'SNL' Premiere Recap: Jean Smart kicks off groundbreaking 50th season

In the Season 50 premiere of “Saturday Night Live,” there wasn't much talk about it being 50 years of history, aside from a few mentions in the monologue and at the beginning of “Weekend Update.” But that's okay, the show will be celebrated properly in February with a three-hour special. This first new episode with guest host Jean Smart (herself a bona fide legend) felt like the show had done it a lot to get to, and at just 90 minutes, barely enough time to cover everything that's happened over the summer or even the last two weeks.

Moo Deng, Eric Adams, the Harris-Trump debate, the summer of Chappell Roan and Charli XCX, North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson: the show had it all. And it had a game host in Smart, a current Emmy winner for “Hacks”which is always great, but wasn't particularly served with the home run skits you'd expect from someone of her stature for a big season opener.

Something about the pacing of some of the sketches didn't match Smart's genius one-liner skills (razor-sharp in “Hacks”), such as a scene about a Romance novelist who spiced up a math textbook for children. Don't put Smart on your show and then force her to read long texts from a book in front of her face. She wasn't given much to do Debuting a Charli XCX show titled “The Talk Talk Show”, hosted by Bowen Yang (as XCX), in which she played a fashion icon with a strong German accent. And in a final section about the “Real Housewives of Santa Fe“The sketch was more about steaming fajitas than the featured housewives.

A parody was much better CNN documentary about “I Love Lucy” in which Smart played a dramatic actress who took over the title role before Lucille Ball was cast (with Marcello Hernandez as Desi Arnaz), and a “$100,000 Pyramid” parody with Smart as Tonia Haddix (with a monkey puppet) from “Chimp Crazy.”

It was the kind of week where the regular sketches took a back seat, followed by a very strong cold open and a “Weekend Update” with a summer's worth of strange news to enjoy. It was also a week with a new opening credits sequence and the introduction of three new actors (but you didn't see much of it in this episode), after the departure of Chloe Troast, Punkie Johnson and Molly Kearney.

Musical guest Jelly Roll, introduced by Smart and “Hacks” co-star Hannah Einbinder (the daughter of original “SNL” cast member Laraine Newman), performed “Liar.” Later in the show he returned with “winning streak.” A title card was given before the final hug Tom McCarthya former NBC security chief who died in July. At one time he was involved in a Secret Service investigation into comedian John Mulaney's appearance on the show.

One could argue that 13 minutes is way too long for an “SNL” cold open, but this one was full of jokes and so many random guests doing spot-on impersonations – after a summer of speculation who would play which politician – that it was never exaggerated.

After a brief introduction by the confidently handsome David Muir (Andrew Dismukes), Maya Rudolph returned as presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris, now with a whole new set of tricks, including the signature laugh, the obligatory “falling out of a coconut.” Tree” reference, some dance moves and great lines, like comparing her campaign to Sabrina Carpenter's hit “Espresso”: “The lyrics are vague, but the mood hits,” she said.

Then came the guest stars. As some expected, Jim Gaffigan was a perfect Tim Walz, the Minnesota governor and Harris' vice president, nailing the voice and Midwestern-isms (“I haven't been this excited since I got 10 percent off a Leaf blower at got Menards!”). Andy Samberg was silly and playful as Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, who joked that as First Gentleman he would decorate the White House for Christmas with a Hanukkah theme.

James Austin Johnson remained in the role of former President Trump, this time behind bulletproof glass, railing against Bowen Yang's Sean “Diddy” Combs (“They take your pets and do freak-offs…they do a diddy.”) as Vice President JD Vance.

But the real surprise was Dana Carvey's return to “SNL.” Once again leaving an indelible impression of a politician during election season. He played President Biden, an impression he perfected on his podcast with David Spade, and pulled it off so well that you wonder why that in-the-bag performance wasn't on the show four years ago . “And guess what, and by the way, the fact is, no kidding, I’m serious now,” Carvey said as Biden, and it was perfect.

Smart's monologue had hardly any jokes (but there were good ones) and had a lot of charisma. She performed a rendition of Judy Garland's “I like New York“, interspersed with comments about how she began her career in the city around the same time “SNL” began in 1975. She said she confused the letters with “Saturday Night Laughs.” “Then I watched the show and thought, 'This can't be right,'” Smart joked that she's wanted to do the show since then, but “This is the first Saturday that fits my schedule.” It's not It's hard to imagine an alternate timeline with Smart in this original lineup and such a start to her career, but let's just say that things turned out pretty well for her regardless.

Best sketch of the night: Spirit Halloween comes out November 1st

What's happening to all the abandoned K-Marts, run-down AutoZones and empty malls across America? For six glorious weeks, they become spirit Halloween shops that open in minutes. In this pre-recorded sketch, contributors Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner and Michael Longfellow discuss how the stores help communities (and otherwise unemployed local perverts) by offering rash-inducing wigs, disposable fog machines and seedy, court-avoiding costumes with names like ” Candy Slave” (Oompa Loompa) and “Fat Yellow Worker” (Minion). “That's not Taylor Swift,” a young girl says of a fake costume. “And neither do you,” Fineman tells her. After Halloween, all stores will disappear immediately. Unfortunately no refund.

Also good: Let the monkey win “$100,000 Pyramid”.

A well-cast piece with Devon Walker as host Michael Strahan, Hernandez as Bad bunnyKenan Thompson as Robinson and Fineman as Hawk Tuah Girl (real name Haliey Welch). The jokes quickly flew about some very naughty activities Robinson allegedly engaged in and Haddix (Smart) answering every monkey-related question. It was fast-paced and very funny.

“Weekend Update” winner: Eric Adams still has (too) swagger

The costume and water spray alone make it tempting to give the award this week Yang's hilarious portrayal of the famous baby hippo Moo Dengbut Walker, as embattled New York Mayor Eric Adams, had a lot more meat on his bones than, say, a zookeeper's ankle. Adams repeatedly tried to incriminate Michael Che, even as he protested his innocence and proclaimed his love for the city's workers: “The dancers, the bottle girls, Fat Joe.” Walker-as-Adams said he loved being in the Turkey, especially given his fondness for Turkish Delight (a briefcase from Turkey with $100,000 in it).

“Weekend Update” loser: Che’s tired, offensive jokes

By now it's old hat for Che to come up with a few jokes that are only funny because they're so flippantly offensive that it would be shocking to tell them on television in 2024. That's supposed to be the joke: Che gets away with such retrograde behavior for a long time. His targets this week include: Harris (because she's a woman who talks and talks), Chinese drivers and Haitians, who Che jokingly went after Domestic cat that traveled 800 miles returning home from Yellowstone Park.