snl

Super Bowl commercials are still a big, huge, massive, crazy deal, with major corporations shelling out absurd amounts of money on ads designed to win over the most reliably large and receptive audience in all of televised sports. So of course ‘SNL’ was going to contribute its own commercial parody to the mix...but man, no one was expecting something this mean, scathing or on-point.

NBC has remained curiously quiet on ‘SNL’’s three-hour 40th Anniversary special on February 15, and while cameos galore are expected, our first major homecoming may have arrived. Following a 31-year absence, Eddie Murphy will reportedly return to ‘SNL’ to ring in the NBC sketch comedy legend’s 40th anniversary.

NBC has been surprisingly quiet about ‘SNL’'s impending 40th anniversary special, but VH1 has upped the nostalgia ante in a major way. VH1 Classic will begin a 19-day marathon of ‘SNL’'s 40 years on January 28, working backwards through 433 episodes and staging themed mini-marathons along the way.

Set in St. Louis, the sketch starts with Beck Bennett as a news anchor for “News 4” (which is the CBS affiliate in St. Louis) relaying a serious presentation of current events, right before he hands it off to two morning show hosts (played by Kenan Thompson and Cecily Strong) who have an obnoxious show with an obnoxious theme song called ‘Rise and Smile.’ First, there’s no way this sketch should have been cut, but that’s a pretty obvious position to take.

Just this past weekend 'SNL' announced that 'The Hunger Games' star Woody Harrelson would return to the stage on November 15, and so too do we know what A-lister will also make a return appearance the following week. 'Annie' star Cameron Diaz will make her own fourth appearance hosting on November 22, but what pair of musical guests can we expect to join her?

As if we hadn't seen 'The Hunger Games' or 'True Detective' mocked enough, 'SNL' will take an official turn with one of the major stars. Woody Harrelson has been reaped from the existing pool of victors to host 'SNL' a third time later on in November, with fellow repeat star and musical guest Kendrick Lamar.

33 years after he first made his 'Saturday Night Live' debut in 1981, Prince returned to the live comedy variety show on Nov. 1 to perform an eight-minute medley comprising of three new songs: 'Clouds,' 'Marz' and 'Anotherlove.'

Jim Carrey hosted Saturday Night Live for his third time, and it was everything that you would expect out of Jim Carrey.

Jim Carrey has a dance off with Kate McKinnon and Iggy Azalea to Sia's 'Chandelier' in last night's Halloween-themed 'Saturday Night Live' episode.

'SNL''s additions and subtractions in its first three weeks of the 40th anniversary season have gotten some notable attention, but its first in-house promotion of the season has us a bit more excited. Following her high-profile addition to the writing staff last season, and some standout appearances along the way, Leslie Jones has been promoted to a featured player of the NBC sketch comedy series.

The unfortunate and untimely death of the great Jan Hooks this past week sent the comedy world into mourning, with countless writers and comics stepping forward to pay tribute to the late 'SNL' star. It could have been easy for this week's new episode to gloss over the passing of one of their own (it is a comedy show, after all), but 'SNL' has always been a slightly class institution -- it remembers those who came before.

Although 'SNL' previously parodied all the movie adaptations of the most obscure young-adult novels, all past sketches have nothing on 'The Group Hopper.' It's one thing to dress the cast in 'Hunger Games' outfits and make fun of one of the biggest movie franchises in the world. It's another thing altogether to create a fake movie trailer for a fake new franchise and make it seem strangely plausible while eviscerating every movie of this kind out there.

When it was announced that the great Bill Hader would be returning to 'SNL' to host this week's episode, everyone crossed their fingers and hoped for one thing: the glorious return of Stefon. And lo and behold, the comedy gods answered and the greatest character in modern 'Saturday Night Live' graced 'Weekend Update' yet again.

If you went to some kind of comedy university, there would probably be an entire class available on the subject of how awkward white people rapping is inherently pretty funny but difficult to pull off without feeling too hacky. Whether or not 'SNL' pulled it off with last night's "Booty Rap" sketch is something we'll let you decide, but at least guest host Chris Pratt and the always reliable Aidy Bryant attack their material with gusto.

As is often the case, the weirdest sketch from last night's 'SNL' season premiere was easily the funniest in the entire show. The latest in Beck Bennett and Kyle Mooney's series of truly strange sketches and shorts, the scene is an exacting parody of lousy '90s television that sidesteps all obvious jokes in favor of making fun of a very specific kind of TV show.

You don't have to be a sports fan to know that the NFL has come under fire in recent weeks for how it has handled (or failed to handle) its players committing all kinds of heinous crimes. Although this is a very serious matter that has football fans deeply troubled and concerned about the future of their favorite sport, it's certainly not above satire, which is where 'SNL' comes in.

Of the many changes in store for the 40th season of 'SNL,' none would prove so heartbreaking as the loss of beloved announcer Don Pardo, who passed away earlier this year. No one could ever replace Pardo's distinct intonation announcing every 'SNL' installment, though the new voice of the sketch comedy series will at least be a familiar one, as distinguished alum Darrell Hammond takes the mic.

Former 'SNL' head writer Seth Meyers has made it his business to bring some of those sketches cut from 'SNL' to his own 'Late Night' show, and the results have so far been uproarious. While Will Forte's cut bit got the full sketch treatment a few months ago, Bill Hader didn't need those same bells and whistles. After all, his snipped sketch just involved him putting on a weirdly nuanced impression of '60 Minutes' anchor Bob Simon.

Despite 'SNL' heading into its landmark 40th season (and shedding a few players in the process), things have been curiously quiet on the front of NBC's beloved sketch comedy show, particularly with regard to its initial hosts. Now, the network confirms that 'Guardians of the Galaxy' and 'Parks and Recreation' star Chris Pratt will host the September 27 premiere with musical guest Ariana Grande, preceding comedian Sarah Silverman, while rumors suggest legendary alum Bill Murray will follow!

Don Pardo, the man who introduced the 'SNL' lineup every week since 1975, has sadly passed away at the age of 96. Pardo also lent his voice to radio, sports, game shows, and commercials over the course of his incredibly long-running career, but we'll always remember him best for that wonderful phrase: "It's 'Saturday Night Live!'"