April 11, 2015 Season 40 episode
| |
|---|---|
| |
| |
| Episode | 784 |
| Season Episode | 18 |
| Host | Taraji P. Henson |
| Musical Guest(s) | Mumford & Sons |
| Song(s) performed by Musical Guest(s) |
"The Wolf" "Believe" |
| Previous Episode April 4, 2015 |
Next Episode May 2, 2015 |
The 18th episode of Season 40 and the 784th episode of Saturday Night Live premiered on April 11, 2015, and it was hosted by actress Taraji P. Henson, star of the FOX's hit drama series Empire, and the hit films The Karate Kid, Think Like a Man and its 2014 sequel, From the Rough, No Good Deed, Hidden Figures, Proud Mary, What Men Want, and The Best of Enemies, with musical guests Mumford & Sons. Mumford & Sons’ 2nd SNL musical guest stint was made, and this was Taraji P. Henson‘s hosting debut.
Mumford & Sons previously made their musical guest debut on September 22, 2012, the second episode of SNL's 38th season, hosted by actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
Taraji P. Henson's goodnights speech is "Thanks to Mumford & Sons and Billy Crystal, (Cheers and applause), Thank You SNL, Thank you Lorne, Thank you America, Thank you, everybody, this had been amazing". (Cheers and applause again)
Cast[]
Main Players[]
- Vanessa Bayer
- Aidy Bryant
- Taran Killam
- Kate McKinnon
- Bobby Moynihan
- Jay Pharoah
- Cecily Strong
- Kenan Thompson
Featured Players[]
Cameos by Darrell Hammond, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and former short-time cast member Billy Crystal.
Pre-filmed cameos by Sesame Street Muppets (Big Bird, Elmo, Abby Cadabby, Cookie Monster, Count von Count, Mr. Snuffleupagus, Bert, Ernie, Murray Monster, Two-Headed Monster, a Honker, and an Anything Muppet).
Sketches and Music Performances[]
Cold Open Sketch Pre-recorded Weekend Update Music Performance Other
| Title | Image | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Hillary Clinton's Announcement Cold Opening | Hillary Clinton (Kate McKinnon) tries to put together a social media announcement stating she's running for president, with the help of her assistant (Vanessa Bayer) and while being interrupted by her husband Bill Clinton (on-camera appearance by Darrell Hammond). | |
| Opening montage | ||
| Monologue by Taraji P. Henson | Hosting for the first time, actress Taraji P. Henson sings a gospel-inspired song about how differently her life would've turned out if she hadn't made it as an actress. With Taran Killam, Kate McKinnon, Pete Davidson, Vanessa Bayer, Leslie Jones, and Kenan Thompson. | |
| Depends Legends | A commercial parody for adult diapers. With Beck Bennett and Vanessa Bayer. | |
| Teacher on Trial | A teacher (Cecily Strong) is on trial for sleeping with a student (Pete Davidson). Also features Taraji P. Henson, Beck Bennett, Aidy Bryant, Kate McKinnon, Kenan Thompson, Bobby Moynihan, Vanessa Bayer, and a voiceover by Steve Higgins. | |
| Home 2 | A trailer for the sequel to the movie Home. With Taran Killam as (Jim Parsons) Oh, Sasheer Zamata as (Rihanna) Tip, Jay Pharoah as (Kendrick Lamar) Twee Tar, Leslie Jones as (Missy Elliott) Boop, Taraji P. Henson as (Nicki Minaj) Thwick & Thwack, Cecily Strong as (Sofía Vegara) Bickie Bam, Kenan Thompson as (Rick Ross) Sky Cat, and Die Antwoord: (Watkin Tudor Jones), Pete Davidson as (Ninja) Peebo, Kate McKinnon as (Yolandi Visser) Quiggles. | |
| Three-way poncho | Liza Minelli (Kate McKinnon) is selling low-quality goods on QVC. With Taraji P. Henson, Aidy Bryant, Bobby Moynihan, and the voices of Vanessa Bayer and Sasheer Zamata. | |
| South Centros | An eighth kingdom has been added to the Game of Thrones universe. With Jay Pharoah, Kenan Thompson, Michael Che, Sasheer Zamata, Leslie Jones, Taraji P. Henson, and a cameo by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. | |
| Mumford & Sons performs "The Wolf" | ||
| Weekend Update with Colin Jost and Michael Che | With guests, portrait fixer Cecilia Gimenez (Kate McKinnon) and Jacob (Vanessa Bayer) who introduces his father (cameo by former short-time cast member Billy Crystal). | |
| Hollywood Game Night | Host Jane Lynch (Kate McKinnon) deals with the contestants (Vanessa Bayer and Kyle Mooney) and celebrities Vin Diesel (Taran Killam), Winona Judd (Aidy Bryant), Common (Jay Pharoah), Nick Offerman (Beck Bennett), Marion Cotillard (Cecily Strong), and Wanda Sykes (Taraji P. Henson). | |
| How 2 Dance With Janelle | Sasheer Zamata returns as Janelle, with her best friend (Kyle Mooney), mother (Taraji P. Henson), and brother (Jay Pharoah). | |
| Cookie on Sesame Street | Cookie from "Empire" (Taraji P. Henson) appears on Sesame Street. With a voiceover by Kenan Thompson. | |
| Cinema Classics: Their Own League | A takeoff of "A League of Their Own", where the team debates integrating. With Kenan Thompson as Reese De'What, Taran Killam, Vanessa Bayer, Cecily Strong, Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, Bobby Moynihan (in drag), Taraji P. Henson, and Leslie Jones. | |
| Mumford & Sons performs "Believe" | ||
| Connectatron | A takeoff of "Voltron". With Taraji P. Henson, Taran Killam, Bobby Moynihan, Cecily Strong, and Jay Pharoah. At one point, the shot cuts to Jay without him realizing, and he sits motionless for a second before responding. | |
| Goodnights and Closing Credits | Taraji P. Henson thanked Mumford & Sons, Billy Crystal, Lorne, the cast of SNL and everybody, this is amazing. |
| Preceded by: April 4, 2015 |
Saturday Night Live episode | Followed by: May 2, 2015 |