Posted in: NBC, Peacock, TV | Tagged: saturday night live, snl

SNL 50 Pregame: Bargatze on "Washington" Sketch; Martin Goes "Nigel"

SNL 50 Pregame: Nate Bargatze on hosting SNL again; Coldplay's Chris Martin channels his inner "Nigel" (who channels his inner Taylor Swift).

With host Nate Bargatze and musical guest Coldplay ready to take the stages of NBC's Saturday Night Live in just a few hours, we're rolling out something that might become a semi-regular thing around these parts during the season. In this first edition of SNL 50 Pregame," we check it with Bargatze and late-night host and SNL alum Seth Meyers as the two discuss Bargatze hosting SNL for the second time, how the "Washington's Dream" sketch went from a shaky start to sketch gold, resurrecting a cut sketch from last season, and how his colorblindness had him reading Heidi Gardner's lines. Following that, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin checked in with late-night host and SNL alum Jimmy Fallon, with the two getting a chance to discuss Martin performing with Michael J. Fox at Glastonbury, the band's history as it nears the end of its run, and more. But that's not before Martin got a chance to have a little fun playing audience member "Nigel," who makes his case for replacing an MIA Martin by performing Taylor Swift's "Blank Space," The Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" and Coldplay's "Yellow."

You can check out Bargatze talking SNL with Meyers in the clip above, and here's a look at the sketch that Martin took part in before grabbing some one-on-one interview couch time with Fallon:

SNL 50 Preview: Nate Bargatze & Coldplay

SNL star Kenan Thompson joined Bargatze and Coldplay for the on-stage promos on Thursday. First up, Thompson had to stop Bargatze from breaking a very big SNL rule. Following that, there seemed to be some confusion about just how long Thompson has been with SNL. Finally, the promos ended with Bargatze, Thompson, and the band appreciating the "diversity" on the stage.

During SNL's midweek sketch on Wednesday, Bowen Yang introduced Bargatze to the newest members of the SNL cast. Except that Bargatze had already met them… but it clearly wasn't Ashley Padilla, Emil Wakim, and Jane Wickline:

And here's a look back at Wednesday night, with Bargatze and the cast checking in during the official read-thru:

EP Lorne Michaels on Saturday Night Live Season 50

Back in May, the word went out regarding early plans to celebrate the milestone 50th season of Saturday Night Live. The network confirmed that there will be a "celebratory weekend" that wraps up on Sunday, February 16th (from 8-11 p.m. ET), with a live, primetime special. Now, thanks to an interview he had with The New York Times at the end of the most recent season, we're learning some additional details on what's ahead – and Michaels's thoughts on those rumblings about his retiring after Season 50.

Along with the primetime special on February 16th, music producer Mark Ronson and Michaels will produce a "homecoming" of sorts at Radio City Music Hall on the Friday of that weekend. In addition, it was noted that musician and producer Questlove (The Roots) is co-producing a documentary for the anniversary season spotlighting the impact that SNL had had on music and culture, and Morgan Neville (Steve! (Martin): A Documentary in 2 Pieces, Won't You Be My Neighbor) is producing five documentaries focusing on both Michaels and the long-running late-night sketch comedy/music series. As for those rumblings that the 50th anniversary will also be his last hurrah, Michaels is basing that decision on how he's feeling and not committing to anything. "I'm going to do it as long as I feel I can do it," he shared. "But I rely on other people and always have."

Heading into Season 50, SNL said goodbye to Punkie Johnson, Molly Kearney, and Chloe Troast – and hello to new featured players Ashley Padilla, Emil Wakim, and Jane Wickline. In addition, Marcello Hernandez, Michael Longfellow, and Devon Walker were promoted to the main cast. After this weekend, we have Oct. 12th: Ariana Grande / Stevie Nicks; Oct. 19th: Michael Keaton / Billie Eilish; Nov. 2nd: John Mulaney / Chappell Roan. The long-running late-night sketch comedy series is executive-produced by Lorne Michaels, with Liz Patrick directing and SNL alum Darrell Hammond announcing. Broadcasting from Studio 8H in Rockefeller Center, Saturday Night Live is produced by SNL Studios in association with Universal Television and Broadway Video.

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