Saturday Night Live: the 10 best sketches from the 51st season
The Guardian • • general
Key Points:
- Saturday Night Live's 51st season showed significant improvement following a disappointing 50th anniversary, aided by the departure of Bowen Yang and reduced presence of Chloe Fineman, allowing younger cast members to shine.
- The standout sketch of the season was "Auctioneers," featuring Sarah Sherman and host Matt Damon delivering a complex, fast-paced dialogue that quickly went viral.
- Other notable sketches included Damon's "Substitute Teacher’s Goodbye" and "Tidy Care Crystals," Andrew Dismukes' "Rasta Driver," and Ashley Padilla's breakout performance in "Haircut."
- The season finale featured a memorable monologue with Will Ferrell and a prank involving his doppelganger Chad Smith, with Paul McCartney making a humorous appearance.
- The show also took a more balanced political approach, notably in the "Mom Confession" sketch, which critiqued middle-class Trump voters, and introduced Colin Jost's sharp portrayal of Pete Hegseth in the cold open.