snl

SNL took a little break through the second half of February (thankfully, the GOP race has largely filled in for itself), but will return for its March 2016 debut with Hail, Caesar! star Jonah Hill, and musical guest Future. Go on, enjoy Jonah getting his shoes shined, then. What can you do, not watch?

Melissa McCarthy returned to Studio 8H for her fourth outing as SNL host, and while it may have made more sense for her to host closer to the April release date of her new comedy The Boss, it's difficult to complain. McCarthy teams up with her Ghostbusters co-stars Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones for a mostly great episode that really leans into the weird stuff and makes excellent use of musical guest Kanye West in an early contender for best sketch of the year. Read on for our ranking of this week's sketches from best to worst.

Only two SNL outings will occupy February 2016 between Larry David and Melissa McCarthy, and March 5 will pick up the torch with another four-timer. Hail, Caesar! star Jonah Hill will return to the SNL stage, joined by musical guest Future.

When the 2016 Oscar nominations were announced nearly two weeks ago, the response to the overwhelmingly white line-up of talent proved instantly controversial. Film fans and industry veterans alike gathered around the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag to make their voices heard, especially decrying how films starring black actors and directed by black filmmakers — like Creed and Straight Outta Compton — somehow managed to only receive nominations for the white people involved in making them. With material this ripe, of course SNL was going to take a swipe at the Academy Awards this week.

The moment former Alaskan governor and 2008 Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin endorsed Donald Trump for President of the United States, you know the producers at SNL hurried to get Tina Fey on the phone. The beloved former cast member, who just hosted the show last month, famously took on the role of Palin eight years ago and many people believe that her scathing imitation actually did lasting harm to the real Palin’s political chances. In any case, this event allowed SNL to pair Fey’s Palin with Darrell Hammond‘s Trump. Thanks, reality!

Adam Driver is kind of a big deal right now, in case you didn’t know. As the new baddie in the Star Wars universe, Driver went from indie favorite to blockbuster star almost overnight, which is a relief because I’ve been on his bandwagon for the last few years and it’s been a little lonely over here. Driver made his SNL debut this weekend in the first episode of 2016, delivering a consistently wonderful episode that tackles everything from cat videos to Kylo Ren and...porn doctors. Read on for our ranking of this week’s SNL sketches from best to worst.

It’s a testament to the staying power of certain public figures that they’ve been played by more than one SNL cast member over the years. People like Hillary Clinton, the former First Lady turned former Senator turned former Secretary of State turned current Democratic Presidential frontrunner, linger on long past Saturday Night Live cast rotations. So what is the show to do when one of its guest hosts used to play a vital and very much in the public eye politician back in the day? Put her on stage with the current version, of course.

Dual guest hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler brought a lot of magic to last night’s episode of SNL, but the former cast members and Sisters co-stars probably hit their peak with a sort-of-music-video about their “Dope Squad,” aka the team of perfectly ordinary people who make their lives better on a daily basis. And while they may be wearing tight leather outfits, wielding weapons, and posing dramatically in front of post-apocalyptic imagery, the subject matter is far more mundane…and then Amy Schumer shows up.

SNL delivers the greatest Christmas gift of all by inviting both Tina Fey and Amy Poehler to host the 2015 finale together, the way nature intended. With their new comedy Sisters in theaters this weekend (take that, Star Wars), the duo hit the SNL stage in top form with a handful of surprise guests, a couple of classic characters and a whole, whole lot of joy. Read on for our ranking of this week’s sketches from best to worst.

Sure, there are lots of kids and teens buying Star Wars: The Force Awakens toys, but a long, long time ago in a galaxy that is actually this one, Star Wars belonged to another group of nerds — and those nerds are not going to let today’s kids take ownership of their fandom so easily, especially when these kids don’t know that action figures should STAY. IN. THE. BOX.