SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE — Episode 1877 — Pictured: (l-r) Musical guest Tate McRae, host Shane Gillis, … [+] and Jane Wickline during Promos on Thursday, February 27, 2025
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Shane Gillis returned to host Saturday Night Live for the second time. Gillis also hosted on February 24, 2024. The podcaster’s return to SNL is always a little odd. In 2019, Gillis was hired to be a part of the cast (along with the first East Asian-American cast member, Bowen Yang) but was fired before his debut after clips of him using racial slurs against Asian people resurfaced. In 2024, Lorne Micheals revealed that it was not his call to fire Gillis, and, instead, the decision came from NBC.
Gillis was joined by musical guest Tate McRae. It was also McRae’s second time on the show. She had previously been the musical guest in November 2023.
If Gillis’s hosting this week is any indication of how he would have performed as a cast member, his firing was likely not a great loss to the show. He turned in mostly mild performances in sketches that felt like safe choices for his skill set.
Cold Open
This week’s Cold Open parodied the Trump-Zelenskyy press conference from earlier in the week. James Austin Johnson turned in another pitch-perfect Trump impression, which carries the sketch. There is also a surprise cameo from Mike Myers as Elon Musk. While Myers’s impression isn’t perfect, his over-the-top commitment to the character is worth a watch.
Monologue
Returning to a job post-firing is undoubtedly awkward, and it seems like both the audience and Gillis feel that weight during the monologue. Gillis laughs more at his own jokes than the unsure audience does. It really doesn’t work. The monologue rarely gets better than any free stand-up comedy bar show or open-mic night that happens every day in New York City, but Gillis gets in a couple of good jokes. His jokes about Ken Burns and historian Shelby Foote are a high point in a messy monologue.
Winery Tour
This sketch, about a hot girl asking her boyfriend to take photos of her on a winery tour, is a highlight of the episode. While it isn’t the most unique premise, Heidi Gardner really sells the character and is hilarious.
CouplaBeers
Gillis is best at playing characters that range from schlubby guys to middle-aged depressed dads and this sketch plays great to his strengths. The parody sketch sells a new medication, “CouplaBeers.” It’s a tight pretaped-sketch with good writing and is well worth a watch.
Mid-Day News 2
There is a fun premise at the heart of this sketch (which they have done one other time with Phoebe Waller-Bridge in 2019.) It follows two White reporters and two Black reporters who count stories that don’t make their community look bad as wins and ones that do as losses. There are some really funny jokes, including a reference to this season’s past musical guest, Shaboozey. However, it doesn’t know how to end and drags a bit in the second half.
Dad’s House
Dad’s House is Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood if Mr. Rogers was a divorced dad instead of a beloved icon of children’s TV. The PBS-style sketch plays to Gillis’ strengths of playing another bad father and has a perfect use of puppetry. It’s another high point of the episode.
The Sound
The boys of Please Don’t Destroy and Ego Nwodim appear as judges on The Voice – sorry, The Sound. While Gillis might have a great voice, he is vaguely off-putting. This sketch feels a little stale (there have been 27 seasons of The Voice, and this joke could have happened during any of them). It also doesn’t go quite far enough, which is surprising for PDD.
Tate McRae performs
McRae performed two songs, ‘Sports Car’ and ’Dear God.’ McRae puts on a show for both performances, but if you are going to watch only one, make it ‘Sports Car.’ McRae dances, moves around a dynamic set and showcases some very impressive tricks.
Weekend update
Weekend Update opened with strong political jokes and featured two fun appearances by Marcello Hernández and Jane Wickline. While Wickline’s performance may not be for everyone, it is very fresh. She sings a song to her lover about the trolley problem. Her off-beat energy and niche references feel like an exciting shake-up for the episode.
Wedding Interruptions
A man tries to cash in a “one free handjob” coupon at his ex’s wedding: it’s a funny premise, even if it’s a little juvenile. This sketch is certainly not a stand-out, but there are a couple of good laughs, and it heightens well.
Doctor’s Office
Emil Wakim plays a doctor who runs into a patient who remembers an embarrassing sexual story about him in middle school. This sketch is crude and may have played better if it wasn’t after the Wedding Interruptions sketch, which is also on the juvenile side. It is nice to see Wakim get a good character (and his performance is great), but overall, this sketch is a bit of a skip.
Bowen Yang was notably absent from this week of the show. He wasn’t in any sketches outside of the Cold Open (playing JD Vance); however, he did appear during goodnights.
SNL will return on March 8, 2025, with host and musical guest Lady Gaga.
