Saturday Night Live kicked off the 13th episode of the new season by brutally ridiculing the former president that of Donald Trump speech in Eastern Palestine, featuring a cameo by the chairman of the Fulton County Election Crimes Grand Jury Emilie Kohrs.
This week editing of Saturday Night Live highlighted Woody Harrelson as guest host and rock superstar Jack White as a musical guest. Variety reported on Harrelson’s hosting gig, noting:
Woody Harrelson will return to the “Saturday Night Live” stage to host for a fifth time on February 25. He will lead the next set of hosts as “SNL” returns at the end of the month for three consecutive weeks.
Musical guests on these nights include Jack White (February 25), Kelsea Ballerini (March 4) and The 1975 (March 11).
Harrelson teased the appearance with an online mini-sketch promotion in which he is interrupted while listening to his pre-recorded thoughts by a cast member Devon Walker:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z2MFkFaLB8
But before Harrelson could begin his stint as host, the cast of the long-running sketch show performed its 937th cold open, a long-running gag in which the show performs a parody – usually tied to the news – which ends with performers breaking character and exclaiming “Live from New York, it’s Saturday night!”
The very first cold open – October 11, 1975 – lasted just 96 seconds and featured Chevy-Chase uttering the catchphrase as a confused production assistant on a new show then simply called NBC Saturday Night. Cold opens early – colds open? – featured Chase performing a tumble, often as then-president Gerald Ford.
It has evolved into an often elaborate and anticipated part of the show that can last over ten minutes and almost always parody current events. While often of uneven quality and a magnet for jabs from critics, the cold open is also often the most talked about part of the series.
This week’s cold open featured a parody of Trump’s speech at the site of the train disaster featuring James Austin Johnson in his stream-of-consciousness portrait of the former president.
Watch above via NBC Saturday Night Live.
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