Dennis Perkins is LateNighter’s resident Saturday Night Live reviewer.
With the first nine episodes of Saturday Night Live‘s Season 51 in the books and the show on holiday break, it feels like the right moment to take stock: looking back, which episodes lived to my admittedly high standards for a show I adore, and which fell short?
I’m also taking this opportunity to look back at my original reviews and ask myself: was I being too hard on them, too forgiving, or—let’s be honest—pretty much right?
The grades this season have clustered stubbornly around “fine,” with one clear standout. Looking back at them all at once doesn’t radically change that picture, but it does sharpen it.
Here are the Season 51 episodes so far, ranked from worst to best. (Host and musical guest names link to the original full reviews.)
9. Bad Bunny/Doja Cat (Oct 4)
The Good: In his monologue, Bad Bunny trolls—in Spanish—bigots complaining about him being named this year’s Super Bowl halftime performer; featured player Ashley Padilla announces herself by saving “Parent Teacher Conference“; Benicio del Toro’s surprise cameo in the “Washington’s Dream“-esque “Inventing Spanish“; musical guest Doja Cat being weird and awesome.
The Bad: The first joke-stealing accusation of the season (“ChatGPTio”), right out of the gate.
‘Weekend Update’ Highlight: “A Trump adviser said ICE agents will attend the Super Bowl after Bad Bunny was announced as the halftime performer. You know, to catch all those farm workers who can afford Super Bowl tickets.“—Michael Che
Original Grade: C
Upon Further Reflection: Yeah, that’s about right.
8. Josh O’Connor/Lily Allen (Dec. 13)
The Good: Host Josh O’Connor matches Bowen Yang’s manic weirdness in “College Class“; when your funny Uber Eats parody spawns real-life results, that’s a win; musical guest Lily Allen bringing Dakota Johnson out to emphasize just how personal (and unnervingly specific) her post-break-up lyrics are.
The Bad: Your dating show parody needs better punchlines than “old women are creepy”; your Wizard of Oz sketch needs a better twist than a dick joke—or at least this dick joke.
‘Weekend Update’ Highlight: Michael Che, responding to Trump claiming Democrats made up “affordability” to shame him: “But if Democrats wanted to make up a word specifically to hurt Trump it would probably be ‘fatmentia.’”
Original Grade: C+
Upon Further Reflection: C (but lower if you’re David Harbour).
7. Sabrina Carpenter/Sabrina Carpenter (Oct. 18)
The Good: Ashley Padilla sells a “Surprise” fart joke like nobody in ages; Veronika Slowikoska matches Sabrina Carpenter as a singing washing machine; Former Please Don’t Destroy-er Martin Herlihy’s Frankenstein-based “Social Experiment.”
The Bad: Domingo returns for no discernible reason, though on the bright side, the cold open bombing means we’ll probably never see him again; sloppy prop work in “Girlboss Seminar.”
‘Weekend Update’ Highlight: “Because if history is any guide, a lot of Trump officials will end up fleeing to Argentina.”—Colin Jost on Trump’s $40 billion Argentinian bailout.
Original Grade: C+
Upon Further Reflection: Yup.
6. Miles Teller/Brandi Carlile (Nov 1)
The Good: Andrew Dismukes steals a “Murder Press Briefing” with his comic book pitch; Dismukes and Ashley Padilla’s rumpled charm as “Two People Who Just Hooked Up” discussing the government shutdown; musical guest Carlile’s defiant lyric, “They’re not gonna live forever/Burn tomorrow, never say/They’re here today, then they’re gone forever” in “Church & State.”
The Bad: Lackluster “Newsroom” background chaos; Lorne Michaels’ baffling, steadfast loyalty to the justly fired Shane Gillis in the cold open.
‘Weekend Update’ Highlight: “Due to the government shutdown, SNAP food benefits ran out of funds today. But the government still provides needy family with free food through the Second Amendment.“—Michael Che, over a photo of a handgun
Original Grade: B-
Upon Further Reflection: Knock it down to a C+.
5. Amy Poehler/ Role Model (Oct. 11)
The Good: SNL legend Amy Poehler channeling some Upright Citizens Brigade insanity as bombastic lawyer Lachlan Mulchberger; Poehler’s menopausal teen angst as “Emo Mom“; Tina Fey and Seth Meyers joining Poehler for an “Update” joke-off.
The Bad: Premise fatigue in “The Rudemans“; overall squandering of Poehler; Role Model’s manufactured folksiness.
‘Weekend Update’ Highlight: “The U.S. Treasury is planning to release a silver dollar with President Trump’s face on it. And then on the other side, he has Harriet Tubman in a headlock.“—Michael Che
Original Grade: C+
Upon Further Reflection: Disappointment aside, Poehler in the house warrants an upgrade to B-.
4. Ariana Grande/Cher (Dec. 20)
The Good: Modulated elf voices aside, the “Elf on a Shelf Support Group” got nice and dark; host Ariana Grande and James Austin Johnson made great music together as both Katy Perry/Bob Dylan and Celine Dion/Andrea Bocelli; Aidy Bryant stopping by for Bowen Yang’s last show; Yang’s “Delta Lounge” goodbye sketch (excuse me, there’s something in my eye); Michael Che’s apparently genuine “Christmas Joke Swap” ambush nails Colin Jost.
The Bad: Tossing the Grinch into a Love Is Blind sketch doesn’t make it any more worthwhile; Kam Patterson’s home invasion fantasy against the Clauses on “Update” was just creepy.
‘Weekend Update’ Highlight: “The Justice Department announced that it would not be able to release all of the Jeffrey Epstein files by yesterday’s deadline. I guess they kept running out of black ink.“—Che
Original Grade: B-
Upon Further Reflection: Call it holiday cheer, but I’ll stick with the B- for an underwhelming outing.
3. Nikki Glaser/sombr (Nov. 8)
The Good: James Austin Johnson’s magnificently underplayed “Pilot Announcement“; featured player Jeremy Culhane’s pronunciation of “Pinwheel“; the off-the-rails, ’90s SNL loopiness of “Mechanical Bull.”
The Bad: Lame “Beauty & Mr. Beast” reaps SNL‘s second plagiarism accusation of the season; malfunctioning mask prop is the least of the “Sorority Meeting” issues.
‘Weekend Update’ Highlight: “He can’t be far-left and a jihadist. I mean, what’s he going to do, turn ISIS into THEYSIS?”—Michael Che on conservatives’ all-fronts attacks on NYC mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.
Original Grade: B-
Upon Further Reflection: Three weird, good sketches can’t counterbalance Season 51 mediocrity. B-.
2. Glen Powell/Olivia Dean (Nov. 15)
The Good: Ashley Padilla’s reaction to her new “Haircut“; James Austin Johnson reveals he’s got a Stellan Skarsgård impression in his back pocket for “Norwegian Movie“; Andrew Dismukes’ unimpressive husband vainly tries to upstage Powell’s Liam Neeson impression; a Will Forte cameo is always welcome, as MacGruber finds himself in the Epstein files.
The Bad: Marcello Hernandez has a good Sebastian Maniscalco impression… but why?; Olivia Dean’s mopey, snoozy songs.
‘Weekend Update’ Highlight: “President Trump denied online rumors that the gold decorations in the Oval Office came from Home Depot. Even though he has a whole team of guys taking stuff from Home Depot all the time.”—Michael Che, over a photo of masked ICE agents.
Original Grade: B-
Upon Further Reflection: Spot on.
1. Melissa McCarthy/Dijon (Dec. 6)
The Good: “Free Sample” is simultaneously sweet, silly, absurd, and alarming, with great work from host Melissa McCarthy and Jeremy Culhane; McCarthy’s fearless physical comedy genius on full display in “UPS Delivery Driver“; Andrew Dismukes shines as yet another weirdly disappointing husband in “Sunday Supper“; McCarthy hurls herself around her monologue stage (and piano); Colin Jost comes out from behind the “Update” desk for a surprisingly effective cold open as Pete Hegseth.
The Bad: McCarthy and Bowen Yang in bald caps should be funnier.
‘Weekend Update’ Highlight: “President Trump said that he will soon release the results of his MRI test from October. He just needs a little more time to write ‘of genius’ after the word ‘stroke.’“—Colin Jost
Original Grade: B+
Upon Further Reflection: That B+ leads the season-to-date.
SNL Season 51 resumes Saturday, January 17, 2026, with host Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things) and musical guest ASAP Rocky.
Brandi Carlile was, for me, far and away the best musical guest of the nine episodes. But I’m also a while guy in his early 50s, so probably not the target audience for those segments.
Great picks, Dennis. I agree in general with you. As always.However, to me, I’d put Glaser at the top of season so far. That was an incredible night especially for JAJ.
Speaking of James, it is heartwarming seeing how much praise he is getting this season after S50 I felt underused him at various points outside of the cold opens. If it goes all well for him and he has, let’s say, S51-54 as his peak and strongest seasons overall, where would you rank him in your personal favorite cast members list?