Who is Hosting Saturday Night Live Tonight: July 17, 2021

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Tonight, Saturday Night Live has the key to a great rerun and that’s an SNL repeat hosted by Keegan-Michael Key!

The long summer SNL drought continues this evening with another Saturday Night Live rerun. We won’t be getting any new episodes of SNL until later this fall, either the last Saturday of September or the first one in October. Currently, we’re lingering in a Saturday Night Live purgatory waiting for any information about casting changes or new additions to the SNL writers’ room.

However, Saturday Night Live was in the entertainment headlines this week for the generous amount of Prime Time Emmy Award nominations the show received. SNL garnered 21 Emmy nods going into this year’s ceremony which will be held on Sunday, September 19th at the Microsoft Theater in beautiful downtown Los Angeles.

This week, nominations came in for SNL in the directing category with long time SNL director Don Roy King looking to win his 10th Emmy for directing Saturday Night Live. The show also picked up nominations for writing and for Outstanding Variety Sketch Series. The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences also awarded 11 nominations in the acting categories for regular cast members and guest stars on Saturday Night Live last season.

Nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series included nods for Aidy Bryant, Kate McKinnon and Cecily Strong. On the guys’ side of that category, Kenan Thompson and Bowen Yang both received nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Our guy Bowen made Emmy Award history by becoming the first Chinese-American actor nominated in that category and he’s also the first “featured cast member” on SNL to pick up a nomination.

When it comes to the entertainers who hosted SNL or did cameo appearances on Saturday Night Live this past season, there were plenty of nominations those categories too.

In the category for Outstanding Guest Actor in Comedy Series, nominations went to Daniel Kaluuya (host), Dave Chappelle (host), Alec Baldwin (cameo appearance) and Dan Levy (host) who was the Golden Boy of last year’s Emmys when “Schitt’s Creek” swept every category it was nominated in for 2020. Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series nominations include Kristen Wiig for hosting SNL as well as Maya Rudolph who also hosted Saturday Night Live last season.

Congratulations to the cast and crew of Saturday Night Live on all its Emmy nominations, but now let’s get back to tonight’s repeat starring Keegan-Michael Key. This evening’s SNL replay episode is #19 out of 20 shows from last season.

Here’s some quick info if you’re not familiar with tonight’s host. Keegan-Michael Key co-hosted the Comedy Central sketch comedy show, “Key & Peele” for 5 seasons. Before that, Keegan-Michael was part of the MADtv ensemble. He’s also done voicework in animated films and television shows, like “Toy Story 4“, “The Angry Birds Movie“, “Bob’s Burgers“, and the “Hotel Transylvania” cartoon comedies.

His latest project is “Schmigadoon!“. The musical – comedy series co-starring Saturday Night Live cast member Cecily Strong premiered this weekend on Apple TV+. Keegan-Michael and Cecily Strong play a couple who find themselves trapped in the town of “Schmigadoon!” where everything feels like you’re trapped in the golden-age of 1940s Hollywood musicals with the town itself is based on the 1947 musical, “Brigadoon.”

Tonight’s Saturday Night Live repeat begins with one of the best SNL – Cold Opens of last season. There’s no Alec Baldwin as Donald Trump, no Jim Carrey as Joe Biden and no Maya Rudolph dropping by to play Kamala Harris. There’s not even anyone playing a Fox News host!

We do get cast member Kate McKinnon back as Covid Czar, Dr. Anthony Fauci. So, it’s not completely politics free. The Fauc-ster is there to explain the new Center for Disease Control guidelines for mask-wearing now that the Covid vaccine has rolled out across America. Dr. Fauci isn’t alone to explain it all. He’s joined by the entire SNL cast as they play an acting troupe performing as the “CDC Players.” They’re a group of doctors who minored in theater and who will be acting out scenarios where a mask may (or may not) be required.

Not only is it fantastic to see the whole SNL cast working together as an ensemble, but this cold open sketch has these cast members doing one of the things that they do best. Acting like bad actors. It’s a great opener with everyone over-acting and over-enunciating like you would find with a bad high school improv troupe. Watch for cast members Kyle Mooney, Cecily Strong and Alex Moffat who really shine in a sketch where everyone is already brilliant. And enjoy the rare occasion when 17 different cast members shout, “Live from New York! It’s Saturday Night!” (pssst, that’s a record).

Keegan-Michael Key takes the stage for his SNL monologue as he becomes the very first person from the “MADtv” cast to host Saturday Night Live. Our host for this evening’s rerun is very dapperly dressed tonight, addressing the audience while wearing a tuxedo. That tux comes in handy while Keegan-Michael Key sings his way through the monologue in a way that will remind long-time SNL fans of the nights when Steve Martin would host the show.

As he sings his way through his opening remarks, Keegan-Michael musically announces, “I’m going to do it all tonight, every single SNL thing tonight.” He’s hoping for the perfect SNL hosting experience by doing everything that Saturday Night Live has to offer including classic bits. His superlative monologue misses the mark of perfection when Michael-Keegan takes a question from the audience that wasn’t quite meant for him.

If we’re talking best sketch of the night in this evening’s SNL replay, it’s got to go to a sketch called “The Muppet Show.” It is definitely the most ambitious sketch of the evening and it’s every bit as funny as it is enterprising. The sketch is an exact recreation of “The Muppet Show” with Kermit the Frog and cast member Melissa Villaseñor doing an insanely good impression of guest star, Lily Tomlin.

Anyone who remembers “The Muppet Show” remembers the two old hecklers in the balcony, Statler and Waldorf who are voiced tonight by cast members Beck Bennett and Mikey Day respectively. However, heckling in this theater is not allowed, even if it is part of the act. Host Keegan-Michael Key and cast member Kenan Thompson play theater security guards and warn the senior citizen muppets that they “are more than welcome to leave”, but the heckling will stop. What happens when two aged muppets take it too far challenging venue authority? Please watch tonight and see.

The SNL writers took advantage of it being high school graduation season when they wrote this show back in May. In tonight’s repeat starring Keegan-Michael Key, we get two high school sketches. One features students arriving for prom and getting the Hollywood red carpet treatment with Keegan-Michael Key playing “Super Senior Jacob Shneeb aka Shneeb” who announces the arrivals. Featured player Bowen Yang and cast member Heidi Gardner are exceptionally funny in this sketch.

Then, there’s another high school sketch involving the graduation ceremony that closes the show. This time, Keegan-Michael Key plays a very proud dad who just cannot hold his and his family’s applause and enthusiasm till the end of the ceremony. No matter how many warnings he gets from the principal.

Other sketches tonight include Keegan-Michael Key portraying a TGI Friday’s deejay who’s playing a really sad birthday party with the help of cast member Cecily Strong’s “Brit-ish” character, Gemma. And he’s part of a trio, with Kate McKinnon and Cecily Strong, of elderly Broadway legends in a sketch which is a “Tribute to George Gershwin.” The aged throuple try to get through a rendition of Gershwin’s “I’ve Got Rhythm” with some help from the stage manager.

There’s one SNL Short airing in tonight’s Saturday Night Live repeat and it’s called “The Last Dance: Extended Scene.” It’s extra footage from the ESPN doc, “The Last Dance” which documented NBA icon Michael Jordan’s final season with the Chicago Bulls. It demonstrates just how competitive Michael Jordan (Keegan-Michael Key) is with everything. Heidi Gardner is exceptional in this SNL Short as Jordan’s elderly head of security at the United Center, John Wozniak. The Television Academy must have missed Heidi in this episode to not have given her an Emmy nomination for this short.

The Weekend Update team of Colin Jost and Michael Che open the news segment reporting that the CDC has announced that fully vaccinated people can now go most places without a face-mask and without socially distancing. They also poke fun at President Biden announcing the CDC news by saying “Take off your mask and smile.”

Of course that was nothing compared to what Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said about the CDC announcement. Colin Jost will let you in on that one. Michael Che comments on a report that the Covid virus can cause erectile dysfunction and penis shrinkage. Che adds, “Now that’s how you sell some masks!”

Besides Covid and the vaccines, other stories covered on Weekend Update tonight include the GOP turning on Rep. Liz Cheney for not helping spread Trump’s lie, IBM creating the world’s smallest microchip, the Republican agenda, Tom Cruise returning his Golden Globes because of their lack of diversity, Amazon’s Jeff Bezo’s $500 million yacht, NYC offering vaccines at subway stations, Uncle Ben’s Rice changing its name, stolen Lynyrd Skynyrd memorabilia, Chicago’s rat problem, a squirrel study, and another Ohio State athletic scandal.

Michael Che brought up Congresswoman Liz Cheney being stripped of her GOP leadership role. Then, Liz Cheney drops by the Weekend Update desk to discuss it. Liz arrives in the form of cast member Kate McKinnon. The Congresswoman is putting together an alliance against Trump’s lies and it’s not going well.

Featured player Andrew Dismukes gets a turn at the Weekend Update desk to talk about his great-grandmother. This felt like a try-out in case cast member Pete Davidson is quitting the show after 7 seasons. Andrew Dismukes could definitely take over as the new “Resident Young Person” correspondent. Andrew talks about his home state of Texas and how he feels he needs to defend the Lone Star State where he was raised by his “Old Mama.”

Finally, Weekend Update has a first. This has to be one of the first impressions of Bob Baffert, the world famous racehorse trainer. Baffert is played by cast member Beck Bennett. And we have to say, Beck Bennett’s Bob Baffert blossomed beautifully. Sorry. The alliteration was hard to pass up. Jost and Che have Baffert on Weekend Update to talk about how his latest champion horse, Medina Spirit, tested positive for steroids after winning the Kentucky Derby this year.

If you scroll down just a bit, please don’t sprain a finger, you’ll find the pre-recorded promos for tonight’s SNL replay starring Keegan-Michael Key. The host of tonight’s show is joined by musical guest Olivia Rodrigo and everyone’s favorite cast member Kate McKinnon.

In the promos, Keegan-Michael Key is making some promises that we’re not sure his comedy can cash. Also, be sure to watch for any of Olivia Rodrigo’s wacky characters on this evening’s show. Then, an NBCUniversal secret is finally revealed. Who exactly is Kate McKinnon’s officemate!? And why can’t we ever find Kate’s office!? Maybe we’re pushing the wrong button.

Michael-Keegan Key has the keys to the store tonight when he hosts an SNL rerun originally recorded on May 15, 2021. This evening’s Saturday Night Live musical guest is Olivia Rodrigo. This SNL repeat starts tonight at 11:30pm et on NBC.

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Ernie Tripper

Ernie Tripper