“Saturday Night Live” recap: Host John Mulaney makes grand return with Chappell Roan and surprise guests

Kamala Harris, Pete Davidson, and more made special appearances, while Roan debuted a brand new song.

Ahoy Coneheads! To fill the gap of last weekend's lack of Saturday Night Live, I joined the Sunday evening Zoom series Democracy ’24 Town Halls: America at a Crossroads, in which former SNL writer Jim Downey reminisced with MSNBC anchor and Harvard Lampoon alumni Lawrence O’Donnell about his many legendary political sketches at the show, and thoughts on the state of comedy during the current election cycle. It was a reminder how deep the sketch show's political influence actually goes — dating back to the 1976 election, when SNL’s portrayal of President Gerald Ford partially contributed to his loss against Jimmy Carter.

Tonight, days before the 2024 presidential election, Saturday Night Live has a final opportunity to shape the discourse around Kamala Harris (who has made a last minute pit stop in NYC today dot dot dot) and, yes, Donald Trump. Tonight's episode is fronted by Five-Timers Club member John Mulaney, whose “Horse in a Hospital” bit on Trump is a definitive commentary trying to explain the surreal moment we are in.

Mulaney is having a great 2024. John Mulaney Presents: Everybody's in L.A. streamed live on Netflix in May and the former SNL writer was tapped to host a new live variety talk show for the streamer. A few weeks back, it was announced that Mulaney would return to Broadway in the Simon Rich play All In: Comedy About Love, acting opposite Fred Armisen and Chloe Fineman.

Related: Kamala Harris makes surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live with Maya Rudolph days before election

It’s SNL in Review: the 50th anniversary season recap. Buckle up - the next few hours/days/weeks may get bumpy. In the meantime, let’s enjoy tonight’s episode.

Cold Open

Chloe Fineman is back playing CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins, intercutting between the two candidate rallies. This format allows us to jump to James Austin Johnson's rambling, vested Donald Trump. “Where the hell am I, this place reeks,” he laments. He’s exhausted. “Nobody cares,” he hisses, before inviting JD Vance (Bowen Yang) on stage. In an interesting edit for SNL, Kamala Harris (Maya Rudolph) cuts off the rally, which she’s been watching on TV. She’s been personally texting every voter in America. Her husband Doug Emhoff (Andy Samberg) is planning to sue the show Doug for taking his name and likeness.

Dana Carvey enters the chat as President Joe Biden. Former SNL cast member Siobhan Fallon Hogan was on the show back when the comic was dominating with his iconic George Bush impression. She recalls to Entertainment Weekly: “Carvey is not only an absolute genius but is a fantastic guy who was very supportive and encouraging to me and the entire cast. He is one of a kind and his talent is insane - so specific and exact!”

Rudolph’s Kamala is finally alone - and wants to chat with someone who has been in her shoes. Then, we get it: dueling Kamalas! The real candidate is here! They touch on the laugh and some of the candidate’s other tics. “Keep Calm-ala/Kamala and carry-on-ala!” While this isn’t Obama stopping by the Clinton Halloween party, this is still fun.

“I am going to vote for us!” says Rudolph with pride, before the real VPOTUS jokingly asks whether she’s a registered Pennsylvania voter. 

Related: Andy Samberg says he's 're-inheriting the stress' of being on SNL again: 'You're always at risk'

Monologue

Mulaney is back hosting for a sixth time. He notes he has a 5-week-old daughter and a 34-inch-tall 2-year-old. Everyone in his home is small. He wonders when his parents will be old ala the grandparents from Charlie & the Chocolate Factory. It sounds like eventually he will have hip replacement surgery. He talks about his grandfather, who grew up over 100 years ago on a dairy farm from Wisconsin and large Catholic families. He was too old to even fight World War II.  A very solid Mulaney monologue, decidedly apolitical - at least in terms of commenting on Tuesday. 

"What's That Name: Election Edition"

Election edition! The game show contestants are Ben and Margaret Atwood (Sarah Sherman). Early answers are Jack Smith and Doug Emhoff. Mulaney’s Ben nails both, as this is the most important election of our lifetimes. Democracy is on the line! In another surprise cameo, Hillary Clinton’s VP appears and asks Mulaney to remember his name. In 2016, Mulaney also claimed democracy was on the line so surely he knows his name. Yes? Nope. (It's Tim Kaine.) Michael Longfellow takes over for Bill Hader here - big shoes! This is fun, not sure he captures the same indifferent malevolence. 

"Beppo"

NASA celebrates completing its first orbit around the Earth with a chimp, Beppo. The champagne is popped when there is an issue in space. The ship has lost control and there is no way to get Beppo home. Reluctantly, technician Mulaney must break the news to the chimp - he tries to convey the concept of death in simple terms. Filmmaker Dan Bulla is playful with classic mid-20th century American patriotism, and lands a happy ending. In a fun reference. Ego Nwodim channels Hidden Figures, a movie about African American women who worked during the early years of the American space program.

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"Port Authority Duane Reade"

It’s the Port Authority Duane Reade and two young travelers are planning to hop on a bus to Boston, a trip I have done many times. Pete Davidson is back, wearing an excellent Rodney Dangerfield shirt. He wants milk - thus triggering a Broadway medley. So, it’s that now-obligatory Mulaney musical homage, this time complete with Lion King-inspired possum breast milk jokes. Marcello Hernández plays shampoo, spoofing “Do-Re-Mi” from The Sound of Music. Chloe Fineman leads a chorus line of Timothée Chalamet look-alikes and Devon Walker returns as Mayor Eric Adams, dressed as Aladdin. Samberg raps as the bear RFK Jr. left in Central Park, channeling Lin-Manuel Miranda, before a grand finale lifted from Grease. There you have it, a theater kid’s dream!

Chappell Roan performs "Pink Pony Club"

This song is about a small-town Tennessee girl dreaming about gay and drag culture in West Hollywood. She dreams of being a dancer at the Pink Pony Club, a fictional queer bar on Santa Monica Boulevard - her mother would not be proud. Love the story and synth - extremely catchy. “Live from New York, it’s Saturday night!” she hollers at the end.

The song has had a long life - it was first released as a single for The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess back in 2020! Roan recently shared a throwback Facebook post from 2011, posted under her birth name, Kayleigh Amstutz. “I am determined to be on SNL,” she wrote. Fun fact!  Earlier this season, Roan was also the subject of a "Weekend Update" bit by Bowen Yang, referencing some of the singer's public statements about feeling overwhelmed as part of his baby hippo Moo Deng impression on the season 50 premiere.

"Weekend Update"

The election will decide whether the SNL cast and crew gets audited! Our anchors focus on the closing arguments from both candidates and the wild week. Celebrities are coming out of the woodwork to endorse their preferred candidate.

Heidi Gardner comes out as Reba McEntire, who is undecided. She’s folksy and concerned with “Team Reba” on The Voice. True Conehead stans recall that back in 2009, Andy Samberg sang a very raunchy techno rap ballad about his love, Reba McEntire (kind of played by Kenan Thompson).

Lots of unlikely couples are popping up these days. To comment: the gregarious, loud Grant (Hernandez) and his mousy girlfriend Alyssa (Jane Wickline). How did they meet? She was watching Steven Universe on her phone at the club.

"Little Richard"

Yang as a PBS host interviews Jay Paultodd (Mulaney), the creator of a '90s sitcom called Family Bonds, a take-off on Full House. They revisit an episode with Little Richard (Thompson), who Paultodd met at a swingers club. (And yes, Little Richard actually went on Full House!) I guess the joke is how unhinged Richard was offscreen - and on. Which likely has some truth to it! Paultodd is like Vin Di Bona meets Jeff Franklin. Interesting to see Thompson in this role. Obviously Little Richard Simmons comes to mind - but Damon Wayans also played the flamboyant rock ‘n roll icon back in the mid '80s.

Chappell Roan debuts "The Giver"

A fun country-themed lesbian ballad! Roan recently posted a carousel of Polaroid photos spelling out the phrase, "She Gets the Job Done," and wrote in the caption, “This is a clue.” 

"New York City Council Campaign"

The candidate for NYC city council faces the elephant in the room, his name is Harvey Epstein: a mash-up of two notorious sex offenders. The state assemblyman (Mulaney) spends his time in the commercial correcting common misconceptions about his record. 

Final thoughts

• Fun! A lot to like tonight - brilliant short film from Dan Bulla. What did you think? Vote, my friends!

• RIP three-time host Teri Garr, who died earlier this week at age 79.

• "Senator Pete Davidson" has a nice ring to it.

• Thank you to Siobhan Fallon Hogan. FYI on her, she shares: “My play Mother's Farewell - a comedy about my Irish family and how we cared for my mother on her last day - will be Off Broadway next fall 2025.”

• Tonight’s show had several extremely powerful people attempting live comedy days before an election. I asked former SNLer Jeff Richards, who just appeared in Striking Distance’s new video game REDACTED, what that’s like for the cast: "Politicians mixing it up at SNL can be a mixed bag. One time when John McCain was hosting, he came to my dressing room and was chatting it up with my roommates Leo Allen and Eric Slovin. I didn’t really care, guess I was more of a 'Maverick' back then. I do remember Al Gore thought my name was Chris all week, because I had the Willy Wonka sketch with him. Might’ve thought I was Chris Parnell or Chris Kattan. 'Hey Chris, I really like your costume.' I didn’t have the guts to tell him it wasn’t my name."