It’s been eight and a half years since Melissa McCarthy last hosted Saturday Night Live, and fans are already treating her return like an early holiday gift.
The six-time host is known for throwing herself headfirst into every sketch, and expectations are high that she’ll lift Season 51 to new heights as it heads into its final three-episode stretch before the holidays. But there’s also a more ominous sign looming over this week’s show.
Here are five storylines we’ll be watching this Saturday night:
The Gala Week Curse
SNL has accumulated plenty of superstitions over the years, and one of them could come into play this week. Each fall, the show’s cast, writers, and producers break from SNL’s usual production schedule to attend the annual American Museum of Natural History Gala, which is co-chaired by Lorne Michaels.
It’s clearly a fun night, but it also cuts into the show’s rehearsal time. That gap has fueled a quiet fan theory: that the Gala Week episode is cursed. Recent Gala Week hosts include Paul Mescal (2024), Emma Stone (2023), Keke Palmer (2022), and Simu Liu (2021). Can McCarthy break the streak?
The Groundlings, Part 1
One of McCarthy’s most beloved SNL sketches—“Hidden Valley Ranch Taste Test”—originated during her days with Los Angeles sketch troupe The Groundlings in 2008. The original stage version even featured Mikey Day, long before he joined the cast in 2016.
Day has continued bringing Groundlings material to Studio 8H, including the recurring “Car Altercation” sketches (McCarthy cameoed in one of those last season). With their shared history, might another Groundlings gem resurface this weekend?
The Groundlings, Part 2
Featured player Ashley Padilla continues to lead the cast in screen time and seems poised for another big episode. She already appeared in this week’s promo, and as a fellow Groundlings alum, shares a similar comic sensibility with McCarthy.
Add to that a potential cameo wildcard: Kristen Wiig, another Groundlings alum spotted in New York this week. Wiig played a major role the first time McCarthy hosted, and a McCarthy–Wiig–Padilla combination would be a truly full-circle moment.
Anchor of War
In the Season 51 premiere, “Weekend Update” co-anchor Colin Jost made a rare sketch appearance, playing Pete Hegseth in that night’s cold open. With the real Hegseth facing intense scrutiny this week over the legality (and brutality) of recent strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats and a damning Pentagon Inspector General’s report on his use of the messaging app Signal to share sensitive military information, might SNL once again lean on Jost?
SloWickline
Having logged just 11 minutes and 45 seconds of total screen time so far this season, second-year featured player Jane Wickline could use a creative jolt. She may have found it in fellow featured player Veronika Slowikowska, who teamed with Wickline earlier this week for an off-the-show Charli XCX-style Cyber Monday video that both cast members shared on their social channels.
Whether their collaboration makes the jump to Studio 8H remains to be seen. But SNL has a long history of cast-made digital videos evolving into breakout characters, and Wickline’s Season 51 closeup is long overdue.
This weekend’s Saturday Night Live airs Saturday, Dec. 6 at 11:30 p.m. ET / 8:30 p.m. PT on NBC and Peacock. Join us at LateNighter.com immediately afterwards 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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Yes,
7 pits of dirt hell.