She’s worked with some of the biggest names in pop culture over the six years she’s spent on the cast of Saturday Night Live, but there’s one would-be host who remains Heidi Gardner’s white whale.
In a new interview with her hometown paper, Kansas City’s The Pitch, Gardner was quick to answer when asked who’s on her must-have host list. “Obviously, [Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick] Mahomes would be incredible to get,” she said.
Referencing Travis Kelce’s 2023 SNL hosting stint, Gardner added “Just the fact that a Kansas City Chief hosted SNL is so cool. I’m probably pressing my luck trying to get another one.”
It’s not exactly a pipe dream. Mahomes recently let slip that he turned down hosting the show this season, but said that it remains on his bucket list.
Even if Mahomes as SNL host never comes to, um, pass, Gardner has a few other names in mind. “You know, Beetlejuice comes out in the fall,” she told The Pitch. “I think Catherine O’Hara or Winona Ryder would be really cool to get on. Oh, and LeBron James!” (All three have previously hosted the show, but not since Gardner joined the cast in 2017.)
Gardner will be in Kansas City this weekend, along with Mahomes and at least five of her current SNL castmates, as she co-hosts the 15th annual Big Slick, a three-day event benefiting Children’s Mercy Kansas City.
