SNL101

Charisse, Luvell, and Chuck get together before the premiere of SNL Season 50 to talk about hopes, dreams, and fears for the new season. We also discuss Farnsworth's Dream , Bargatze's opening sketch at the 2025 Emmys. 

After a year of celebrations, reflections, and clip shows, Scarlett Johansson hosts the season finale of the 50th season on May 17, 2025 for a record-setting seventh time. We talk about the power of news parody with  Local News Stories and Press Junket , as well as the complexity of humorous gaze with Couples at the Bar and food Ethics in Victorian Ladies Who Lunch . We also discuss Mike Myers Ele...

Walton Goggins' hosting debut on May 10, 2025 was a wild romp that embraced his newfound sex symbol status and delivered hearty guffaws and gasps. We discuss the construction of slapstick with A Guy Who Just Walked into a Spiderweb on Trump's Tariffs and the complexity of racial representation in The Movie Guy on Upcoming Summer Blockbusters , both segments on Weekend Update, as well as the humor...

Quinta Brunson was a delight in her second time hosting on May 3, 2025 . Her presence was refreshing and she carried her sketches with a joy that was infectious. We discuss the inside humor of racial epithets on Weekend Update: Two Applebee's Barflies Duke and Darlene , the complicated experience of laughing at oneself in Two Bitches vs. a Gorilla and Forever 31 , and the racial politics of time i...

Charisse L'Pree and Chuck Hayward keep the conversation going to talk about Lizzo's appearances in S50E18 hosted by Jon Hamm. We discuss Lizzo's quiet-but-loud activism , the writers' limited use of her in the episode, and how celebrity scandal operates in the ecosystem of Saturday Night Live.   Chuck also connects Lizzo's performance to Janet Jackson's post-Superbowl episode 21 years ago on April...

Jon Hamm understood the assignment in his 4th time as host on April 12, 2025 . We discuss satirizing socioeconomic inequality in Check to Check Business News , civil disobedience with Emil Wakim on American Patriotism , and the complexity of roasting and comedy writing via Guess! The Correct! Answer! , Gay Parents , and The White Potus . Readings address psychological impacts of socioeconomic clas...

We talk with Immy Farukhi , an entertainment lawyer and professor at Syracuse University, about the legal frameworks around obscenity, indecency, and satire in media—particularly in the context of Ego Nwodim's appearance on Weekend Update . We discuss the legal distinctions between "obscene" (not protected by the First Amendment) and "indecent" (protected but regulatable). We also the role of sati...

Jack Black's 4th time hosting on April 5, 2025 was a refreshingly silly reprieve, from current events and a string of underwhelming episodes. We discuss the implications of the call-and-response-gone-wrong in Weekend Update: Ego Nwodim on the White House Correspondents' Dinner , ethical non-monogamy in Making Love , and the potential of framing to disrupt collective memory in Times Square Kiss . W...

Mikey Madison's hosting premiere on March 29, 2025 was largely unimpressive and was overshadowed by Morgan Wallen's abrupt departure during the closing credits. We discuss punching down and missed opportunities as well as the art of waiting in Big Dumb Line , reboot culture in Please Don't Destroy - Mikey Madison is Squidward , and the dynamics of inside jokes with Devon Walker Shares his Morning...

Lady Gaga's second time hosting (and as musical guest) on March 8, 2025 generated a lot of feelings, some good, some bad, some funny, some sad. We discuss the power of satire in the Trump, Musk and Rubio Meeting Cold Open , satirizing masculinity and power in Weekend Update: Lord Gaga on His Unwavering Support for His Wife Lady Gaga , the manic pixie dream girl and commodity feminism in Mascara Co...

Shane Gillis' second time hosting on March 1, 2025 showcased the potential of a host to "make the show his own;" Gillis was clearly active in the writers room and appeared in every sketch. We discuss how to satirize stereotypes in the Stand Up Monologue and Mid-Day News 2 , the difficulty in satirizing Trump in the Cold Open , the trolley problem in Jane Wickline Gives Dating Advice , and the absu...

We talk with Dr. Dan Amernick, Senior Professional Lecturer and department chair of Media Arts at Marist University. We discuss the show's transformation from an experimental comedy space to a corporate-driven institution, its role in shaping political discourse, and how it has both reflected and influenced American culture over 50 years. The conversation explores the rise of celebrity cameos, the...

We talk with Dr. Noël Carroll, distinguished professor of philosophy, film and media cultures at the Graduate School at the City University of New York (CUNY) and a leading figure in contemporary philosophy of art. We discuss SNL's reinvention of classic comedy formats, its role in shaping political satire, and its connections to countercultural movements. Carroll reflects on whether SNL is truly...

We talk with Dr. Robert Thompson, the founding director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture and a Trustee Professor of Television and Popular Culture at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. We discuss its evolution, cultural impact, and role in political satire. From its nostalgic anniversary special to its function as a talent incubator, th...

In this special episode of SNL101, we are joined by comedy scholars Brittney Michelle Edmonds , Danielle Fuentes Morgan , and Raul Perez , as well as friend of the pod Chuck Hayward, to discuss 50 years of Saturday Night Live through the lens of the 50th Anniversary Special, aired on February 16, 2025 . We talk about the show's role in establishing comedy across the 20th and 21st centuries from Wo...

Timothée Chalamet's third time hosting on January 25 2025 did not necessarily disappoint, but some fan favorites like SmokeChedda TheAssGetta and Tiny Horse were noticeably absent. We discuss James Austin Johnson's ability to impersonate Trump's haughty cruelty in Founding Fathers Cold Open , the role of AI in interpersonal relationships in AI Software , and the power intra Black conversations in...

Dave Chappelle's fourth time hosting on January 18, 2025 featured a markedly mature appearance that balanced the political and the personal. We discuss his progressively classic Stand-Up Monologue and political aesthetics, journalism's struggle in the current communication environment with MSNBC Special Coverage Cold Open , and the power of ambiguity and backstory in Evacuation Alert . We are join...

Martin Short played the elder statesman during his fifth time hosting on December 21, 2024 . This Christmas episode was filled with cameos, callbacks, and current events. We discuss the complexity of homelessness and the rhetoric of anti-woke publics in An Act of Kindness , the intractable intersection of gender and comedy in Parking Lot Altercation , and the winner of this year's  Joke Swap . Emm...

We talk about Chris Rock's fourth time hosting on December 14, 2024 . The alum anchors a largely forgettable episode, interlaced with a few showstopping bangers. We talk about impactful lines from Rock's Opening Monologue , fan fictionalizing the 2022 Oscars Slap in Simpsons Christmas Gift , as well as racial memory and application with Grandpa's Magic Car and Mall Santas . Readings include histor...

Paul Mescal puts on an adequate performance in his SNL debut on December 7, 2024. We discuss spontaneity, creativity, and social comparison in Italian Restaurant Commercial , representations of masculinity in Please Don't Destroy: Paul Mescal is Daddy , and the inconsistent appeal of multi and cross genre content in Gladiator II: The Musical and Shaboozy's A Bar Song (Tipsy) . Readings including a...

In Charlie XCX's debut as host on November 14, 2024, we talk about prison abolitionism in Here I Go and the intersection of entertainment, journalism, and social media in Banger Boys, as well as a selection of #chejokes in Weekend Update that hit on national identity, gender, race, and class. Readings include reflections on prison abolition, a new chapter from Charisse on the intersection of enter...

Bill Burr hosts the post election episode on November 9, 2024, which feels disorganized and arbitrary at best. We talk about the complicated nature of satire and power in SNL for Trump Cold Open , and the complicated nature of meaning and commercial representation in Calling Dad , Buffalo Wild Wings , and Sex Rock CD . We also take time to appreciate Michael Che's frustration with the election on...

John Mulaney returns to host for the sixth time in this pre-election episode. In our post-election analysis, we consider Kamala Harris' appearance in the Pre-Election Cold Open , the role of memory in democratic participation with What's That Name: Election Edition , and what it means to know New York with Port Authority Duane Reade . Readings include Alexis de Tocqueville's "Democracy in America"...

Michael Keaton's fourth time hosting on October 19, 2024 was unfortunately short on Batman, Beetlejuice, and Birdman jokes. We discuss the Weekend Update appearances of Sarah Sherman and Emil Wakim , as well as the absurdity of internalized oppression and how the film by  Please Don't Destroy: Skydiving can remind us to be more empathetic in our everyday lives. We also take a brief detour to rumin...

In this special episode, we are joined by Bob Thompson , Trustee Professor of Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University, to talk about Saturday Night , the 2024 film directed by Jason Reitman about the night of 1975 premiere of SNL. We discuss the viability of historical fiction in a post-modern media ecosystem that has been oral-history'd and behind-the-scene'd to death and how the fi...