Ariana Grande is probably enough of a Saturday Night Live veteran to make herself comfortable in Lorne Michaels’ office.
As the actress and recording artist gears up to host SNL’s Christmas episode this Saturday, a first promo from NBC finds her crashing the showrunner’s digs—with featured player Ashley Padilla—for a bird’s-eye view of Rockefeller Center.
The just-released clip kicks off with Padilla inviting Ashley to “throw snowballs at Ben Marshall and then go look at the tree” at Rockefeller Center, with the rest of the cast.
“You might want to bundle up,” Padilla warns. “It’s kind of cold.”
But as Grande decks herself out in sufficiently warm winter gear, she watches the temperature continually drop on her weather app, prompting her to add more layers. And more. By the time she’s cocooned in coats with her face completely covered, Padilla interrupts: “Oh, sorry Ariana. They actually closed off access to the tree!”
While Grande takes the moment in stride, Padilla offers a solution: “I actually know where we can get the best view,” she says.
Cut to longtime SNL boss Lorne Michaels’ office, where Grande and Padilla gaze out his office window down to the tree below. After Grande dips to use the bathroom, Padilla sticks around. “I’ll stay here and work,” she says.
Saturday marks Grande’s third time hosting SNL. While she has performed as a musical guest three times (including her double-duty turn in 2016), music duties for this week have been relegated to another huge get for SNL: Cher. Cher previously headlined SNL as musical guest for the first and last time 38 years ago, in November 1987.
