“January 6 was one of the most dramatic and momentous moments in our nation’s history,” proclaimed Representative Bennie Thompson (D-MS), portrayed again by Kenan Thompson on Saturday Night Live tonight. “So, to fight back, we assembled a team of monotonous nerds to do a PowerPoint presentation,” the longtime cast member added, as fellow SNLers met Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and soon-to-be-outgoing Rep. Liz Cheney played (R-WY), the latter in the form of Heidi Gardner.
Yes, with Megan Thee Stallion doing double duty as host and musical guest, the third episode of SNL’s 48th season began with the Jan. 6 selection committee’s unanimous vote on Oct. 13 to subpoena Donald Trump. Of course, despite the wide range of opinions over the past few months regarding the effectiveness of the multiple prime-time and otherwise televised Congressional Committee hearings to advocate the case and heighten the legal vice against former SNL host Trump, SNL could not resist underbidding his own cartoon promising “a little treat” as held up by Thompson, played by another Thompson.
“Oh, come on, can’t I have a cupcake now,” whined Adam Kinzinger, Illinois GOP Congressman, brought to life by Andrew Dismukes. A “big Dick Cheney energy” joke from Gardner as the ex-vice president’s daughter, echoing a recent comment about Trump by Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake of Arizona, boded well for the skit. Unfortunately, not every glimmer of hope is an answered prayer, if you know what I mean?
Surrounding the explosive video of that horrific day in early 2021, revealed at the committee’s final hearing on Jan. 6, leading up to next month’s midterm, a “door dash” smack at current Majority Leader Senator Chuck Schumer (Sarah Sherman ) from New York and California’s best house announcer Nancy Pelosi (Chloe Fineman) missed the mark trying to thread the comedy needle. The fact is, the work of the special committee investigating last year’s violent MAGA insurgency and literally saving American democracy has become even more important in recent weeks, making it simply too soon to argue about the flaws in its execution – how you can see above.
“You know the votes don’t matter,” Trump (James Austin Johnson) raged while sitting in the White House bathroom. “I’ve always said the votes don’t matter at all,” SNL’s Trump continued, calling Rocky’s Apollo Creed as if the character were a real person and a sidekick, Obamacare, and his own Vice President Mike “Dead Yet.” Penny. “Because what is voting anyway? It’s just a piece of paper that you fold.”
A week after Herschel Walker’s haywire personal life and bid for the Georgia Senate seat amid the latest cold was derided by SNL, and a day after the candidate’s bizarre real-life debate with the fake badge and the incumbent Senator Raphael Warnock had made a satire almost DOA. SNL seemed lost in the current events tonight, which it traditionally puts under the knife in its cold candor.
“We tried, it was a fun country while it lasted,” said Kenan Thompson with little humor, lamenting the “empty gesture” of the subpoena vote. A vote that, in reality and on SNL, Trump has no intention of acquiescing in as he nears a 2024 POTUS offering.
DC politics aside, today marked Megan Thee Stallion’s third appearance on the long-running NBC late-nighter, but her debut as a presenter. All of this now brings her into the somewhat elite club of 40 cast members who have simultaneously held both front character and guest musical roles on SNL. Of this rare group of nearly four dozen, spanning the last nearly five decades, JLo, Justin Timberlake, Drake, Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears, Garth Brooks and Paul Simon have served as hosts and musical guests on at least two occasions, with the ” mrs Robinson” songwriter, who held the top spot as a four-time contestant. Here’s some more math: Simon has been the musical guest on SNL eight times, including as the opener on the series’ first episode after 9/11, and has made six guest appearances over the decades, one of which was pre-taped.
It was announced tonight that Jack Harrow will double as presenter and musical guest on SNL’s October 29th broadcast.