‘SNL’ Video: Season 48 begins with ManningCast commentary

The first rule of comedy is to make fun of yourself before anyone else can, and that’s in NBC’s season opener Saturday night livethey did just that.

With the loss of seven cast members and the addition of four unknowns (two stand-ups, a comic actor, and a TV writer), the show’s first cold opening of season 48 became a full-on metacomedy.

Host Miles Teller and cast member Andrew Dismukes play Peyton and Eli Manning aka the hosts of Monday night soccerby ManningCast. Usually an ESPN 2 show about football, here the brothers focus on breaking down the opening sketch SNLin the midst of so many changes.

That SNL Cold Open has been in a rut for years; often non-stop and repetitive gags revolving around the political hot potato of the week. There are many tired tropes SNL will come out in this first sketch – and this sketch skewers them all.

Impression of Trump (James Austin Johnson)? You bet. Bad impression of a largely unknown politician? Heidi Gardner sums it up. Political bias against conservatives? Yes indeed! Additionally, Bowen highlights Yang and Mikey Day when the writers have to streeeeeeetch to squeeze in an irrelevant current event, and Yang rolls his eyes while trying to create a t-shirt-friendly tagline. (Thankfully, we won’t be seeing “It Is What It Is” in a target any time soon.)

Peyton also mentions the lack of “funny” impressions like Anthony Fauci, Lindsay Graham or Rudy Giuliani. Eli reminds him that these are/were all Kate McKinnon Impressions. It’s not as if anyone would overlook the huge gap in the show’s roster; might as well call it out!

There is no but two gratuitous cameos – by Jon Hamm (three times SNL host and plate Top Gun: Maverick co-star) and snowboarder Shaun White – filling an already full sketch to overflowing. All new cast members get some face time: Michael Longfellow “bluffs” open a quick one-line door (“The new guy’s panicking. He’s just staring at the camera”); Devon Walker emerges as the 15 Minute Famous Corn Kid; and Molly Kearney and Marcello Hernandez do the griddy dance.

Sarah Sherman, however, stands out in an already over-the-top sketch by creepily hiding in the background

All eyes are open SNL – It’s in its 48th season, there hasn’t been such a huge cast turnover in almost 30 years. But they came out with weapons blazing; Hopefully this will be much more than a “rebuild year”.

Check out clips from the sketch below; Full video will be added when available.

https://twitter.com/nbcsnl/status/1576421637003542528/video/1
https://twitter.com/nbcsnl/status/1576423025448214529/video/1