nbc

It made sense of SNL to hire Melissa McCarthy for a fifth hosting gig, rather than rely on a weekly Sean Spicer impression. Nonetheless, our first live coast-to-coast SNL show managed to coax McCarthy’s Spicer out for Easter, and with an intriguing twist at that.

SNL is having a banner year with its political sketches, but there’s no overlooking the absence of past favorites Jay Pharoah and Taran Killam. Pharoah in particular says the sketch comedy series had him in an “impression box,” and even had cast members commenting that he was undervalued.

Whether or not American Idol jumped the gun to plot a reboot so soon after its “Farewell Season,” the point may be moot. Reports indicate that neither NBC nor FOX were able to negotiate a deal with the studios behind Idol, likely shelving any revival for the foreseeable future.

Once upon a time, Alec Baldwin taking on the role of SNL’s Donald Trump seemed like an amusing guest spot to take us through the debates. Now, the question remains how long Baldwin will play the beleaguered president, especially as the reigning host claims he never wanted the role in the first place.

As if you hadn’t enough trouble keeping The Handmaiden and The Handmaid’s Tale separate, Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman are adding a new wrinkle. The Parks and Recreation pair will host The Handmade Project, a new NBC reality competition for craft-making.

Dave Chappelle had perhaps one of the hardest SNL gigs in recent memory, to follow the still-stunning upset of Election Night with humor. His monologue in particular set a tone for soldiering onward, for which Chappelle now offers new insight into the SNL writers’ room that week, and the advice Louis C.K. gave him.

The rumors are true: SNL is taking Weekend Update out for a primetime spin once more. Seeing as today’s news is never not in need of incisive comedy, Colin Jost and Michael Che will end their summer breaks early to bring new half-hour Weekend Update episodes to NBC.

SNL’s schedule has been on and off this year, airing only two episodes each month, though fans might have noticed young star Pete Davidson notably absent in recent weeks. Davidson’s social media had also been threadbare before today, wherein the comedian announced he’d taken time off to concentrate on a newfound sobriety.

In the election’s immediate aftermath, we had to wonder if Alec Baldwin had the SNL commitment to keep playing Trump as necessary for such a weekly target. Baldwin’s been a sport since November, even pivoting the impression into other mediums, but may hang up the wig before long . “I don’t [know] how much more people can take it.”

If you thought the cord-cutters’ market was aggressive before, just wait until you get a load of YouTube TV. The online video staple announced the full scope of its live TV bundle, complete with unlimited cloud DVR and a moderate monthly subscription fee.

We may have seen the last of Key & Peele’s famous anger translation sketch with Keegan-Michael Key’s Luther and Jordan Peele’s Obama, but don’t expect either to give up the ghost for good. Peele briefly brought Obama back for a Late Night With Seth Meyers appearance, albeit without needing the filter that Luther provides.

If Alec Baldwin was going to make a full-time SNL return, it’d make sense that 30 Rock co-star and SNL alum Tracy Morgan might not be far behind. See for yourself, as Morgan returns to his SNL stomping grounds as one of Beyonce’s unborn twins.

The ongoing saga of SNL’s antagonistic relationship with the Trump administration yielded some strange results last week, as Melissa McCarthy’s Sean Spicer impression reportedly upset the tweeter-in-chief by casting a woman in a male role. The internet was quick to yield additional suggestions for female stars to play male Trump staff, including his longtime target Rosie O’Donnell, though SNL apparently declined.

It was back in August we first learned that NBC would experiment with a few Snapchat additions to its most viral shows, and you’ve had at least four months to figure out what that means. Nonetheless, SNL is venturing into Snapchat content with its new Boycott series, as cast members try to get away from the Trump brand.

It hasn’t been terribly long since FOX said goodbye to American Idol, what with the whole “reality competition” craze having appreciably cooled since the early 2000s regardless. Still, leave it to NBC to potentially drag Ryan Seacrest back to the stage for a revival season, throwing The Voice into question in the process.

Alec Baldwin’s been a regular presence at SNL this season, but surely his seventeenth official hosting turn is a big deal, right? Well, maybe not, judging by the reigning Trump impersonator’s promos, which see Baldwin revisiting his SNL past.

SNL writers understandably channel their feelings toward Donald Trump into comedy on a weekly basis, but aren’t immune to crossing lines. NBC seems to agree, as a writer has been given an indefinite suspension for a tweet about Trump’s son Barron.

It seemed perhaps a little odd that Alec Baldwin’s Trump was nowhere to be found on the first post-inauguration SNL, but Baldwin is more than making up for it. SNL has officially booked a record-setting return for Baldwin as host, and Trump Twitter is officially on notice.

We still miss the classic SNL promo format, but Master of None star and comedian Aziz Ansari nonetheless has some serious moves in his first hosting preview. See for yourself (and get a tiny bonus cameo from his mom) of this weekend’s second 2017 show.

We’ve known for some time that Rogue One star Felicity Jones would steal the SNL plans as our first 2017 host, so who should follow? None other than Master of None star Aziz Ansari, booking his SNL debut for the week after.