Saturday Night Live: The best sketches from Bill Burr

Saturday Night Live’s second episode of season 46 was an improvement thanks to Bill Burr

While it seems like Saturday Night Live still hasn’t quite hit its stride, the most recent episode–just the program’s second live show since early March–was certainly an improvement over the lackluster season premiere.

Unlike last week, when host Chris Rock didn’t really get to play any interesting characters, host Bill Burr was certainly the star of the show. He was featured in a lead role in four of the night’s six sketches, including my three favorite sketches of the night.

In no particular order, here are my reviews of the three best sketches from this week’s show.

Sam Adams

In this follow up to the 2016 sketch “Dunkin Donuts,” Bill Burr plays a “real Bostonian” who finds himself completely out of place in a clichéd beer commercial.

While Burr’s character was funny, the sketch shone because of the rest of the cast’s spot-on portrayals of “real people” in a commercial. Alex Moffat, Beck Bennett, Ego Nwodim, and Lauren Holt were subtle but hilarious, and it really paid off. The contrast between their characters and Burr’s was hysterical.

What can I say? I’m a sucker for a good Saturday Night Live commercial parody.

New Normal

This was another sketch that worked so well because of the perfect contrast between subtle comedy and ridiculous, over-the-top characters.

Bill Burr and Kate McKinnon are hilarious from the get-go in this sketch, about three couples meeting for socially-distanced drinks. Burr and McKinnon play characters who’ve become somewhat unhinged as a result of social distancing, and they both capture the subtleties of quarantine-induced madness.

Of course, as the sketch goes on it becomes clear that these characters are far more than “somewhat” unhinged, and Burr and McKinnon are equally adept at playing this couple who seem to have completely lost their minds during quarantine.

After watching this sketch and McKinnon’s character Dr. Wayne Wenowdis on Weekend Update, it’s hard not to think that McKinnon herself has been going a little mad during the pandemic. (We love you, Kate!)

Sports Debate

In this sketch, Bill Burr plays a sportscaster who becomes overwhelmed with white guilt after it becomes apparent that he paid more attention to a football game than the news about a black man harmed in a police shooting the night before.

Pete Davidson deserves credit for his role as the hilariously oblivious waiter who keeps trying to offer Burr’s character “fresh cracked pepper” (yes, there’s a waiter on the sports broadcast–watch the sketch!) Ego Nwodim and Kenan Thompson are also solid as Burr’s completely normal broadcast partners who have to put up with his behavior.

Saturday Night Live cast member of the week

While Burr was the star of all three of these sketches, I’d say the real MVP was Ego Nwodim. She played “straight characters” in all three of these sketches, and served as a perfect foil for Burr’s comedy. Now that she’s a repertory player, I look forward to seeing her take on leading roles for many Saturday Night Live seasons to come.

Let me know your thoughts on these sketches in the comments below, and check back next week for my thoughts on the latest episode!