Fourth time’s a charm. At least it was for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice star Michael Keaton and musical guest Billie Eilish, both of whom returned to Saturday Night Live for their fourth appearance.
Keaton, who was later joined by Andy Samberg and Mikey Day in full Beetlejuice getups, kicked things off with a nostalgic opening monologue recalling his early days at NBC.
“I was a PA on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” the actor said during his opening monologue. “In the ’70s, you know, SNL and Mister Rogers [had] a lot more similarities than you would think. Lots of puppets. Tons of cocaine.”
The show opened with Maya Rudolph returning as Vice President Kamala Harris, along with Alec Baldwin making a surprise appearance as Fox News anchor Bret Baier, to parody Harris’s much-discussed interview on the conservative network on Oct. 16.
Also returning was James Austin Johnson as Donald Trump, poking fun at the former president’s recent Fox News town hall. Plus, Dana Carvey made a comeback as President Biden, delivering an offbeat rant about Joker: Folie à Deux.
A ‘very demure, very mindful’ cold open
Baldwin came out swinging in his portrayal of Baier — his first return to the show since the dismissal of his Rust involuntary manslaughter case in July.
“Good evening, I’m Bret Baier, and to clear the air, yes, I do look like someone made a businessman in Minecraft,” he quipped.
During the cold open, Baldwin and Rudolph re-created the combative interview had by the real Baier and Harris last week, with Baldwin filling the segment with relentless interruptions and loaded questions.
When accused of trying to create a viral meme moment, Rudolph said, “Oh, please. I am not looking for a viral moment,” and she then turned quickly to a side camera with a TikTok filter effect.
“See how I don’t let men interrupt my answers? Very demure, very mindful,” she said, a reference to the viral TikTok video from internet personality Jools LeBron.
A moment later, she said, “I am here to reach across the aisle,” before glancing back into the TikTok filter to add: “Hundreds of Republicans have endorsed me because — In ‘da clurb, we all fam.”
At another point in the mock interview, Baldwin-as-Baier played a clip of Johnson’s Trump dancing to “YMCA,” parodying a recent town hall event where the former president reportedly spent 39 minutes swaying to music after multiple audience members fainted.
“See this election is about contrast,” Rudolph said. “At my rallies, there’s Beyoncé and joy and bathrooms. At his rallies he won’t pay for the buses. And hundreds of elderly people gotta walk back to their cars, six miles through the desert like an Old Testament Fyre Festival.”
Who’s hosting next?
Nov. 2: John Mulaney with musical guest Chappell Roan
