“Saturday Night Live” provided fun at its own expense in its cold opening as the sketch show’s 48th season premiered on October 1.
After the mass exodus of some of the show’s most prominent cast members, host Miles Teller and the “SNL” writers held nothing back.
Teller, who recently starred in the summer blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick, portrayed former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning along with cast member Andrew Dismukes as Eli Manning in the cold opening.
The duo commented on the show’s opening skit, which is set in Mar-a-Lago, a parody of the duo’s “Manningcast” on Monday Night Football.
Actor James Austin Johnson openly repeated his impression of ex-President Donald Trump.
“Oh good. Trump sketch,” says Teller as Peyton Manning. “Way to mix it up!”
The skit poked fun at the politically motivated direction the show has taken over the past few seasons, along with the recent departure of the show’s most popular cast members.
Veteran cast members Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, Pete Davidson and Kyle Mooney all had their final SNL appearances at the season 47 finale in May. Melissa Villaseñor, Alex Moffat and Aristotle Athari also did not return for season 48.
“How about a fun impression, like Anthony Fauci or Lindsey Graham or Rudy Giuliani?” Teller says as Peyton. where Dismukes responds as Eli and says this is more of a “Kate McKinnon thing”.
Miles Teller during his opening monologue of the season 48 premiere of “SNL.” Youtube / Saturday Night Live
Musical guest Kendrick Lamar, presenter Miles Teller and Bowen Yang during promos at Studio 8H on September 30, 2022. Will Heath/NBC
Teller and Dismukes then break down the “stats,” noting 14 attempted jokes with just “a mild laugh and two chuckles.”
Teller’s Top Gun: Maverick co-star and three-time SNL host Jon Hamm also joined Manningcast, where the trio slammed the skit and the show’s future.
“Jon, what have you seen so far tonight?” Teller asked.
“I don’t know, but it’s not a comedy,” Hamm replied. “They haven’t even used Kenan yet. It’s like putting a whole team of Elis on the field and Peyton on the sidelines.”
Snowboarding legend Shawn White also made a surprise appearance as Trump’s special master for his Mar-a-Lago FBI investigation, Judge Raymond Dearie, where Teller called it “desperate stunt casting.”
After the opening sketch, Teller did his monologue, expressing how much he enjoys SNL.
Grammy-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar was hired as the show’s third musical guest. The rapper’s last appearance was in 2018.
His first two songs of the night were “Rich Spirit” followed by “N95” from his latest album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, which was released in May.
Later in the show, Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper “Father Time” performed with Sampha.
Four cast members made their SNL debuts on Saturday night as the show introduced Marcello Hernandez, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow and Devon Walker to its cast.