Posted in: NBC, Peacock, TV | Tagged: jack black, snl

SNL Pregame: Highlights From Jack Black's April 2025 Hosting Gig

With Jack Black claiming his SNL "Five-Timers" jacket tonight, our SNL Pregame looks back on the highlights from his April 2025 hosting gig.

It was nearly one year to the day that actor/comedian/musician Jack Black last hosted NBC's Saturday Night Live – April 5th's S50E16 show (with musical guests Elton John & Brandi Carlile), to be precise. With Black set to return to Studio 8H (with musical guest Jack White) tonight to claim his SNL "Five-Timers" hosting jacket, we're looking back at our review from last year to pass along our original thoughts on four Black-starring sketches that hit and hit hard that weekend.

And don't forget that actor Colman Domingo will host SNL for his first time on April 11, 2026, joined by musical guest Anitta. Now, here's a look at those sketches:

"One Uppers": Imagine it's a "Debbie Downer" sketch – but instead of it being one depressing person bringing the entire group down, it's a group trying to proudly one-up each other in an escalating round of virtue signaling. And then, about halfway through, the premise doesn't even matter because now it's just Black and the cast having fun one-upping each other with their facial reactions while trying not to break.

"Flamin' Hot Commercial": Chester Cheetah is the voice of reason as a manic, red-faced Black regrets his decision to apply Flamin's Hot Preparation H directly to his anus. What more do you need to know? Side note: I don't know how Black can get his face that red and sweaty and still be conscious or not suffering a seizure or stroke – the dude really sold the idea that his butt was on fire.

"Bass Lake": Big Ricky and the Minnows (Black, Kenan Thompson, and Andrew Dismukes) are looking to jam – they just weren't expecting all of that bass. Black does an excellent job at slowly building his frustrations as the stage overflows with bass players, but Heidi Gardner's bass player with the flaming amp issues was the sketch's headline-grabber for me.

"Goth Kid on Vacation": What started off looking like a legit commercial became a musical sketch in which a reggae duo (Kenan Thompson and Ego Nwodim) offers an ode to all the goth and emo kids "forced" to vacation with their families. On paper, it's a funny enough concept – but between Michael Longfellow's goth kid and Black going the My Chemical Romance route, this was another example of how excellent writing and an all-in commitment from the cast can make any sketch work – and this one went above and beyond.

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