Saturday Night Live: Maya Rudolph is back where she belongs as host

Maya Rudolph has finally hosted Saturday Night Live again, for the first time in over nine years. This made too much sense not to happen, and I’m only surprised it didn’t happen sooner. Rudolph has made numerous cameo appearances on SNL since she left the cast in 2007, and she was practically a main cast member again in the weeks leading up to the 2020 presidential election.

During the first six shows of season 46, I was a little disappointed with how often Maya Rudolph was appearing in sketches. She’s absolutely fantastic, but Saturday Night Live already has a large main cast of very talented performers, and it’s a shame not to give them as many opportunities as possible. However, I was thrilled that Rudolph came back to host on Saturday because I could enjoy her in all the sketches without worrying about the rest of the cast missing out on roles.

From the second Maya Rudolph came onscreen for the cold open, you could tell she was just meant to be there. She was born to be a sketch comedian. Here were my favorite sketches of the night.

Saturday Night Live with Maya Rudolph review: Monologue

Maya Rudolph’s monologue was fantastic. It started out with a couple of great jokes, like when she called the new cast members “Chirpie, Little Didi, and Calista Vagina” (I’ll let you guess who was who). The real genius of the monologue, however, completely sneaks up on you. I won’t spoil it if you haven’t seen it yet. Do yourself a favor and watch it right now:

Saturday Night Live with Maya Rudolph review: Boomers Got the Vax

This was fantastic. Great music, great lyrics, and absolutely incredible performances. I was really impressed with the entire cast in this one; they’re a very musically talented group. I’ll definitely be listening to this one again and again.

Oh, and a beloved character from the beginning of the season makes a reappearance. I guarantee you won’t see it coming.

Saturday Night Live with Maya Rudolph review: Choreographers

This one is so much fun. Kenan Thompson and Maya Rudolph are just such incredible character actors, and these particular characters were absolutely delightful.

While the acting was clearly the highlight of this sketch, the writing was strong too. Kenan calling a water cooler a “big water bottle” was hysterical, as were all his other bizarre misidentifications.

Saturday Night Live with Maya Rudolph review: Barfly Awards

When this one started, it seemed a bit too gimmicky, but it actually ended up making me laugh harder than any other sketch in the show. It just had so many solid one-liners, and the cast was so good at playing drunkards (especially Cecily Strong). Maya Rudolph’s character was also incredible.

Other thoughts on Saturday Night Live with Maya Rudolph

• I love Kyle Mooney and Chris Redd with bleached-blonde hair. What a look.
• Maya Rudolph as Beyoncé: Yeah, I’m not going to drink a big, fat glass of milk on camera.”
• The Passover sketch was a little weird, but it was still great to see Martin Short come back to SNL as Doug Emhoff.
• Andy Bryant as Ted Cruz: “In honor of Passover, I had my hair cut by a mohel.”
• Chris Redd’s verse in the NFT song was lyrically brilliant. I really hope he keeps doing musical comedy when he leaves SNL.
• I really like this idea Colin Jost suggested on Weekend Update: “If you want a gun, the gun store has to talk to at least five people in your life who agree it’s a good idea for you to have a gun.”
• “The Maya-Ing” could have been a brilliant sketch with a few more jokes and a bit more structure, but I still enjoyed it. I love when SNL gets self-referential, and it’s always nice to see old cast members make a cameo. Oh, and I love the suggestion that Beck Bennett likes to go through the host’s purse.

What did you think of Saturday Night Live with Maya Rudolph? Do you think she’ll win a second straight Emmy Award for her work on the show? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.