In a sign that perhaps the stars leaving “Saturday Night Live” are returning to their greatest hits as they head out the door, this week’s cold opening featured a wild send-off for at least two of them. For Kate McKinnon, that meant her fan-favorite alien abductee, Ms. Rafferty, once again shared a wildly inappropriate experience with NSA officers played by Aidy Bryant and Mikey Day.
After showing off her expertise, McKinnon, as Mrs. Rafferty, headed off into space, after a final goodbye. This clearly doubled as a goodbye from McKinnon as well. “I felt like an alien on this planet anyway,” the character said. “Well Earth, I love you, thanks for letting me stay for a while. Live from New York, it’s Saturday night!”
The clip opened with Bryant and Day, and sustained applause, clearly aimed at Bryant, who is also leaving after this episode.
McKinnon has played Mrs. Rafferty in various episodes over the years, usually making guest hosts laugh in the process, such as Ryan Gosling in 2015. Here’s the Saturday night opening:
Thank you, Mrs. Rafferty #SNLFinal pic.twitter.com/eJ7YaonB4U
— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) May 22, 2022
“Russian Doll” star Natasha Lyonne was selected to host the season finale of “Saturday Night Live” on May 21, marking her hosting debut.
“I have a show called ‘Russian Doll,’ the second season of ‘Russian Doll’ just premiered on Netflix,” he said. “And two things you definitely want to be associated with right now are Russia and Netflix! It’s my first time as a host and I’m really honored to be here. The truth is that I feel a cosmic connection on SNL. The people here, my chosen family in real life. I have been coming here since I was a teenager.”
Lyonne was then joined onstage by Fred Armisen and Maya Rudolph.
“Freddy and I dated for seven years. We had the one sex tape no one wanted to buy,” she joked.
Lyonne then recounted her career path: “My parents have this great idea that I have a future in show business,” she said. “So I start auditioning. Turns out a lot of casting directors are looking for a ‘little orphan Annie’ who talks like Deedee Ramone.”
She then showed one of her first concerts as a child: “Pee-wee’s Playhouse.”
“I do some television, my mom and I moved to the Upper East Side. Suddenly I’m in the movies, oh, and all those 90s movies: ‘American Pie,’ ‘American Pie 2,’ ‘American Pie: The Multiverse of Madness.’ Cult favorite ‘But I’m a cheerleader’. Things go great and then knock knock. Who’s there? Multiple arrests and drug addiction! Oh yeah, I went to hell and back. Life was hard. But just like when Fabio was on that roller coaster, and a bird flew into his face, and we have a picture of that, I shook myself off and went back to the ride.
“But I’m here and I’ll tell you what I found. There is always hope and despair. And there’s always a reason to get back in the ring and fight another day.” Watch Lyonne’s monologue here:
Natasha Lyonne Monologue! #SNLFinal pic.twitter.com/hehBSls4oA
— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) May 22, 2022
Japanese Breakfast, Michelle Zauner’s indie rock moniker, was set to serve as the finale’s musical guest.
Before the episode, news leaked (as first reported by Variety) that Pete Davidson, Aidy Bryant, Kate McKinnon, and Kyle Mooney were expected to leave “SNL” after this season 47 finale.
On Saturday, Davidson wrote a goodbye message via Instagram from his friend and “Saturday Night Live” writer Dave Sirus. “It’s crazy to think that today I’m going to be doing my last one,” he said. “I was able to share so much with this audience and literally grow in front of their eyes. We were together through thick and thin, through the happiest times and the darkest. I owe my life to Lorne Michaels and everyone at SNL.” (Read the full text here.)
Lyonne is the co-creator, executive producer, director, and star of the comedy-drama series “Russian Doll,” which premiered its second season on Netflix on April 20. In season 2, Nadia (Lyonne) and Alan (Charlie Barnett) are transported to different versions of the past, forced to make sense of their family histories.
Lyonne will also star in and executive produce “Poker Face,” an upcoming mystery drama created by Rian Johnson for Peacock. This is also Japanese Breakfast’s first time on “SNL.” He is currently on a North American tour in support of his “Jubilee” album, which came out last June.
Last week, Selena Gomez made her hosting debut. Previous hosts of “Saturday Night Live” this season included Lizzo, Jake Gyllenhaal, Jerrod Carmichael, Zoe Kravitz, Oscar Isaac, John Mulaney, Willem Dafoe and Will Forte.
Reference-variety.com