For 50 years, Saturday Night Live has invited the biggest names in movies, TV, music, comedy, sports, and more through its doors to host. And while everyone will debate who the GOAT SNL host is, one story makes a pretty clear case for who should be considered the worst Saturday Night Live host of all time.
Not everyone who gets the spotlight in Studio 8H delivers. Sketch comedy is hard. Live sketch comedy in front of millions of people watching from home is even harder. But the general consensus is that if a host is game and willing to try different things, you can't ask much more of them. It's when things go the other way that a host goes from a bad fit to a disaster.
That sounds like the case when Steven Seagal hosted Saturday Night Live on April 20, 1991. If you weren't around to see the episode, just take it from the people who were there.
Lorne Michaels, David Spade, and Tim Meadows have all gone on record as calling Seagal's week at Saturday Night Live among the worst in history. It's no surprise to hear the one-time action hero is on the unofficial list of banned hosts.
Bob Odenkirk offered another first-hand account of why Seagal is the worst Saturday Night Live host ever. The Better Call Saul actor was a writer when Seagal tried his hand at hosting.
"I was there when hosted 'SNL,'" Odenkirk told Howard Stern in 2022. "One of the most famous, nightmare, can't-reshow-that ever."
Odenkirk shared the story of trying to write a "Hans and Franz" sketch for Seagal to share with stars Dana Carvey and Kevin Nealon. Apparently, Seagal didn't see the humor in it and had some notes.
According to Odenkirk, Seagal read it and said "If I do this sketch, if I do it ... I have to beat up." The comedian couldn't wrap his head around why Seagal would think anyone could actually believe that two fictional characters to beat up an action star and martial artist.
"That was his attitude all week," Odenkirk continued. "He kept saying 'I've never seen your show. I don't know what you do here.'"
Steven Seagal wrote his own scene for Saturday Night Live
The "Hans and Franz" sketch wasn't the worst of it when Steven Seagal hosted. Bob Odenkirk revealed the movie star actually wrote a scene for himself to close out his Saturday Night Live episode.
"It's insane," Odenkirk said of the sketch, which featured actual stuntmen for Seagal to fight. The comedy writer compared it to one of Seagal's movies, but it didn't exactly translate to a live sketch.
Seagal's scene ended with the actor looking directly into the camera and preaching about pollution. Added up, it was truly one of the more bizarre moments in Saturday Night Live history.
So as SNL prepares to celebrate it's 50th anniversary, don't expect Steven Seagal to walk back through the doors of Studio 8H. Bob Odenkirk made sure everyone knew just how bad of a host SNL saw that day.