The 887th episode and 16th episode of Saturday Night Live's45th season, billed as Saturday Night Live At Home premiered on April 11, 2020, hosted by actor Tom Hanks, with musical guest Chris Martin, the lead vocalist of British pop rock band Coldplay. This is Tom Hanks' 10th time as the host on SNL, as well as the only solo musical guest stint for Chris Martin.
Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, the episode was created via livestreams and home-made recordings.[1] It marked the first time the entirely of an SNL episode was produced outside of a studio and without a live studio audience (though the Weekend Update segment attempted to simulate this).
Cold Open Sketch Pre-recorded Weekend Update Music Performance Other
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Summary
Cold Open
The SNL cast assembles via Zoom. The only appearances of Cecily Strong, Melissa Villaseñor, and Bowen Yang.
Opening Montage
The season 45 intro was updated the opening montage to reflect quarantine, complete with each member of the SNL Band shown playing from home; as well as featuring the cast in their homes.
Monologue by Tom Hanks
COVID-19 survivor Tom Hanks [real] talks about his coronavirus experience, as he returned to hosting SNL for the tenth time.
Pete Davidson Drake Song
Lyrics of Pete Davidson's pastiche rap involve missing an ex.
Working Out at Home with RBG
Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Kate McKinnon) works out at home with diminutive equipment.
Henriette & Nan
Technologically-illiterate Henriette (Aidy Bryant) & Nan (Kate McKinnon) flounder during office Zoom. Also features Mikey Day, Heidi Gardner, Alex Moffat, and Chris Redd.
Carole Baskin’s (Chloe Fineman) MasterClass involves bike riding & murder denials. Fineman also impersonates Timothée Chalamet and Jojo Siwa during the sketch.
Chris Martin performed "Shelter from the Storm"
Tom Hanks introduces Martin's performance.
Weekend Update with Colin Jost and Michael Che
Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like the coronavirus outbreak, and Tiger King. Via phone, Donald Trump (Alec Baldwin) claims coronavirus success. This episode has a few people on Zoom to laugh at the jokes (something that would be dropped for the next two episodes). Che's grandmother passed away earlier that week, so Colin read a "Joke Swap" joke, and Che signed off as, "Martha's grandbaby".
Bailey at the Movies
Bailey Gismert’s (Heidi Gardner) reviews of home-screened movies highlight awkwardness. Due to quarantine, this is the only time that the character appears outside of Weekend Update.
Middle Aged Mutant Ninja Turtles
Adult concerns weigh down the quartet (Kyle Mooney, Beck Bennett, Kenan Thompson, Mikey Day). With Kate McKinnon as a doctor, and Heidi Gardner as April.
Cam Plazy Dat
Call Of Duty Warzone deaths abound in Twitch session with Cam (Mikey Day).
Via FaceTime, Beck Bennett, Kyle Mooney, and Fred Armisen turn writer’s block into a musical creation.
Visualizations with Aidy
Aidy Bryant’s pleasant stock-video visualizations are invaded by bad thoughts.
How Low Will You Go
Game show contestants (Egp Nwodim, Heidi Gardner, Aidy Bryant) are horny for weird men (Mikey Day, Pete Davidson, and Kenan Thompson). With Beck Bennett as the game show host Alex Burpee.
Makeup Tutorial
Crayola markers are the sole product used during Ego Nwodim’s makeup tutorial.
Pete Davidson Andre $2,000
Pete Davidson raps about only having $2,000.
Hal Willner Tribute
Current cast members (Kate McKinnon, Pete Davidson, and Kenan Thompson) and former cast members/writers alike (Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Adam Sandler, and John Mulaney) mark the passing of SNL music producer Hal Willner. Several former female cast members/writers (Rachel Dratch, Tina Fey, Ana Gasteyer, Paula Pell, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Molly Shannon, and Emily Spivey) all sing "Perfect Day" by Lou Reed, in tribute to Hal (as Reed was a longtime friend of Hal's who passed away several years earlier).
Goodnights and Closing Credits
Host Tom Hanks (who did not appear in any of the sketches) thanks Chris Martin, Larry David, Alec Baldwin, and first responders and people in healthcare, before the credits role on an empty Studio 8H photo.