“Saturday Night Live ”recap: Josh O'Connor kisses multiple cast members in hosting debut
- - “Saturday Night Live ”recap: Josh O'Connor kisses multiple cast members in hosting debut
Andy HoglundDecember 13, 2025 at 9:03 PM
0
Saturday Night Live/YouTube
Josh O'Connor and Lily Allen in a promo for 'Saturday Night Live'
Hey there Coneheads, welcome back for the latest December 2025 edition of SNL in Review. Accept no substitutes.
Last week saw the return of Melissa McCarthy, and nearly 80% of you seemed to have enjoyed the episode. I am joined tonight by the one and only Gary Kroeger. We are thrilled to have him back! He says: “I've been watching the new season on YouTube and from your clips here on EW. I am really impressed with the new cast, but I have to admit, I'm still surprised at the reboot. New cast member Ben Marshall stands out to me because he is already 100% comfortable in his role. It isn't drastically different from his contributions with Please Don't Destroy, but he understands subtlety and earnest comedy. I still expect to see Heidi Gardner appear and am always a bit let down realizing that she is no longer there. Ashley Padilla gets me close to forgetting her, however… I'm really happy when I see more of Jane Wickline. I thought "Cousin Planet" was the best filmed sketch I've seen in maybe forever.”
Tonight’s host is Josh O’Connor, who stars in the latest Knives Out sequel. (He’s great in it!) Kroeger shares: “I only know of Josh from The Crown, but that is a very positive impression. It is hard to bring such a well-known figure to life without being a caricature, but that's what he does with Prince Charles. O'Connor doesn't ‘act’ per se, he ‘exists’ as the character. High praise.”
OK, keep scrolling and following along below!
Cold Open
We start with a holiday story – just wait, that framing is an introduction to President Trump speaking with reporters live on Air Force One. James Austin Johnson appears behind the plane’s curtain, where he lavishes praise on Karoline Leavitt, played by Ashley Padilla. They do a nice zoom in as he obsesses over her mouth. Padilla eventually gets the “LFNY” tonight!
Ambien and adderall drive Trump’s stream of consciousness. Asked about the pending Warner Bros.-Netflix merger, he namechecks wanting to visit Luke’s on the Gilmore Girls lot, which is a hilarious reference. Also noteworthy: Chloe Fineman’s Kaitlan Collins impression is solid here.
Reflecting on this season’s cold opens and approach to the current political moment, Gary Kroeger doesn’t mince words: “This is where I may step on some toes. SNL has for decades now been one of the most provocative and necessary voices in political satire. It STILL is, but this season, for the first time, it feels formulaic. From the fact that there is a public expectation that SNL is going to satirize the current event of that week, SNL delivers the satire of the current event that week. Trump falls asleep, expect the Trump Falls Asleep sketch. There is nothing wrong with that fulfillment of expectation, but if I am to be completely honest — and I am being completely honest — the jokes were predictable, and that ISN'T the fulfillment of our expectation. SNL, in its purest and best form, surprises us with an angle we hadn't thought of. The formulaic approach is hard to resist; if it works, do it again, and again, but it has crept into SNL writing. The family around the dinner table, the contrasting couples out to dinner, provide easy platforms for fast writing that features a single joke premise, but I lose interest. And when I lose interest, I think back on John Belushi's Samurai, or Chris Farley's Motivational Speaker, or Dan Aykroyd’s Julia Child, Ana Gasteyer and Molly Shannon as the Delicious Duo, and remember when I was surprised.”
Monologue
Josh O’Connor discusses Pixar! He looks like various characters, including Linguini from Ratatouille.
First takeaway: O’Connor is very British. That can go both ways as a host. Gary Kroeger notes: “British Humor is the downstairs recreation room in the American House of Comedy. Without the Goons, then Python, I don't think there would have ever been SNL. SNL can draw a straight line to Sid Caesar, but Caesar was mainstream, while British comedians sprang from parodies of the mainstream. I worked with Ringo — a king of wry — and Michael Palin. Palin's approach was usually the silliest way toward discovering a truth. That is a template for Saturday Night Live.”
More on that below from Gary.
"Let's Find Love"
Josh is on a dating game show, interviewing three potential contestants. One is a quirky elderly woman played by Ashley Padilla. She’s quickly entering Kate McKinnon territory, folks. Kate would’ve played this in previous seasons, right? She rants about the upcoming Toy Story 5. Big Pixar night so far.
Kroeger says, “Ashley is the definition of versatile.”
"Your Year Wrapped"
Spotify's end-of-year lists are part of the annual Spotify Wrapped, revealing personalized stats for top artists, songs, and genres, with the data tracking nearly the full year. Now Uber is getting in on the game with embarrassing factoids about orders, including pick-up images.
Another funny JAJ-Padilla moment.
"Teaching Hospital"
Bowen Yang returns as the exasperated "Dr. Please" character! O’Connor is Shirley, with a funny Plain English delivery. Dr. Please brings up All That, which is so meta my mind just reset. The crowd loved this.
Lily Allen performs "Sleepwalking"
Sleepwalking - Lily Allen pic.twitter.com/7E9nT0unvj
— Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) December 14, 2025
“Sleepwalking” sure feels like it is about gaslighting and emotional manipulation... so a very personal performance? Before tonight, Gary Kroeger says he previously knew “of Lily Allen, but it wasn't until tabloid drama regarding her separation from David Harbour. I did a dive into her music, and while ‘electro-pop’ — sorry for the reductive term — isn't my cup of tea, it is abundantly clear that she is talented, clever, conscious, and a genuine artist.”
"Bachelorette Party Strippers"
Strippers are coming to a cozy, snowy ladies' night in the Catskills. The bride (Padilla) is deeply uncomfortable. Augie (O’Connor) and Remington (Marshall) arrive, and they ask for consent. They are very sensitive – the ideal men. They remove one cardigan, revealing another underneath. Both men vibe, have a Will They/Won’t They moment, and kiss. Remington cries, thinking about the Supreme Court.
This is hilarious. Easily one of the season’s best. Love the Fleet Foxes insult.
"Weekend Update"
Weekend Update with Colin Jost and Michael Che! pic.twitter.com/vrgeSLFZ9h
— Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) December 14, 2025
Colin Jost and Michael Che discuss Trump and Fatmentia, a made-up word. Other topics: the Kennedy Center Honors, the Netflix-Warner Bros. merger, OnlyFans, and Pantone’s color of the year.
Marcello Hernández, wearing a festive sweater, comes on to discuss new boyfriends who get introduced during the holidays. He plays a voicemail he claims is from Lorne Michaels! He has some funny lines about watching Home Alone growing up.
Jane Wickline comes out to discuss how society might end! She has a song about the true villains: the child actors from Stranger Things. AI is just a distraction. The Netflix show is ending, and these kids are now adults and have a lot of free time! They might steal the next election. (She’s not wrong to evoke Joe Rogan’s wild influence. He used to make people eat bugs!)
"Wizard of Oz"
never before seen footage from the original wizard of oz pic.twitter.com/dUCiLnmooH
— Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) December 14, 2025
Wicked: For Good is a big success, so to celebrate, some cut scenes from the original Wizard of Oz have been released. Bowen Yang plays the Wizard — he’s in Wicked, FYI, as I’m sure you know — and he savagely dressed down Dorothy and her friends.
The Lion does not want courage (love how Sarah Sherman’s Dorothy pronounces that) – he wants a bigger, erm, endowment. Speaking of Kenan, Reese De’What already did a premise like this on the show as part of Cinema Classics before. Also, please watch this!
"Brad and His Dad: Christmas"
Brad and His Dad: Christmas pic.twitter.com/XhYws5iCOV
— Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) December 14, 2025
Nice, the return of Brad and his Dad! His dad is divorced — this week they are driving to get a Christmas tree. We saw this cartoon last month during the Nikki Glaser episode.
Brad is trying to cut down the tree — he is distracted by Emily, the so-called prettiest girl in his class. Woof. He makes a 6-7 reference.
We get a Christmas miracle — Brad calls his dad on Christmas morning with a fun surprise… I like this a lot! Watch it.
"Study Group"
simon, the 12-year-old college student pic.twitter.com/QTNqUTUsC0
— Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) December 14, 2025
Simon is 12. He’s in a college study group; apparently, he’s a Doogie Howser-style prodigy. He’s trying to be relatable with his peers, but his mom (Padilla) keeps showing up. Big Bowen episode.
“Heather!”
Lily Allen performs "Madeline"
Dakota Johnson makes a cameo! "Madeline" is the first single from Allen's latest studio album, West End Girl. In the song, she confronts the woman her husband is cheating on her with — "Jolene" meets "Stan"!?
The last time Allen performed on the show, Drew Barrymore was the host. She performed "Smile" and "LDN" from her debut album Alright, Still.
"Variety's Characters on Characters"
Variety's Characters on Characters pic.twitter.com/HCgSwwHjOq
— Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) December 14, 2025
Actors on Actors is a popular awards season segment. This is the Christmas character equivalent! Bowen plays the First Day of Christmas. A great Mikey Day plays the Grinch, discussing process and what it was like working with Max. He interviews Johnson’s Scrooge. Kenan Thompson is “Drum Daddy” opposite Marcello’s Tiny Tim.
The only two women in Christmas talk. Ashley screams as the grandma who got run over by a reindeer. Going big this episode.
"West End Brunch"
west end brunch pic.twitter.com/JgHTI6KLVE
— Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) December 14, 2025
Friends are chatting at lunch, and we get their inner monologues. This is a fun riff on Lily Allen’s specific songwriting style. Characters stop and explain themselves in a light British accent.
Lily Allen appears! This was clever.
Final thoughts... -
Vote, everyone!
Thank you as always to the peak gentleman, Gary Kroeger. He is directing theater now, and his “latest production is a British comedy of manners called The Cottage. Jason Alexander directed this on Broadway and I am directing at a beautiful theater in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The playwright is an American but very much in the style of Noël Coward. Humor from being British is very much at the center.”
Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
