Who is Hosting Saturday Night Live Tonight: January 9, 2021

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Just when the country needed it most, Saturday Night Live has a repeat SNL tonight hosted by Dave Chappelle!

Tonight, we’re still in SNL rerun episodes while the cast, crew and writers rest up and vacation. The exciting news is that we may get the announcement in this evening’s repeat on who’s been chosen to host the Saturday Night Live Mid-Season Premiere. That alone is worth watching tonight’s rerun for.

It almost feels like a good thing that Saturday Night Live is still on its mid-season winter break. After everything that happened at the Capitol this past week, it makes you wonder how they could possibly turn any of it into comedy, or if anyone is ready to laugh about it yet. But serendipity strikes again because this evening, we are getting an SNL rerun hosted by a comedian who has become a comedy statesman in these recent crazy times.

Dave Chappelle seems to be always ready to go when things get too out of hand. In 2019, when his Netflix comedy special “Dave Chappelle: Sticks & Stones” was released, Chappelle was handling the topics of the day. Besides being hilarious, fans checked out “Sticks & Stones” to get Dave Chappelle’s take on things like cancel culture, political correctness, discrimination inside the LGBTQ community and fellow comedian Louis C.K. and the #MeToo movement.

A year later and seemingly on the fly, Dave Chappelle released “Dave Chappelle: 8:46” with the title referring to the time that a Minneapolis police officer knelt on the neck of a black man, George Floyd, while murdering him. In the 27 minute comedy special which was released to Netflix’s YouTube channel to give everyone a chance to watch it, Chappelle talked about the Floyd case, police brutality and the history of violence against African-Americans in our country.

Tonight is a replay of Chappelle’s second time hosting Saturday Night Live. The first time was just about 4 years earlier to the day. It was the Saturday after the 2016 election when Hillary Clinton lost to Donald Trump. For people who were still in shock and distraught worrying about the fate of the country with Trump in the White House, Dave Chappelle tried to chill those folks out with his SNL monologue. In a decision he said he later regretted, Chappelle said he was going to give President Trump “a chance.”

This evening’s repeat is the return of Dave Chappelle to Studio 8-H to again speak to the nation after a presidential election. Dave Chappelle was booked for his second SNL hosting gig before anyone knew who was going to win the presidency. Saturday Night Live Executive Producer Lorne Michaels booked Chappelle just in case. As we know, the country is still very divided and it was in need of another Saturday Night Live hosted by Dave Chappelle.

Tonight’s SNL Cold Open begins with cast members Beck Bennett and Alex Moffat as CNN’s Wolf Blitzer and John King respectively. Saturday Night Live‘s excitement over the networks calling the Presidential race in favor of Joe Biden earlier that day could not be contained. Beck’s Wolf Blitzer opens show almost screaming that “Joe Biden will be the next President of the United States!!”

SNL‘s version of CNN then throws it to Jim Carrey making his last reported SNL appearance as President-Elect Joe Biden (we’ll see) as the new Commander-in-Chief addressing the nation and Maya Rudolph as the new Vice-President-Elect, Kamala Harris. Maya checks off all the firsts that Kamala Harris has achieved with her historic election. Take a moment to throw some congratulations to the Saturday Night Live wardrobe department during the cold open. They put together an exact replica of the real life Kamala Harris victory speech outfit for the show with just hours to work.

Jim Carrey’s Joe Biden compares the election to having sex with Sting, (he’ll explain), and talks about how he’ll be the President for all the states, even the “cracked-out, hot mess” ones. He also explains that he and Kamala aren’t there to gloat as the new President-Elect and Vice-President-Elect break into a victory dance.

The SNL CNN then cuts to President Trump played, perhaps for the last time, by Alec Baldwin, who is already screaming foul and claiming he was robbed in the election he calls a fraud. Then in a callback from 4 years ago, Baldwin’s Trump sits at the piano, just like cast member Kate McKinnon did in 2016 as a defeated Hillary Clinton. Trump starts to play a very somber version of “Macho Man” by the Village People whose music the real Trump blared on the campaign trail.

Even though he’s still in full Trump wig and makeup, be sure to watch Alec Baldwin at the end of the SNL Cold Open, as his countenance reverts from Trump back to Alec Baldwin. That’s when you can see the relief on his face that he won’t be playing the man many felt was our nation’s most crooked President since Nixon for the next 4 years.

As he wraps up the opening sketch, Jim Carrey as the new President-Elect proclaims that in these races, there must be a winner and a “Loooo-serrrr” (loser). And that’s when it hits you. That’s when you realize this was SNL‘s endgame all along. To hire Jim Carrey to play Joe Biden, so that after Biden is declared the winner, Jim Carrey can do a callback to his most beloved movie character, Ace Ventura from 1994’s “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.” That’s when Jim Carrey – Joe Biden looks into the camera and punks Donald Trump by making an “L” with his fingers, putting it up to his forehead and shouting Ace Ventura’s trademark line while calling Donald Trump “a looo-hooo-serrrrr.” Classic.

The crown jewel in this repeat episode of Saturday Night Live which is the best of the season so far, is host Dave Chappelle’s 16 minute plus monologue, or as it was referred to on social media, “a mini-comedy special.” In the first post-election SNL monologue, Chappelle takes on everything troubling today’s America.

Dave Chappelle opens his monologue with a lit cigarette on stand by for whenever he needs it and announces that Saturday, November 7, 2020, (this episode’s original air date), was “a pretty incredible day.” Reminder: This was the day that the election was called by the AP and the news networks for Joe Biden.

Tonight’s host reflects back on his great-grandfather who was born a slave in this country. And he flips that in a way that only Dave Chappelle can. He also discusses the Covid-19 Crisis, mask-wearing, healthcare, whites needing blacks more than ever now, Donald Trump the hilarious optimist, the year 2020, small town politics, drug addictions, ingratitude and race. And tonight, Dave Chappelle asks in a way only he can, “did I trigger you?”.

Chappelle uses his unique comedy style to talk about pain and frustration in America, but also about the ability to let go of hate. He also has a plan for the country called the “Kindness Conspiracy.” Chappelle has a friendly reminder for everyone who feels great about the results of the 2020 election, remember how you felt 4 years ago when he was hosting SNL then.

This was easily the best SNL monologue all season and it’s followed by the best sketch of SNL – Season 46 so far too. Oddly enough, when this show first ran, SNL came back from a break and Dave Chappelle was still on stage from his monologue. From there, he introduced the first sketch of the night. It will be interesting to see if that intro stays in the rerun version of this episode tonight.

The first sketch of the show is called “Uncle Ben.” It takes place in a corporate boardroom where product mascots which are no longer considered politically correct are getting fired. You’ll see Maya Rudolph as a breakfast icon, cast member Kenan Thompson as a grocery favorite and Alec Baldwin as a guilt-ridden white corporate executive in this sketch. Also, keep an eye out for cast member Pete Davidson as a cereal mascot which may have gotten him his biggest laughs all season.

Fourth Wall Alert! The “Uncle Ben” sketch has just about everyone in the cast either losing it or dangerously close to full fits of laughter. Maya Rudolph is brilliant and host Dave Chappelle just doesn’t give a shit if he brings the whole fourth wall tumbling down.

Other sketches tonight include one featuring some gamers reflecting on the 35th anniversary of the release of “Super Mario” where for one guy, the memory is still pretty traumatic. Also, cast members Kate McKinnon and Kenan Thompson play elderly witnesses Jean and Rudolph in a sketch about a massive hailstorm that turns into a love story. Jean and Rudolph certainly do kiss and tell. And there’s a sketch about a local Washington DC news program that’s covering Trump losing the election. Suddenly, that news story starts to seem familiar, like something from 1994.

The SNL Short we get on tonight’s rerun is called “Take Me Back.” It stars SNL cast members Ego Nwodin and Beck Bennett as a couple who have recently broken up. Beck’s character wants his girlfriend (Ego) back, and explains that he’s changed. It turns out that he has a lot more things to change than his ex-girlfriend realized.

Anchorman Colin Jost opens tonight’s repeat edition of Weekend Update with the satisfying line, “well, I don’t know if anyone has noticed or not, but Joe Biden has been elected the 46th President of the United States.” At least, it was very satisfying for the Saturday Night Live studio audience.

This Weekend Update rerun begins with coverage of the celebrations going on in Donald Trump’s hometown of New York City with revelers dancing and clapping in the streets, elated that the hometown boy had been defeated. Jost was quick to point out that it wasn’t just NYC applauding Trump’s defeat. He shows scenes from DC, Atlanta, Philly, London and Paris of people cheering with fireworks going off. It looked like the end scene from “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi” where planets across the galaxy were cheering the Emperor’s death. As Colin Jost puts it tonight, “the whole world is celebrating like World War II just ended.”

Michael Che celebrates at the news desk tonight with an alcoholic beverage nearby. Che explains that Trump has reportedly said that he’d have to be dragged from the White House kicking and screaming. To which Che simply replies, “Good” with another sip of his drink. Michael Che compares Biden’s victory to another classic movie and the Weekend Update anchor reveals what his own plans were going to be regarding a race war if Trump had been re-elected.

Other Trump-related news on Weekend Update tonight includes his refusal to concede, the many lawsuits Trump was already filing across the country, illegal immigration, pro-Trump rallies, Republicans afraid of Joe Biden, Trump’s campaign mistakes, and how no one will ever have to listen to a single thing Donald Trump has to say ever again.

We knew one of the Trump family of characters portrayed on SNL would be showing up on Weekend Update tonight to mark President Trump losing the election, but who was it going to be? It could have been cast members Mikey Day and Alex Moffat as Donald Jr. and Eric Trump or cast member Cecily Strong as Fox News host Judge Jeanine Pirro or even a guest cameo by Jimmy Fallon as First Son-in-Law Jared Kushner or Robert De Niro playing Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Instead the honor went deservingly to Kate McKinnon who visits Jost and Che as Donald Trump’s lead attorney in his campaign fraud lawsuits, Rudy Giuliani.

McKinnon’s Rudy opens by referring to Jost and Che as de Blasio and Dinkens. Anyone up on their NYC Mayor history will get that line easy enough. The first thing they cover with the former Mayor turned crackpot lawyer is his press conference goof where Rudy accidentally booked it at the Four Seasons Landscaping business instead of the Four Seasons Hotel. During his visit to Weekend Update, Rudy Giuliani goes over his strategy for the President’s upcoming legal battles and finds himself straddling Colin Jost. He also has a new definition for the word “pollster” you’ll want to hear on this evening’s rerun.

We have two promos for tonight’s repeat Saturday Night Live episode starring Dave Chappelle for you to watch below. In the first promo, it’s a very quick trip back in time to 2016 when Chappelle hosted SNL for the first time. You’re sure to remember his classic line regarding Donald Trump being elected 4 years ago.

In the next promo, host Dave Chappelle is joined by this evening’s musical guest, the Foo Fighters. Chappelle knows it’s not right to announce something before it happens. You know, like an election being in the bag for one candidate just because of what the polls are saying. Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters can’t wait though and he’s ready to call it before it happens. What is he announcing, you might ask? Watch Dave and Dave below to find out.

The incomparable Dave Chappelle hosts this evening’s encore presentation of the second time he hosted Saturday Night Live from November 7th, 2020. Dave’s musical guest is the Foo Fighters who are definitely worth a second watch, especially when they reimagine one of their classic hit songs. This SNL repeat begins tonight at 11:30pm et on NBC.

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Ernie Tripper

Ernie Tripper