May 9, 2015

May 9, 2015 Season 40 episode


Episode	786
Season Episode	20
Host	Reese Witherspoon
Musical Guest(s)	Florence and the Machine
Song(s) performed by Musical Guest(s)	"Ship to Wreck" "What Kind of Man"

Previous Episode
May 2, 2015

Next Episode
May 16, 2015

The 20th episode of Season 40 and the 786th episode of Saturday Night Live premiered on May 9, 2015, and it was hosted by the actress Reese Witherspoon, star of the hit films The Man in the Moon, Cruel Intentions, Election, Walk the Line, Legally Blonde, and its 2003 sequel Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde, Water for Elephants, Devil's Knot, Wild, Hot Pursuit and Disney's science fiction adventure film A Wrinkle in Time, and the Apple TV+ drama series The Morning Show, with English indie rock band Florence and the Machine as the musical guests. This is Reese Witherspoon's 2nd hosting stint and her first appearance in 13 years, 7 months, and 10 days. She last hosted SNL on September 29, 2001, the Season 27 premiere, with musical guest Alicia Keys, following the 9/11 attacks: which coincidentally, was the first episode for longtime former cast members and Weekend Update anchors Seth Meyers and Amy Poehler. This is also Florence and the Machine's 3rd musical guest appearance on SNL.

Reese Witherspoon’s goodnights speech is "Thanks to Florence and the Machine and All of Our Moms, We Love You". (Cheers and applause)

Cast[]

Main Players[]

Featured Players[]

Cameos by the casts' mothers (minus Taran Killam, Colin Jost, Michael Che and Leslie Jones), Penny Strong (the mother of Cecily Strong), Ramona Farrow (the mother of Jay Pharoah), Laura Campell (the mother of Kate), Ivory Steward (Sasheer's mother), Sarah Bennett (the mother of Beck Bennett), Carolyn Bayer (the mother of Vanessa Bayer), Elizabeth Thompson (the mother of Kenan Thomspon), Amy Davidson (Pete's mother), Georganne Bryant (the mother of Aidy Bryant), Linda Mooney (the mother of Kyle Mooney), and Julie Moynihan (the mother of Bobby Moynihan) and Betty Witherspoon (Reese's mother).

Sketches and Musical Performances[]

Cold Open Sketch Pre-recorded Weekend Update Music Performance Other

Title	Image	Summary
The Southern Republican Leadership Conference! Cold Open		With Beck Bennett as Mike Huckabee, Taran Killam as Marco Rubio, Kate McKinnon as Carly Fiorina, Kyle Mooney as Rand Paul, Bobby Moynihan as Ted Cruz, Cecily Strong as the DJ and Kenan Thompson as Ben Carson.
Opening montage
Reese Witherspoon's Mother's Day Apologies Monologue		Actress Reese Witherspoon and cast members Cecily Strong, Jay Pharoah, Kate McKinnon, Sasheer Zamata, Beck Bennett, Vanessa Bayer, Kenan Thompson, Pete Davidson, Aidy Bryant, Kyle Mooney and Bobby Moynihan apologize to their moms, as she returned to SNL to making her second hosting stint and her first appearance in 13 years, 7 months and 10 days.
Be Scene in L.A.		Whenever talk show hosts Lisa Ferar (Cecily Strong) and Jackie Fong (Reese Witherspoon) step offscreen to make a call, they forget to turn their mics off.
Picture Perfect		Game show contestants Daniel Hoffman (Bobby Moynihan) and his celebrity teammate Reginald VelJohnson (Kenan Thompson)), must draw the prophet Muhammad if they want to win $1 million. Also features Reese Witherspoon plays Daniel's wife Tara Hoffman, Vanessa Bayer and Beck Bennett as Michelle and Michael Fulton and Cecily Strong as Rosie Perez and Taran Killam plays the host.
Mr. Westerberg		When a group of co-workers (Reese Witherspoon, Pete Davidson, Kenan Thompson, Vanessa Bayer, Beck Bennett) takes turns mimicking the boss (Bobby Moynihan), one unintentionally reveals some disturbing comments Mr. Westerberg has made.
Florence and the Machine performed "Ship to Wreck"
Weekend Update with Colin Jost and Michael Che		Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, including Hillary Clinton's poll numbers dropping and Tiger Woods and Lindsey Vonn breaking up and astronomers discovering the most distant galaxy ever measured. Also features Leslie Jones stops by to read her love letters, Two Girls You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation with at a Party (Cecily Strong and Reese Witherspoon) and Che's neighbor Willie (Kenan Thompson) drop by.
High School Theater Showcase		Six high school students (Kyle Mooney, Taran Killam, Reese Witherspoon, Aidy Bryant, Kate McKinnon, Beck Bennett) stage an avant-garde production dedicated to John Lennon and Shonda Rhimes. Also features Bobby Moynihan and Leslie Jones plays the parents and Cecily Strong plays the teacher.
Southern Ladies		Carolynn (Aidy Bryant), Marilyn (Kate McKinnon), Terrilynn (Leslie Jones), Jerrilyn (Reese Witherspoon) and Nan (Cecily Strong) open up about what's got them down over drinks.
Water Slide		Two water park attendants (Beck Bennett, Kyle Mooney) cause accidents when they stop doing their jobs to flirt with a lifeguard (Reese Witherspoon). Also features Bobby Moynihan, Cecily Strong, Kenan Thompson and Sasheer Zamata.
Florence and the Machine performed "What Kind of Man"
Whiskers R' We		Barbara DeDrew (Kate McKinnon) and Purr-sula (Reese Witherspoon) showcase several cats up for adoption, including Cat Middleton, Mufasa and Magellan, a cat whose greatest discovery is his own buttonhole. Vanessa Bayer as the announcer.
Goodnights and Closing Credits		Reese Witherspoon thanked Florence and The Machine and all their moms, they love them.

Trivia[]

On all versions, the audience applause from the studio is used. After the audience cheers, Lorne Michaels’ credit scrolls up. On all versions, a second after Lenny Pickett plays his other note, the camera scrolls up to the shot where the camera scrolls up to the clock. On all versions, after Evs, the I love ny, copyright notice and logos appear. On those versions, the clock is cut. On the new episode version, when Mary Ellen Matthews’s credit scrolls up, it goes to the promos and commercials for NBC.
On All Versions, (Except the new episode version) the cold open is absent.

Gallery[]

Credits[]

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: LORNE MICHAELS

PRODUCED BY: STEVE HIGGINS, ERIK KENWARD

DIRECTED BY: DON ROY KING

HEAD WRITERS: COLIN JOST, ROB KLEIN, BRYAN TUCKER

PRODUCERS: LINDSAY SHOOKUS, ERIN DOYLE

WRITTEN BY: JAMES ANDERSON, JEREMY BEILER, MEGAN CALLAHAN, MICHAEL CHE, MIKEY DAY, STEVE HIGGINS, ZACH KANIN, ERIK KENWARD, DAVE MCCARY, DENNIS MCNICHOLAS, LORNE MICHAELS, CLAIRE MULANEY, MIKE O’BRIEN, JOSH PATTEN, ALISON & KATIE RICH, TIM ROBINSON, NATASHA ROTHWELL, NICK RUTHERFORD, STREETER SEIDEL, JOHN SOLOMON

WRITING SUPERVISED BY: CHRIS KELLY, SARAH SCHNEIDER, KENT SUBLETTE

SUPERVISING PRODUCER: KEN AYMONG

FILM PRODUCER: RHYS THOMAS

WEEKEND UPDATE SUPERVISING PRODUCER: DENNIS MCNICHOLAS

WEEKEND UPDATE PRODUCER: PETE SCHULTZ

PRODUCTION DESIGNERS: EUGENE LEE, AKIRA YOSHIMURA, KEITH IAN RAYWOOD, JOSEPH DETULLIO

LIGHTINING DESIGNER: PHIL HYMES

MUSICAL DIRECTORS: LENNY PICKETT, LEON PENDARVIS

SKETCH MUSIC ADAPTATIONS: HAL WILLNER

COSTUME DESIGNERS: TOM BROECKER, ERIC JUSTIAN

COORDINATING PRODUCER: STACY FOSTER

CO-PRODUCERS: BRIAN SIEDLECKI, NICHOLAS MALLARDI, DINA MOLES, ADAM NICELY

PHOTOGRAPHER: MARY ELLEN MATTHEWS

MR WESTERNBERG DIRECTED BY DAVE MCCARTHY

ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS: JANINE DEVITO, JOHN MACDONALD, MELANIE MALONE, GREG SCARNICI

SCRIPT COORDINATORS: CLAIRE SHIREY, LESLIE SIMS, ABBEY LIEBER, RACHEL LABIANCA, MICHELLE HARPER, CHRISTINE ABULU

WEEKEND UPDATE CO-PRODUCER: SCOT WEINSTEIN

TECHINCAL DIRECTOR: STEVEN CIMINO

TALENT EXECUTIVES: KERI POWERS, REBECCA SCHWARTZ

TALENT COORDINATIVE: JEFF BLAKE

ASSISTANT: LAURIE BERDAN

LIGHTNING DIRECTORS: GEOFF AMORAL, RICK MCGUINNESS

ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS: MICHAEL MANCINI, MICHAEL POOLE, BOB CAMINTI

STAGE MANAGERS: GENA ROSITANO, CHRIS KELLY

AUDIO: ROBERT PALLADINO, CHRIS MCKEVITT, CHRISTOPHER COSTELLO, PATRICIA REILLY

MUSIC MIX BY: JOSIAH GLUCK

MUSIC EDITOR: MARTY BRUMBATCH

AUDIO POST PRODUCER: DEVIN EMKE

SOUND EFFECTS: WILLIAM TAYLOR

VIDEO: FRANK GRISNANTI, SUSAN NOLL

TECHNICAL MANAGER: STEVE DAURIO

TECHNICAL SUPPORT: MIKE SCOLLINS

STUDIO MANAGERS: JIM BENJAMIN, RICK JULIANO

CAMERAS: JOHN PINTO, PAUL CANGIALOSI, LEN WECHSLER, CARL ECKETT, ERIC EINSTEIN

THE LIVE BAND

LEON PENDARVIS

GRAPHICS SUPERVISOR: BETH BENSON

GRAPHICS COORDINATOR: SARA COURTNEY

WRITERS RESEARCH: NICK POYNER

CHOREOGRAPHER: DANIELLE FLORA

PRODUCTION ACCOUNT: CHRIS WILLIAMS

GRAPHICS: TARA DONNELLY, ROBERT SAMARTINO, DOUG ZIDER, BILL AFFATIGATO, EDMOND HAWKINS, ELLEN PAIK

ELECTRONICS: CAROL COLLINS, PETER CAESAR

TALENTS: CHLOE GORDON, THEO SPIELBERG, ANNA WEINSTEN

ASSISTANTS: CAROLINE MARONEY, LUCIEN GOLLNER, BLAKE ROSENBERG, LAURA VALK, GRACE SHAKER

ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHER: DANA ENDELSON

OPENING TITLES PRODUCED AND DIRECTED BY RHYS THOMAS

DESIGNED BY PENTAGRAM, NY

FILM LINK PRODUCER: JUSTS MCLARTY

FILM PRODUCTION: CHRIS VOSS, JAKE PLUNKETT, MELANIE BOGAN, ARIANA FEDES, LOUIS LEUCI, EMILY GENENDER

POST PRODUCTION: MATT YONKS

EDITORS: YANNI FEDER, JASON WATKINS, TONY DOLEZAL

PRODUCTION COORDINATOR: NICK POYNER

ART DESIGN: WELLS THORNE

EVS: HOWARD HIRSCH, ED HINCH

PRODUCTION STAFF: SONIA ATANACIO, LINDSEY CHARLES, JOSH PATTEN, KATIE RICH, TIM ROBINSON, SARAH SCHNEIDER, PETE SCHULTZ, KENT SUBLETTE

ANNOUNCER: DARRELL HAMMOND

Preceded by: May 2, 2015	Saturday Night Live episode	Followed by: May 16, 2015