SNL After Party 4/11/26 - S51 E17 “Be On The Lookout For A Mess!”

Host: Colman Domingo

Musical Guest: Anitta

After last week’s visit from the Two Jacks (not to be confused with The Two Jakes. Why was that movie ever made, by the way), are SNL audiences prepared to be in Euphoria with this week’s guest host, or do we live in Fear of the Walking Dead that this week won’t quite work out?

Let’s find out which feeling was appropriate for this episode helmed by the accomplished (if lesser known) actor at this week’s After Party.

Cold Open

A Trump cold open was inevitable considering everything that is happening in his world this week. The sketch starts off with Trump (James Austin Johnson) talking to Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt (Ashley Padilla). It shows Trump composing his somewhat off-kilter truth post that went up on Easter, threatening to annihilate an entire civilization and ending with praise to Allah. (This really happened.) Trump assured Levitt she was doing a good job, which he pointed out was what he said to Kristi Noem and Pam Bondi just before their termination. As an aside, he mentioned that Padilla played all three women, which was "an interesting detail."

Trump then makes a call to Tiger Woods (Kenan Thompson). Trump notes that Woods received a DUI (which he pronounced as “Dooey”). He then notes, "Do we drive on pills? Yes, he does." The call to Tiger is cut short once Trump realizes he is not playing in the Masters.

Trump then makes a quick call to Melania (Chloe Fineman) who informs him she wants to have a press conference out of the blue to deny she was a victim of Jeffrey Epstein. True responds that this “sounds a little insane. Who are you, me?”

Trump then calls Defense Sec…- excuse me, Secretary of War - Pete Hegseth (Colin Jost). The two bro out and do a parody of Limp Bizkit’s “Nookie”.

The cold open is a bit uneven, but it mostly works due to the fact that it is essentially a series of small vignettes pieced together. None of these premises would have likely carried the entire sketch, so the writers were smart to approach the open in this manner. No one overstayed their welcome, and that goes a long way.

Monologue:

Colman Domingo commands the stage as he points out the various roles he's been in. He notes he was in Euphoria, Fear the Walking Dead, that he was inside the suit as C-3PO, and that he played Carly in iCarly. He also noted that he is "your uncle." He notes that just like "raisins in a Caucasian cookout, he is in everything.”

He points out that he likes to guess what roles people know him from based on their demographic. For example, he says that if you are a “Latin bro” you know him for Fear The Walking Dead, whereas if you are a “girl under 20 or a creepy dude over 30” you know him from Euphoria.

Domingo goes on to say that if you actually know him, you know that what he is really best known for are his vibes. He demonstrates this by instructing the camera and crew to give him appropriate lighting and camera angles that accentuate his charisma. He then says that can work on anybody, bringing out cast member Jeremy Culhane. At first, Culhane isn't quite there, but then, as the camera zooms up, he adds a sexy facial pose, and Domingo says, "It almost worked." This would be the first dunking on Culhane for the night, but not the last.

Domingo goes out to the audience and talks to a woman there. He asks her how she got there, and she informs him that she was given a ticket by someone who works here. Domingo states that's hot and asks if it was a cast member, to which the woman states that it was actually from a writer, and Domingo tells her, "Don't tell people that."

Domingo's presence is easy and funny. He clearly does have a great deal of charm and charisma, and this monologue left me quite hopeful for the show.

Fashion District Robbery

In the sketch, a reporter (Padilla) is reporting on a bank robbery in the Fashion District that was witnessed by students and faculty members of a design school. Domingo portrays D'Artagnan Meringue, a faculty member (“I don’t teach, I show. I am the lesson.”). He says that the perpetrator appeared to be 30 to 32. When Padilla asks if that was his age, Meringue says “No, honey, his waist and inseam, what else could be referring to?”. When asked to describe the perpetrator’s clothing, Meringue says it was “BoHo Derogatory!” Meanwhile, the Dean (Mikey Day) repeatedly giving quick takes while crossing the frame. Meringue’s students give their input as to the appearance of the robber. Fineman, wearing a comically large hat, states, "The look must have been from the unemployment line because it was not working." Marcello Hernandez tells the reporter that the robber’s outfit was giving a “Look by Stevie….Stevie Wonder” vibe. When another student (Jane Wickline) is asked to give descriptions, she gives no normal descriptions, which leads to Meringue to yell at her “Go to a normal college.”

This sketch was very funny, with Domingo’s commitment to the character selling some strong comedic writing.

This episode is off to a strong start.

Uneek Kutz Barbershop

This pre-taped commercial parody at first appears to be for some form of depression medication or online therapy service. Instead, it is a commercial aimed at white men, advising them that they can get help simply by going to black barber shops.

Domingo, Thompson and Cam Patterson provide advice that may be different that offered by traditional therapists. The piece is funny and sharp, and overall just plain works. The show is batting close to 1.000 so far.

Artemis II

Domingo portrays Artemis II pilot Victor Glover. He is providing a video message to viewers as the spaceship returns from its trip around the moon. He starts by giving a very earnest report on the beauty of the earth as the ship approaches it from space; however, he is promptly interrupted by Hernandez and Day, who float by fighting over a can of Pringles. He is also interrupted as Sarah Sherman floats by asleep. Hernandez and Day return to play a game of no-hands hat, in which the object is to put a beanie on your head without using your hands while it is floating in space above them. This is a ridiculous sketch that bases its laughs on the childish antics of Domingo's fellow crew members. It works. One of the reasons it is so effective is that everyone is committed to a fantastic bit of physical comedy mimicking weightlessness. This is a welcome dose of extreme silliness.

What If I Told You…

In this PBS parody, Domingo portrays Henry Debris, the host of a show called “The Knowledge Hour” who presents interesting facts by starting off with "What have I told you...?" (“What if I told you there are more trees on Earth than stars in the Milky Way.”)

After making several such observations, he asks “What if I told you this table is a man?”, upon which Ben Marshall stands up, having been dressed in a table costume.

This goes on with Debris identifying various objects in the room as people, until he comes to a vase that was supposed to be a City Councilman, but is, in fact just a vase, as the Councilman had last minute business.

This throws him into a tizzy, and he throws out all the objects in the room.

He then soliloquies that he wanted this show to go well to impress a woman he carried a flame for while in college.

At this point, Mikey Day rushes in as the Councilman dressed as a vase. He apologizes for being late, but a polar bear at the zoo ate a kid. “I should specify. It was a baby goat. It was his food. He was supposed to.” Day’s character then professes his willingness to marry Debris, so Thompson, disguised as a portrait of a minister, pronounces them to be husband and vase.

The sketch ends with everyone dancing, which is the international sign that SNL writers have no earthly idea on how to end a sketch. Nonetheless, this sketch was a delightful combination of ridiculous, smart, and silly. It would have been at home at 10 til the end of the show, but it worked here as well.

Another solid sketch for the night!

Weekend Update:

Not surprisingly, Trump and Iran dominated this week's update. Jost came out of the gate reading a profanity laced Truth social post that was incredibly inflammatory and offensive. He then pointed out that the post was completely made up, but that everyone in the audience assumed it was real. I admit I fell for it.

He then turned to the actual Easter post-trumpet made, which he ended with a reference to Allah. Jost stated that it was ridiculous to believe that Trump was converting to Islam, as he had already been to a paradise with 72 virgins. He then showed a picture of Trump with Jeffrey Epstein.

Shea talked about whether Israel and Lebanon being a part of the ceasefire was included in the peace talks. He then stated that that came down to the man that was in charge of our military, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Just went back to Truth Social to quote a post from the president which stated that “The Iranians don’t seem to realize they have no cards.” The anchor then quipped, "Guys, they are literally holding a strait.”

For the first desk set, Cam Patterson and Marcello Hernandez appeared as two kids from the back of the school bus to discuss inflation. They acted just like you would expect middle schoolers to act on a bus. When chastised to address the issue seriously, one of them noted that their friend Grabon can't afford groceries. When Joss showed sympathy for that and asked Grabon, "Who?" they responded, "Grabon deez nuts."

The rest of the bit was essentially variations of Deez Nuts jokes. Look, I'm not going to say this is necessarily intelligent writing, but I will always laugh at any jokes in this genre. What can I tell you? I'm still young at heart. The second desk guest was Jane Wickline as Gen Z sexpert Lynn Greer. The entire joke here was that Greer has never actually had sex. The bit never really landed. and it is clear this was a modern remake of the classic Monty Python “Nudge Nudge sketch,” only not as funny.

Grandpa’s Wake

Ashley Padilla and her sons (Hernandez and Culhane) greet visitors at Padilla's father's wake. As his friends begin to greet them, it becomes apparent that Grandpa led an interesting life. The first visitor is a pimp named Suede (Thompson), followed by sex workers Sherman and Viktoria Slowikowska. More pimps (Colman and JAJ) show up, leading the sons to ask if Grandpa was a sex worker. Apparently, he preferred the term “boy whore” and he charged $1 for his services. The pimps all tell Hernandez he’d be a good sex worker, while admonishing Culhane to remain in college, with one asking “Were you adopted from the Shire.”

The sketch has no way to conclude, and, while amusing enough, this one didn’t really go anywhere.

Prep School

Sherwood Academy is a prep school along the lines of Dead Poets Society. It has as its motto "the learned boy shall conform." Enter a new teacher (Domingo), who wants to throw out traditional learning paradigms. The students seemed like this, except for one (Dismukes), who is skeptical of this form of teaching in a math class. The teacher goes on to have students make up numbers and then provide him with lessons. One student (Patterson) states that he is attracted to the number eight. The sketch is funny because of the heightening ridiculousness of the fake numbers and Dismukes' growing ire at the situation. For good measure, Thompson comes in as a goodwill hunting style custodian who says some nonsense that the teacher enjoys. The sketch comes to an end when Dismukes falls out a window. This is another sketch that works due to the ridiculousness and Domingo's commitment to character.

Beastomorphs

In this taped teaser for a television series, teens (Sherman, Solikowska, Tommy Brennan and Hernandez), transform into animals to fight evil doers, but change back in time for dinner. After a battle with the wicked Chumungus, the team transforms back to human form, but Sherman inadvertently sneezes and farts at the same time, causing her to be stuck as a weird human animal hybrid. She then tries to sneeze and fart in various combinations, to no avail. Hernandez also tried to do this, but takes it too far, leading to a bit of whoopsie. Meanwhile Chumungus shows up and is attracted to Sherman’s weird creature. He then makes a loud suggestion, stating it’s a cultural thing from his planet. Ultimately, she transforms back into a frog, and Chumungus squashes her.

This sketch is dumb enough to get laughs, and Domingo’s villain performance is beautifully over the top.

The Goodbye Wave

Best Sketch: Spoiled for choices are we this week. One could make a case for three or four sketches. In a close race, I am going to go with Fashion District Robbery. Everyone - particularly Domingo - was so on fire in this one, and the writing was great. But, check back tomorrow and I might switch to “Would It Surprise You….”. Both sketches feature hilarious, absurd writing and pitch perfect performances from the guest host.

Worst Sketch: This is another close one, and the sketches that qualify would likely not be in the running on a normal week. The Cold Open is middling, and Beastomorphs is just silly and juvenile, but I am going to go with Grandpa’s Wake. This was not at all a bad sketch, but I have to pick one, and this piece did seem to go on a bit long for as little payoff as it had.

Random Notes:

- I have to admire the show for not trotting out the Domingo character in light of the host that last name. Bravo!

- The bumper cards this week were unusual. It’s hard to explain, but they felt like more natural photos than we generally see.

- The final goodbye was a bit long, but it gave Domingo a chance to give a heartfelt a lovely speech that did not feel performative. My initial instinct was something must have gotten cut, and it appears there was a third desk piece for Update that was canned before the final show. Ben Marshall as Jack Harlow, promoting his new album, following comments in which he said he “he got Blacker” for the release. Marshall is funny, but its not hard to see why this three and a half minute piece got the axe.

- I have nothing to say about the musical guest. I am sure she’s good.

SNL always seems to shine when an accomplished actor shows up who has comedy chops. Colman Domingo more than filled that bill. He truly acted in every sketch he was in, but his comedic sensibilities were dead on. He was outstanding. This was one of those episodes that you can throw in the face of any of your many annoying friends who claim SNL hasn’t been funny since the Tim Kazurinsky days. (Lots of Kazurisnkites out there, trolling on the boards).

Domingo is the best host I’ve seen in some time. I am honestly not that familiar with his acting work overall, and I am not about to start watching Euphoria or that Walking Dead show, but this outing on SNL does make me want to see him in one of his other scores of projects. And in the Five-Timer Club. So, I can’t believe I am saying this, but I can’t wait for SNL to bring back Domingo!

Grade: A

Here’s the Jack Harlow bit that was cut for time:

As always, we grade SNL episodes in comparison to other SNL episodes. Not TV in general. If you want to support our content, consider subscribing on Substack