Is Maya Rudolph actually the longest-running Saturday Night Live cast member? The just-released promo for her SNL hosting gig this weekend certainly makes that case.
The clip opens with Chloe Troast walking down the hallway at SNL’s offices with fellow cast member Andrew Dismukes, asking him if he’s excited for summer. (He’s got plans.)
But the pair are taken aback when they hear laughter spilling out from behind a closet door.
When they open it, they’re shocked to discover Maya Rudolph, dressed in colonial garb and eating porridge.
“I’ve been in here since 2007,” she explains. “I never left.” (Rudolph joined SNL in 2000, and her last appearance was in November 2007, right before the Writers Guild of America strike caused the show to suspend production. She had left the cast by the time it ended in February 2008.)
“You’ve been here for 17 years?” Dismuskes asks.
“Why would I leave?” she replies. “I have everything I need here: my books, my porridge, and my dear friend Kenny.”
Kenny is revealed to be a mop with googly eyes—but Maya can hear him speak, so at least she’s had some company.
When informed she’s hosting SNL this weekend, Rudolph manages to miraculously teleport out of the closet—so it seems she’s all ready to lead the show this Saturday alongside Vampire Weekend. She’s hosted twice before, in 2012 and 2021.
