Chris Rock And Martin Short Come Home For Christmas As Final 'Saturday Night Live' Hosts Of Year
I could make a 'Glicked' joke here but that might take too long to explain
Nine episodes into its momentous 50th season, Saturday Night Live has gotten its first former cast member to host in it, and they’re doing it back to back. Chris Rock and Martin Short have been tapped to host the December 14 and 21 episodes, the ninth and tenth of the season.
Rock was a cast member from 1990 to 1993 and is known for the Madagascar films and agitating Will Smith to the point of needing an infamous slap. He recently revived Everybody Hates Chris in its animated form Everybody Still Hates Chris for Comedy Central. This will be his fourth time hosting and has Gracie Abrams as his musical guest in her debut, promoting her newest album, The Secret of Us. Rock’s previous hosting gigs were on November 2, 1996, with musical guest The Wallflowers in season 22, November 1, 2014, in season 40 with musical guest Prince, and the season 46 premiere on October 3, 2020, with musical guest Megan Thee Stallion, which was the first episode back in studio as television production reopened after COVID-19 shut everything down and led to three At Home episodes. Rock has also made 11 cameos over the 30 years since he left, usually in support of other hosting alums, as well as Dave Chappelle. His most recent appearance was in the Kim Kardashian-hosted episode on October 9, 2021, with musical guest Halsey. That one had cameos so random it was as if COVID protocols were abolished! This means yes, he hasn’t been back since the Slap.
Martin Short was already a renowned comedian from SCTV when he joined Saturday Night Live for its tenth season in 1984, which also featured additions in Billy Crystal and Christopher Guest. Nowadays he’s been rather inseparable from his Only Murders in the Building co-star and SNL fixture Steve Martin, appearing (pre-taped) in the Omicron-ravaged December 18, 2021, Paul Rudd episode before hosting together 51 weeks later on December 10, 2022, with musical guest Brandi Carlile. In fact what is now all five hosting gigs have been in December, with the previous being December 15, 2012, with musical guest Paul McCartney… where The New York City Children's Chorus did “Silent Night” in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting, December 7, 1996, with musical guest No Doubt, and December 6, 1986 co-hosting with Martin then too as well as Chevy Chase, as they were starring in Three Amigos! together at the time. Randy Newman was musical guest, which is the origin of the “Holiday Wish” sketch starring Martin that has replayed in Christmas specials (and the Omicron episode) to this day. Yes, he’s hosting for the fifth time, but don’t worry, he’s already gotten his hands on a Five-Timers jacket in his appearance in Kristen Wiig’s cameo-heavy monologue this past April 6. Short has made eight other cameos, including Molly Shannon’s April 8, 2023 episode, as the original Doug Emhoff stunt-cast in Maya Rudolph’s March 27, 2021 episode, and as his beloved Ed Grimley in the much-maligned November 7, 2015 episode hosted by Felon President. His musical guest is Hozier, who returns for the first time since being Bill Hader’s musical guest in his October 11, 2014 hosting debut. Hozier is about to release Unreal Unearth: Unending, the deluxe version of his album Unreal Unearth, on December 6.
I actually first heard about Rock hosting on November 26, when a Discord user brought a post from the LiveFromNewYork subreddit to a mutual server. Apparently, someone at the Comedy Cellar heard him work his monologue. Practically everyone was skeptical and offering preferred choices. It was also pointed out that the Saturday Night Network had hinted that one of the “Bad Boys” of the show would be hosting. In essence, if it wasn’t Rock, it would’ve been Adam Sandler, David Spade, or the biggest of long shots, Rob Schneider. Not that they were lined up, but they are the other members.
Alums coming home to host Christmas episodes, wherever or how much of December it may be, is pretty common. But not quite in this fashion. Still, recent years have seen Eddie Murphy, Wiig, and Kate McKinnon also host the last episodes of the year, with McKinnon’s episode featuring rather heavy involvement from Wiig and Rudolph, as well as former writer Paula Pell. So far, former writer John Mulaney’s sixth hosting gig on November 2 made him the first alum to do so this season. Saturday Night Live returns this Saturday December 7, with host Paul Mescal, star of Gladiator II, and musical guest Shaboozey.
