Host Nikki Glaser during Promos
Rosalind O’Connor/NBC via Getty Images
Nikki Glaser hosted Saturday Night Live for the first time. She was joined by another first timer, sombr as the musical guest. Glaser is the first host of the 51st season to make their hosting debut.
Glaser is likely best known as a stand-up comedian. Notably, she also hosted the 2025 Golden Globes earlier this year, making her the first solo woman to host the event. This week’s episode of SNL took some big swings (and spoiler: they mostly paid off).
Cold Open
James Austin Johnson returns as Donald Trump. This time, he discusses the government shutdown after not helping a pharmaceutical rep who fell down in the Oval Office. There are some great one-liners and jokes about RFK, but this style cold open is just feeling pretty stale.
Monologue
This is the first stand-up-style monologue of the season, and it was exciting to have. The monologues have been short in recent weeks, but Glaser gets almost ten minutes to do her set. She comes off as extremely confident and even charming, in a pretty-mean-girl way. She talks about her boyfriend’s height, spray tans and human trafficking. This is obviously her job, and she is here to deliver it well.
Karaoke Night
Tommy Brennan takes his new girlfriend, Sarah Sherman, to family karaoke night. However, she is horrified by her boyfriend and his sister’s too romantic song choices. For a sketch all about incest, the most memorable part might be Glaser’s singing voice. Yes, she is singing “I’ll Make Love to You” to her ‘brother’, but she sounds great.
Spirit Tunnel Anxiety
The scariest thing to a celebrity white woman is getting caught in the spirit tunnel on the Jennifer Hudson Show. But now there is a medication that can help with the anxiety. This is a really cute sketch that also feels refreshingly specific. A lot of ad parodies can go broad, and this one avoids that.
Beauty and Mr. Beast
This parody of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast has a twist: the Beast isn’t only a cursed prince, he is also a YouTuber who is here to make people do challenges for large amounts of cash. Ben Marshall does a surprisingly convincing impression of Jimmy Donaldson, aka MrBeast. This is another sketch that feels very current and pop culture specific. However, it is worth watching for the costumes alone (which are extremely impressive).
American Doll XL
American Girl Dolls are now mature, just like the girls who have turned into women and still love them. However, the life-sized dolls attract a new audience, grown men. Unfortunately, this sketch is believable. This feels like a Glaser joke, lightly feminist, gross, sexual, but that is what sells it.
Mechanical Bull
This sketch follows two bachelorettes who get stuck on a mechanical bull that travels through time and space. Part country song, part Bill and Ted homage, this sketch is purely ridiculous and still a standout of the night. It is great to see Johnson get to do something other than playing Trump, and he’s excellent in this sketch. It’s wonderful when SNL gets to do a big swing, and these “two drunk bitches on a runaway mechanical bull” paid off.
sombr Performs
somber played his two biggest songs, ‘back to friends’ and ‘12 to 12.’ While both performances were good, ‘back to friends’ really showcases his vocal talents. sombr was recently involved in some controversy online. Hopefully, he is turning a new leaf, as he proved he was talented in the episode.
Weekend Update
This week’s Weekend Update was one of the shortest Updates in recent memory. After one (admittedly longer) segment of jokes, Michael Che and Colin Jost welcome back Pete Davidson fresh off the Riyadh Comedy Festival. The former cast member talks about him and Jost losing money on buying a ferry and how it’s “now this and Chad.”
Sorority Meeting
The girls of Delta Gamma meet because there is a rumor that one of their pledges is actually a boy in a hyper-realistic girl mask. There is something ‘White Chicks’ throwback about this stretch that is funny, and it has one really impressive reveal. However, it isn’t a standout of the night and feels a little one-note.
Brad and his Dad
Streeter Seidel and Mikey Day team up for this SNL Animated Short. The short follows a Dad desperate to connect with his 11-year-old son after a recent divorce. It is strangely adorable and even a little heartfelt. It feels a little out of place in the episode and, maybe, on SNL more generally. However, it has nice animation and feels a bit nostalgic.
Pilot Announcement
The plane is delayed, and the flight attendant, Glaser, and the pilot, Johnson, have some announcements to make. This sketch is great, and a lot of that has to do with Glaser and Johnson’s spot-on voices. It was again wonderful to see Johnson get to play a role that wasn’t Trump (second time in one episode!)
Pinwheel
Anna is all grown up and needs to say goodbye to her friends in the land of make-believe. However, things go off the rails when two of her friends like her parting gift a little too much. This sketch feels reminiscent of early internet videos like Charlie the Unicorn, especially in the vocal performances. This gives it a bit of a nostalgic feeling for the millennial set. Jeremy Culhane really gets his moment to shine in this sketch.
SNL returns November 15 with Glen Powell and musical guest Olivia Dean.