SNL

Just days into the movie’s run as the most successful R-rated opening of all time, Deadpool seemingly broke a fifth wall with a 20,000-strong petition to host SNL, or at least Ryan Reynolds in character. Take your pick of reasons that would never happen, but now Deadpool has given an official response, dragging Kanye West’s recent backstage tirade into the mix.

Deadpool made a ton of money this past weekend. At 84% on Rotten Tomatoes it’s been a success with critics too. It’s already influencing multiple future blockbusters. People love Deadpool. Apparently people love Deadpool so much they want him to host SNL. No, not Ryan Reynolds, he already hosted back in 2009 with musical guest Lady Gaga. Over 20,000 fans and counting want the character himself to host a full episode of SNL.

Melissa McCarthy returned to Studio 8H for her fourth outing as SNL host, and while it may have made more sense for her to host closer to the April release date of her new comedy The Boss, it's difficult to complain. McCarthy teams up with her Ghostbusters co-stars Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones for a mostly great episode that really leans into the weird stuff and makes excellent use of musical guest Kanye West in an early contender for best sketch of the year. Read on for our ranking of this week's sketches from best to worst.

Around this time last year, SNL presented a commercial parody centering around Totino’s Pizza Rolls, just in time for the Super Bowl. And it was a nasty piece of business, tearing apart the image of the NFL’s biggest game as a day for men and imprisoning Vanessa Bayer’s indefatigable housewife in the kitchen, where she was simply tasked with warming up more disgusting food. So when SNL aired another Totino’s sketch in last night’s episode, we simply assumed it would be a carbon copy of the first one. Boy, were we wrong.

When the 2016 Oscar nominations were announced nearly two weeks ago, the response to the overwhelmingly white line-up of talent proved instantly controversial. Film fans and industry veterans alike gathered around the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag to make their voices heard, especially decrying how films starring black actors and directed by black filmmakers — like Creed and Straight Outta Compton — somehow managed to only receive nominations for the white people involved in making them. With material this ripe, of course SNL was going to take a swipe at the Academy Awards this week.

The late, great David Bowie inspired countless artists of all stripes during his time on planet Earth. As a musician, an actor, a personality, and an encapsulation of all things odd, weird and wonderful, he touched countless lives...including former SNL star Fred Armisen, who returned to the stage during last night's episode to pay homage to Bowie in the most appropriate way possible: by sharing a clip from his appearance on the show back in 1979.

With Star Wars: The Force Awakens less than a month away from release and anticipation reaching a feverish level unseen in movie fans since 1999, the timing is right for SNL to gently skewer the upcoming sequel. The sketch is really just an excuse for the cast to break out a bunch of impersonations they’ve obviously been keeping in their back pockets while letting them interact with actual Star Wars cast members, but c’mon, that’s all the excuse you need, really.

Donald Trump will host Saturday Night Live on November 7, NBC has announced. If you loathe the reality star-turned-presidential candidate but have a weakness for expertly-crafted pop, you should also know that Sia is the musical guest...

On 'Saturday Night Live,' #squadgoals reached a critical mass.

Alex Trebek is a cultural institution, a beacon of knowledge and grace under pressure. Everyone loves him. Which is why it’s always amusing to watch the unflappable host of Jeopardy say silly words and phrases in that reliable deadpan of his. A recent episode of the immortal game show saw him forced to say the name “Turd Ferguson,” which should amuse anyone with a passing knowledge of modern comedy.

Reese Witherspoon has had an interesting time lately: the producer of Gone Girl, nominated for an Oscar for her performance in Wild, and the recent star of the not-so-funny Hot Pursuit. But Witherspoon is funny — she’s also immensely charming and versatile (obviously), and she knows how to light up a room. Unfortunately, she’s not really the star of this week’s SNL, suffering from the same fate that befell Scarlett Johansson in last week’s underwhelming episode. Throughout the bulk of the episode, Witherspoon is more like a supporting player than the star, and I’m growing concerned about how terrible these female-hosted episodes have been lately and what that says about SNL in general.

Last night’s generally unremarkable episode of SNL peaked early when it took advantage of its proximity to Mother’s Day to do something kind of remarkable. As part of her opening monologue, guest host Reese Witherspoon declared that the show was going to mark the occasion by bringing each cast member out with his or her mother...and then forcing them to apologize for their childhood transgressions.