Entertainment

‘I used to work here’: Kate McKinnon hosts SNL for the first time

McKinnon, a "Saturday Night Live" cast member for 10 years, hosted last night’s episode alongside musical guest Billie Eilish.

By Natalie Gale

December 17, 2023

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For the first time since she worked on “Saturday Night Live” for 10 seasons, Kate McKinnon came back to Studio 8H last night to host the show’s holiday episode. The audience received her with a ton of applause — almost as much applause as when Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig joined her on stage at the end of the monologue.

Billie Eilish was the musical guest, and the star-studded episode also featured appearances by Greta Gerwig, Paula Pell, and Dr. Hattie Davis. 

McKinnon revived a handful of old characters for last night’s episode, and assured fans she only left the show in 2022 because her skin was reacting poorly to the prosthetics. But now she’s “home for Christmas.”

Christmas Awards Cold Open

It’s the 95th annual Christmas Awards, and Heidi Gardner and Bowen Yang, “two people from the E! Network you’ve never heard of,” are giving out awards in categories like “Most Unwelcome, Uninvited Guest,” “Most Disappointing Gift Given to a 10-Year-Old Boy,” and “Most Ass Gingerbread House.” There are also a few performances: Dad does “Pretending to Love His Son’s Gift,” and your fiance’s mom Carly does, “‘Do You Hear What I Hear’ With Incorrect Lyrics.”

Monologue

McKinnon has been trying to assemble a “human personality” ever since she left SNL in 2022. It’s weird to be doing the monologue — “I don’t really like to talk in my own voice. That’s kinda why I got into this racket in the first place.” She sings a little diddy on a (far too small and fake) piano because “it’s Christmas.” Then, former castmates Rudolph and Wiig join her on stage to discuss looking themselves up on Wikipedia.

North Pole News

Kirby Gigglemittens (Mikey Day) is on the scene of a violent killer whale attack at Peppermint Plaza in the North Pole. A Scottish elf named Pickle Bark McCuddle Puff (McKinnon), a.k.a. “The One Who Lived,” has a lot to say about the attack, and about leadership up at the North Pole. A similar sketch ran a few years ago with Eddie Murphy. 

Gifts From Mom

McKinnon and James Austin Johnson are parents giving their grown-up daughters and their boyfriends Christmas gifts. McKinnon thinks her gifts are terrible, and therefore, so is she. “They’re pieces of trash from the dumbest woman alive.” Mom keeps getting worse. 

Abba Christmas

The “number one band alphabetically” is putting out a new holiday album. Yang, McKinnon, Rudolph, and Wiig are the “Fleetwood Mac of cold weather” in this infomercial showing snippets of the band’s upcoming project, including holiday renditions like “Frostitita” and “Santa’s Queen.” Most of the characters are 17 years old and on the dance floor, and there’s a lot of their “signature standing close facing different directions” while singing. Pretty much everyone breaks.

Tampon Farm

McKinnon, Rudolph, and Wiig are granola women in this prerecorded sketch, working on a farm — Tampon Farm, where the tampons grow. McKinnon does a sort of Brandi Carlisle-esque guitar ballad. Spot cameos by Eilish, Gerwig, and former SNL writer Paula Pell. 

Billie Eilish

The 21-year-old singer-songwriter performed “What Was I Made For?” from the “Barbie” movie soundtrack — and Gerwig accompanied McKinnon to introduce the song. Eilish also did a jazzy rendition of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.”

Weekend Update

In the final Weekend Update of 2023, Michael Che and Colin Jost poke fun at Rudy Guliani, the royal family’s Christmas card, and an A.I. Van Gogh. The hosts also brought back their annual Christmas Joke Swap, in which they write each other jokes that they’ve never seen before to read live on air. 

Cinema Classics

PBS’s Cinema Classics, hosted by Reese De’What (Kenan Thompson), presents a scene from “Meet Me In Saint Louis.” “Like all classic Christmas films,” says De’What, “the plot revolves around a bunch of white people who are happy, but get even more happy by Christmas.” McKinnon and Chloe Trost star in this skit that was first done in season 39.

Whiskers R We

McKinnon revives another past character — Barbara DeDrew from Whiskers R We, putting on their annual Cat-Tacular. Billie Eilish comes on as DeDrew’s intern, “Paw-drey Hep-purn.” They introduce real cats that need adoption, and try to sell them, kind of. “A cat is a friend who’s mad at you. A cat is a dog that’s a bitch.”