December 5, 2020 Season 46 episode
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| Episode | 896 |
| Season Episode | 7 |
| Host | Jason Bateman |
| Musical Guest(s) | Morgan Wallen |
| Song(s) performed by Musical Guest(s) |
"7 Summers" "Still Goin' Down" |
| Previous Episode November 7, 2020 |
Next Episode December 12, 2020 |
The 896th episode and 7th episode of Saturday Night Live's 46th season premiered on December 5, 2020, hosted by actor Jason Bateman, star of Netflix's hit crime drama series Ozark and the Disney's hit animated film, Zootopia, with country singer and songwriter Morgan Wallen as the musical guest. Wallen's appearance was rescheduled, after being dropped in October for breaking COVID-19 protocols. This is Jason Bateman's 2nd time as the host and his first appearance in 15 years, 9 months, and 23 days. Bateman last hosted SNL back on the February 12, 2005 episode, the twelfth episode of SNL's 30th season, with musical guest Kelly Clarkson. This is also Morgan Wallen’s musical guest debut on SNL.
This episode marked the return of Cecily Strong, after spending most of the first half filming the first season of Apple TV+ musical comedy television series Schmigadoon! in Canada.
The goodnights speech for Jason Bateman is "Thank You to Morgan Wallen, Thank You to Lorne, to the Cast and the Crew, Amanda, Frannie and Maple, I Love You, Happy Holidays, Everybody". (Cheers and appaluse)
Cast[]
Repertory Players[]
- Beck Bennett
- Aidy Bryant+
- Michael Che
- Pete Davidson
- Mikey Day
- Heidi Gardner
- Colin Jost
- Kate McKinnon
- Alex Moffat
- Kyle Mooney
- Ego Nwodim
- Chris Redd
- Cecily Strong
- Kenan Thompson
- Melissa Villaseñor
Featured Players[]
- Pre-filmed cameo by Eminem
- + Credited in the opening montage, but she did not appear in this episode.
Sketches and Musical Performances[]
Cold Open Sketch Pre-recorded Weekend Update Music Performance Other
| Title | Image | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Michigan Hearings Cold Opening | Rudy Giuliani (Kate McKinnon) tries to make an argument to prove widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. With Mikey Day, Ego Nwodim, Cecily Strong (appearing in Studio 8H for the first time since March 7, 2020), Lauren Holt, Heidi Gardner, Chloe Fineman, Beck Bennett, Alex Moffat, Pete Davidson and Kyle Mooney. | |
| Opening Montage | The musical guests/hosts introductions clips of the opening montage were changed to two, for this episode (two clips for musical guest Morgan Wallen and host Jason Bateman) and the background for the musical guests/hosts clips were changed back to color for the rest of the season. | |
| Throwback Monologue by Jason Bateman | Returning to host SNL for the second time and his first appearance in 15 years, 9 months, and 23 days, actor Jason Bateman talks about getting attacked by a monkey the first time he hosted SNL in 15 years. | |
| Sleepover 2 | The father (Jason Bateman) questions his daughter (Melissa Villaseñor) and her friends (Kate McKinnon, Heidi Gardner, Ego Nwodim, and Chloe Fineman) to figure out who stained the couch at a slumber party. | |
| Stu | Santa Claus (Jason Bateman) receives a series of Christmas letters from an insistent man (Pete Davidson). With Beck Bennett, Chloe Fineman and Kyle Mooney as some elves. Cameo by rapper Eminem. | |
| Outdoor Cabaret | A New York City cabaret continues performing despite the coronavirus pandemic. With Jason Bateman, Cecily Strong and Bowen Yang. Also features Beck Bennett as a bartender. | |
| The Christmas Conversation | Three girls (Lauren Holt, Ego Nwodim, and Chloe Fineman) call their moms (Heidi Garner, Punkie Johnson, and Kate McKinnon) to tell their parents (Heidi Gardner, Punkie Johnson, Kenan Thompson, Kate McKinnon and Jason Bateman) they aren’t coming home for Christmas. | |
| Morgan Wallen Party | Morgan Wallen gets an important warning from his future selves (Jason Bateman and Bowen Yang). With Pete Davidson, Beck Bennett, and Andrew Dismukes (both Beck and Dismukes appear at the beginning of the sketch. It's also Andrew's only appearance in this episode). | |
| Morgan Wallen performs "7 Summers" | ||
| Weekend Update with Colin Jost and Michael Che | Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like the CDC's COVID-19 vaccine distribution announcement and Melania Trump unveiling the White House Christmas decorations. With guests, Pete Davidson stops by to discuss Staten Island's protests against indoor dining restrictions and Bailey Gismert (Heidi Gardner) arrives to discuss what movies she's been watching since movie theaters closed, like Forrest Gump and American Beauty. | |
| Santa's Village | A couple (Mikey Day and Melissa Villaseñor) tries to meet the mall Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus (Jason Bateman, Cecily Strong) despite social distancing rules. With Kyle Mooney. | |
| Morgan Wallen performs "Still Goin' Down" | ||
| Bits | A man (Kyle Mooney) struggles to come up with funny jokes around his friends (Beck Bennett, Pete Davidson, Mikey Day, Chris Redd). | |
| In Memoriam | The January 16, 2021 repeat of this episode featured a clip of former band member Howard Johnson, who had died earlier in the week, performing with his band Gravity in 1978. | |
| Goodbyes and Closing Credits | Jason Bateman thanked Morgan Wallen, Lorne, the cast and crew for having him back, his wife Amanda and his children Francesca and Maple which he loves them and wishes everybody "Happy Holidays". |
Trivia[]
- Jason Bateman become the 10th person in SNL history whose 2nd appearance as host occurred 15+ years after their 1st appearance.
- Dave Chappelle, Jason Bateman and Maya Rudolph all become second-time SNL hosts this season.
- Lauren Holt also said her 1st "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night" for the 1st time at the end of the cold open.
- The January 16, 2021 repeat of this episode featured a clip of former band member Howard Johnson, who had died earlier in the week, performing with his band Gravity in 1978.
Notes[]
- Although credited, Aidy Bryant did not appear in this episode.
References[]
| Preceded by: November 7, 2020 |
Saturday Night Live episode | Followed by: December 12, 2020 |