Dave Chappelle has hosted SNL the week after the presidential elections for the past few voting cycles. In 2024, that slot went to Bill Burr (and we all saw how that turned out…). Last night, we found out it was Chappelle’s choice not to host, instead of the industry snub many assumed Lorne Michaels had doled out. Of course, Chappelle may have been joking, but those details are not for us mere viewers to know!

Regardless, he was back in fine form as this year’s pre-inauguration show host. His entire opening monologue was great, in my opinion, but if you only have a few minutes, his message to President-elect Trump (and the nation as a whole) is worth your time.

“Trump … Whether people voted for you or not, they’re all counting on you. Whether they like you or not, they’re all counting on you. The whole world is counting on you.”

The sketches that worked

• MSNBC Special Coverage Cold Open was a great premise, if not a little comedically easy and shakily performed. To be expected after the weeks of holiday break.
• I’ve enjoyed the Immigrant Dad Talk Show sketches and think they’re done well every time (is this only the second one? Have there been more? I can’t remember). Marcello Hernandez hosts perfectly and Chappelle has the right vibe for these — it was a great choice to bring one out for his week.
• SNL is known for toeing the line, and making light of the devastating LA fires is par for the late night course. They managed to skirt around any real upset in Evacuation Alert by ensuring the jokes didn’t have anything to do with the fires themselves. I liked this one and thought it was the right energy for Chappelle.
• Both the Nosferatu and TikTok segments from Weekend Update get a thumbs up from me!
• I actually loved Pop the Balloon and thought it was the perfectly simple premise, set-up, and execution for an easy laugh at the end of the night. It’s hard for me to dislike anything Ego Nwodim leads.

The sketch that didn’t (even though it still kind of did)

• I wasn’t blown away by Police Station, but Devon Walker did a respectable job and Kenan Thompson is always funny in those “old working guy” roles. But the premise here was lacking for me and it just didn’t land as hard as it could have. Still not the worst I’ve seen.

The musical guest

Glorilla’s performance was high energy but technically poor. Half of each number relied completely on her pre-recorded back-up vocals, and when she was responsible for it, she couldn’t seem to hold the mic close enough to get steady sound. I know this was her SNL debut, and it’s probably very difficult to perform on that stage, but this one was a big miss for me.

Final thoughts

This was the episode we needed coming out of a holiday break and into a new presidential cycle. Uncertainty is rocking the nation — the world, really — and, although a late night comedy show won’t fix a thing, Chappelle walked the perfect line between serious dialogue and hilarious mockery. This was a great way to spend an hour and an excellent representation of why SNL still matters in 2025.

My rating: 5/5