SNL After Party 5/16/26 - S51 E20 “Michael Jackson Did Nothing Wrong.”
Host: Will Ferrell
Musical Guest: Paul McCartney
For its Season 51 finale, SNL appears to have pulled out all the stops. Cast royalty Will Ferrell, hosted and certified member of the rock and roll pantheon, Sir Paul McCartney, served as musical guest. Is this a set up for a brilliant episode, or has the crew at Studio 8H set us up for colossal disappointment? Let's find out in this week's SNL After Party.
Cold Open
The cold open brings us back to the White House with James Austin Johnson's Trump talking to Jeremy Colhane as J.D. Vance. Trump is discussing his recent trip to China. He states, "I just flew in from China, and boy, are my legs swollen." Vance asks Trump about the gift that Chinese President Xi gave him and then asked Trump what he gave the Chinese president, to which he responded, "Taiwan."
After Vance leaves the Oval Office, Trump gets sleepy and falls asleep on a bar of gold given to him as a flat-out bribe by Switzerland and has a dream. We then get a Trump Christmas Carol parody. This is at least the second time this has happened (Alec Baldwin's Trump was visited by ghosts in 2017... By the way, why did we ever think that Alec Baldwin's Trump was any good? It wasn't right).
In this version, Trump is visited by the ghost of Jeffrey Epstein (Will Ferrell). The two act like old friends, and Epstein bemoans the fact that they didn't take more pictures together when he was alive. Trump complains that his approval rating is in the 30s, to which Epstein's ghost says, "Gross, call me when it hits 17." Epstein's ghost proceeds to show Trump visions of the future. For example, Kristi Noem (Ashley Padilla) is shown shilling goods on QVC, while Pete Hegseth (Colin Jost and Kash Patel) (Aziz Ansari, who may as well be a permanent member of the cast at this point) are shown doing a giant beer bong on a podcast. Following these visions, Epstein and Trump, for some reason, sing a duet of "Just the Two of Us."
Despite the hackneyed setup, J.A.J. and Ferrell riff off each other very well, and the cold open generally works and gets some good laughs.
Monologue
For the monologue, Farrell appears to come out and start talking about how thrilled he is to be back on SNL. However, it is not Will Ferrell. It is, in fact, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith. Smith looks shockingly enough like Farrell that some members of the audience probably didn't catch on right away.
Farrell then confronts Smith, who then claims that he was actually there as the musical guest, to which Ferrell states that no, that is in fact Sir Paul McCartney. As Smith leaves, the audience applauds, and Farrell says, "Don't clap for him, he's a bad guy." Farrell then says that he's going to now proceed to do the thing they do when they have no idea how to handle a host monologue, and that's take questions from the audience. Immediately, Paul McCartney asks him, "What do you think you're doing, Chad?" Ferrell brings McCartney on stage to prove to him that he is in fact who he says he is.
Ferrell notes that McCartney has written some "good songs" and proceeds to name several of them. He then notes that there are songs McCartney didn't write, such as the Alphabet Song and "all the Smash Mouth stuff".
This was a fun, if not uproarious, monologue. The bit with Chad Smith felt very on brand for Will Ferrell, while the Paul McCartney stuff actually seemed a little superfluous. Still, it was a decent, light opening to the show.
Post Op
The first post-monologue sketch has Will Ferrell stamped all over it. In this piece, Ferrell is a doctor speaking to a patient (Mikey Day), who has just had his gallbladder removed. While the patient and his wife (Padilla) stand by, the doctor mentions that there was a minor problem in the surgery in that the doctor mistakenly removed Day's penis. This will not be the first penis-related sketch of the night, by the way.
The remainder of the sketch is an escalation of the absurdities related to this incident, done in a way that really works with Farrell's comedic sensibilities. He explains that the incident happened because a nurse said, "Remove and clean this," referring to a surgical tool tray, which the doctor mistook for "remove the penis." When Day starts to ask questions about whether the body part can be reattached, Farrell says, "Yes, but it would require a urologist. Just because I could chop down a tree doesn't mean I know how to carve the wood into a table."
There are side tracks into the doctor having lunch at a Benihana knockoff and other silliness, but overall this is a solid sketch from a technical perspective that starts absurdly and steadily grows more and more so.
Bobbins’ Sacrifice
This is an SNL Midnight Matinee pre-taped piece that is a riff on the Lord of the Rings. In this, a group of adventurers is stuck in a castle that is besieged by orcs. The only way to get out is for somebody to go out on the bridge and set off some explosives, which would end in their certain death. The halfling Bobbin (Ferrell) agrees to do so, and as he leaves, he begins to sing a little song but ultimately reveals that his plan is to surrender and switch sides. The remainder of the sketch is building on Bobbin's betrayal and general silliness around that (including, wait for it, Bobbin amusing the orc by showing him his small penis).
There's nothing technically wrong with this sketch. It just feels like it's overproduced for the relatively small comedic payoff it produces, and kind of feels like a poor use of comedic real estate with Ferrel hosting.
Cast List 2
This is a resurrected premise from a sketch that was cut back in 2019, in which Will Ferrell plays a mean drama teacher taunting high school students waiting for a cast list. In this iteration, the production in question is Grease, and it includes some general nonsense of Ferrell being cruel and jealous of the students, particularly Jeremy Culhane, because he got to appear in a Honey Nut Cheerio ad.
Molly Shannon pops up as a choir teacher who some say is a little "too handsy with the boys." This is one of those sketches that is funny enough but - at nearly eight minutes - it just goes on too long for what it is.
Still, it is fun to see Feral and Shannon hiding behind a Wicked poster, peeping at the would be thespians.
Weekend Update
We are off to a good start on Weekend Update, as Che is already cracking up. This is because he is anticipating what's to come. There are the standard bits of news parody, for example, in discussing the Trump visit to China. Che states that he was greeted by children who were jumping up and down, "saying it's the guy from the hats we make." There's also a joke about President Trump's would-be assassin, who faces charges that could carry life imprisonment, unlike attempts to kill the vice president, which carry the penalty of a full pardon. This is accompanied by a picture of the January 6th riots.
The only desk guest this week is Jeremy Culhane, returning with his Mr. On Blast character. I was woefully afraid this would become a recurring character, and here we are. The character's shtick is to tell bad jokes, claim he's putting people on blast, and then do a little weird dance move with keyboard stingers. I hate this character. I hate this bit, but I recognize that I may be in the minority because the audience seemed to really enjoy it. I just hope nobody puts me….well, you know.
But let's face it, none of us came for the news or any desk set this week because it is the season finale. Jost and Che do their traditional joke exchange in which they write jokes for each other to read for the first time on air. I'm not going to spoil any of the jokes, but will note it culminates in a potential serious loss for Jost. They range from mildly to wildly offensive and are genuinely funny. Check them out in the videos below if you want to, but be warned, they are not suitable for practically anyone. I’m not including Mr. On Blast out of spite.
Mechanics
Alright, to sum this one up (Day and Padilla) speak to mechanics in a car shop who just spout nonsense. Farrell gives the usual car talk gibberish that we've all faced. Marcello Hernandez does the same, except in Spanish. Paul McCartney shows up as Nigel, who uses odd Cockney slang, while also noting that "the steering wheel is on the wrong bloody side." It's fine, but again feels like Farrell's time could have been better utilized.
The Nudemans
In the long SNL tradition of sketches involving people bringing someone home to meet their wacky parents (“Hey, remember when we did “The Rudemans”. I have an idea that rhymes!), Veronika Slowikowska brings Andrew Dismukes home to meet her folks. Farrell is her father, and the whole bit is that the back of his clothes are missing so that you can see his sexy female underwear. Sarah Sherman is the mom who is also displaying her undergarments along with some raunchy tattoos. Hernandez shows up as the brother, and the front of his clothes are open to reveal a wrestling singlet.
This is a sketch that is very much a typical Ferrell piece where he shows off his physique for comic effect. There's really not a lot to this, but if you are a fan of Will Ferrell making people uncomfortable with semi-nudity, this one is for you.
The Goodbye Wave
Best Sketch: It is a shame that this is likely to be the case year after year, but I am compelled to go with "The Joke Exchange" as the best sketch of the night. It is chock full of inappropriate and hilarious jokes, and this piece typically provides more laughs per second than anything else each season.
Worst Sketch: I could make a case for Bobbin's sacrifice here, but I think I'll go with Meet the Noodmans. It's nothing new, and it wasn't particularly well-executed, so we'll uncomfortably go with that.
Random notes:
Paul McCartney did not do one, not two, but three musical segments, one of which was over the closing credits, which I don't recall ever seeing done before. Chad Smith sat in on drums during the numbers, which included a new song from an upcoming McCartney album and a Wings medley without a whiff of The Beatles. But, in the end in lieu of the usual goodnight wave, they brought Paul back for, what we all assumed would be a Beatles song to play us out. It was not. It was a song from an old McCartney solo album. Why? wHow on earth do you have Paul McCartney on a show, give him that much real estate, and then he does not perform a single Beatles song. I realize the man has had a long and varied career. I realize that he's probably tired of doing Beatles songs, but I mean, come on, man! It doesn’t have to be “Hey Jude” or “Let it Be”. We’d take Obla-Di Obla-Da and be happy.
Plus, this is a little delicate. Is it even a good idea to have him perform live anymore? Paul McCartney is a legend. Paul McCartney has written and performed some of the greatest songs of all time, but the Beatles were nearly six decades ago, and Sir Paul at age 83 does not have the range that once he did. Still, people obviously still enjoy a chance to see an icon perform (which is why Bob Dylan is still "performing" these days), but no one would fault McCartney if he hung up his guitar at this point.McCartney’s extra song led to a decreased sketch count. Which is a shame. Cut for time was “Hormuz Jeff” a commercial where Ferrell promoted his shipping service through the Straits of Hormuz. This was the type of Ferrell sketch I had hoped to see. Loud, chaotic, and ridiculous. (“I shot a fish!”) It’s a shame it was cut. Also cut was “Juicy Toobins” in which Ferrell played an angry security guard for a meet and greet for a touring children’s show. (“If you move too quick on a Toobin, I’ll kick you all the way to Guam!”). This is a classic over the top angry Ferrell sketch, and, again, it would have been welcome on the show, and a better choice than a few others that made the cut.
Let’s do some speculation about next season, shall we? The most obvious change to predict is that Ashley Padilla will be promoted to the main cast. We will also get some new featured players (I have no idea who), but my guess is we will lose two of this season’s featured cast. I suspect that Jane Wickline (who has grown this season) and Jeremy Culhane will survive. I suspect that Veronika Slowikowska and Tommy Brennan won’t be returning. Brennan just hasn’t shown much of a compelling reason to stick around, and Slowikowska overlaps too much with Wickline and Sarah Sherman in the quirk department. The question mark for me is Kam Patterson. I think he is on the bubble and may or may not return.
As for the main cast, there’s usually a surprise or two between seasons. I don’t THINK they’d end Kenan Thompson’s reign without a huge sendoff episode. But practically anyone else could move on or be bumped. I could see a shocking Chloe Fineman departure or a farewell to either Mikey Day or Andrew Dismukes. I hope none of that happens, but I could see it.
Of course, I have no idea what I’m talking about, and am pulling all this out of thin air.
This was a perfectly fine episode. It was not a disaster, but it was not a brilliant outing. Normally that would be okay, but it is disappointing when you have a comedy force like Will Ferrell on board for the show. The show was fun and there were no absolute bombs (other than McCartney if you want to be cruel, which I don’t wish to be). What was missing is the angry, shouting Ferrell that we all love. The odd decision to cut Hormuz Jeff and Juicy Toobins feels like a giant error. But, fear not, you can see them below.
But any weakness the show may have had was mitigated by the joke exchange, which always feels like a breath of fresh air and a real blow to those who argue that SNL has gone completely woke and that you can't do non-PC material anymore.
So let's see what happens after the break and eagerly anticipate SNL's 52nd season.
Grade: C+
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
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
