The Season 48 premiere of ‘Saturday Night Live’ was hosted by ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ star Miles Teller with musical guest Kendrick Lamar.
“Saturday Night Live” returned this weekend for a 48th season — but many of its fan-favorite cast members did not. After losing the likes of Kate McKinnon, Pete Davidson, Aidy Bryant, Chris Redd, Melissa Villaseñor and more, the long-running sketch comedy program took a self-deprecating approach to its latest episode.
Hosted by “Top Gun: Maverick” star Miles Teller with musical guest Kendrick Lamar, Saturday’s telecast spanned sports, politics and entertainment — spoofing everything from the FBI investigation at former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence to Nicole Kidman’s infamous AMC ad.
“This year, I was in a movie called ‘Top Gun: Maverick,’” Teller told the audience in his opening monologue. “One of the things that I loved about the movie is that it really seemed to bring people together. I mean, it’s not every day you get a movie that’s loved by both the military community and the gay community.
“It was also amazing getting to work with Tom Cruise. … We both pushed ourselves to the absolute limit for this movie. He did his own stunts, and I grew my own mustache.”
In between sketches and digital shorts, Lamar performed the songs “Rich Spirit,” “N95″ and “Father Time” from his recently released fifth studio album, “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers” — with a guest appearance from Sampha.
