Did you enjoy your turkey and overbearing family? Saturday Night Live returned last night after a brief Thanksgiving break with first-time host Keke Palmer alongside musical guest SZA. This episode marked the first of the final three new episodes of 2022 for the legendary sketch show, with both Martin Short and Steve Martin hosting together next week and Elvis star Austin Butler closing out the year the week after. Last night was full of surprises! In the monologue, Palmer addressed those rumors swirling around about her possibly being pregnant and confirmed that… she is indeed pregnant! “I was trying so hard to keep it on the down-low because I got a lot of stuff going on!” She joked that the random “congratulations” from people put some of her jobs on thin ice. “Can y’all stop? I got a liquor sponsorship on the line. Let the check clear, then we can get to the damn baby shower!”
Palmer (born Lauren Keyana Palmer) is one of the most determined and driven artists working, and that has always been the case. Growing up in Illinois, with a hunger for performing but no connections to help her get into Hollywood, Palmer and her mother hustled to auditions constantly. Her mother has always been her biggest cheerleader and believer, whether it be in the audition room or on set. Palmer flew onto everyone’s radar in 2006’s Akeelah and the Bee, Doug Atchison’s film about an exceptionally talented young girl determined to make it to the National Spelling Bee. Her performance in the titular role, as well as her SAG-nominated performance in 2004’s The Wool Cap, led to a Disney Channel original movie Jump In! and then the very popular Nickelodeon series True Jackson, VP, in which she played a part-time normal teenager, part-time fashion designer.
The Emmy winner has successfully shed her child star persona and has navigated more mature roles with ease. She played Coral in the hit series Masters of Sex, Zayday Williams in the tragically short-lived Fox series Scream Queens, and Mercedes in the stripper drama Hustlers. Most recently, she charmed and scared audiences in Jordan Peele’s genre-bending Nope alongside onscreen brother Daniel Kaluuya, as the siblings did their best to determine the existence of a UFO. On top of all of that, Palmer is a successful singer, host, producer, and entrepreneur. Her latest project, her own television network called KeyTV, is the big next step forward in her mission of giving opportunities to marginalized groups.
Let’s revisit some of the best moments from the December 3 episode of Saturday Night Live. Live from New York, it’s Keke Palmer!
5 Kenan & Kelly
Kenan Thompson has been entertaining us for decades. He jumped into sketch comedy with Nickelodeon’s All That in the 1990s, which led to the popular series Kenan & Kel starring him and Kel Mitchell. In the age of reboots and reunions, Palmer thought it would be a no-brainer to revive the sitcom and give it a bit of a female twist (although she didn’t consult Kenan about it first). The studio seemed to love her Kenan & Kelly idea, but Kenan was visibly angry. Can Kelly’s love of orange soda and her mysterious pregnancy keep the ratings afloat?
4 Hello Kitty
Are you telling me that Hello Kitty, the popular cartoon cat with a bow and for some reason no mouth, is actually a human little girl? Blasphemy! What sort of bizarre language do you speak? Bowen Yang and Palmer play two eager employees of the first Hello Kitty store in New York City who are having trouble wrapping their heads around a few things in the training for their dream job. They thought they knew everything there was to know about the friendly feline: she bakes, she’s in the third grade, and she loves apple pie. But they begin to question everything they thought they knew once the trainers (Molly Kearney and Cecily Strong) reiterate the harsh truth. Chairs are flipped, voices are raised, and things get weirdly sexual. Also, who is that celebrity donning the Hello Kitty costume?
3 Forceington’s Ridge
Ah, soap operas. There is almost always a mirror involved, and their plotlines almost never make sense. And the characters talk funny and there’s lots of alcohol. Have you seen this scandalous and classic episode of the 1984 hit soap opera Forceington’s Ridge? It checks all the boxes on the soap opera essentials list. Stuff gets real physical real fast for Alexia (Cecily Strong). But not in a like sexy and dramatic sort of way. As she adjusts herself in the mirror, she’s confronted by none other than Sandrine (Palmer), the bold and angry wife of the well-dressed, double-entendre-loving man (Bowen Yang) Alexia is preoccupied with as of late. Not only do these women get into a tussle over their mutual love, but their body doubles end up getting a lot more screen time than they anticipated. Watching Strong attempt to stifle her laughter in this over-the-top sketch is just delightful. Now off we go to the vineyard!
2 Weekend Update: Michael Longfellow on Being a Child of Divorce During the Holidays
The holidays are all about family coming together. Unless they aren't. Stand-up comedian and Saturday Night Live newbie Michael Longfellow slides over to Colin Jost at the Weekend Update desk to talk about divorce. Specifically, the multiple divorces his parents have had and how he is pretty numb to it by now. Longfellow’s quick wit and delivery are so dry, making it hilariously hard to figure out what’s true and what he’s perhaps embellishing for our viewing pleasure. How many divorces have there been? How does he really feel about his various stepparents? Why is his one stepdad always naked? No matter where the truth lies in Longfellow’s breakdown of his parental family tree, one thing is for certain: he most definitely does not want to be called Shirley.
1 Weekend Update: Peppa Pig Fan Club President on the Show’s Gay Characters
The world can be a terrifying place. There is so much unrest, division, and violence plaguing the world. But you know what is the scariest, most threatening thing of all according to Trish Dale (Sarah Sherman), the Peppa Pig Fan Club President? Same-sex couples. It was recently announced that the popular British animated children’s program Peppa Pig will be introducing a same-sex polar bear couple whose child will be friends with Peppa. And let’s be clear: Trish is not simply upset. She is as mad as “H-E single C, single K.” According to her, children everywhere are about to see bears “anally enter each other.” She knows how it all works, she’s done the research. Sarah Sherman’s commitment to her extreme characters never disappoints. Odds are that if she is at the Weekend Update desk, you are going to laugh until it hurts.
Next week, Martin Short and Steve Martin host alongside musical guest Brandi Carlile.