We’re only two episodes into Saturday Night Live’s newest season and already it’s churning out headlines and notable moments like nobody’s business.
The most recent episode was hosted by SNL alum and general icon Amy Poehler, who returned for a 51st season of the show that was already gathering steam after the mass cast exodus and the introduction of new castmates like TikToker Veronika Slowikowska.
Add in a headline-grabbing monologue from season 51’s inaugural host Bad Bunny and you’ve got what looks to be the buzziest SNL season in recent memory, with the second episode proving that overlord Lorne Michaels still has a knack for getting tongues wagging.
From the mini reprisal of your favourite sitcom to clapbacks from the White House, here’s all the best moments from the latest episode of Saturday Night Live.
Leslie Knope and April Ludgate are back (and horny)!
Parks and Recreation fans got a long-awaited reunion during the Poehler-hosted SNL episode when she tapped Aubrey Plaza for a pre-recorded skit making fun of the new TV series (and sapphic fever dream), Hunting Wives.
Plaza, who played April opposite Knope’s Leslie on Parks and Rec, was welcomed to loud audience applause in the sketch, which sees the pair sensually undertake various activities like making mimosas and handling a gun. You know, classic homoerotic stuff!
It marked Plaza’s most recent appearance on the show, having popped up briefly during its 50th anniversary special shortly after her husband Jeff Baena’s tragic death in February.
White House jabs
Hunting Wives wasn’t the only TV melodrama that got spoofed on SNL’s second episode, with Poehler also taking aim at the stranger-than-fiction antics that define the Donald Trump administration.
Specifically, she whipped out her best impersonation of US Attorney General Pam Bondi, opposite longtime collaborator Tina Fey as Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. Together, the in-character comedians brushed off questions about everything from the Jeffrey Epstein files to Trump’s controversial immigration policies.
Life imitated art when the real Bondi later retweeted a still of Poehler as her and said she was “loving” the impersonation, despite it being about as flattering as a low-angle selfie in white overhead lighting.
Charli xcx fuels Taylor Swift feud rumours
Saving the juiciest for last, SNL weighed into pop star politics when the musical guest for episode two, Role Model, brought out Charli xcx for a surprise cameo during his performance.
Naturally, Charli seemingly being dissed on the new Taylor Swift song “Actually Romantic” led some to believe that the shirt she wore on SNL was some kind of clapback. Charli’s shirt read, “Max’s Kansas City”, and since Taylor’s fiancé Travis Kelce famously plays for the NFL team the Kansas City Chiefs, it wasn’t long before fans took it as a response to “Actually Romantic”.
We don’t know for sure whether Charli was shading her pop star peer or whether the shirt simply paired best with her ever-iconic black sunglasses, but the moment nonetheless capped off what feels like a rebirth era for SNL.
With Sabrina Carpenter on board to both host and serve as the musical guest (!) for the next episode, we’ll no-doubt be treated to even more buzzy moments. And perhaps a joke about the album cover heard ‘round the world.
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