Saturday Night Live (SNL), the New York late-night comedy show, has built upon its repertoire of iconic sketches and wealth of famous comedians since its debut in 1975. SNL’s most recent episode, however, undermines the show’s integrity through buzzy content that encourages low-hanging offensive humor and disappoints the artistic authenticity of SNL’s comedic legacy.
The announcement of actor Jacob Elordi as host and singer and actress Renee Rapp as musical guest garnered much internet hype for the first show of 2024 on Jan. 20. Seeing as the rapidly-rising celebrities have starred in two of the past year’s most viral movies — Elordi’s Saltburn and Rapp’s Mean Girls — the choice seems more promotional than comedically minded.
SNL’s new content is beginning to polarize its wider audience and dedicated viewers are noticing.
“There’s a common perception that [SNL] has gotten worse and that it’s already peaked,” Natalie Lessin SC ’27 said of the impact SNL has had on her life.
Lessin first watched SNL with family while growing up and finds value in how the show exhibits actors “in a new light by attempting comedy.’” Even so, she and her friends find the recent attempts at content aimed at Gen Z “cringy and hard to watch.”
I found much more humor in sketches where Elordi had the creative freedom to showcase his talents rather than his looks — but they were few and far between. And that isn’t always the case. Think Timothée Chalamet or Adam Driver, two actors who have a large internet following and have garnered esteem for their appearances, but who have also had successful SNL performances. As hosts, their episodes were comedy-focused and enhanced by their on-screen experience. Elordi is widely known for his serious roles in dramas like “Priscilla” and the hit show “Euphoria,” which showcases how seamlessly he can switch between accents and take on unexpected characters. Despite their ability to provide this range for other actors, the SNL writers failed to highlight Elordi as more than his appearance.
In typical SNL fashion, Elordi’s episode began with the “Monologue,” which sets the viewers’ first impressions for what’s to come. Elordi introduced himself, referencing “Saltburn” and its surrounding internet discourse, then opened up questions from some intentionally placed cast members in the crowd. Rather than receiving thoughtful inquiries, Elordi was immediately addressed by his internet-given title of “babygirl.” This trending term ironically describes traditionally attractive males with rugged looks whom fans sympathize with because of their cute, soft personas. SNL’s jokes are known for being satirical and self-referential, but at some point, the jokes became painfully repetitive material that is only practical for its viral qualities on social media. Compliments to Elordi’s physical appeal became SNL’s guilty use of this tactic.
The theme of Elordi’s visual allure forcing women to sacrifice their morals became a common feature of his next few sketches. Elordi plays almost the same character in “Crown Your Short King” and “Women’s AA Meeting” — an infantilized man whose devastating looks put a spell on the women around him. Although the sketches may be entertaining in their outrageousness, they still send the same message as the monologue, which is, once again, that Elordi’s fame boils down to his look. For such a highly celebrated comedic show with an ensemble of talented performers and writers, recurrent jokes are frankly disrespectful to the show’s professionalism. SNL was remiss to misuse precious screen time with what had the potential to be more meaningful and clever comedy.
Sketches and dialogue on SNL have trended towards social media and online appeal and this new clickbait content is very surface-level. SNL is now more conscious of views, likely in light of the decline of live television viewership and with the rise of streaming services providing readily available content. SNL has long established its role in our cultural zeitgeist as an American institution. These sketches are created to reflect our collective thoughts and have become tantamount to American humor. Consequently, they are also highly influential upon our cultural moods and attitudes. As the jokes get more shallow and faux parodic, we are encouraged to disregard the importance of self-examination in our own lives, which is something SNL has historically sought to promote.
In attempts to cater to younger or more online audiences, SNL leaves much to be desired by those who have yet to engage in these internet subcultures. All we know is that, yes, Jacob Elordi is tall and good-looking and has nice cheekbones. But what else? Evidently, SNL has nothing more to say.
The adults don’t get it and others find it cringe, or possibly worse, not even remotely funny. This leaves a relatively small niche of viewers to fully enjoy what the writers perceive as Gen Z-tailored content and even then, what do they gain from it? Although flashy concepts may bring in views, they don’t necessarily send a valuable message. SNL should opt to consider the comedic authenticity and introspective social commentary that once brought them their loyal cult following, utilizing the skill sets of their talented actors rather than relying on Jacob Elordi’s chiseled face.
Grace Kim SC ’27 is from San Diego, California. She loves listening to movie soundtracks, eating sour candy and reading Letterboxd reviews.
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