SNL101

Saturday Night Live in the Classroom

S51 E20: Will Ferrell

We debate when Will Ferrell’s sixth hosting stint on May 16, 2026 felt nostalgic and when it felt dated. “Cast List 2,” a near-identical rerun of a 2019 cut sketch, demonstrates how humor around teacher misconduct hasn’t evolved since the Me Too movement.”Nudemans” sparks a discussion of public nudity laws, and “Bobbin’s Sacrifice” becomes a…
S51 E19: Matt Damon

We highlight Damon’s versatility across sketches and praise his comic timing and professional presence. We unpack Godzilla Movie and the context of disgust, the psychology of time with Jane Wickline on Being Chronically Late, and the power of words in Auctioneers.
S51 E18: Olivia Rodrigo

We gush over Aziz Ansari’s Kash Patel in the Iran Press Briefing Cold Open before exploring Rasta Driver as a case study in white performers adopting Black cultural affect, the deployment of bedroom culture and the collapse of private spaces in My Room, as well as the absurdity of TikTok surveillance and “contentification” in Home…
S51 E17: Colman Domingo

We unanimously declare this the best episode of the season and discuss Fashion District Robbery, a sharp, unapologetically queer sketch about fashion-world subculture and Prep School, an absurdist riff on inspirational teacher films that opens a philosophical discussion on the nature of knowledge.
S51 E16: Jack Black

We unpack Kathy, which features Ashly Padilla as an awkward coworker desperately inserting herself into office conversations, to explore themes of social exclusion, belonging, and the psychology of prying.
S51 E15: Harry Styles

Harry Styles’ second time as host and musical guest on March 14, 2026 was genuinely fun, and the final sketch of the night, “Harry For Him,” opened a broader conversation about masculinity, makeover culture, and style identity.
S51 E14: Ryan Gosling

We explore late-stage capitalism and labor exploitation in Monty McTreats & the Pastry Bakery, a Willy Wonka parody, as well as Colin Jost’s Pete Hegseth in the Hegseth Iran Presser Cold Open as an example of sneering satire undermining authoritarian posturing.
S51 E13: Connor Storrie

We unpack Mr. Fronzi for its ethnic stereotyping and insider humor as well as debate the controversial cut-for-time sketch Tourette’s, and discuss disability representation, audience responsibility, and comedic framing.
S51 E12: Alex Skarsgård

We discuss cognitive dissonance, political reconciliation, and forgiveness, face-saving in “Mom’s Confession” and themes of belonging, friendship, power dynamics, and psychosocial needs in “Viking Raid.”
S51 E11: Teyana Taylor

We talk about the corporate synergy with NFL on ESPN, linguistics and cultural appropriation in Weekend Update: Marcello Hernández Translates Gen Z Terms, white guilt in turbulent times with Beyond the Headlines, and the strategic deployment of innocence in Toy Commercial.