close menu

SNL Recap: Season 41 Premiere with Miley Cyrus

Saturday Night Live kicked off its 41st season this past weekend, and it decided to celebrate with the lady who doesn’t need anyone else to have a good time. Miley Cyrus both hosted and performed as the musical guest for the season premiere and she had a pretty decent episode to add to her resume. While there were far more digital shorts than usual, and Cyrus seemed to play bit parts in more sketches than not, the episode had plenty of laughs to be remembered. Let’s take a look at some of the episode’s highlights.

Opening Monologue

As the show opened, Miley took to the stage in her strange costume—no surprise to anyone. Miley then decided to say goodbye to the summer the only way she knew how, with a song. Of course, the song was dedicated to all the people who had made the summer of 2015 what it was, and served as a fond farewell since we will never think about them again. The highlight of the highlight has to be Bobby Moynihan pulling double duty as both Jared Fogle and Josh Dugger in a costume that only changes glasses to change character.

’50s School Dance

The actual opening sketch of the show, other than the cold open, kicked things off with a trip back to the 1950s for a school dance that will not be forgotten. While a few fellas (Kyle Mooney, Taren Killam, and newcomer Jon Rudnitsky) scope out the babes they hope to get to know better (Kate McKinneon, Cecily Strong, and Miley Cyrus) everything seems to be going just as they plan. This of course leads to a Grease-inspired musical number about finding the perfect girl. Soon, though, Rudnitsky finds out Cyrus’s “new girl” persona hides a sex-crazed hip-hop freak who is looking for something far more intense than he is ready for. The surprise appearance of Kenan Thompson as a friend of Miley’s proves that when a sketch needs to be even funnier, just add Kenan.

Val the Bartender

SNL got a lot of mileage out of Kate McKinnon’s impersonation of Hillary Clinton last season, and I wasn’t surprised that they kept that tradition alive. What I didn’t expect was for the season premiere to have McKinnon’s Hillary come face-to-face with the real Hill-dog herself. Clinton plays Val the bartender, who offers some sage words of encouragement to a bummed out Hillary. It isn’t the funniest sketch, but it is definitely one people will be talking about.

Weekend Update’s Pete Davidson Segment

Saturday Night Live’s 41st seasons is going to have a lot of political material to work with thanks to the forthcoming election. Luckily, if it is anything like the Pete Davidson segment on the premiere episode’s Weekend Update, it will be more than welcome. Update had plenty of its own hilarious moments, but having Davidson comment on Trump’s campaign and how it is effecting the millennial generation’s outlook on voting was pure genius. Take a look at the clip to find out just how Donald Trump is America’s Sanjaya.

So that about does it for the first episode of the 41st season of Saturday Night Live. All-in-all it was quite a success, and Cyrus had great moments to offer up. What was surprising was that the episode truly felt like it flew by. The end of last season really made the audience feel that 90 minute run-time, but this episode seemed magically quick. Let’s see how week two goes as SNL welcomes Amy Schumer and The Weeknd as guests.

Image Credit: NBC

How Strong is Oobleck? What is Oobleck? Now We Have Answers to Both

How Strong is Oobleck? What is Oobleck? Now We Have Answers to Both

article
TV-Cap: GOTHAM’S Showrunner Talks The Joker, iZOMBIE Key Art, & More

TV-Cap: GOTHAM’S Showrunner Talks The Joker, iZOMBIE Key Art, & More

article
The Hidden Meaning In WALL-E Is More Sophisticated Than You'd Expect

The Hidden Meaning In WALL-E Is More Sophisticated Than You'd Expect

article