­day Night Live cel­e­brates its 50th anniver­sary, Al Franken takes you inside the mak­ing of an SNL episode. He should know a thing or two about the sub­ject. Part of the orig­i­nal SNL writ­ing team, Franken spent 15 years writ­ing and per­form­ing for the show. (Any­one remem­ber Stu­art Smal­l­ey giv­ing a moti­va­tion­al pep talk to Michael Jor­dan?) On his pod­cast, Franken walks you through what a typ­i­cal week on Sat­ur­day Night Live looks like. The week begins with the kick­off meet­ing on Mon­day, then moves mid-week to the writ­ing and selec­tion of sketch­es, and ends with dress rehearsals, the live show, and after-par­ty on Sat­ur­day. Above, Franken also talks about the role of the host and which ones excelled, and which ones flopped. If you would enjoy know­ing how the SNL sausage gets made, the 60-minute con­ver­sa­tion is well worth your while. Relat­ed Con­tent  Lorne Michaels Intro­duces Sat­ur­day Night Live and Its Bril­liant First Cast for the Very First Time (1975) Gil­da Rad­ner Does a Com­ic Imper­son­ation of Pat­ti Smith: Watch the Clas­sic SNL Skit, “Rock Against …

The Message Behind Timothée Chalamet’s ‘SNL’ Bob Dylan Covers

The Message Behind Timothée Chalamet’s ‘SNL’ Bob Dylan Covers

Published by skeptic

When Saturday Night Live announced that Timothée Chalamet would be both the host and musical guest on this week’s episode, the reaction was largely: huh? What would Chalamet, a skilled actor not usually known as a musical artist, perform? Would he revive his high-school rap alias Lil Timmy Tim? Reprise his role as Willy Wonka? Or would he just sing Bob Dylan songs, considering he has been on a long promotional tour for his turn as the folk artist in the biopic A Complete Unknown? Would he come out strumming hits such as “Blowin’ in the Wind”? He did sing Dylan songs last night—but notably, he did not feature the most popular stuff. Chalamet’s musical numbers were inspired interpretations of Dylan deep cuts, including “Three Angels” and “Tomorrow Is a Long Time.” His performances were weird, smart, and entertaining, and a way to show people that his dedication to Dylan has been serious. Chalamet’s hosting stint was clearly strategic. Oscar nominations came out on Thursday, and his name was called as expected, making him, at …

Timothée Chalamet stars in unhinged Grandmas Birthday SNL sketch

Timothée Chalamet stars in unhinged Grandmas Birthday SNL sketch

Published by skeptic

There was a time when I was a more innocent person until a group of Saturday Night Live writers decided to ruin my morning. SEE ALSO: ‘SNL’: What if Timothée Chalamet was a dumb dog that did human things? The sketch reads like a logline straight out of Hell: “Hot twink BF farts on grandma to bring her back to life.” That’s the premise of this wildly absurd bit, starring host and musical guest Timothée Chalamet as the aforementioned “hot twink BF.” It was five minutes of pure madness I’ll never get back, but watching Kenan Thompson’s character flat-out refuse Chalamet’s unorthodox “help” during his own heart attack was comedy gold. “Just puppet me around like Weekend at Bernie’s until he’s out of here.” Unhinged. Iconic. Horrifying. There’s nothing else to say. Source link

SNL host appears stunned as Luigi Mangione is cheered by studio audience

SNL host appears stunned as Luigi Mangione is cheered by studio audience

Published by skeptic

Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Saturday Night Live host Colin Jost appeared stunned after Luigi Mangione, the suspected killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, was cheered by the studio audience. Mangione, 26, who is now facing federal charges in addition to the New York state murder indictment already brought against him, was mentioned as part of the “Weekend Update” segment on Saturday’s show (21 December). When Jost, who is the husband of Scarlett Johansson, mentioned Mangione’s name, it was received with rapturous applause by the studio audience, which took the 42-year-old comedian by surprise. Looking around, unsure how to react to the applause, Jost said, with a hint of confusion: “Yeah… definitely woo.” “You’re wooing for justice, right?” he then awkwardly asked. Continuing the joke, Jost quipped: “Luigi Mangione dropped his extradition fight and was flown from Pennsylvania to New York to face multiple charges. In related news, Bumble exploded.” open …

SNL Mocks Trump, Biden’s Oval Office Meeting, With Alec Baldwin Cameo

SNL Mocks Trump, Biden’s Oval Office Meeting, With Alec Baldwin Cameo

Published by skeptic

Saturday Night Live didn’t waste any time on the latest episode, spoofing Donald Trump and Joe Biden‘s historic Oval Office meeting at the White House earlier this week. “Hello everybody. Thank you to the press for joining us to document this very important presidential transition meeting. I’m being serious right now. Even though we disagree, I’m eager to sit down for a respectful conversation,” Dana Carvey’s Biden says. “Yeah, get a load of me. Instead of being rude and crazy like usual, I’m doing quiet and serene, which in many ways is a lot scarier,” James Austin Johnson’s Trump adds before Biden continues, “I’m gonna sit here and smile while ignoring the giant fire right behind me.” Trump later complains about how he “forgot how boring [being] president is.” “I love running, hate being,” he continues. “And I hate the White House, so old, so dated. So many of the carpets are stinky and sticky at the same time. Sort of like being at a Regal Cinemas. Now I have to live here for the …

‘SNL’ Isn’t Bothering With Civility Anymore

‘SNL’ Isn’t Bothering With Civility Anymore

Published by José

Voters gave America’s rudest man permission to return to the White House; what else have they given permission to? Michael Che has one idea. “So y’all gonna let a man with 34 felonies lead the free world and be the president of the United States?” he asked during last night’s “Weekend Update.” “That’s it. I’m listening to R. Kelly again.” The joke captured a feeling that’s been circulating in America ever since last Tuesday’s election: silver-lining nihilism, a relief that we can stop trying to be good. Kamala Harris lost probably because of the economy, but the Republican campaign did effectively leverage widespread exhaustion with identity politics, inclusive speech, and perhaps even civility itself. Some of Trump’s supporters have celebrated by crowing vileness such as “Your body, my choice.” Some of Harris’s fans have openly denigrated the minorities who voted for Trump. Eesh. But if this is, as my colleague Thomas Chatterton Williams posted on X, the “post-woke era,” then perhaps at least comedy—the entertainment form that’s grouched the most about progressive piety—will be funnier …