Posted in: NBC, Preview, Trailer, TV, YouTube | Tagged: Aidy Bryant, Alex Moffat, Beck Bennett, bleeding cool, Bowen Yang, Cecily Strong, Chloe Fineman, Chris Redd, chris rock, colin jost, comedy, Ego Nwodim, Heidi Gardner, Kate McKinnon, Kenan Thompson, Kyle Mooney, Melissa Villaseñor, michael che, Mikey Day, nbc, nyc, Pete Davidson, preview, saturday night live, sketches, snl, teaser, trailer

Saturday Night Live Clip Reminds SNL Fans Why Chris Rock Rules

As much as we enjoyed and appreciated NBC's Saturday Night Live and its "@Home editions," we would be lying if we said we weren't excited to see the gang heading back (safely) to Studio 8H on October 3rd. We're curious to see how the show will be able to give a sense of "live" with a limited live audience. Will they go the "virtual audience" route that professional sports (and the WWE) have gone? Will we see some outdoor action going on? One thing we do know is that they've stacked the deck musically for the season kick-off, with musical artist Megan Thee Stallion tapped to perform. But as SNL junkies, for us, the 46th season opener is all about host and former castmate Chris Rock. With still more than a week to go before the premiere, we weren't expecting any filmed promos yet, but what SNL and Rock fans did get on Wednesday was a teaser-reminder of what Rock's brought to the sketch comedy-variety series.

Here's a look back at some of Rock's best moments from SNL, followed by a look at how table reads are running now that new COVID protocols are in place and a flashback to Rock's cast photo:

Even with the cast, writers, and staff/crews receiving regular COVID testing, SNL creator Lorne Michaels and the others still have health concerns- and Michaels makes it clear that he's still not sure they can make the magic happen. "We don't know that we're going to be able to pull it off. We're going to be as surprised as everyone else when it actually goes on," he explained. "We just have to stay clean and focused until October 3rd. And then we do five shows in a row." Michaels also addressed how the death of popular Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will impact Kate McKinnon's portrayal. Asked if Justice Ginsburg's passing will mean the character being retired on-screen, Michaels gave a blunt, direct answer that doesn't appear to leave much doubt: "I doubt it."

Saturday Night Live's 46th season includes Beck Bennett, Aidy Bryant, Michael Che, Pete Davidson, Mikey Day, Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner, Colin Jost, Kate McKinnon, Alex Moffat, Kyle Mooney, Ego Nwodim, Chris Redd, Cecily Strong, Kenan Thompson, Melissa Villaseñor, and Bowen Yang. Che and Jost serve as head writers, with Bryan Tucker serving as senior writer. Lauren Holt (The Filth), Punkie Johnson (Space Force), and Andrew Dismukes (Comedy Central's Colossal ClusterFest, New York Comedy Festival) are joining the cast as feature players. Alec Baldwin returns as Donald Trump, with Maya Rudolph joining them as Kamala Harris, and Jim Carrey as Joe Biden (Bennett will continue as Michael Pence).

Not including specials and digital series, SNL has won 72 Emmy Awards, the most for any show in television history. SNL also holds the title for the most nominated television show in Emmy history with 270 nominations (once again, not including specials and digital series). The long-running sketch comedy and musical series is executive produced by Lorne Michaels, produced by Steve Higgins and Erik Kenward, and directed by Don Roy King. Ken Aymong serves as a supervising producer, with Lindsay Shookus, Erin Doyle, and Tom Broecker producing. The series is produced by SNL Studios in association with Universal Television and Broadway Video.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!