‘SNL’ premiere goes meta for Peyton Manning cold open, parodies Nicole Kidman AMC ad
“Saturday Night Live” returned this weekend for a 48th season — but many of its fan-favorite cast members did not. After losing the likes of Kate McKinnon, Pete Davidson, Aidy Bryant, Chris Redd, Melissa Villaseñor and more, the long-running sketch comedy program took a self-deprecating approach to its latest episode.
Hosted by “Top Gun: Maverick” star Miles Teller with musical guest Kendrick Lamar, Saturday’s telecast spanned sports, politics and entertainment — spoofing everything from the FBI investigation at former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence to Nicole Kidman’s infamous AMC ad.
“This year, I was in a movie called ‘Top Gun: Maverick,’” Teller told the audience in his opening monologue. “One of the things that I loved about the movie is that it really seemed to bring people together. I mean, it’s not every day you get a movie that’s loved by both the military community and the gay community.
“It was also amazing getting to work with Tom Cruise. ... We both pushed ourselves to the absolute limit for this movie. He did his own stunts, and I grew my own mustache.”
In between sketches and digital shorts, Lamar performed the songs “Rich Spirit,” “N95” and “Father Time” from his recently released fifth studio album, “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers” — with a guest appearance from Sampha.
Here’s a sampling of other key takeaways from Saturday’s broadcast.
Cold open goes meta
This weekend’s cold open parodied ESPN’s “Manningcast.” But instead of analyzing “Monday Night Football,” co-hosts Peyton (Teller) and Eli Manning (Andrew Dismukes) provided play-by-play commentary on the first sketch of the night — which visited Trump at Mar-a-Lago during Hurricane Ian.
“Oh good, a Trump sketch,” Teller’s Peyton Manning remarked dryly at the top of the show. “Way to mix it up.”
While introducing the series’ newest cast members, the cold open also featured celebrity cameos from Teller’s “Top Gun: Maverick” co-star Jon Hamm (a three-time “SNL” host himself) and professional snowboarder Shaun White.
After a sharp meta-opener and a send-up of Armie Hammer, it was all downhill for the Season 48 premiere of the beleaguered sketch show.
After Teller’s Peyton Manning deemed White’s appearance “gratuitous stunt casting,” Hamm countered, “Sometimes they need to bring in a real celebrity when the host isn’t that famous. ... When they couldn’t get the star of the big summer movie — your Tom Cruise or your Jon Hamm — they had to get the co-star.”
Pretending to nearly break character, Teller replied in his Manning voice, “Well, I heard they rarely put the host in the cold open, so when they do, it is special.”
Chloe Fineman channels Kidman for AMC spoof
In her best sparkly pantsuit, cast member Fineman delivered an uncanny impression of Kidman while parodying the actor’s dramatic promo for AMC Theatres — which has gained somewhat of a cult following over the last year or so.
“We come to this place for magic,” Fineman recited in an Australian accent.
“Because we need that ... that indescribable feeling we get when the lights begin to dim, and we go places we’ve never been before. ... Somehow, heartbreak feels good in a place like this.”
Game show challenges Adam Levine to send one normal direct message
Poking fun at Maroon 5 frontman Levine’s recent cheating scandal and actor Armie Hammer’s alleged cannibalistic tendencies, a classic game-show sketch challenged male celebrities to “send something normal” to women on Instagram for a chance to win $100 million.
“The game is very simple,” Teller’s game-show host explained to the audience and the contestants: Levine (Mikey Day), Hammer (James Austin Johnson), Neil deGrasse Tyson (Kenan Thompson) and Bowen Yang (playing himself).
“All they have to do is reply to a woman’s DM on Instagram in a way that is normal.”
It’s time to BeReal ... even during a bank robbery?
Social media’s hottest new platform, BeReal, became “SNL” official this weekend during a digital short in which bank patrons persuade bank robbers to download the popular photo-sharing app.
“It’s amazing,” says a hostage played by Yang. “It’s this app that blew up over the summer. It’s the only honest social media.”
“You think I’m an idiot?” barks a bank robber played by Teller. “Honest social media doesn’t exist.”
‘Weekend Update’ catches up with Mitch McConnell and Herschel Walker
Ahead of the midterm elections, “Weekend Update” co-host Michael Che checked in with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Johnson) and football player-turned-Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker (Thompson).
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