New episodes of Saturday Night Live have returned! The show came back on January 17th, and the first episode of the new year featured a humorous opening sketch with James Austin Johnson impersonating Donald Trump.
During the show’s opening sketch, Trump jokingly shared what had been happening during the holiday break. Johnson, playing Trump, said, “I hope everyone had a great holiday and got everything they wished for. I certainly did – I received someone else’s Nobel Prize, which I’m thrilled about! And I even got a special gift in my stocking: Nicolás Maduro! We basically did a reverse Santa Claus – we came down his chimney and took him away.”
Colin Jost, impersonating Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, delivered a satirical take on the Venezuela situation, claiming, “We just went in and took their president.” He then jokingly suggested Iran would be the next target, adding, “They don’t dare crack down on their own protesters – that’s something we do!”
The comedy sketch referenced the unrest in Minneapolis following the shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent. Ashley Padilla portrayed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and her character made light of the team responsible for her appearance.
She began by jokingly acknowledging her hair and makeup team, saying they weren’t exactly fans of her. Then, addressing the recent clashes in Minneapolis, she stated that while things hadn’t been perfect, they were handling the situation. She concluded with a playful remark about her last name, Noem, suggesting it stood for her willingness to admit when she didn’t have things under control.
The show began with a quick joke about Trump receiving a note supposedly from Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The sketch concluded with the actor playing Trump, played by Johnson, declaring, “Also, midterms are canceled!”
Finn Wolfhard hosted the show, and A$AP Rocky performed as the musical guest. The episode aired shortly after the final season of Wolfhard’s popular Netflix series, Stranger Things, and followed the release of Rocky’s new album, Don’t Be Dumb.
Ariana Grande previously hosted the show on December 20th, with Cher performing as the musical guest. That episode also marked the final appearance of Bowen Yang, a cast member for many years, who signed off with a farewell sketch playing an airport worker on his last day.
Wolfhard’s appearance kicked off three weeks of new episodes of Saturday Night Live. Next week, Teyana Taylor will host the show, with musical performances by the band Geese. Taylor recently won a Golden Globe for her supporting role in the film One Battle After Another. The week after that, Alexander Skarsgård will host for the first time, and Cardi B will be the musical guest.
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2026-01-18 13:44