Paul Rudd, Tom Hanks, Tina Fey, Steve Martin Kick off the COVID-Stricken 2021 Finals – NBC10 Philadelphia

“Saturday Night Live” opens with host Paul Rudd joining cast members Tom Hanks, Tina Fey and cast Kenan Thompson on stage to introduce him to the show’s Five-Timers Club for those who have hosted the show at least five times.

Rudd, 52, has hosted “Saturday Night Live” four times before in 2008, 2010, 2013 and 2019. This landed Rudd in the Five-Timers Club.

Hanks said that they had originally planned to have some festivities to welcome Paul Rudd to the Five Floor Club, which Hanks says he started, like he started COVID, Fey joked. about Hank’s early 2020 coronavirus diagnosis.

The day before the show, the show later announced that there would be “no live audience” and that the sketch comedy program would run with “a limited cast and crew.” due to the omicron variation that devastated New York City, resulting in a record number of daily COVID cases.

“Thank you for coming,” Rudd said to Fey and Hanks. “I’m extremely disappointed.”

Rudd still gets his iconic coat from actor Kenan Thompson.

“Congratulations on hosting the show four and a half times,” Thompson cracked, though sadly it doesn’t seem like they had time to replace “5” with “4-1/2”.

Steve Martin then began with a pre-recorded appearance in which he “accidentally” referred to Rudd as “Tom Hanks” during the ride.

Martin Short showed up with Martin to give him a drink, in a perfect callback to the 5-Timers Club OG from almost exactly 21 years ago, when Hanks himself joined.

The actors explained that after the show canceled live audiences and musical guests because New York City saw a spike in COVID-19 cases, they’ll be showing the combination between sketches filmed earlier this week and vintage Christmas sketches from years past.

Like Rudd said, “It’s going to be like a new documentary about The Beatles. Lots of old footage, but there’s enough new content that you’re like, ‘OK, mmm-yeah, I’ll watch it.’

In the first pre-recorded sketch of the cast that was taped on Thursday, Rudd stars with actors Aidy Bryant and Kate McKinnon playing mothers, as the director of a HomeGoods commercial .

He’s interviewing them to document what they want most on vacation. But they just want to have grandchildren. Rudd quickly realizes by the end of the sketch that he also wants grandchildren, “I want to be able to say weird opinions about Israel – not bad, weird!” Rudd cried.

In another pre-recorded sketch, which Rudd says they filmed earlier on Saturday, features Pete Davidson in 2054, still performing. Davidson faked Eminem’s hit song “My Name Is” – while the cast of Chloe Fineman asked the audience exactly who the song was.

“Weekend Update” brings Tina Fey back along with Michael Che (Kenan Thompson and he are the only current cast in the studio). Both performed in front of an audience of only Rudd, Hanks and Thompson.

“The FDA has said it will permanently allow people to receive the abortion pill in the mail, which means it will arrive in time for your child’s first birthday,” Fey joked.

In the pre-recorded sketch, there’s a hilarious music video about a boy and an unknown man at a department store, featuring Rudd, the cast, and Charli XCX. Actor Kyle Mooney plays a 6-year-old kid buying a pair of socks. They tell a story of encounters in line, connecting about their birds.

“SNL” returns in the new year.