Saturday Night Live: Dave Chappelle courts controversy once again

Saturday Night Live kicks off with Fox and Friends, where Steve Doocy (Mikey Day), Ainsly Earhardt (Heidi Gardner) and Brian Kilmeade (Bowen Yang) grouse about the Democrats surprisingly strong midterm performance while laying the blame for the failed materialization of the promised “red wave” on Trump. “He’s dead to us!” proclaims Kilmeade.

They then interview Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake (Cecily Strong), the only Trumped-back politician who’s still in contention (though she’s “hanging on by a thread”). The Vaseline-filtered rightwinger claims election rigging any time the numbers swing out of her favor, before Trump (James Austin Johnson) calls in from his daughter’s wedding. He blames Sean Hannity and even Melania for advising him to back Dr. Oz (“It’s very hard to be in a fight with your soulmate, and also Melania”) and picks a fight with Ron “DeSanctimonious” (while casually admitting to election tampering). He’s then dumped by the trio – not for any of the scandals and crimes he’s committed, but because he lost – pathetically being pushed offscreen before he can announce his candidacy in 2024.

It’s too bad that the real Trump’s continued antics will necessitate further appearances on SNL, because this would make for an ideal curtain call on the character.

As has become tradition, Dave Chappelle hosts this post-election episode. Since the last time he had duties, the comedian has made himself a figure of controversy due to his relentless transphobia and constant public self-pitying. That that wasn’t enough to stop the show from bringing him back ensures the episode will garner a lot of anger regardless of quality.

As far as that goes, Chappelle’s extended monologue – in which he talks about Kanye West and Kyrie Irving’s antisemitism (“Earlier in my career, I learned that there are two words in the English language that you should never say together in sequence. Those words are ‘the’ and ‘Jews.’”), Herschel Walker (“He’s observably stupid”), and the supposed “end of the Trump era” is undeniably very funny.

For the first sketch, Chappelle plays a cryptic blues musician sitting in on a morning talk show in promotion of his new album, titled My Potato Hole. At first, he refuses to divulge what a “potato hole” is, leading the anchors and reporters to assume it’s something dirty. They do a lot of goofing on the term, until the musician finally reveals that it’s actually “a hole that slaves would dig to hide their food and possessions from plantation owners”, much to the news team’s horror and humiliation. It’s a long buildup to a short punchline, but what a punchline.

Next, a sneak peak at the second season of House of the Dragon, introduces some news faces. Or rather, some old faces: iconic Chapelle’s Show mainstays the Time Haters (Ice T and Donnell Rawlings), Tyrone Biggums, and Rick James. It speaks to the enduring legacy of Chappelle’s Show that these characters can earn a huge pop 16 years after it went off the air.

In a black barbershop, the barbers, stylists and customers hold court on the various topics of the day. But things get very quiet and awkward every time the one white barber attempts to join in. It’s a funny idea, although it lacks energy and kind of just peters out.

Black Star (with guest Madlib) give the best musical performance the show has seen in quite a while with a fiery track from their long-awaited new album, No Fear of Time. Then, on Weekend Update, excited young voter Jose Suarez (Marcello Hernandez) promises to run for office in the future on the platform of “Everything is Fine!”, informed by his experience growing up in Cuba. Hernandez’s large and loud energy and hokey material makes for an odd fit with the usually cynical Update, but it goes over big with the studio audience.

He’s followed by Sarah Sherman, who once again has a bone to pick with Colin Jost. She’s upset that none of his jokes are about her, so she hijacks the desk and runs through deranged bits about her boyfriend (“That’s right America, I have a boyfriend – don’t let the queer haircut fool ya!”), her suspended paid Twitter verification (“I guess the only checkmark next to my name will be the one on Kanye’s list of Jews to keep an eye on”), and her crush on John Fetterman (“Thanksgiving must have come early this year, because that hunk is giving the turkey waddle between my legs something to be thankful for”). On paper, Sherman would seem to be the least likely future Update host, but as these appearances continue to prove, she would make a surprisingly inspired choice.

Chappelle then introduces the next sketch, about Black Heaven. The joke is that he opted not to be in the sketch and gave what would have been his role – as an angelic pimp – to a very nervous and reluctant Mikey Day. He, Rawlings, and Black Star laugh it up just off stage. One of the cleverest ideas the show has done in ages and absolutely the best use of Day, maybe ever.

After a second set from Black Star, the episode concludes with a new installment of Please Don’t Destroy. Ben, Martin, and John are joined by new cast member Molly Kearney, who has somehow won the office of Ohio attorney general after drunkenly tweeting about wanting the job. They’re terrified over their new responsibilities, but the guys quickly transform into an expert political team and help them deliver an impromptu victory speech (although it’s revealed they would go on to immediately resign). It’s a little less zany than most PDD sketches, but Kearney has good chemistry with the trio.

Despite the trepidation that preceded this episode, it managed to succeed on just about every artistic level, producing the best installment of SNL in at least a couple of years. It’s also the funniest Chappelle has been since his own show ended in 2006. Whatever issues one has with him as a person, sketch comedy has always been his calling and he reminded us of that tonight. The triumphant return of Black Star was the cherry on top.