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SNL Cold Open: Colin Jost's Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth takes questions before introducing Aziz Ansari's FBI Director Kash Patel.
Posted in: NBC, Peacock, TV | Tagged: saturday night live, snl
SNL Cold Open Takes on Pete Hegseth, Intros Aziz Ansari's Kash Patel
SNL Cold Open: Colin Jost's Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth takes questions before introducing Aziz Ansari's FBI Director Kash Patel.
Article Summary
- SNL cold open starts with Ashley Padilla’s Karoline Leavitt on A-SPAN before Colin Jost’s Pete Hegseth storms in.
- Jost’s SNL Pete Hegseth riffs on war costs, movie mix-ups, and dudebro bravado in a sharp Trump-era parody.
- Aziz Ansari debuts on SNL as FBI Director Kash Patel, playing him as wide-eyed, defensive, and deeply suspicious.
- Before Olivia Rodrigo hosts and performs, the SNL recap also revisits her past appearances and week-of promos.
Before NBC's Saturday Night Live wraps up Season 51 with Matt Damon and Noah Kahan on May 9th, and Will Ferrell and Paul McCartney on May 16th, musical sensation Olivia Rodrigo takes to the Studio 8H main stage tonight as both host and musical guest. Of course, before we get to Rodrigo's monologue, we have the very important matter of the SNL Cold Open to check out. At this point, what didn't happen this week that SNL couldn't target – especially when it comes to the Trump Administration? Maybe a take on the Scott Jennings/Adam Mockler incident from CNN? Maybe a take on Trump's continued calls to have Jimmy Kimmel fired?
We're kicking off with Ashley Padilla's Karoline Leavitt on "A-SPAN," discussing her maternity leave (Trump told her to leave after she told him she was pregnant). That brought out Colin Jost's dudebro Pete Hegseth, who said the Iran war was playing out like a move ("The Neverending Story"). Hegseth was called out for using Pulp Fiction as a Biblical quote, for using the cost of the war, and for the damage the military has sustained. You can imagine the responses – including Hegseth's reference to "Pete's Dragon" (yup).
From there, Aziz Ansari was introduced as FBI Director Kash Patel, wide-eyed and everything, defending his record by teasing that they're close to catching Osama Bin Laden. As for reports that Trump wants him fired, Patel said that everyone loves him – including the White House Correspondents' Dinner shooter, who excluded him in his manifesto. Patel also made it clear that he's not drinking or partying on the job – getting really specific with examples of things "he definitely didn't do."
SNL Rewind: A Look Back at Olivia Rodrigo's Previous Appearances
Though this will be the first time that she's hosting – and pulling double duty – Rodrigo is no stranger to SNL, having appeared twice as the musical guest: S46E19 (May 15, 2021, with host Keegan-Michael Key) and S49E07 (December 9, 2023, with host Adam Driver). Here's a look back at her highlights from the two shows:
SNL 51: A Look Back at Olivia Rodrigo's Week
In the SNL Midweek Sketch, Rodrigo wanted SNL stars Andrew Dismukes and Jane Wickline to know that she was there to serve the show and do whatever she could to help – and then, things shifted into "The Devil Wears Prada" mode. We don't want to spoil it, but it proved once again why James Austin Johnson is an SNL All-Star:
Here's a look at the table read with Rodrigo and members of the SNL cast from Wednesday night:
On Thursday, Rodrigo was joined by SNL star Ashley Padilla. For this go-around, we're getting a longer-than-usual collection of clips that… well, they're pretty much all over the place (in a good way). We have Padilla hinting at a shady subway past as being the reason why she had to get her driver's license, Padilla losing big money on Rodrigo at the 2022 Billboard Awards, and more – including an examination of what happens when we die… before things take a dark turn.
And here's a look at the note that Jack White, the previous show's musical guest, left for Rodrigo: "KILL IT KID."
The SNL Season 51 cast includes Michael Che, Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes, Chloe Fineman, Marcello Hernandez, James Austin Johnson, Colin Jost, Sarah Sherman, Kenan Thompson, and Bowen Yang, along with current featured players Ashley Padilla and Jane Wickline. Joining them are newcomers Ben Marshall, Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson, and Veronika Slowikowska.
New writers for this season include actor-writer Jack Bensinger (Rap World), stand-up comedian Jo Sunday (Just for Laughs), comic Maddie Wiener (The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon), actor and writer Rachel Pegram (Harley Quinn), writer-comedian Claire McFadden (Second City), Maxwell Gay (The Harvard Lampoon), and Tucker Flodman (The Harvard Lampoon). NBC's Saturday Night Live premiered on Oct. 11, 1975, and broadcasts live from NBC's famed Studio 8H in New York City's Rockefeller Center. The program is a production of Broadway Video in association with SNL Studios. Lorne Michaels is the executive producer.
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