«Saturday Night Live» is about to start Season 44 — here’s which episode is happening this week, who is hosting and who’s performing
“ SNL ” spent its 43rd season firing away at American politics and culture, with no shortage of ammunition coming from Donald Trump and the rest of the White House staff.
After a summer of reruns from Season 43, “SNL” is finally back with Season 44. This week is the first of the new season in which there is not a new episode. Instead, NBC will be re-playing the eventful season premiere episode which Adam Driver hosted and Kanye West appeared as the musical guest.
The episode also included a special guest appearance by Matt Damon, playing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, and saw some controversy after West wore a “Make America Great Again” hat on stage and gave a pro-Donald Trump speech that didn’t air. Cast member Pete Davidson addressed West’s pro-Trump speech during the “Weekend Update” portion of the Oct. 6 episode the following week.
Also Read: The 20 Best Sketches of ‘SNL’ Season 43 Ranked (Photos)
Season 44 has come out strong, with the expected emphasis on politics, and a special guest appearance to rival the surprises of Season 43 in Damon. With Seth Meyers hosting last week, it continues a trend from last season, which saw a number of “SNL” alumni returning as hosts and making guest appearances. Season 43’s finale was one such episode with a returning cast member taking the helm: alumna Tina Fey as host, with musical guest was Nicki Minaj.
Other bygone “SNL” cast members hosting in Season 43 included Bill Hader, who led the March 17 episode. It also featured a guest appearance by former “SNL” cast member Fred Armisen, playing “Fire and Fury” author Michael Wolff. John Goodman also made a surprise appearance, playing former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson
Also Read: ‘SNL’: Prince Harry’s Royal Wedding Video Exposes How Problematic the Royal Family Is (Video)
Stand-up comic and former “SNL” writer John Mulaney hosted an episode that included a big guest appearance surprise as well — its cold open featured Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro, playing Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen and Special Counsel Robert Mueller, respectively. The pair did a political sketch riffing on their hit comedy, “Meet the Parents.” It was Stiller’s first appearance as Cohen, a role he returned to several times throughout the last few months of Season 43. The season finale saw the return of both Stiller and De Niro as Cohen and Mueller, joining Alec Baldwin as Trump, Kate McKinnon as Rudy Giuliani, and Mikey Day as Donald Trump Jr.
Will Ferrell, who left the show way back in 2002, also played host this season. His Jan. 27 episode marked Ferrell’s fourth turn as host for the show in the last 16 years, and his first return to lead the show since 2012. Singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton took on the role of musical guest.
