SNL is back! After nearly a month away for the Winter Olympics, Brad, Nate, and Ben reunite to break down the February 28, 2026, episode of Saturday Night Live — the 1,001st episode in the show's history — hosted by Heated Rivalry breakout star Connor Storrie, with musical guest Mumford & Sons.

Storrie arrived at Studio 8H fresh off one of the most buzzed-about TV performances in recent memory, playing closeted Russian hockey player Ilya Rozanov on the HBO Max/Crave hit Heated Rivalry. The timing couldn't have been better: both the U.S. men's and women's hockey teams had just won gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics, and the show pulled in Jack Hughes, Quinn Hughes, Hilary Knight, and Megan Keller for a monologue that had the crowd losing their minds. Oh, and Heated Rivalry co-star Hudson Williams showed up for a surprise appearance mid-episode, with... too much screaming?! You decide.

The guys go sketch-by-sketch through the night, rating everything from a topical Iran War cold open to a very injured stripper, and debate whether Storrie is one of the best first-time hosts in recent memory. Plus: the Bradometer returns, Weekend Update gets the full breakdown, and the guys crown their MVP and Sketch of the Night.

Sketches from This Episode

1. Cold Open – Trump's Iran War Address (James Austin Johnson as Trump, Colin Jost as Pete Hegseth)
2. Monologue – Connor Storrie, with cameos from Jack Hughes, Quinn Hughes, Hilary Knight & Megan Keller
3. Math Quiz – Mr. Fronzi (Marcello Hernández) and his class
4. The Gentlemen's Code – A 19th-century glove-slapping escalation (Storrie, Mikey Day)
5. Ice Skating – A proposal goes sideways at Rockefeller Plaza, featuring surprise guest Hudson Williams
6. Math Tutor – Jock meets stalker-y tutor Dirkus (Ben Marshall) and his equally odd parents (Ashley Padilla, James Austin Johnson)
7. Weekend Update – Colin Jost & Michael Che on the Iran war; featuring:
8. Leg Lengthening – Griff's illegal European surgery (Marcello Hernández on stilts, Storrie with tiny little legs)
9. Office Morale – A colleague pitches a company-wide office dance (Mikey Day, Storrie, and an awkward Mumford & Sons cameo)
10. Stripper – Serj, the exotic dancer, shows up to a Vegas bachelorette party after being "hit by a little car" (Storrie, Ashley Padilla, Sarah Sherman, Veronika Slowikowska, Jane Wickline)

Cut for Time (on YouTube)

1. Car Song – Veronika Slowikowska and Jane Wickline lament the rideshare door handle; Storrie plays the inventor of all the confusing ones
2. The National Workforce of Rethinking Disabilities – Canceled celebrities (Armie Hammer, Jill Zarin, Louis C.K., Kanye West, Bill Cosby, and Michael Che as himself) all blame their misdeeds on Tourette's

*Tell us your MVP and Sketch of the Night in the comments! Did you catch the cut-for-time sketches on YouTube? Do you think Storrie makes a return trip to Studio 8H?*

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It's the 10 to 1 podcast.

Oh, no, no.

We should leave that

with your host, Brad Omen, featuring Ben Connowitz and Nate Laughs.

And here's the podcast.

Robert F. Kennedy, over here.

I appreciate you trying to do your best Marcelo Hernandez impression as the teacher, but we'll get there.

Yeah.

Hey, welcome back.

Hey.

Saturday Night Live is back after a brief break.

Now, if you.

If you didn't do this, wholly recommend you go listen to the three episodes of Go Flix Yourself that we recorded because a lot of fun stuff happened over there.

I do think we had to shake the cob's cobwebs off.

And by the last one, we were.

We were hitting our strike.

Argue that they're all very good, but the third one is the best.

The second one, about halfway through, we kind of lose it a bit because I made it.

Don't say we.

Like.

Like.

It was a joint episode.

A royal we in there.

There was one.

One really bad card that got played.

I will never use AI to create anything ever again for that podcast.

Completely not true.

For the podcast.

For the podcast.

For the podcast.

Yeah.

Guarantee that.

Not.

That's not true.

Okay.

Anyway.

But yeah, welcome back to the the 10 to 1 show.

Yeah.

So it was a good episode overall, I thought.

What did you guys think just right off the bat?

Did you like it or not?

I think that it is a solid episode.

I thought it was a solid episode.

But, like, I know you've been a huge fan of Connor Story.

Oh, my gosh.

That's a story that needs to be told.

I've said it for years.

I think he was good.

I'll say that.

I think he was good.

Oh, yeah, Great.

Not really being familiar with his work other than the fact that he's in heated rivalry, which I haven't watched.

Were you not watching the same show?

He was great.

I mean.

No, he's great.

No, he really.

I was very impressed by him.

I don't know if you heard me,

but, yeah, for somebody who I'm not familiar with, watching him do what he did on snl, that's.

It's like, wow.

Yeah, this guy's got real talent.

Absolutely.

This is going to be one of those episodes, too, that is going to get so much traction online because he's a hot ticket.

Right.

Like, he.

And I will say that there was an aspect of that throughout the episode that was somewhat annoying to an extent,

because they're cheering too long and.

Well, not even just cheering too long because, like, first of all, the one sketch you're talking about.

Absolutely.

It did kind of ruin things.

But also they're the kind of fans that like whenever he shows up they're like, whoa.

It's like he's the host.

You can't do this every sketch.

Yeah, yeah, no, but I mean, like, that's why snl, like let's break that down.

That's why SNL has people like him host.

Right, sure.

So that people put their frickin eyeballs on the TV and in the audience.

Like, I get it.

There's not really much you can do, you know, about that.

You're not going to tell the audience everybody they try.

Right.

But it's, it's also kind of.

Yes, it's a little annoying, but to me it's more endearing that somebody that good at the job of being host is also getting that kind of recognition everywhere and it's having their moment.

Like, that's fantastic.

No, I do agree to a certain extent.

Like you can only get so mad about it.

But then like when you see people like Ariana Grande and stuff like that host, you can see how big her fan base is.

They're not going crazy every time she is entering a sketch.

But devil's advocate, what about the first time she hosted?

I'd have to go back and see

it because think about that.

Like this is a brand new guy with brand new fans that are rabid.

Give him five years and now he's hosted three times.

I bet you it's not.

I do think the male heartthrobs have more of the, of the screaming then.

Oh, for sure.

Harry Styles is going to be another example.

But I would.

That'll be a good test actually, just to see whether or not like when he.

Because they're going to blow when he first gets out, of course.

And then.

But if he shows up in the second sketch and it happens again, then we'll know.

I don't know though, because.

Is he still as big as he was?

But that's the thing.

He's still.

He's still absolutely as big as he was.

Hundo P. You think?

Insane, dude.

It's crazy.

His fan base is established with him.

Right.

So they're not going to be able.

Oh my God, it's him.

Yeah, that's not going to be a thing.

Kenner also has a background in improv.

He studied at Groundlings for a little while.

Oh really?

Yeah.

Sweet.

And went to college school.

To what?

Clown school.

Oh, I thought you said Colin school.

I did too.

I was like, hey, what's that?

No He.

Was that where you learned how to date a.

No, but he went to clown school, so.

Which.

Which he talks about in interview.

Can you say that one more time?

I. I don't know if you're saying it right.

Clown school.

Okay, that's better.

Yeah.

Clown school.

It comes up Colin school when you say it.

No, Clown.

Okay.

Yeah, yeah, It's.

It's.

There's, like, just a slight, like, space between the C and the L. Like you're adding a vowel.

Wait, you.

There is.

You do know, like, between the C and the L, there's no O. O. Clown.

Clown.

Clown school.

Clown.

Clown school.

Clown school.

Say it one more time.

Just one for everybody in the back.

One more time.

Try not to laugh.

It's really hard to answer because we're just literally saying clown school.

Okay.

Clown school.

Yeah.

Okay, that's a little better.

All right.

That's what I've been saying the whole time, guys.

Like, it's clown.

You can't see us, but Brad and I are making very direct eye contact.

Yeah.

Like, having a side internal conversation with each other.

Like, really time to let this go, or.

All right.

Anyway, he went to clown school, and it was great.

He's also.

He's also attached to a film that Ali Leviton is writing.

Oh, okay.

So he's got that SNL connection, too.

Yeah.

So that'll be fun.

Who.

Who's Ali Lemon?

Is that a writer for snl?

Yeah.

I'm not joking.

I'm not doing a bit.

Okay.

Her dad is Steve.

Steve of aan.

Yeah.

The creator of Modern Family.

Oh, gotcha.

Sorry.

But, yeah, she's a current writer, and he.

It's.

It's.

It's one of your favorites.

It's an A24 film.

Can't wait.

Called Peaked.

Can't wait.

Actually, I. I would be interested to see him in a comedy.

Oh.

Yeah.

So.

All right, you guys ready to get into it?

Let's go.

Cold open.

All right.

This certainly was written at the last minute.

The Iran war address.

James Austin Johnson's Trump addresses the nation to explain why the US Partner with Israel to bomb Iran.

He obviously kind of points to the FIFA Peace Prize winner and Nobel Peace Prize taker, which I thought was very funny.

And then he brings Colin Jost, Pete Hegseth back.

I. I like Colin Jo, Pete Hegseth.

I thought this was obviously very last minute.

Yeah.

I didn't think this was great.

No, it was pretty weak for the most part.

And they even admit, like.

Yeah.

And actually, if anything, I appreciate that they did that.

That, like, they made the meta joke about it driving the SNL writers crazy and, like, they had a whole thing planned.

And State of the Union.

Poor Jeremy.

Jeremy has got a light show.

I love that.

That was that.

I like that stuff.

I hope that they do start to do more of that because that is kind of a nice flavor to use James Austin Johnson as Trump as this meta commentary.

Definitely a breath of fresh air when you do stuff like that.

And they've done stuff like that every now and like they would do with the freeze frame when talking about Mikey Day and like, trying not to laugh.

But.

So this is another.

Break that down a little bit there.

That's a little bit of a different take because he's not there.

Right.

And I like that a lot because it just gives another layer to everything.

Yeah.

I think that my favorite joke, actually, and especially after listening to James Austin Johnson be on the Good One podcast with Jesse David Fox, is he talked about how he likes to try and insert at least one joke that's mostly there just for him or just for, like, a few people.

Sure.

And previously it was the reference to Metal Gear Solid where he talked about Solid Snake and mentioned that this time it was definitely the gamecube.

Yeah.

Because that was real deep cut nerd shit.

And I thought that was hilarious.

What was the bit was a bit like a small library.

Small library.

The coding was very difficult.

That's a great job.

And it's for three people.

Exactly.

But yeah, that was.

I liked that.

And think, like, immediately think, oh, yeah, that's the joke that he got in there.

I really hope that there are.

There's a group chat right now somewhere in America where somebody who just doesn't even watch SNL heard about this.

It was like, they just love gamecube.

I told you.

I bet the gamecube read it was like, oh, my God, guys.

Okay, let's talk about the logistics of this.

Do they have to.

Obviously, Iran thing was huge, right?

Yeah.

Do they have to do something on Iran or could you have stuck to the State of the Union?

You know, that's.

It's.

It's interesting because, like, you.

Is anyone really going to be mad that they didn't do something on their end?

Especially if it says half baked as this?

And it was literally, how.

How good was the State of the Union thing gonna be?

You know?

So I think that, honestly, it is so much better to pivot to the news because the backlash you always see is what.

This has already been talked about.

City Union has been covered by 14 different people.

And now it's finally Saturday.

We finally get their take.

This is one of the first opportunities they get to kind of be the first ones to talk about it because the pundits on Monday morning and Tuesday and Wednesday on Kimmel, they're going to get their after SNL for once.

So this is actually a good thing, I think.

Yeah.

It's also a lot harder to write something in two hours and make it funny.

Right.

And they did a pretty good job there, too.

Sure.

You know, and it's.

I think that maybe also it is easier to make it funny when you know, you've got a reliable thing like Jost as Hegseth, where you know it's going to kill.

Because it has for four times in a row killed.

This time, though, I think it was okay.

Yeah, it wasn't.

No.

But I'm saying in the preamble to this.

Right.

So like, you know, that's.

You got to go to.

They do have a strong position to pivot to.

So even though they've only got to Write it in 2 and a half hours, they can still do it.

Yeah.

That's.

The end result may be a different.

But the run up to it, I think they're positive on it.

Right.

Yeah.

All right, moving on.

Monologue by Connor.

Story, counter story.

Jokes about heated rivalries, cultural impact and his own sudden rise going from waiting tables to host an snl.

He also brings out Jack and Quinn Hughes from the gold medal winning US Men's Olympic team.

But the men that are upstaged when U.S. women's champions Hillary Knight and Megan Keller come out.

What'd you think of this?

Did this work for you, Ben?

So they don't always do things like this when somebody wins a gold medal or wins a national championship or something like that.

It's not always.

But I think that because the crossover into political stuff and because it's that well known that the snub, the this or that, I think it needs a hockey.

Yeah.

And obviously the hockey connection, but I think.

I think you need both.

I think it needs to be that relevant.

And not just because they won gold, but because there was a little drama.

I think that's the thing that made the booking happen more than just the fact that he's a hockey player and they just won gold.

I honestly do think there's a little bit more there.

I don't know, honestly.

Because, like, when they.

Wouldn't it be great to have the men on and then also have the women?

Yeah, no, I'm sure That came into play as like they knew that it would play.

But I think that the, I'm sure like the, the hockey thing is what really made it work and the timing of it being right.

That's fair.

That's especially since NBC is the home of the Olympics.

Yeah, no, that's the synergies there.

But how do the hockey players did.

Not great.

Well, the men.

The men.

Yeah.

The men were terrible.

It was, it was like you said you took middle schoolers and said you guys are doing a today.

Yeah.

Oh yeah.

There was horribly.

Did you.

Did you get your teeth is knocked out as well.

I did appreciate though that it seemed like that they were the like dudes who were probably like you know, not necessarily on board with like the.

That was being said about like making fun of the women's team and like,

I mean they did laugh.

There was some, there was some pushback because they were.

But they, they've also been.

These brothers have been very pro like for the teams that they play for in the NHL having pride nights.

They run very publicly for that.

They, they also publicly said they think it's kind of much ado about nothing and people need to move on.

But.

But also celebrating the women.

So it's a little complicated but the

fact that the audience was so loud and like they had like hey had to wait so long for the cheering to go down for the women's team was amazing.

Yeah.

And they had a great joke.

The women did a great job.

They, they look like they've had some more media training maybe than the men.

Yeah.

I thought, I thought Connor was very good.

He made a couple really good jokes.

I also, I also thought it was a little just like, I don't know, like the sex symbol part of it was just a little like the screaming and everything was just a little weird at times.

Like it was just a little played up a little bit like.

And he didn't do anything.

It was Obviously the, the 12 year old girls in the audience but like it was just, I don't know, awkward.

Are 12 year olds watching heated rivalries?

They shouldn't be.

No, it's pretty graphic as he alluded to with the one scene he could show that was family friendly.

So maybe rethink that.

I think if you're, if you're showing heated rivalry to a 12 year old that might be a felony.

I don't know.

I don't know who the girls are.

Felony.

I don't know who the girls are that are screaming in the audience.

I liked the aside where you switched cameras and got all sexy serious.

I did like that because you can.

It got a good window into, oh, that's not really who this guy is.

But he can play that, you know.

And it was.

It was a fun back and forth.

I also love every time anybody says, I've been dreaming about this moment.

Right.

Being on snl because again, we're such big fans that, you know, he's like, I've been dreaming about this since I was 12 years old.

Yeah.

And it always means a lot to me because I'm like, oh, good, you get the moment.

Right.

Because this is still a big moment.

Particular phrasing that gets used to when you know that somebody is pretty organic.

It's when I got the call instead of when they asked me to host because I hear that all the time.

They asked me to host and it's like I got the opportunity to turn down.

I got the call.

Means I was chosen luckily.

Yeah.

And I feel like when they say that, it's a little bit more true.

Yeah.

All right, moving on.

Math Quiz.

Mr. Franzi.

This starred Marcel Hernandez Counter story in the rest of the cast is the class.

Marcelo Hernandez plays an eccentric coffee burned math teacher named Mr. Franz who keeps accidentally saying penis when he means penis.

Clown school.

It's kind of true though.

He keeps saying penis when he means to say penis because peanuts sounds like penis.

So does the word.

Have you guys ever had to say publicly Pianist?

Oh, yeah.

It is a hard.

It's a very famous joke.

I'm just saying like, I've had to say it like at funerals before.

And she loved being a pianist.

And you have to.

You can say she loved playing the piano though.

That's on you, actually.

But she was a very skilled pianist.

Yeah, that's great.

I know.

It's just she loved the organ.

I get him.

I get in my head a little bit about it.

But hey, don't.

You're.

But again, what do you think of this one?

Let's start with you, Brett.

This was one of several strange sketches throughout the night.

But Marcelo really sells it, you know, like he leans into it.

I'm 90% sure he was wearing something in the pants that both made his crotch poof out and his butt a little like heftier because like there was.

The pants fit him.

Like they would fit like a middle aged man.

Just like that.

Like they stuffed Glad garbage bags around it or something.

It was frumpy.

Exactly.

Yeah.

Yeah.

But you know, his, his voice was hilarious.

You know, I thought it was really funny.

When everyone else started doing the voice to, like, as soon as Connor started doing his impression, I was like, oh, okay, it's pretty good.

Exactly.

Yeah.

I thought this was fine.

I didn't think it was great.

I think there was some funny parts to it, but, like, I know, I disagree.

I think that was better than that.

I think that.

I think that watching it, I had no idea what was happening.

Where is this going?

And then like a good bit.

They didn't cut this one off too early because if they would have ended this earlier, it would have been worse.

By letting it stretch its legs a little bit longer and actually going back to him, getting up and sitting back down and then coming around and like, what class is this?

Like that.

All of it, right?

It really all kind of came together and I laughed hard.

I thought it was very good.

I thought it was, I guess my, my, my issue with this.

I thought it was a weird placement and this is a.

Maybe just a.

Too much.

That's fair.

Yeah.

It doesn't feel like.

It does not feel right.

After the monologue sketch, it feels a

little bit later in the episode, Lauren's losing it.

You know, he took that, that postcard and moved it over, you know, that post it note and shuffled it.

Too wrong to say about Lauren.

Just.

Just call in, let us know what you thought.

All right, next.

It was a pre tape the Gentleman's Code.

Two gentlemen, played by Connor Story and Mikey Day, get into a verbal altercation that rapidly escalates.

Escalates with each offense.

Met with dramatic cries of how dare you In a slap across the face.

This is obviously a very physical comedy bit.

I actually, I don't know why.

I love this one and I loved the escalation of it.

I loved Keenan in this.

If it met me.

I didn't think it was the best pre tape.

I don't think I'll remember it for the whole season.

But for some reason, this met me in the right place.

What'd you think, Brad?

Yeah, I agree.

It's a Looney Tunes cartoon.

Exactly.

That's really what it is.

That's how it plays.

It takes some additional veers in the back half, which I really appreciated.

You know, I wasn't necessarily sure how they were going to keep it going and what they were gonna do, but the, the, the changes into like, you know, Andrews Mukes, you know, kicking his own child.

Yeah, that's when it peaked.

Yeah.

Like the kick of the Child, I guffa.

Yeah, it got me, like.

That was really funny.

Yeah, it was.

It's one of those things where, like, it's a.

It's a good, like, repeat physical gag that adds, you know, other layers to

it, that finds a way to escalate, which is good.

Yeah.

The dog.

The fact that Keenan's kicking ass, you know, and actually, the uppercut was great.

Yeah, it was great.

Like, you struck with a closed fist, sir.

Like, all of it.

It worked.

It did work.

Yeah.

The remark.

Whereas me saying that he is ungloved and I'm able to rebut.

Yeah.

A lot.

Yeah.

That the.

The fanciful language dancing around it all, it was.

It made it even better.

All right, moving on.

Ice skating.

This was the Rockefeller Plaza proposal 1.

This had Tommy Brennan, Veronica Slow Kowska counter story, Mikey Day, Ben Marshall, and a surprise guest, Hudson Williams.

Tommy Brennan tries to propose to his girlfriend, played by Veronica Slowikowska, at the famous Rockefeller center ice rink.

This is right in front of the studio, right?

Like in real.

Well, it's in 30 Rock Plaza.

Yeah.

In real life, it's outside that building.

Yeah.

I mean, obviously it was on the stage.

But as she tries to explain that she's not ready, Brennan keeps getting completely distracted by a group of guys behind them who are having the absolute time of their lives skating around.

I'm gonna.

I'm gonna go first.

This just made me sad because you're not having that.

I don't.

I've never had that much fun doing.

Doing anything.

Wow.

Let it.

Yeah.

Not even this show.

Hot on the heels of the best Go fix yourself we've ever done.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

Go ahead and replay the sketch.

Just the four of them dudes skating.

Go and replay that and try to search your past for when you felt that good about literally anything.

That is so freaking cool.

Like, how much fun they were having that it was so funny.

Because the reason I think that it worked so well is because normally in a sketch like this, the things that are happening in the background are violent or mean or wrong.

And this is a complete turn where they're just having the time of their life and it's not the thing in the foreground isn't the juxtaposition.

Isn't that.

That is a horrific thing.

They're not talking about mom died in a car accident.

They're talking about something.

Yeah, it's still sad, but it's not life changing.

It's just two opposite ends of the spectrum, and it works really, really well.

Yeah, I agree.

Also, I was initially, I would say for the first couple minutes, really trying to discern whether or not they actually did this at the ice rink.

Yeah, they did a great job.

That's the thing.

I was like, wait, wait a minute.

Because they're obviously skating somewhere.

So, like, are they on rollerblades?

And you could never see them until they did the pan.

And a couple episodes ago, they did have Sarah out there legitimately.

Yeah.

And it wouldn't be too hard to, you know, have that closed off to sketch outside.

So you're not.

No, no, exactly.

I want.

Logistically, did they have to be like, hey, can anybody roll rollerblade backwards?

Because they.

You had to actually do some work.

Exactly.

I don't think that I could just throw in rollerblades and do that.

They had rollerblades on.

Yeah.

Yeah, they pulled it out.

Yeah.

You didn't see that.

You didn't see that.

Oh, you don't go to the bathroom.

I probably actually did the sketches ending

and he just turned around where.

Yeah, they pan out and you see their own blades.

It was very, very well done.

Yeah.

You know, and it's.

And it has the added layer too, because there's a little bit of David Pumpkins in it too, where he's just constantly thinking about what's happening.

It's like, he's like.

He's like, no, well, no, I'm trying to.

I'm wondering, like, like, wait a minute.

This is a bachelor party now.

You know, like, it just keeps, like, building.

They're in their 40s.

Yeah.

What about Hudson Williams?

Do you think that was a good use for him?

You know?

Is that the.

What you were talking about?

It would have been fun if, like, he show showed up and they were able to play it out like a normal sketch, but every time he came back into frame, it's like, shut the up and let the sketch go.

What do you have against Hudson Williams?

Yeah, we don't swear.

He ruined this guy.

No.

But, yeah, he ruined this episode.

No, you just like.

Like, just let it happen.

You know, it's like, we.

We get it.

Yeah.

You know, it was just too much commotion.

You know, you don't have to do it every time he comes back.

Also, though, live taping.

I mean.

Yeah, the energy.

I don't blame him.

I get it.

I don't know.

You just like.

Like, it's you.

There's.

There's rules.

No, no, Overall, like.

Like there's a Broadway.

Broadway play happening.

Like, you're not cheering every Time Daniel Radcliffe comes out to do his part.

Like, he's.

He's in the play.

Not the same argument.

You know, it.

It is.

It's not.

The overall sketch was very good.

I like the take on it being positive in the background rather than negative.

And I also think that just literally watching the logistics of them on the rollerblades by panning out made it all kind of like, make sense.

And I really.

It's like seeing it all come together at the end, like, that was cool.

I love the little parts too, where, like, just someone just.

It was typically Connor who just go.

Mind you, going there was like.

And this was when I. I really knew for sure that it wasn't outside.

There was a background.

A video glitch.

Yeah.

During one of these where like, they.

It reset to like the beginning of it and you can see the flags.

They can't afford the loop.

Yeah, they didn't have it for long enough.

All right, Dirkus, let's move on.

Math tutor counter Story plays BJ Cool jock being tutored by Ben Marshall's intensely odd stalker adjacent math nerd named Durkus.

I worry about this for Rune.

Oh, no, I'm back.

That.

I mean, my kid is a dork.

I mean, I love him.

He's a Dirk.

Is.

He's a Dirkus, man.

He's.

He's incredibly intelligent.

He's not.

He's not.

But Ben Marshall in this didn't play socially awkward.

Honestly.

He just plays it like, oh, this guy gets me now.

Yeah.

And I feel like that could be my kid.

Like, he's gonna get a little older and he's gonna be that guy.

Like, doesn't understand why nobody wants to wear a top hat and play the piano with him.

Like, I just feel like that's coming down the pipeline.

But it's.

This was very, very funny.

Obviously.

What did you guys think about the bringing in James Austin Johnson and Work or not Work?

I thought it worked.

It worked.

But I. I didn't escalate enough.

I don't know.

No, I thought it was.

It was a good, like, continuation and slight escalation of having the parents be just as odd and doing their own song.

Yeah, I like that.

And then him doing it at the BJ himself, putting on a hat.

It all worked.

Yeah.

Well, the ending's not strong.

Like, that's because I'll be clear about that.

It's not a great sketch.

It's an okay sketch.

It's for.

For me, I think.

What?

Why.

Why it wasn't great or better is there were obviously some pacing and timing issues and that kind of like upset the order a little bit, but it was amusing to me.

This felt more like a ten to one sketch, honestly, and I felt like it probably should have been later in the episode.

Almost feels like Jane Wickline wrote this and then Ben Marshall performed it too because, like, there's a lot of like her that's fair kind of sensibility in that song and the awkwardness that she does.

Can we talk a little bit about.

Let's, let's do kind of a. I know we're a little past mid season, but let's do a little mid season report card.

Ben Marshall is, you know, he's now a cast member, not doing his pre tape stuff.

How do you think he's doing so far?

I feel like if I had to go back and hadn't seen one episode yet, my thought process was, oh, he's probably going to blow up because he's already established and now he can spread his wings.

But that hasn't happened.

I mean, he's kind of middle of the road as far as a feature player.

He's getting used.

He's funny here and there, but overall he's not having a breakout necessarily either.

He's a pretty good straight guy.

Right.

He's.

He's a good Mikey Day type of person.

Right.

But he hasn't had that character yet that has grabbed the attention of everyone.

And we're going to come up to a sketch here, the, the, the cabin sketch where that's a perfect example of what Ben Marshall really is doing for the show.

He's another person in the room that has lines and has to deliver them on time and da, da, da.

But he's not the focus of the sketch and he's just filler, you know, and I want more for him.

What do you think?

Yeah, I mean, he's.

He's still just a featured player even though he was Please don't destroy before.

And it's got to be hard to, you know, deliver stuff on your own when you're used to working with your guys.

You know, like if he doesn't have Please don't destroy to work with anymore.

And so he's got to kind of re establish himself kind of similar to the way that Kyle Mooney did after Beck Bennett left.

You know, he couldn't.

Him and Beck couldn't do stuff together anymore.

I'd like to clarify too, that I am pulling for it to still happen.

I think he's freaking hilarious.

Oh, no, he is like, he's doing

good in everything he's doing.

He's just.

I want it to pop.

Yeah.

I want more.

Like, I.

And I think it's tough to, like, when, you know, to make the comparison.

Like, Ashley Petit is also a featured player, but she's having a huge breakout year.

But, like, not everyone can do that on a show.

Like, it's now, you know?

Yeah, yeah, I know.

And there's still time.

Obviously, he's not going anywhere.

Like, you know, it's not like he's shitting the bed every week and it's like, oh, when's he going to get

out of the show?

Yeah.

And I don't even think he's.

He's doing bad.

No, not at all.

Yeah.

Why do you hate him?

Yeah, Brad, why do you hate him?

See, it's a.

It's not a visual medium.

So, like.

Yeah.

Spider man meme.

Next was.

I. I do want to mention this real quick because I'm a music fan.

Mumford and Sons had.

Did you notice this?

Because I know you're a music boy, too.

They did songs, but they had Hozier.

Is that the first time they did two songs on the show?

I don't watch the Musical, guys.

Oh, boy.

Did you notice they had Hozier?

Obviously.

Yeah.

Do you see who is in back playing guitar?

No.

G.E.

smith.

Aaron Desner from the National.

I couldn't pick him out in a lineup.

I don't know what those words.

Well, he's an incredible producer.

He does Taylor Swift stuff.

He does lots of different stuff.

No, I know his name.

I just don't know what he looks like.

Yeah.

Those are nonsense words.

But I think he produced this album for Mumford, which makes me more excited because I'm trying.

I'm legitimately trying to remember the name and the thing that you said.

And I also like Aaron Burr from Nashville.

Close.

What was it?

Aaron Desner from the National.

There we go.

Great band.

Yeah.

National is a good band.

Okay.

All right, moving on.

It's time for Weekend Update.

Get your computer out, please, Bradford.

So I'm going to.

I'm changing it up.

Nate.

Yep.

I don't.

I don't care what his barometer says.

Oh.

Because it's 100 for me.

I loved this so much.

I thought that it was literally.

And it's not because I think what Brad's going to think I'm saying for me, if I could get a repeat of the Exact Benometer is 100 on this.

And it's because it's got every single thing that we talk about is pitch perfect here.

There is so much back and forth.

There is Jost having to read shit that is not meant to be, he didn't write, or whatever.

There is the weekend of.

The characters are fantastic.

This.

The jokes were so funny.

This was, in my opinion, one of the more.

One of the more perfect weekend updates.

Let me say this.

I think it was certainly the best of the season.

Okay, Brad, give us your number, though.

What do you think?

I'll just tell you.

Yeah, just tell us.

It's 85.

Why?

It's not you.

Like, I don't.

I even said, is this even?

I even gave you this.

I said, this is the best.

And then you said, it's the best one of the season.

And I said, I basically got on my knees on this one.

And you're still 85.

So you didn't like this?

No, no, I liked it.

85.

85 is a good grade.

No, it's not.

It is.

No, you gave something like two weeks ago.

You gave it 83 or something.

So you think this is just a little better?

You think this is the best of the season so far?

Yeah.

But also, comparatively, this is like, when you compare this to the best of other seasons, it's not, like, crazy high on the charts.

What didn't you like about it?

I didn't dislike anything about it.

Why didn't you give it a good grade?

I'm sorry.

I don't.

I don't have to like to jizz every time I touch my wiener.

What?

That is not a metaphor that I ever want you to use again.

Ever.

Let's strike that.

Sometimes.

Sometimes.

Sometimes I got to shift it because it's uncomfortable and it feels good when I move it out of the way.

Just like Nate.

Don't love where we're going with it.

Just like Nate seeing Pianist or that heated rivalry is for 12 year olds.

No.

Ever say that anymore.

Sometimes the old beanbag has an itch.

You scratch it.

Ah, that's good.

What are you doing?

For the record, my inappropriateness is always on accident.

All right.

Yes, it's true.

And mine.

Mine is on purpose, but at a lower level than this sometimes.

Okay.

The coin purse.

Anyway.

Okay.

Has to be given a little jingle.

Oh, my gosh.

I'm with Ben more than you on this one.

I thought this was a very good weekend update.

I thought they were having a ton of fun.

What is this?

Iran?

But I just.

I also think they brought in some good stuff with Iran.

Right.

Right away.

Yeah.

Playing Sarah Sherman's let's get into it.

Sarah Sherman's bit was utterly fantastic.

You don't want to talk at all about the jokes.

Okay, we can do it.

But I'm just so excited.

It's fine.

All right, let's get.

Get.

Okay.

I will say you didn't even like

the hear me out segment that Colin Josted.

That's the way.

Yeah.

That was so good.

Fantastic.

I mean, Prince Andrew, river corpse.

Yeah.

Was just perfect.

Such a great joke.

Che getting in trouble kind of for the, the.

The Iran stuff.

Comparing America to that.

Not getting in trouble, but not getting the applause he should have gotten.

These are just good jokes, man.

They really are.

It was really good.

All right, fine.

Let's do fine.

Let's start with Veronica Slow Kowska's Katie, the maid of honor.

This is a new thing for her.

Sloikowski played Katie and maid of honor who's supposed to be recapping news headlines from her friend Beth's wedding weekend.

I thought this, this, this very, very much reminded me a little bit of Heidi pulling out a character probably from somebody in her past that she's done before.

What'd you think of this one, Brad?

Let's start with you.

This is impeccable character work.

It's so good.

The voice that she has for this sounds just like every bridesmaid speech you ever heard.

That's what I'm saying is so good.

The cadence with which they deliver punchlines and like a knowing winking, like, yeah, I'm saying something funny kind of way.

Cody, I think that I've seen this at every.

And I'm not even joking if you're listening to this, and I know you and I've been at your wedding.

This was your.

This was her speech to your wife or whatever.

Like, that's a hundred percent.

This, this could easily be a recurring character for me.

Like, this was for sure.

She.

She formed.

I think I. I really am excited to see some other things that she could do on Weekend Update because like I said, we don't necessarily have a new Heidi yet.

Right.

Somebody that just brings a lot of different characters that does it, like just spot on impressions.

I think Ashley's getting close.

Ashley's getting good.

But I'm just saying I think there's another bit of that.

The frat girl kind of.

I think Veronica can access something different than Ashley can.

I think I would say that if.

If Ashley is Heidi, then Veronica is Chloe Feynman.

There we go.

Yeah, I'll take it, albeit potentially with.

Because Chloe's still on the show.

Yeah.

And maybe not quite as much aptitude for impressions.

At least not that we've seen yet.

No.

And I think that it's.

And it's not saying that she's like Feynman light.

No.

Saying it's a different skill.

Right.

Exactly.

But she has this.

A similar presence as far as the kind of character she plays.

Again, I think that.

Not even again for the first time.

I think it goes to.

She has characters, not impressions.

Yes.

And that's the difference.

Right.

Speaking of.

I never even thought of it until you said this.

Chloe had a really light episode.

She have anything?

She was in one of the sketches.

At least I think.

I don't think she was anything.

Wasn't she in the office dance sketch?

Am I misremembering?

No, I don't think so.

Maybe she wasn't there.

I don't think she's there.

SNL fandom says that she was not in this episode.

She was in the credits, obviously.

But maybe she's busy with something.

Yeah.

I don't know.

So the other.

Interesting that I didn't notice that she wasn't in it.

Right.

And so you just mentioned it.

So I. I love this.

I need this to come back, though.

I need the exact same shtick.

Do the bridesmaid made of honor thing again.

Talk about Cody.

Different.

Yes.

Same same thing.

Just obviously give me different news.

And I want.

I want to see nine iterations of this because I think there's more.

It was.

Don't get me wrong, this is very good.

Yeah.

But you think there's even some.

There's definitely more here.

Yeah.

The absurdity of the juxtaposition is what really sells it.

Exactly.

The dark tinged news being presented with that tone is.

And they're 80% there.

Yeah.

There's something about the connection between the two that either.

And I can't answer this, but it's either that directly word plays into it or not.

I don't know exactly where.

I think that what they have to maybe to perfect it.

My suggestion.

What I would do if I were doing They're Listening.

God.

Would be that you need to figure out the most loose tangential connection from the news and still keep hitting that.

Yeah.

Because of course, comedy is what's unexpected.

So if this is the news story and this is the thing, how are we going to connect it when nobody sees it coming is half the battle.

Yeah.

Now, you guys, Very funny, though I've not shared this with you, but I've had an emotionally trying week this week because I'VE been really wrapped up into the Punch the Monkey stuff, and I've been sharing this heartbreaking.

I've been sharing this stuff with my

daughter over and over.

I have searched YouTube for punch the Monkey, and it's just beating up monkeys.

Like, I don't.

I don't.

Am I watching the same thing as you?

That's the joke that you wanted to.

Okay, well, I thought it would make you a little better.

I gave you a segue.

You didn't even take it.

Like, it was even good.

And also, like, punch the monkey.

We're all, like, sad about.

It's like, why would you.

Yeah, why are you making a joke at the expense of this sad, abandoned monkey?

Okay, I don't know anything about this thing.

So, like, what is this?

This.

Oh, my God.

This is a.

Well, I don't think he's on social media much anymore.

No.

Because I keep on sending him reels and he doesn't respond to it.

Yeah, this is a.

A social media sensation.

Well, I know what it is now.

I saw snl.

Well, maybe.

Maybe listeners don't.

Oh, sorry.

Yeah.

So all over online, if you haven't paying attention, there's this tiny monkey named Punch in a zoo.

Literally the cutest thing I think I've ever seen.

He was rejected by his mother.

Like, his mother literally pushed him away.

What'd he do?

I do know why.

It was a heat wave.

And she, like, apparently was.

Yeah, it was a heat wave.

So anyway, yeah, rejected by his mom.

He tried to, like, embrace and, like, she's, like, literally physically shoved him.

One of those famous January heat waves.

So in order to comfort the.

The monkey, the zookeepers gave him a stuffed orangutan.

And he was basically from ikea.

Yeah.

Carrying it around and pretending it was his mom.

Like, like, like hugging it and sleeping with it.

Okay, why.

Why wait?

I don't even need to be sad to be sad about now.

I know.

It was, like, the saddest thing.

Like, watching him walk around by him, sad monkey dragging behind him.

And then he'll take the.

The Try and wrap the arm around his hill.

Oh, Jesus Christ.

But.

But the good news is, is he's.

No.

I'm gonna break my.

That.

That's insane.

And you're terrible.

I don't care.

Keep it all in.

I don't care.

That's insane.

No, I don't want to be sad, man.

And so every.

But everyone was, like, pulling for him.

Like, was.

Everyone, like, felt bad and, like, wanted good stuff for him.

And so all.

Some of the other monkeys in the.

The enclosure started to embrace him.

So, like, one came in, like, hugged him and held him.

And so now there.

Now he's, like, becoming.

Yeah, well, you should have freaking started with that and then told me, hey,

buddy, there's also some other.

Like, before this happened, the other monkeys were really mean to him, like, beating him and stuff like that because he had no mother to protect.

Well, so apparently.

So the one video that made people the saddest, the one where he, like, dragged Punch and, like, around in the circle.

Yeah, well, but apparently that was because that monkey is the offspring of the mother, and the mother thought.

Or like, that was the.

The mother thought that, like, they were threatening, like, her young ones apparently still mean.

Yeah, I don't know.

I think he was just punch drunk.

So anyway, again, you want to try again?

So, anyway, so in this.

You like that one a little bit,

we get an update bit.

Sarah Sherman played Punch's mom, and Marcel Hernandez plays Punch Honey Boo boo version of.

I know previously that I said my sexuality is whatever Sarah Sherman was doing in this sketch before.

Now it's trashy.

Sarah Sherman in a monkey.

Well, she doesn't have the monkey costume.

I don't.

I don't really want the monkey casting, but if she's doing that voice and talking to me like that, that's my new.

Oh, my God.

We just unlocked the new Brad.

All right, what'd you think of this one?

Let's go with you, Benny.

No, I mean, it's just the.

It.

It baffles me that this can keep happening.

It's so impossible.

This is like flipping a coin and it coming up heads a thousand times in a row where Sarah Sherman is a Weekend Update on weekend of doing a bit and Colin Jost is somehow made to be fodder and they just keep.

And it's not.

It's.

It's like the same lightning in a bottle level.

Everything's just as good as everything else, in my opinion.

So it doesn't need to get better and better because, like, every time that you're watching SNL and you see a recurring thing on Weekend Update, you want it to be better than the last version.

And I don't.

I want it to just maintain this level.

And they're doing it.

And I think.

I think what helps in this instant is that every time they do it, the character Sarah plays is so drastically different what came before it.

The punch lines are very.

That you don't even realize necessarily that, like, it's something that's being repeated The.

Yeah, so it's not.

You're exactly right.

It does not come across as a recurring bit whatsoever because it's technically not.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

No, that makes sense.

But, like, all the things that they say that are so inappropriate are so creative.

Like, and it's the.

It's the exact kind of thing where, like, you can say something that sounds so innocent for network TV sensors, but it almost makes it dirtier.

Absolutely.

I couldn't find my beam.

Right.

Exactly.

Oh, my.

Ashley said we were just like.

Oh, like that hit us, man.

Yeah, exactly.

I do.

I do love, though, that Marcelo comes in.

Ass punch.

Everyone's like, oh, they picked the perfect person.

Adorable, adorable Marcelo.

Yeah.

And that huge ass orangutan

Harambe's last meal.

Come on.

God.

Just incredible horrib.

Horrifically funny.

I thought this was really good.

Yeah, this was.

This might be.

You won my body.

This might be one of.

I mean, if I had to.

And we should.

We should rank them.

We should figure out what we like.

So 85 on all that.

85.

Yeah.

85.

Wow.

Well, yeah, because, like, if you compare it to some of the best update bits, I mean, again, let's think about it.

Let's just do the Ben Armature from now on.

Tell you what, if you.

If you really want to figure this out, let's go back.

We'll rewatch all the weekend updates with Michael Chan, Colin Joe's, and we can rank them all and then we'll see how you guys feel after that.

That sounds like a you project.

Yep.

You let us know how

lazy is what you are.

You lack the dedication.

All right.

Leg lengthening.

This was Marcelo Hernandez's character.

Griff has clearly had an illegal leg lengthening surgery in Turkey.

Do you know that this happens?

Like, people do this?

Oh, yeah.

He's not walking around on enormous stilts while everyone tries to act normal.

What did you guys think of this?

Counter story plays a guy that donates part of his legs to Marcelo.

I wanted to like this.

Yeah.

I could not get into this one.

Did I miss something?

Brad, what'd you think?

No.

Yeah, it kind of felt like the reveal was funny.

Both of the reveals, you know, of the.

The legs themselves, but then there wasn't much to it.

No, that's.

It just wasn't fun.

Yeah.

I also got a little annoyed because the crunching of the legs got inconsistent in the second half of this game.

That's a Bradism for sure.

The I.

And again, this is.

I'm not a friggin comedy writer.

We all know that.

But I think it's a funnier move to make Connor's character really baffled and disappointed that he didn't have to do what he did because he leans into, like, oh, no, I still glad I did it.

No, I think it's hilarious if he's, like, just looking at his legs, like, what have I done more?

I think that there's a bit there.

I think that there's.

I think there's something to be said about him just being more, like, pleased with himself that he did it to, like, you know, either way.

Yeah.

The sketch was just.

I would have rather taken either of the cut for time sketches is rather than this one for sure.

All right.

Office morale.

Mikey Day plays a struggling company's manager, desperately soliciting employee ideas to boost morale.

Counter stories, characters, solution.

A massive office dance.

This actually has a Mumford and Sons in it as well.

Again, not my favorite.

What did you think of this one?

I liked it to a certain extent.

It felt like they didn't quite figure out where it should be taken to.

To really make it land.

I like.

Was that a Hillary Duff ending?

Is that why that was funny?

I'm honestly not sure, because when I

did, oh, that's a weird way to end it.

But then Ashley said, oh, that's probably something from Hillary Duff's career.

It might be McGuire.

Maybe it's how Lizzie McGuire.

Well, she's going on tour.

Is that like.

No, I mean, just like, the character is really, really into Hilary Duff in the sketch.

Like, and that's how they decide to end it.

So it must be connected to that.

That's all.

But it didn't hit me because that's not.

Yeah, well, that was a terrible ending.

Yeah, exactly.

That's a weird way to do that.

No, but go ahead.

Didn't seem great.

What did you think?

No, the.

I don't know.

So I like the Severin stuff.

That was fun.

So, yeah, I was.

What's the so with the chair with dismiss.

Is that more than I'm.

I don't really.

I didn't really get why that was a thing.

Like, what do I miss there?

I think it was just meant to be, like, a weird thing that was happening.

Okay.

Because again, if I.

If you can't explain it to me and then.

And I can't explain it to you, it's like, this is a choice, a weird choice because, like, there's no reason plot wise for it to happen.

There's.

There's no escalation there other than it's a thing that happened in the back.

I mean, it's very weird.

It's the same reason that, like, it's like, you're not questioning, I guess, why Mumford and Sons was in their bathroom, as you say.

Also, the Muffins and Sons cameo seemed really forced to me.

I just didn't.

I don't.

It didn't feel like it needed to be there.

Yeah, I mean, it's.

It's tacked on, for sure.

I don't know.

It's just.

These are all just choices that were made in the sketch, and I don't think that any of them were particularly, you know, grounded in comedy for that.

Like, a Pratt falling a chair is fine, but, like, if there's no purpose for it legitimately, then you.

Then you move on from it.

You don't have them sit there and then poke his head up and say more out of that same position.

I don't know.

Because it breaks.

Also, what is in the real world.

In the real world, something happens, and you would want to help them up.

Right.

So just building that universe where everybody's just gonna let him sit there.

It's not weird that that happened.

And Mount versus Sons in your bathroom, like, all of the universe, the building was just kind of weird.

Yeah.

I think it was meant to be, like, taking place in, like, a.

Just like a alternate reality kind of thing where, like, just things were slightly off kilter.

And that's.

And that's.

That's the, you know, the brain space you need to be in for it.

Cool.

I think a couple of the funniest.

The funniest thing that happened was Mikey Day saying her name by himself.