Another weekend, another milestone for Saturday Night Live, which is set to welcome its first-ever host to emerge from the world of digital content creation: Druski.
To be fair to the comedian, actor, and entrepreneur, SNL didn’t exactly pluck him off Instagram. Earlier this year, he became the youngest-ever host of the BET Awards, he’s taken his Coulda Been Records franchise into arenas, and his new Netflix series, Collect & Praise, premieres December 1. Still, his path to Studio 8H—where he’s sharing the bill Saturday with five-time musical guest The Strokes—is unlike that of any host before him.
Coming just four days after Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections, the episode also gives SNL its first opportunity to respond to a dramatically changed political landscape.
Here are five storylines we’ll be tracking Saturday night:
Character Study
Druski comes to SNL with something especially useful for a sketch show: a deep bench of characters.
It’s hardly unprecedented for hosts to bring established characters to SNL. Former cast members often revive old favorites when they return, and repeat hosts sometimes revisit characters they first developed on the show.
Druski is different. His characters were created entirely outside SNL, making one thing especially worth watching: How many of those characters make their way to Studio 8H, and how many new ones does he develop with the show?
There’s also the matter of transformation. Druski is known for disappearing into his characters with elaborate costumes, makeup, and prosthetics. Pairing him with SNL’s award-winning hair and makeup teams is a tantalizing prospect—and could make the quick changes between live sketches especially ambitious.
Trump, Interrupted
James Austin Johnson’s Trump interrupted David S. Pumpkins in last week’s cold open. This week, the interruption came from voters, with Democrats winning control of both the House and Senate on Tuesday.
The new Congress won’t take office until January, but the results give SNL plenty to work with now. Republicans reckoning with Trump’s role in the losses, Democrats adjusting to an unexpectedly sweeping victory, and Trump trying to explain away the results all offer potential entry points.
After nearly two years of cold opens built around a president largely setting the political agenda, Tuesday’s results give SNL a new set of power dynamics to play with.
Kam’s Opening
First-time hosts have often found an early comfort zone with cast members they’ve worked with before. In this case, that could bode well for second-year featured player Kam Patterson.
Patterson and Druski appeared together in Livestream from Hell, the Prime Video horror comedy starring Druski, Kevin Hart, and Kai Cenat. Patterson played a delivery driver, a role that also spun off into the companion short Dash of a Lifetime.
That familiarity could be especially useful with a host whose comedy leans heavily on character work, improvisation, and playing off scene partners. If Druski does end up gravitating toward someone he already knows, this episode could prove to be one of Patterson’s more substantial showcases yet.
Tommy’s Turn
For Tommy Brennan, the question is becoming less about any one episode than about finding a foothold in his second season.
Brennan logged just seven seconds in last weekend’s episode, according to our latest screen-time report. Through four episodes, his 6:23 total ranks 16th among the show’s 17 cast members.
We’ve seen what a Brennan showcase can look like. Coincidentally, it was the fifth episode of last season, hosted by Nikki Glaser, that gave him one of his biggest showcases with “Karaoke Night,” playing one half of a pair of uncomfortably close siblings alongside Glaser.
As SNL reaches the quarter mark of the season, another sketch like that could go a long way toward defining what Brennan’s second year looks like.
Bring Back the Boombox?
The Strokes’ return brings a musical guest with some memorable SNL comedy history.
Frontman Julian Casablancas teamed with The Lonely Island for the 2010 Digital Short “Boombox,” then returned two years later for the group’s star-packed “100th Digital Short.”
That makes him a plausible candidate to venture beyond the musical stage Saturday.
There’s no indication that another Lonely Island reunion is in the works, but a musical pretape, a live-sketch cameo, or something entirely new with Druski could put his fifth SNL visit to use beyond the expected two performances.
This weekend’s Saturday Night Live airs Saturday, November 7 at 11:30 p.m. ET / 8:30 p.m. PT on NBC and Peacock.
Join us at LateNighter.com immediately after for the Saturday Night Network’s live after-show, where SNL experts and superfans share their hot takes on the night’s best and worst moments.
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