Saturday Night Live is currently celebrating its 50th season, making it one of the most successful comedy shows of all time. Over the course of half a century, it has won 84 Primetime Emmy Awards, six Writers Guild of America Awards, three Peabody Awards, and a new audience with every new generation. The concept of having a show with live sketches, a different musical guest every week, and a different host every week was revolutionary (as detailed in the recent film Saturday Night). The cast has been reworked so many times that it feels like a program that’s constantly evolving.
2024 has been a hectic year in many ways, and fans are thankful that they have been able to find a little solace in SNL‘s comedy. Whether it’s satirical, absurd, heartfelt, or something that defies categorization, the show’s sketches can go in any number of directions and appeal to a variety of people. Not all of them are winners, and the show actually has a reputation for being very inconsistent. That’s just the nature of the beast, though. Besides, the format of a live show with little time to prepare has produced an exciting thrill of unpredictability that audiences appreciate to this day. Also, some of its sketches turned out great. It’s subjective, and there’s still technically one new episode this Saturday, but the following ten skits arguably prove more consistently funny, well executed, and overall appealing than anything else SNL has done this year. (Not counting the “Cut for Time” sketches, of which “LiMu Emu & Doug” was the best.)
10
“Jumanji”
Season 49, Episode 16
Board games can lead to arguments, and season 49’s “Jumanji” fully embraces that. The host (played by Andrew Dismukes) of a friendly get-together proposes they play the board game Ticket to Ride. One of the friends (Kristen Wiig) isn’t into it, though, fearing it will put everyone into a Jumanji-esque scenario. We see just how adamant she is when she insists that you can’t prove that it can’t, an argument that pretty much only comes from somebody who will never change their mind.
The word “Jumanji” is repeated so aggressively and so often that it’s surprisingly funny.
Sketches that are basically just a conversation rely on good dialogue, and this passes the test with flying colors. It’s so perfectly paced that we can really feel everyone losing their patience over the course of this debate. The word “Jumanji” is repeated so aggressively and so often that it’s surprisingly funny. In the meantime, statements like how they’re only talking about the “true” Jumanji (the other Jumanji movies don’t count) or how the titular game is “a series of jungle emergencies” make this sound like an actual conversation. SNL vet Will Forte‘s appearance at the end cements this sketch as one of the best of the year.
9
“Trump Sneakers”
Season 49, Episode 12
Gordon Dwyer (Shane Gillis) can’t catch a break, but he’s in luck. In the locker room, he finds a pair of Trump “Never Surrender” Sneakers, which give him the confidence to say whatever he wants over and over until everyone believes him. With the power of being stubborn as a mule, he gets a better office, convinces his friends that he’s good at basketball, and more. Even his weight scale listens to him.
Shane Gillis does a pretty good Trump, and him talking to James Austin Johnson’s superior impression is fun to watch.
Politics aside, a former (and future) U.S. president coming out with a line of expensive sneakers is, let’s say, historically unusual. With “Trump Sneakers,” SNL pokes fun at it without delving into policy talk. Shane Gillis does a pretty good Trump, and him talking to James Austin Johnson‘s superior impression is fun to watch. Meanwhile, Mikey Day takes less than ten seconds to show that his impression of President Biden is as funny as (if not better than) anyone else’s.
8
“Beavis and Butt-Head”
Season 49, Episode 17
In “Beavis and Butt-Head,” Kenan Thompson perfectly plays a distracted MIT professor who can’t focus during a live interview about artificial intelligence. The problem is simple but unavoidable: a man (Ryan Gosling) in the audience looks like Beavis, a character from one of the best MTV animated shows from the 90’s. Then, when he moves out of the professor’s line of vision, the guy who replaces him (Mikey Day) resembles Butt-Head. To make it better, these gentlemen aren’t even familiar with the show. The interviewee’s descriptions of them are sidesplitting.
Sometimes a sketch goes completely off the rails, and sometimes that’s a good thing. With the notable exception of Thompson, every single person with lines in “Beavis and Butt-Head” breaks character more than once. Of course, the skit went viral because of Heidi Gardner‘s total inability to keep it together. But, like that iconic Debbie Downer sketch with Lindsay Lohan from twenty years ago, the cast failing to contain their laughter makes this even more of a classic.
7
“Bank Robbery”
Season 49, Episode 14
Josh Brolin has serious range. Who knew that the man who played Thanos in the MCU and Llewelyn Moss in one of the greatest thrillers of all time could also play a ridiculously horny bank customer who wants to get dominated by whoever’s in charge? That last role was for the SNL sketch called “Bank Robbery,” in which he fully commits with Heidi Gardner as a couple who make a bank robbery much weirder than it should be. They tie themselves up, take their own clothes off, and completely puzzle the robbers—who have to keep rejecting their advances.
“Can you just shut up so they can rob us in peace?” and “I do Pilates, okay?” are just two of many memorable lines in a sketch with good timing.
Brolin’s scream is priceless, and the poor bank manager (Bowen Yang) keeps getting identified as the guy who’s going to film something he wants nothing to do with. “Can you just shut up so they can rob us in peace?” and “I do Pilates, okay?” are just two of many memorable lines in a sketch with good timing. Boasting a better ending than most others, it’s one of the year’s zaniest and funniest for sure.
6
“New York City Council Campaign”
Season 50, Episode 5
In “New York City Council Campaign,” John Mulaney dons a bald cap to play New York State assemblyman Harvey Epstein. He shares a first and last name with two of the most infamous sexual predators in recent times, but, as he insists, “I’m a different guy!” In the form of a campaign ad, Epstein goes to comical lengths to clarify that he is neither Harvey Weinstein nor Jeffrey Epstein. He even puts up signs, including one that reads “No Relation,” which he hopes will resolve the issue.
In the form of a campaign ad, Epstein goes to comical lengths to clarify that he is neither Harvey Weinstein nor Jeffrey Epstein.
What makes such a simple insight work as an over-two-minute sketch is the fact that this attempt to distance himself from those names isn’t really working. After someone in the ad claims that everyone deserves a second chance, Harvey has to point out that “I’m still on my first chance” without sounding impatient. Along with some play on words, this sketch keeps the laughs coming. Even Harvey Epstein enjoyed the skit, which is definitely one of the highlights of 2024.
5
“Washington’s Dream 2”
Season 50, Episode 2
Sailing along the Delaware River in 1776, a group of American soldiers discuss the Revolutionary War. Suddenly, they’re joined by George Washington (Nate Bargatze), and the audience understands that this sketch is a sequel to the very successful “Washington’s Dream” from the season before. Like last time, this sketch is made of observational humor delivered by an almost deadpan Washington, who delivers a speech about how the United States has weird rules for the English language.
Highlights include Washington telling a guy to get out of the boat for being un-American and a description of what’s on the back of the dollar bill.
Subjects range from words with two different spellings (e.g., donut versus doughnut), food that has a different name than the live animal it’s made from, and the contradictory nature of numbered grades. Highlights include Washington telling a guy to get out of the boat for being un-American and a description of what’s on the back of the dollar bill. Bargatze’s execution and timing are a little sloppier here than in the original, but “Washington’s Dream 2” is still a worthy continuation and one of the year’s strongest efforts.
4
“Please Don’t Destroy: Skydiving”
Season 50, Episode 4
Two best friends (John Higgins and Martin Herlihy) are skydiving for the first time, so they’re a bit nervous. Unfortunately, so is one of the diving instructors (played by Ben Marshall). It only gets worse when we see the other instructor (Michael Keaton) lose custody of his kids in real time. Keaton’s crazy laugh is absolutely fantastic, making the guy he’s paired up with quite worried that he won’t actually want to deploy the parachute once they jump.
Please Don’t Destroy has a knack for absurdity, but this might be their most successful work yet.
Please Don’t Destroy has a knack for absurdity, but this might be their most successful work yet. Every plot-twist works, and the laughs keep on coming. Even the pilot doesn’t like the vibes today, but it’s so much funnier that he (like the nervous instructor) doesn’t actually act nervous at all. Along with a romantic failure and an ending that really goes out there, “Skydiving” proves one of the funniest sketches of the year.
3
“Bridesmaid Speech”
Season 50, Episode 3
It’s technically called “Bridesmaid Speech,” but this is really a song-and-dance number. Specifically, this upbeat sketch is a cover of Sabrina Carpenter‘s summer hit, “Espresso.” Ariana Grande, Heidi Gardner, Ego Nwodim, and Sarah Sherman play bridesmaids singing about their not-so-innocent bachelorette party, where the bride-to-be (Chloe Fineman) met some guy named Domingo. As the lyrics indicate, the two really hit it off.
Of course, it’s a problem, and it’s made hilariously worse when Domingo himself crashes the party with his own verse to sing.
The groom (Andrew Dismukes) grows more and more worried as the song continues, even though his bride and the bridesmaids all insist it’s not a problem. Of course, it’s a problem, and it’s made hilariously worse when Domingo himself (Marcello Hernandez) crashes the party with his own verse to sing. In the meantime, everyone is obviously off-key, which is all the more amusing given that Grande could definitely sing this well if she wanted to. Carpenter herself approved of the sketch, which is perhaps the most important praise of all.
2
“Rorschach Test”
Season 50, Episode 6
Fans can rely on Bill Burr to play the stereotypical male Bostonian who drinks, watches sports, gets into fights, etc. But in “Rorschach Test,” he puts a very unexpected spin on the trope by playing a firefighter, Ralphie, whose imagination goes absolutely wild during a Rorschach test. He and his three peers take the exam together, and the first two guys give normal answers. Then it’s Ralphie’s turn, at which point we see Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc. in a very sexual pose.
Upon trying more images, Ralphie’s extremely inappropriate interpretations of famous animated characters don’t get any closer to normal.
It’s just as hysterical when we cut back to the monitor and see what everyone else in the sketch sees (a regular-looking ink blot). Upon trying more images, Ralphie’s extremely inappropriate interpretations of famous animated characters don’t get any closer to normal. He tries so hard to follow the directions, too, describing in great detail exactly what he sees and hoping he’ll appear more sane than last time. The total irreverence on display here makes this among the best SNL sketches in recent memory.
1
“Get That Boy Back”
Season 49, Episode 17
SNL can be shockingly good at making catchy songs for their parody music videos. “Get That Boy Back” is one such example, featuring Ego Nwodim, Chloe Fineman, and Chloe Troast as three women who got cheated on by their exes and now want revenge. The first two have relatively standard methods, but the third (Troast) is way too into it. Her devotion to psychological warfare startles the other two ladies and leaves the audience in stitches.
It’s the little things in life that really matter, as Troast sings about making her ex’s everyday life more and more perplexing.
It’s the little things in life that really matter, as Troast sings about making her ex’s everyday life more and more perplexing. She swaps out his shoes to make him feel like he’s shrinking; she replaces his Sudoku puzzles with ones that can’t be solved; and much more. The best bit has got to be how she convinces the guy’s mother (a scene-stealing Heidi Gardner) that the walls can talk, but Ryan Gosling’s appearance as her ex-CIA brother is also a delightful touch. Along with country-icon Chris Stapleton‘s hilarious performance, this is easily one of Ryan Gosling’s best skits and arguably the strongest SNL entry of 2024.
