Bill Hader Channels High School Jock in Hilarious ‘SNL’ Promos
Comedian, actor and voice impressionist virtuoso Bill Hader is returning to his old stomping grounds of Saturday Night Live to host the October 11th episode. And as current cast member Kenan Thompson notes in the above promo teaser, he’s returning as “Bill Hader, the movie star.” In one hilarious bit, Hader crashes the stage as an upperclassman high school jock, carrying a football and sporting an old-school letterman jacket that he stole from the props department. “How’s ol’ man Michaels?” he says to Thompson, in a reference to SNL boss Lorne Michaels. “He still a heel?”
The two comics also joke about how much the show has changed since Hader’s 2013 departure – from a renovated bathroom to a cafeteria lousy with spaghetti to the “ton of black people” now affiliated with the sketch series. (Over the past year, the show faced criticism for its lack of black female talent, but Michaels addressed that issue by recruiting New York comedian Sasheer Zamata as a featured player for Season 40, along with new writers LaKendra Tookes and Leslie Jones.) Other highlights from the promo include Hader teasing a fake solo album with hilarious “skeet-skeet” rap-scatting and impersonating Thompson as either Bill Cosby or some kind of wacky sportscaster.
Hader’s hosting appearance follows the release of the film drama The Skeleton Twins, in which he stars as a man reconciling with his twin sister (played by SNL castmate Kristen Wiig). The October 11th episode will feature music from Irish singer-songwriter Hozier, whose eponymous debut LP was released in September.