First-timers Aubrey Plaza and Michael B. Jordan to kick off this year’s SNLs
Sam Smith and Lil Baby will serve as musical guests, respectively, for the two hosts
Aux News Aubrey Plaza
And so it begins: The tide of movie stars, comedians, and occasionally deeply bizarre and embarrassing choices that will make up yet another year of Saturday Night Live hosting picks. To be fair, the show seems to be off to a pretty good start for its first two outings of 2023, announcing today (via its tried-and-true Post-It notes system) that Aubrey Plaza and Michael B. Jordan will both be hosting the show for the first time this January.
Plaza’s up first, arriving in 30 Rock on January 21, presumably on the back of her new Guy Ritchie movie, Operation Fortune—but also, if we had to guess, on the fact that Aubrey Plaza has just had a pretty damn good couple of years. Jordan, meanwhile, will follow on January 28. He’ll be out ahead of Creed III, which is currently set for a March 3 release date, and which will see Jordan in the director’s chair for the first time, in addition to the boxing ring.
Judging how well any first-time host will handle Saturday Night Live is always a tricky prospect; even talented and charismatic presences can find themselves chewed up and spit out by the show’s relentless pace (and also just some lackluster writing and crappy sketches). That being said, Plaza and Jordan both feel like good “fits”; both have presences strong enough to stand out even buried under wigs and costumes, while also seeming game enough to toss themselves into any ideas that get pitched to them.
Meanwhile, musical duties on the two episodes will be handled by Sam Smith and Lil Baby, with Smith appearing on the January 21 episode, and Lil Baby on Jan. 28. Smith’s new album, Gloria, is out later this month, on January 27.
23 Comments
I wonder why no one on SNL’s done an impression of her.
Saturday Night Woke
negative plus, dipshit
Stay proudly asleep, bro!
You must hate how ‘woke’ R&M is becoming. Eat shit.
Oh shit I’ll actually intend to watch those two episodes.
SNL making blatant bids for the all-important Horny demographic.
those of us over in the horny bisexual demographic are having a great time with this news.
Wow, do people still get horny?
yo is it just me or is that picture of Aubrey Plaza terrifying?
She looks like a British man
All pictures of Aubrey Plaza are terrifying, because she sees everything her picture-eyes see.
Aubrey Plaza. In my dreams…and my nightmares.
Is that jacket made of felt?
Knowing Aubrey, it’s the scalps of her enemies.
It’s “frayed wool chiffon.” https://www.thombrowne.com/fk/shopping/black-frayed-wool-chiffon-gunclub-check-tweed-high-armhole-sport-coat-16426637
It’s just you.
That’s transphobic
Here’s hoping that Mary Gross will do her Alfalfa character.
Aren’t all babies little?
There was a strange convergence of events the last time Sam Smith was the musical guest on SNL. First, keep in mind that when Sam Smith wrote “Stay With Me” in 2014 it was accused of sounding like Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down.” Smith claimed it was coincidental but Petty and Jeff Lynne were eventually given 12.5% songwriter credit for “Stay With Me.” Regardless of whether you or I think it’s a copy or not, it’s safe to say Smith gets irked anytime he hears “I Won’t Back Down.”Cut to years later (2017), and two unfortunate events happen in the same week: 1. The Las Vegas shooting during Jason Aldean’s set on October 1st and 2. Tom Petty dies October 2nd.So the next weekend SNL decides to bring Jason Aldean on for their cold open. Jason Aldean sang “I Won’t Back Down” because of Petty’s recent death and because the lyrics are appropriate to making a stand against shootings.And who was the actual musical guest that week? Sam Smith! Imagine how many times he had to hear that song that week? At least a few. He had to wonder how the convergence of those two events had to happen at the same time as his musical guest spot so he’d be subjected to that particular song repeatedly.I’ve always found that interesting.
Wait, Aubrey Plaza hasn’t hosted SNL? She’s had such a ubiquitous couple years, I figured it must’ve happened a couple times.
LOL I hope Aubrey Plaza absolutely destroys this weak ass show with her odd anti-comedy.