Immediate Pre-Show Thoughts:
- Hi everyone & welcome to my season 48 reviews. I’m going to share a few quick points about the new season that I sure hope the show commits in doing.
- Phase out Che & Jost by having newbies & newer cast members showcase their talents behind the desk. The only downgrade that last season had when compared to S46, is how hollow & lackluster lots of the Updates were, especially the surprisingly low number of commentaries from a lot of the cast members.
- Less Cecily.
- More experimentation, which I do think this new era might do, especially in the first few shows of this season, and sticking at the end with what worked.
- Let Andrew, Ego, Chloe, and James take over the show this season. Andrew has had such a strong season last year, with some of the best sketches & moments. He also displayed strong utility skills & great straight man abilities, use both, especially with how fragile the male cast seems to be at the moment, as well as his underrated sketch-saving abilities, especially during some shakier shows as the season goes along. Ego’s airtime last season was very inconsistent when compared to S46, where she either appears throughout the show, or be relegated to measly one or two appearances, I’m hoping it’ll be better this season. Chloe as well has a huge potential of breaking out this season, as she’s a total pro, strong impressionist, and has found her writers. I can see a strong trajectory for her if used well. I recall Curly Joe, one of the more reliable commenters on all things SNL, bringing up how she seems to be focused at times with being a celebrity & attending red carpet events than focusing on SNL, which is such a sharp point that I never noticed about her last season. Both I & Curly Joe like Chloe fine enough, but I totally agree with his take that she needs to make it clear to us that her priorities remain at the show & not celebrity lifestyle. As for James, he should be used in as many utility roles as well, showcased behind the desk, and be utilized to his full potential as a glue/utility leader for the next few seasons while phasing out Mikey in the process.
- Less Cecily.
- Let Sarah do more roles beside her oddball trademark pieces. I want more & more normal roles for her, and much less shouting & Roast Jost.
- I want the four newbies to get solid showings not only in the premiere, but through the first half of the season in general, and when they succeeded at that, give them more and more room to show their talents.
- Did I say less Cecily?
- All in all, let’s hope the season turns out great and the beginning of a hopefully new golden age for the show. Let the review begin!
Cold Opening – ManningCast
Peyton (host) & Eli (AND) Manning eye SNL; Jon Hamm & Shaun White cameos
















- Thank God we’re not starting the season with a 10 minutes hellscape cold open.
- Fun & funny seeing Miles Teller in the cold open, especially playing Peyton Manning, considering how some compared how he looks in the promo to him.
- Great seeing newbie Michael Longfellow in the cold opening, hereby getting the rare honor of appearing on the show before he is first announced in the credits.
- Good energy so far, especially how Andrew & Miles are surprisingly working well together. And the meta turn in the opening is very well-handled.
- Jon Hamm! And now this cold open is only getting more and more fun to me, which is something rare to see with SNL since the early 00s where the cold opens basically kill the energy dead for a while.
- Hey, there’s also newbie Devon Walker!
- And here’s Marcello & Molly, this is getting more and more meta & fun.
- Great to have Sarah & all the four newbies as well say LFNY. It is surprising that this is Sarah’s first LFNY, as she didn’t say it even once in her debut season.
- A pretty solid, fun, and clever way to start a new era of the show.
Rating: ***1/2
Opening Montage






























- New Montage!
- Great to see Andrew being promoted to repertory player, especially after how much he killed it last year. And I hope that Punkie’s promotion as well will lead to her eventually having more airtime, especially after the nice upswing in airtime that she experienced during the homestretch of last season.
- Is it too bad that I already miss Alex & Chris so very much?
- I absolutely LOVE both the new logo & especially the continuous way this montage is shot, reminding me of the very fun & ambitious season 29 opening credits.
- Holy shit, is Cecily OUT?!
- Marcello Hernández, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow and Devon Walker join the cast tonight as featured players.
- Molly is SNL’s first non-binary cast member, which is an incredible milestone for the show. And Marcello is the show’s fifth Latino cast member.
- Love the cast shots here, especially Punkie, Molly, and Sarah’s.
Monologue
host shares home movie of his performance as a Spartan cheerleader










- Miles Teller has to be one of the more random choices for a season premiere host. Not only that, but as the host of what’s clearly a whole new era for SNL. On the other hand, I do greatly admire the choice of not having a nostalgia host or old favorites to host the premiere, as it’s showing confidence in both the cast & the writers.
- Moving past that, Miles is handling himself quite well here, and is bringing nice energy & enthusiasm to the show.
- Miles is coming off fairly likable & fun. And between his performance in the cold opening and how he’s handling himself in his monologue, I’m getting comfortable with him as the host tonight.
- Love the mention of JK Simmons, considering how much I absolutely loved his hosting stint from season 40.
- I’m loving the adorable childhood home video of Miles doing the Spartan Cheerleaders, and if you know me, you KNOW that the late 90s/early 00s is my favorite era of SNL.
- Solid monologue overall.
Rating: ***1/2
Send Something Normal
celebrities creepily reply to female Instagram DMs






















- Wow, we’re doing a gameshow as our lead-off sketch of the season? And one revolving around texting scandals of various celebs? I assume this is supposed to be the “viral” sketch of the night.
- Great to see Miles playing the gameshow host here instead of Kenan playing one for the billionth time.
- What in the world is Mikey going for with his Adam Levine impression?
- Bowen is playing a typical Bowen role it seems. The Dua Lipa mention at least brought to me nice memories reviewing the underrated Fiction Workshop sketch from last season.
- This sketch is an ok way to address the whole texting scandal, but it is, on par with a lot of modern SNL, a little too padded & over-explained.
- James’ performance as Armie Hammer is the only thing giving me amusement here so far, even when he’s feeling a little wasted with some of the material.
Rating: **1/2
BeReal
bank robber (host) loses focus by embracing the BeReal social media app






















- Good to see Miles being showcased in a pretape for a change, instead of having him being just part of one. Also, did we really need Mikey here? A dead giveaway that he wrote this piece.
- I’ve never heard of this meme/app/whatever, but the energy here is good so far.
- A fun turn with Miles getting interested in the app & acting goofy, even when the turn here is SO on-brand with Seiday, Miles is making it come off likable and fun.
- Not too much to say here, but this was a piece that had good pace, energy, and overall clear through-line.
Rating: ***
Charmin Bears
teenage Charmin Bear (host) has a passion for dancing, not toilet paper










- The hell is this sketch?! This concept feels at least five years too late. And not to mention that this is NOT the type of humor I want SNL to focus on.
- While it feels silly seeing some of the cast members wearing these costumes, it’s encouraging some bad mugging/vamping from the performers, in particular Kenan who’s hamming it up.
- This sketch feels a little “off” so far, despite commitment from Miles especially. An indicator that we might be in for a pretty rough night.
- Didn’t care for that ending in particular.
Rating: *1/2
Rooftop Bar
in a bar, awkward day traders (host) & (MID) have no game with the ladies










- The setting of this sketch is reminding me of the Seth Meyers bar sketch from the season 30 Paris Hilton episode. Not exactly an episode you want to be emulating.
- Mikey & Heidi are having a pretty big night so far into the premiere.
- This is such a boilerplate SNL sketch to me, to a tiresome degree. It’s working fine here, even though it feels a little too slow to be placed in the cushy pre-Update half of the night.
- Miles & Mikey continue to be a good team once again tonight, which is the most interesting thing I could say about this sketch.
Rating: ***
AMC Theaters
cineaste Nicole Kidman (CLF) inspires messianic fervor in AMC moviegoers




















- Geez, how many brands are we going to be doing sketches about tonight?
- As always, a very dead-on impression by Chloe, and it feels interesting to have her star in another pretape considering the success of the two she did during the second half of last season.
- Boy, this parody feels a bit late, as all the Nicole Kidman memes about her AMC commercial feel pretty ancient by now.
- Did we really need Kenan doing various REACTION shots here?
- Ok, the whole turn with Chloe’s Nicole Kidman having superpowers is weird, but it’s making me laugh.
- I love Punkie’s scared reaction at the end, she steals this short for me.
Rating: ***
Musical Performance – “Rich Spirit” & “N95”






Weekend Update
Mitch McConnell (JAJ) countenances Herschel Walker’s (KET) nonsense
MIL describes his relationship with his conservative, anti-vax father
spotted lanternfly (BOY) taunts haters like a tabloid talk show villain




























- Man, does it feel awkward to be still reviewing Michael & Colin behind the desk considering how many vets left the cast by now.
- The same old same old jokes from Colin & Michael here. Nothing really to point out.
- Great to see James not only marking his debut behind the Update desk after how he surprisingly didn’t appear at all last season making him the only one not to do an Update piece, but also for him to debut yet another impression tonight.
- Unsurprisingly, James’ Mitch McConnell impression is solid (even when Beck’s will remain the definitive one for me). Yet, I cannot say the same for Kenan’s non-attempt at a Herschel Walker impression.
- Ugh, I’m not liking where this commentary is going with us being told about how dumb Walker is & I’m also not enjoying how Kenan is playing him in his usual affable demeanor. Such a waste of James’ talents in particular.
- Now this is surprising, as tonight’s episode has been dominated by the older cast so far, we now get a major showcase for a newbie in his very first night with new cast member Michael Longfellow doing an Update commentary as himself.
- Michael is already coming off polished, likable, and funny. I especially love his quiet, deadpan delivery.
- Solid dig at Bill Maher, which is coming off funnier to me as a former fan of his.
- A pretty solid first showcase for Michael in general, and it’s no surprise that the best moment of the night to me so far was a showcase of the newer blood in the cast.
- As soon as the audience started to giggle, I knew we were in for a weird Bowen commentary, and then there he appeared wearing that ridiculous costume. Blah.
- Look, I enjoy Bowen in general as a cast member, and I see him as funny & creative, but the Bowen Vamp is fun in small doses, not in an entire Update commentary.
- Alright, the ending with Andrew (always lovely to see him on Update) as the corn did make me laugh with how silly it was.
- An overall pretty rough Update, aside from Michael Longfellow’s solid debut, we had two mediocre commentaries, and the same old same old jokes (Mitch McConnell, Biden dementia, Kamala, etc.). I sure hope this is not a preview of this potential final season for Che/Jost behind the desk…
Rating: **1/2
Grimace
jacked Grimace (host) tells fellow McDonaldland characters he’s bisexual














- Are Mikey, Bowen, and Kenan going to be in EVERY SINGLE SKETCH tonight? Where are the other cast members?
- Jesus Christ, is every two sketches tonight going to be about brands?! Was half this episode written by Seiday?
- Very poor use of Sarah, whose comedic talents & creativity are being completely wasted in this poor sketch, especially that her comedic sensibilities is what this episode desperately misses.
- Man, this sketch is DEAD so far. Very off & hollow feeling to it as well, which is making me downright uncomfortable sitting through it.
- What’s with the sketch’s turn about Grimace being bi? And is this supposed to be amusing? At least Miles is committing to this bit.
- This sketch is freakin’ HORRIBLE so far. Absolutely flat & a dud. The very “off” feel around it makes it even harder to sit through. What is this even GOING for so far?!
- Awful, awful ending.
Rating: *
Musical Performance – “Father Time”






Caribbean Queens
(EGN) & (HEG) drink & chase men during long resort stay












- Boy, this sketch feels very MADtv, and not in a good way so far.
- At least it feels nice seeing Ego & Heidi in lead roles, considering how close they’re behind the scenes, so it is kinda jarring how they barely worked together in sketches.
- Ok, that photo of Ego & Heidi did give me a good laugh, and their energy is welcomed especially after how lethargic this episode has been especially since Update started.
- Kenan seems to be wearing his Good Burger hairstyle. And did we need him in yet ANOTHER sketch tonight?
- Not the best way to end the night, but at least the energy was much higher, considering the dirge that was the sketch before this one.
Rating: **1/2
Goodnights






- I always find it endearing when the new cast members are being pointed at during the goodnights of their very first episode, I especially love the moment with Molly & Sarah.
Segments Ranked From Best to Worst
ManningCast
Monologue
Rooftop Bar
BeReal
AMC Theaters
Send Something Normal
Caribbean Queens
Weekend Update
Charmin Bears
Grimace
Final Thoughts:
- A very shaky premiere, with some MAJOR writing issues right out of the gate. In particular having about HALF of the sketches tonight being product placement for various brands which was absolutely embarrassing to watch, and aside from the cold open and the monologue, nothing is this episode rose to being above “ok” to me and we get some pretty worrying weak sketches in tonight’s episode, especially that awful & dead Grimace sketch. Also, the cast use was especially wonky tonight, with us getting way too much Mikey & Bowen in particular, and aside from Michael Longfellow, none of the newbies got the chance to shine tonight, which is especially frustrating considering the great first night that Sarah & James had last season. I expected a different-feeling premiere, instead we got some of what I did NOT want to see: Mikey explains, Kenan reacts, dated references, cast frustrations, sketches about brands, and especially fatigued feel in the air with how some portions of tonight’s episode having a quiet, off, and very hollow feel to them, such as the Charmin Bears & Grimace sketches.
- To say something positive about tonight’s show before concluding this review, the host & musical combo were fairly solid on their own, especially Miles’ commitment and energy throughout the night, even during the weaker sketches. And as for Kendrick Lamar, I especially enjoyed the first musical performance from him which was especially solid.
My Favorite Moments of the Episode, Represented with Screencaps:




Next Week:
- Brendan Gleeson hosts with musical guest Willow.
My full set of screencaps from this episode is here.
For the first time in S48
Cold Open ****
An excellent change of pace Longfellow scene was hilarious a little upset that this was Marcello only thing in Devon scene was good and so was most of this. And Jon Hamm if you don’t host again WE NEED YOU.
Monologue ****
This was adorable but the comedy in this was great too.
Send Something Normal ***½
I laughed mostly at Mikey in this. Bowen’s part was kinda confusing and don’t get why it’s funny. James and Kenan were good in this.
BeReal ***
Uh I don’t know this was decent enough for me liked the cutaway too (I think) Devon and Michael as the security guards.
Charmin Bears **
More cute than funny got a chuckle at Kenan wiping his tears with an entire paper towel role and that’s it.
Rooftop Bar **
Funny at first but then just stopped laughing and I feel like I’ve seen a sketch like this before.
AMC ***
Decent. Punkie was also my favorite part of the sketch as well as Kenan
Weekend Update ***½
The jokes were not noteworthy but not terrible a few good one here and there.
James and Kenan’s commentary was ok. Longfellow has already become my favorite of the four newbies just from this piece alone. Bowen’s was good but got a lot better when Andrew came in.
Grimace *½
Uh….. this was just BAD.
Caribbean Queens **½
Nothing I can really say I mostly just glad Ego wasn’t in another sassy black woman role. I mostly liked the ending with Devon.
Not the best way to start a new era but hey it’s only one episode anything can happen.
Just caught up on Peacock – Haven’t really read the popular opinion, but this review is pretty on point with what I was thinking. To give it some kind of analogy, It felt like the head coach of a relatively successful College Football team had left and the assistant had been promoted. “Lets not try anything new, lets just stick at what we know”
I’ve no idea who Miles Teller is/was, so when he showed up in the CO, I assumed he was a pretty competent new cast member. Then one by one as they appear in the sketch, I’m left wondering. His Peyton impression was pretty spot on, less so Andrew.
I thought the Monologue was pretty good (I enjoyed the Piano story) and then, from that point onwards…
I missed Chris in the Gameshow sketch (By the Rooftop Bar sketch, I was beginning to wonder if Mikeys voice had been permanently changed)
I missed Aidy in the Bear sketch, which seemed to be not as good as the Corona virus sketch, or the Daniel Kaluuya poet sketch, both with way better premises.
The Bank Commercial was alright, but it made me miss Samberg and Rhianna.
The Aforementioned Bar Sketch would have been putty in the hands of Beck and Kyle.
The MacDonalds Sketch. Remember there was a little period of shows between say 38 and 43 where the joke was that the guy was Gay, and we all cringed a little at the time. This left me wondering if we were back to it being funny again. Which it wasn’t. I think it would have been a better commentary if we’d leaned more into the McDonalds not wanting to upset the applecart. but, whatever.
I think I missed some – I’m not sure that I’ll be able to remember a single sketch from this episode, come November even.
Let’s move on, we’ve landed the plane, now let’s get a few more smoother flights in.
I gotta hope that the shows is just finding it’s footing cause oof this was not a good show. The cold open was at least creative and fun and Michael Longfellow’s commentary was funny but otherwise meh. Why were all the sketches barely concealed product placement? Where was Sarah’s patented weirdness? Why so much Kenan, Mikey and Bowen?
Also I kind of hope Cecily doesn’t come back. Like you I want to see the new blood get their chance and her last two seasons have been VERY hit and miss.
So happy it’s back! Really kinda wonky episode tbh, had a strange vibe to it even for SNL. New cast all seem promising. Thought Michael Longfellow’s update piece was pretty solid, and I’m really excited to see where he goes, although it was a bit awkward as the audience barely laughed.
Ugh, this is like the 200th season premiere in a row that has some kind of product placement in it. Last year, it was Disney/Pixar, and the year before that was some Tony Hawk game, and the year before that was Cheetos, you get the idea.
I’d agree with you to an extent here, but then again, we had Charmin Bears, AMC, BeReal and McDonalds sketches. This is more than just blatant product placement for one product, Jared. It’s flat-out extreme laziness on the show’s part for them to do all of these pieces. Let’s only hope for improvement next week & we get some actual sketch concepts for a change.
To cram THAT much product placement into one episode is sad. Hell, it would’ve even been better to let one company sponsor the show and do 2-3 McDonald’s sketches. (Please, please don’t really do this – just making a comparison.)
As for the disappointing night altogether… my review is short: almost nothing worked. Laziness from the first post-monologue sketch on. Charmin Bears? Zing! The AMC commercial? Timely!
Even the only live piece I liked, Rooftop Bar, was derivative as all hell. Would never have worked at all if not for Miles and Mikey being so game.
Herschel Walker is beyond parody, and I hope the show realizes that soon. Kenan’s “take” here – unprepared but affable buffoon – added absolutely nothing and even served to humanize hot human garbage.
I did very much like the other two Update pieces. Michael did fine, fine work and seemed mostly unfazed. And Bowen just bowled and over with his nonsense.
If I were FORCED to rate this show, it would land around a low 5. Boring as all hell.
I feel like we disagreed a lot on this episode but as time passes and the season progresses, I’m starting to see more of this episodes flaws that I didn’t see the first time. Still, good review!