HomeTelevisionThe Best of Saturday Night Live Season 44...So Far

The Best of Saturday Night Live Season 44…So Far

Bodega Bathroom
Photo Credit: NBC/Universal

Written by Jennifer Marie

Saturday Night Live’s 44th season has been a strong year for the entire cast and writers. Last year’s content relied heavily on political sketches and celebrity cameos, but this year, the series is hitting a strong stride. Pete Davidson learned how to act, AND do accents, political sketches have gotten funnier with the right frequency (less), and Weekend Update continues to hold its own in the 20 minutes it now comprises.

At the halfway point in the season, we’ve chosen some of our favorite sketches to get you caught up quickly. In five convenient categories, here are the best from the season so far.


Best Traditional Sketches

Bodega Bathroom

Considered a “sequel” of last season’s fantastic Diner Lobster, host John Mulaney is a bodega owner in this clever, over-the-top musical sketch that lets every element of the cast and crew shine. Including an oversized talking toilet that flies, guest appearances from Oompa Loompas and Kenan Thompson as a singing cat.

Scottish Air Traffic Control (Episode 11)

James McAvoy’s episode was a stand-out this season. This one includes classic goofiness as McAvoy plays a Scottish air traffic controller with an indecipherable accent that Kylie Jenner’s brand team can’t understand in hopes to land their private jet. McAvoy’s effort and joy is apparent, as he wrote his own lines and said, “’My friends in Glasgow will understand it but nobody in America will.”

Neo-Confederate (Episode 1)

In an era when white supremacy is topical enough to be mocked on network television, this is a clean, classic four-minute set-up with a good premise and solid delivery on good lines. Kyle Mooney and Beck Bennett lead, with good contribution from host Adam Driver.

Bennett: “No minorities. An agrarian society that lives in harmony because every single person is white.”

Driver: “Yeah, I know that place. That sounds like Vermont.”

Charmin (Episode 11)

James McAvoy comes in with another spot-on accent – this time from Philadelphia – that gets some of the loudest audience laughs we have seen in a live sketch. He and his fellow focus group members bumble their way through a review of a Charmin commercial, while being predictably unhelpful.


Best Political Sketches

Kavanaugh Hearing (Episode 1)

Recent cold opens are nearly always political, but this is by far the best of the season. Featuring the water-chug-seen-round-the-world, Matt Damon does not hold back as the seething, awkward Supreme Court nominee in one of the year’s most-watched clips. The writing team did a great job poking fun at multiple aspects of the political circus, with great ensemble dialogue. Multiple cast members shine, and Rachel Dratch’s cameo as Senator Klobuchar is a special surprise for long-time fans.

A reminder of the magic of SNL: Kavanaugh testified on a Thursday, leaving barely 48 hours to write and rehearse this sketch.

“I’m not backing down, you sons of bitches. I don’t know the meaning of the word stop!”

State Meeting (Episode 12)

In the wake of the news that several politicians’ yearbooks featured themselves and/or others in blackface, Kenan Thompson leads a workplace meeting at the Virginia State House that pokes fun at the incessant cluelessness about black face and “when it was cool back in the 80s.”

“I have a question. What if the blackface was just part of your costume as a black person?”

Them Trumps (Episode 8)

In the style of the TV show Empire, Kenan plays Darius Trump, with his wife Malika (Jones), and children Darius Jr. (Chris Redd) and L’Ivanka (Ego Nwodim). It does a great job of mocking double standards applied to wealthy white families with the last name Trump.


Best Digital Shorts

A New Kyle (Episode 1)

Kyle-Mooney-as-himself has had several incarnations over the years – from his rap battle with Kanye West, to his “relationship” with Leslie Jones, and his marriage to Miley Cyrus. This continues the tradition as his insecurities lead him to try to become Pete Davidson, and of course it is resolved in a way so bizarre it can only be part of an SNL digital short.

GE for Big Boys (Episode 8)

Mocking the commercialization of evolving gender roles, the famously muscular Jason Momoa demonstrates appliances with an “Energy Star rating of F-.” The SNL props department shines in this hilarious bit with appliances you almost wish you could buy.

Permission (AKA Booty Kings) (Episode 5)

In a fun nod to the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, Kenan Thompson leads Lil Wayne, Future, Chris Redd and Pete Davidson in a music video about asses shaking, “but first I need permission.”

“We can’t call bitches hoes no mo’? What are we supposed to call them then? Oh they got NAMES? That’s crazy!”

Message from Jeff Bezos (Episode 6)

I laughed the moment I first saw Steve Carrell as Jeff Bezos. Just as much a dig at Amazon as it is at Trump, this keepsake of the Trump-Bezos tension from November 2018 continues to resonate into 2019.


Best Weird Sketches

The sketches toward the end of the show are always the weirdest, riskiest ones. If you’re into the strange, these are the ones to watch:

Maurice (Episode 12)

Kenan Thompson plays an average middle-aged dad who dabbles in gay webcamming, featuring host Halsey as his son’s girlfriend. It’s edgy and quirky. The dialogue flows well and brings the giggles.

An Extra Christmas Carol (Episode 8)

Jason Momoa appears as another one of Scrooge’s Ghost of Christmas and strips for Tiny Tim. There’s not much else to say.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9F_BsXYhPg

Trees (Episode 3)

If you like musical shorts, CGI animations of Al Gore, and/or the environment, this one is for you.


Best Cameos

Alec Baldwin (Episode 10)

You may have had enough Baldwin-as-Trump sketches, but this one is clever, since it doesn’t recreate real events. It puts Trump on the game show Deal Or No Deal, negotiating the end of the government shutdown (as of day 28), with Kenan Thompson’s always spot-on Steve Harvey. It also features the almost the complete cast ensembling as well: Kate McKinnon as Nancy Pelosi, Beck Bennett as Mitch McConnell, Alex Moffatt as Chuck Schumer, Leslie Jones as Maxine Waters, Vanessa Villasenor as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, to name a few.

Trump: “Five.”

Harvey: “You’re saying you wanna open case number five?”

Trump: “No, a lot of these women are fives.”

Steve Martin as Roger Stone (Episode 11)

Just a few minutes is enough to remind us why he was part of the troupe that made this show the American institution that it is.


Memorable Musical Performances

SNL live performances range from forgettable to culture defining. A few from this season will be worth remembering:

Halsey – Eastside (Episode 12)

Serving as host and musical guest is an amazing feat that Halsey knocked out of the park, as two of her sketches are featured on this list. Heightening the challenge, she painted a portrait live, while performing her hit Eastside. It’s an impressive reminder of what on earth am I doing wrong with my life, and made me listen to the song anew. Both of her recent hits hit 1 and 2 on US pop charts the week after the show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tr6Fpty1ZpQ

Paul Simon – Bridge Over Troubled Water (Episode 3)

Traditionally performed on piano, Simon is backed by strings, winds and brass instruments, in a reflective, calm performance. His voice sounds its age, and the instruments carry the song as it stretches to over five minutes, but it’s a pleasure to see a legend take the SNL stage with this folk rock classic.

Kanye West and Lil Pump – I Love It (Episode 1)

Oh, right. How could we forget that this was the season that Kanye and Lil Pump jumped around the SNL stage in water bottle mascot get-ups; on the same episode that Kanye went on a diatribe in his MAGA hat after credits rolled. Neither are worth watching, but we would be remiss not to mention one of the more talked about blips in an already bizarre year in America. #RIP2018

# of sketches featured from each episode

1 (Adam Driver) – 3

2 (Awkwafina) – 0

3 (Set Myers) – 1 + Musical

4 (Jonah Hill) – 0

5 (Liev Schreiber) – 1

6 (Steve Carrell) – 1

7 (Claire Foy) – 0

8 (Jason Momoa) – 3

9 (Matt Damon) – 0

10 (Rachel Brosnahan) – 1

11 (James McAvoy) – 3

12 (Halsey) – 2 + Musical

13 (Don Cheadle) – 0

Pop-Break Staff
Pop-Break Staffhttps://thepopbreak.com
Founded in September 2009, The Pop Break is a digital pop culture magazine that covers film, music, television, video games, books and comics books and professional wrestling.
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