Saturday Night Live: The five best hosts of season 45…so far

1. Eddie Murphy

Just because Eddie Murphy was announced as a host over the summer doesn’t mean he was a lock to be among the season’s bests hosts. After all, 35 years is a long time to go between Saturday Night Live appearances. But then again, there is only on Eddie Murphy.

Murphy blew all expectations out of the water when he returned, proving that he truly is one of the all-time greats when it comes to Saturday Night Live. Reviving his old characters could have been cheap but instead Murphy and the SNL writers found a way to make them fresh, biting, and hilarious for 2019.

Fans responded in a major way. Murphy’s episode came into the night with a massive amount of buzz on social media and then became the highest rated show of the season. It was watched live by more viewers than SNL had seen in two years. And when you account for DVR playback, it was the most popular episode since 2008.

Every sketch during the night hit and would have been the best on any other episode. Murphy added to to SNL’s greatest holiday sketches collection while also showing that Mr. Robinson, Gumby, and Velvet Jones are among the show’s best characters of all-time.

These days few sketches have a high rewatch value, never mind an entire episode. But Eddie Murphy changed all of that on Dec. 21, locking in one of Saturday Night Live‘s best episodes in decades.

With half a season left to go, it’s hard to imagine anyone overcoming Eddie Murphy as the best host of season 45. Who do you think have been the top hosts so far? Let us know in the comment section below. Saturday Night Live returns on Jan. 25 with Adam Driver as host.