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

SNL Second-Guessing: Chalamet, Kahan Were Our Personal Season 49 Favs

In this week's SNL Second-Guessing, we explain why Timothée Chalamet and Noah Kahan were our personal favorite host and musical guest, respectively.

If you've checked out our reviews of NBC's Saturday Night Live in the past, then you know that we preach about all of the factors that come into play to make a show work – or really, really not work. It's the host, the musical guest, the cast, the writers, and even the audience – they all have important roles to play over the course of those 90 minutes. That's why, even though we ranked Season 49's shows, things can change a bit when you dig deeper into specifics. As SNL nears the start of Season 50, this weekend's SNL Second-Guessing looks at our personal favorite host and musical guest. Just to be clear? This isn't any kind of slam against anyone – and this was not an easy thing to consider (thanks to SNL for its YouTube playlists sectioned by each show, making my life so much easier). With that in mind, let's take a look at who topped our lists:

S49E04: Timothée Chalamet (November 11, 2023): While we know we made the argument last week that Emma Stone could've easily been a member of the OG SNL cast (and we stand by that call), Timothée Chalamet scored with us because he was everything that the long-running late-night sketch comedy/music series needs in a host. We're not saying whether or not he could have a respectable SNL, but we can say that did an important thing that every host needs to do. Chalamet had fun without making it all about him, handing himself over to the SNL writers and trusting what they had in store for him. That created the kind of vibe that allowed the SNL cast to shine in an impressive run of sketches. But best of all, Chalamet's enjoyment had a ripple effect on viewers – he was having so much fun that there was no way we shouldn't be having fun.

S40E06 Noah Kahan (December 2, 2023): As I mentioned at the time, my exposure to Noah Kahan's sound was nonexistent heading into the late 2023 show. By the time he was done performing "Stick Season" and "Dial Drunk," I made sure to make up for lost time. Aside from both songs hitting me in ways that I never expected, Kahan was able to appear "large" during both rounds through the passion and commitment that he brought to each song. Even writing about it now, I still find it hard to believe that was his first time ever performing in Studio 8H for SNL.

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