Saturday Night Live hit its 50th anniversary last season, which was followed by an eventful summer. As fans awaited the show’s return, they learned that creator Lorne Michaels was in fact returning for Season 51. In the meantime, several cast members either were let go or left voluntarily: long-time veterans Ego Nwodim and Heidi Gardner, John Higgins, Emil Wakim, Devon Walker, and Michael Longfellow. Meanwhile, a handful of comedians joined the cast: Ben Marshall (a step up from exclusively being on “Please Don’t Destroy”), Veronika Slowikowska, Kam Patterson, Jeremy Culhane, and Tommy Brennan. In December 2025, Bowen Yang announced his exit.
Pretty big shake-up! But it’s hardly the first, and it’s certainly not the biggest. The media jumped on it nevertheless, creating lots of anticipation about how the changes would affect the show. Overall, it doesn’t feel any better or worse than usual. SNL has almost always been a smorgasbord of inconsistency: the occasional night can be great, some evenings can be bad, some can be okay, and most are more like a mix of the three. Much of that has to do with the writing, but the following list is more about the guest hosts. They have to scramble—from choosing the sketches to learning their lines and collaborating with the cast in just a week. Sleepless nights, lots of pressure, plenty of room to fail on a live show. With 12 episodes put out so far, SNL 51 has had 12 hosts who’ve embraced the madness of this famous format: Bad Bunny, Amy Poehler, Sabrina Carpenter, Miles Teller, Nikki Glaser, Glen Powell, Melissa McCarthy, Josh O’Connor, Ariana Grande, Finn Wolfhard, Teyana Taylor, and Alexander Skarsgård. Some of these guests have been stronger than others, and we’re going to rank every single one of this season—based on the sketches’ comedic highs, the shows’ overall consistency (not counting the parts the host was absent from), the host’s performances, and the musical performances (in the rare event when they’re also the musical guest). This is all subjective, all for fun, all for laughs. And it might help those who’ve missed certain episodes to decide if they’re worth watching without having to find out the hard way.
12
Amy Poehler
Episode 2
Beloved by many an SNL fan, former cast member Amy Poehler didn’t host as good of a show as one would hope. The cold open was boring, and the intro wasn’t funny either. That’s usually okay, since those are typically the worst parts of the show anyway. Unfortunately, there’s little else that rises very far above them. “Psychic Talk Show” has a funny idea but overuses the joke, “The Rudemans” is mildly amusing but never really takes off, and “Work Birth” is more weird than funny. “The Hunting Wives Season 2” had a good concept, but that too wound up underwhelming (even with an unexpected Aubrey Plaza).
Another sketch that had potential was “Emo Mom,” which showed Poehler’s best character of the night: a menopausal mother going through phases like a teenager. It’s the funniest sketch of the night, but it’s not enough to make the rest of the show worth viewing. “Experienced Lawyers” is amusingly whacky but nothing to revisit, and “Theme Songs Masterclass” is only funny when Bowen Yang’s character expresses his wish to punish the children. Poehler did go on Weekend Update as well, but the joke-off that ensued felt more like a half-baked reunion in which her individual jokes didn’t stand out. But as an SNL veteran, Poehler understands as well as anyone that you can’t win ’em all. You just have to try, and we look forward to her next attempt.
11
Bad Bunny
Episode 1
Bad Bunny starts with a decent intro, rocking a pair of sunglasses while showing viewers a video of him hopping on stage and the great Jon Hamm at a concert (who also came to the show). We get to see just how much Fox is (not) looking forward to the singer’s Super Bowl halftime show, and it’s funny how he tells non-Spanish speakers that we have four months to learn the language. As for the sketches, they’re hit or miss. Bad Bunny’s character in “Jeopardy” gets tired quickly, his character in “The Donor” doesn’t really work out, and his delivery isn’t quite there in the sketch about a guy obsessed with the recent Netflix movie K-Pop Demon Hunters.
But that’s not to say that nothing works. “Parent Teacher Conference” is carried smoothly by Ashley Padilla as a principal who tries to underplay a student’s alarming illustrations once she meets the boy’s attractive father, “Inventing Spanish” does a decent job of making fun of how gender stereotypes might have played a part in the masculine and feminine articles of Spanish, and “El Chavo del Ocho” is a playful kids’ show parody. The host’s best segment is also the finest conceit of the night: a pre-taped commercial for “ChatGPTío,” a much more blunt version of ChatGPT. Marcello Hernández shines at the center of it, but Bad Bunny is excellent as the rude uncle’s friend. Though this episode had its ups and downs, the host still gave us a few things to remember from it.
10
Josh O’Connor
Episode 8
Josh O’Connor’s mid-December entry starts with a short and sweet monologue about the president of Pixar thinking O’Connor wanted to play in a live-action Ratatouille (this awful idea for a remake will apparently never be produced, thank goodness). “Bachalorette Party Strippers” adds some very non-toxic nuance to the stripper-party trope, as O’Connor and Ben Marshall play a pair of irresistibly sensitive dancers.
The game show of the evening is “Let’s Fine Love,” which doesn’t really work. “Teaching Hospital” features Bowen Yang’s famous shady doctor, and O’Connor does well as his equally incompetent intern. “Wizard of Oz Deleted Footage” is amusing enough, “Lilly Allen Brunch” is fun, and so is “Characters on Characters.” While Yang dominates the majority of “College Class” (rightfully so), the host’s character takes a solid turn at the end. Not a particularly impressive evening, but O’Connor does well and helps make this a decent night all-around.
9
Finn Wolfhard
Episode 10
Finn Wolfhard’s debut monologue plays off his boyish appearance, which certainly preps us for his characters. The host is indeed believable as an indie musician for a sketch that has a clever take on the disapproving parent trope; clichés are turned into a number of laughs. Wolfhard also fits right into the snack-heavy second edition of the middle-schooler podcast “Snackhomiez,” but “Space Emperor” is unfortunately just the same dull gag over and over again. “Free Solo” doesn’t work either.
“Stranger Things Promo” takes a peek at several cash-grab spin-offs, which definitely goes well enough with “Heated Wizardry.” The impressively awkward “Guy’s Girl” is a compelling vehicle for Veronika Slowikowska being as obnoxiously masculine as humanly possible (that “aw” from the audience is so loud!), and Wolfhard supports her performance very well as the feminine half of the couple. Despite flubbing the occasional line, the Stranger Things veteran holds his own.
8
Nikki Glaser
Episode 5
Nikki Glaser recently joined the small club of female comedians to host SNL and not be a former member of the cast. Unsurprisingly, this was raunchier than the typical episode. As is common for comedians, Glaser did a stand-up monologue that lasted about nine minutes. Although on the dark side, it was pretty solid for fans of her humor as she talked about spray tans, a six-year-old who doesn’t have a good side, posters about sex-trafficking, and her short boyfriend. The show features a concise take on Jennifer Hudson‘s spirit tunnel, a Beauty and the Beast-meets-Mr. Beast commercial (which sets itself apart from the Studio C sketch on the same subject with a bouncy song about depression), and an American Girl Doll segment that displays why life-sized dolls would appeal more to men than women.
Glaser does well enough in all of those, but the best sketch of the night ironically shows her flubbing a few lines. No big deal; it’s captained by James Austin Johnson as a pilot who gives his passengers an unsolicited play-by-play of his flirtatious back-and-forth with a young woman. “Pinwheel” offers some laughs, too, though the sketch overdoes the bit a little. “Karaoke Night” definitely isn’t for everybody, “Mechanical Bull” is a silly throwaway, and “Sorority Meeting” falls flat after the first joke. Though far from perfect, Glaser’s episode produced enough laughs to hope she returns soon.
7
Miles Teller
Episode 4
Though it’s not expected of hosts, Miles Teller decided to go the extra mile and play someone in the cold open: mayoral candidate and former NY governor Andrew Cuomo. Teller gets a few good lines in, and his monologue feels natural as he talks about dressing up as SNL characters for Halloween when he was a kid. One of the better sketches of the night would be “Newsroom,” in which Teller plays a pervert whose office etiquette is put on full display during an ill-conceived broadcast. “Hungover Halloween Game” is another winner, in which three extremely hungover people answer questions about the previous night for prizes that wouldn’t be considered prizes in any other context.
“White House Makeover” is a nice Property Brothers parody, as they give the East Wing of The White House an unnecessary makeover during the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. (Teller is good as the brothers, though it’s hard to compete with James Austin Johnson when he’s in his element.) The funniest segment of the night may just be the pre-filmed “Missing Wives Docuseries,” showing the idiocy of three men who don’t pay attention to their wives or general surroundings. Teller is hilarious as perhaps the most irresponsible husband of the bunch. Regarding the lesser skits, “Murder Press Briefing” is playfully random but nothing special, “Hockey PSA” is basically just slightly clever wordplay in service of the same joke, and “Italian Restaurant Date” is such a throwaway that they didn’t even write a proper ending to it. Overall, though, that still makes for a pretty good evening.
6
Alexander Skarsgård
Episode 12
Presenting SNL‘s 1000th episode is Alexander Skarsgård. He starts things by putting the spotlight on the band in a mix of jazz and humor that doesn’t even need singing. The strongest sketch of the night is “Mom’s Confession,” in which Ashley Padilla gives one of the best performances of the season so far while the host makes every word count in his minor role as the birthday-man.
To everyone’s joy, the great Stellan Skarsgård joins his son in two sketches. Although the second “Scandinavian Movie” isn’t quite as strong as Glen Powell’s (see below), the Skarsgårds’ cold demeanors put a great spin on the “Immigrant Talk Show” formula. Alexander also plays a luge coach who has to trick his Olympian into playing, Tarzan breaking up with Jane, and a guy who tries way too hard to be funny around people who love his jokes way too much. “The Viking Raid” imagines a comically anachronistic conversation, and the host ironically goes full viking as a little girl (to excellent effect). Can’t wait to see him back on the show!
5
Glen Powell
Episode 6
Glen Powell starts off strong with a monologue that’s both funny and wholesome, thanks to a story about the UPS driver who arrived at Powell’s house just as the movie star got a call about hosting SNL a few years ago. The strongest sketch of the night is probably “Norwegian Movie,” in which Powell and the terrific Chloe Fineman show excellent chemistry as Norwegian actors shooting a very, very serious movie. It’s a bit surprising that this wasn’t in the form of a pre-filmed trailer, but the contrast between the actors’ vibrant personalities and their characters’ ice-cold demeanors is amusing enough. There’s also “Haircut,” in which Ashley Padilla shows yet again why she’s one of the show’s rising stars. Then there’s “AI Photos,” a comically disturbing take on what artificial intelligence has been trying to do lately.
Let’s not forget the one about comedian Sebastian Maniscalco, where Powell gets to let loose with an impression of Maniscalco (though of course Marcello Hernández is the star here). “I Miss My Ex’s Dad” is fine, and Powell playing a Liam Neeson-type in “Airport” is funny enough. “Bob Army” is the nuttiest sketch of the night, and it works as Powell yet again doesn’t hold back. The “MacGruber” stuff doesn’t take long to run out of steam, but having only one particularly weak segment all evening makes for a pretty successful host. Powell’s long wait to get on the show was worth it, and he’s clearly having a blast. This episode may not go down as a legendary evening, but it will probably go down as one of the most consistently enjoyable of the season.
4
Melissa McCarthy
Episode 7
The legendary Melissa McCarthy returns to SNL for the sixth time, and she doesn’t disappoint. Her monologue is a forgettable but charming holiday introduction to an exuberant series of performances. In “Free Sample,” she enters her element as a kooky grocery shopper who alarmingly doesn’t understand the concept of free samples. “UPS Delivery Driver” is another fine display, as McCarthy plays someone who’s unambiguously awful at her job. It lasts a little too long, but her fans won’t mind.
Then there’s “A Helping Hand,” a better-than-usual pre-recorded sketch in which she yet again shows her skill at playing obsessive, aggressive menaces to society. The biggest surprise of the night may just be “Truth or Dare,” which casually changes from a hilariously innocent game of Truth-or-Dare to a terrific exhibition of suppressed passion. “Sunday Supper” refreshingly has McCarthy play someone who’s not crazy for once, “Cousin Planet” is okay, and “Christopher and Guillaume” isn’t bad. Overall, this is a hard episode to beat.
3
Ariana Grande
Episode 9
The 2025 Christmas episode of SNL is hosted by none other than Ariana Grande, who sings a delightful Christmas-classic parody about getting a present for someone you barely know. “Elf on the Shelf” is the sketch of the night, as an elf support group takes a number of hilariously dark turns while Grande goes all out as Twinklebutter. “Dancing 101” is so full of sass and energy that Grande’s breaking more than once does nothing to stifle our laughter.
Much less compelling is “Black Santa,” which randomly relies too heavily on Cher‘s “Believe.” The “Love is Blind Reunion” is fine, and “Home Alone” isn’t for the squeamish. “Delta Lounge” is another highlight, serving as a fittingly touching SNL-goodbye to cast member Bowen Yang. “Random Duet Christmas Spectacular” is decent, and Grande’s performance in the final minute of “Espresso Martini” is top-shelf. Even “Last Stop Christmas Shop” is full of stamina (again, Grande breaking doesn’t even hurt). This consistently memorable series of sketches comes across as a borderline Christmas miracle.