November 18, 2023

November 18, 2023 Season 49 episode


Episode	953
Season Episode	5
Host	Jason Momoa
Musical Guest(s)	Tate McRae
Song(s) performed by Musical Guest(s)	"Greedy" "Grave"

Previous Episode
November 11, 2023

Next Episode
December 2, 2023

The 953rd episode and 5th episode of Saturday Night Live's 49th season premiered on November 18, 2023, hosted by actor Jason Momoa, star of the DC Extended Universe superhero films Justice League, Aquaman and the sequel Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, the Discovery Channel's hit historical drama series Frontier, and the Apple TV+ hit science fiction series See and the host of HBO Max's eight-part cinematic docu-series On the Roam, as well as the hit films Road to Paloma, Sugar Mountain, Once Upon a Time in Venice, The Bad Batch, Braven, Sweet Girl, Dune, Slumberland, Fast X, In the Hand of Dante and A Minecraft Movie and the hit animated films The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part and Animal Friends. Canadian singer-songwriter, and dancer Tate McRae was the musical guest. Momoa previously hosted SNL on the December 8, 2018 episode, the eighth and Holiday-themed episode of SNL's 44th season, with musical guests Mumford & Sons. This is Jason Momoa's 2nd hosting stint, as well as his 4th appearance. This is also the musical guest debut that Tate McRae made on SNL.

The goodnight speech for Jason Momoa is "My Thanks to Tate McRae (Cheers and applause), All to the Cast, Happy Birthday to Lorne Michaels. Thank you for having me, Lorne, All the Love to My Mother who introduced me to SNL, Thank you my mother, (Cheers and applause again), and Everyone back in Norwalk, Iowa who Watched this with me, you raised me on this, I was raised in the Midwest and I'm so proud of this show, I'm coming back, baby, I love you guys". (He jumps and he does a group hug with a bunch of the cast, and they start jumping up and down). (Cheers and applause once again)

Cast[]

Repertory Players[]

Featured Players[]

Sketches and Musical Performances[]

Cold Open Sketch Videotaped Weekend Update Music Performance Other

Title	Image	Summary
Biden Panda Cold Opening		President Joe Biden (Mikey Day) and a panda bear named Tian Tian (Bowen Yang) take questions from reporters (Andrew Dismukes, James Austin Johnson, Punkie Johnson, Ego Nwodim, Marcello Hernandez, Molly Kearney, and Michael Longfellow).
Opening Montage		Another "Behind the Scenes" set footage change from the Cold Opening to the Monologue for the 49th season of Saturday Night Live, presented by T-Mobile.
Monologue by Jason Momoa		Returning to host SNL for the second time and making his fourth appearance, actor Jason Momoa talked about living out his marine biologist dream by playing Aquaman and his goal to keep Earth's oceans clean.
Old-Timey Movies		Two film critics (Heidi Gardner, Bowen Yang) try to watch B&W film featuring an actor (Michael Longfellow), but two guys (Mikey Day, Jason Momoa) keep interrupting it. Also Features Marcello Hernandez, Chloe Fineman, and Kenan Thompson at various points of the sketch.
Rome Song		Three guys (Jason Momoa, Mikey Day, and Kenan Thompson) rap to their spouses/partners (Ego Nwodim, Punkie Johnson, and Chloe Troast) about how great Rome was.
Nightclub Line		Two bounces (Jason Momoa, Marcello Hernandez) judge people's (Chloe Fineman, Sarah Sherman, and Michael Longfellow) appearances as they enter a club. With Kenan Thompson as the manager.
Next Episode Commercial Bumper		Emma Stone will return to host SNL for the fifth time! Her new show “The Curse” is streaming now on Showtime. Noah Kahan will serve as musical guest for the first time.
Thanksgiving Week Airport Parade		Two TSA agents (Ego Nwodim, Bowen Yang) introduce random travelers as they host the Thanksgiving Week Airport Parade. With host Jason Momoa as Captain Gary Rogers. Also Features Andrew Dismukes and Kenan Thompson as fellow TSA Agents, Chloe Fineman as a woman who has too many service animals, Michael Longfellow as a guy who enjoys getting patted down too much, Molly Kearney as a woman who took her ambien too soon, James Austin Johnson as a gentle father to his out-of-control child, Punkie Johnson as a woman who refuses to check her bag, Marcello Hernandez and other extras as part of gay group, Sarah Sherman as the Crazy Plane Lady, and Devon Walker as the guy who records her.
Please Don't Destroy Film: Ramen Order		Martin and Ben attempt to order ramen food as John finds out his girlfriend is breaking up with him.
Tate McRae performed "Greedy"		The track currently sits at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. During the performance, McRae showed off some killer dance moves on sports bleachers while leading a squad of fellow dancers.
Weekend Update with Colin Jost and Michael Che		Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news like Biden's meeting with the Chinese president, and how Biden's support of Israel could cost him the presidency. With guests, George Santos (Bowen Yang) stops by Weekend Update to talking about his recent controversies and NBA star, Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (Devon Walker) comes on and talk to Michael about choking Minnesota Timberwolves player Rudy Gobert, and back-up SNL musical guests Remember Lizards (Andrew Dismukes, James Austin Johnson) stops by Weekend Update to discuss to Colin about being a backup musical guest.
Cast Away		A man (Jason Momoa) finds his ex (Chloe Fineman) after much time away, after a shipwreck, much to the dismay of Fineman's character's husband (Andrew Dismukes).
Tate McRae performed "Grave"		For her second song, following an introduction from second-time host Momoa, McRae slowed things down with the debut of new ballad Grave,” which was teased at the end of her music video for “Exes.” Wearing a see-through black dress, the Canadian-born artist delivered the emotional track amid a moody setting with fog and a dark backdrop.
Tennis		A woman (Sarah Sherman) battles against the largest man in Tennis (Jason Momoa) in 1969. Also features various people, played by Heidi Gardner, James Austin Johnson, Ego Nwodim, and Chloe Fineman (who briefly plays feminist icon Gloria Steinem). Andrew Dismukes and Devon Walker appear in the sketch as well as fans.
Taxi Can Driver		Mr. Gustafson (Jason Momoa) has bad health while driving a passenger (Kenan Thompson) in a Taxi. Also features Ego Nwodim's voice as his doctor, Chloe Fineman's voice as the phone, and Mikey Day's voice as the secretary.
Goodbyes and Closing Credits		Jason Momoa thanked Tate McRae, all the cast, Lorne Michaels (and wishes him a "Happy Birthday", as well), and everyone for having him back. He especially thanked his mother for watching and everyone back in Norwalk Iowa who watched this with him, they raised him on, he was raised on the Midwest, he's so proud of this show, he's coming back and loves them all. During the goodnights, Colin Jost holds up a sign saying "We Love You, Dana and Paula". The message is to longtime former cast member Dana Carvey and his wife, who lost their 32-year-old son, Dex to an accidental overdose.

Trivia[]

Only 13 rookie hosts have come back to host Saturday Night Live since Season 40 including tonight's host, Jason Momoa.
Jason Momoa also becomes a second-time SNL host in this season.
With the return of Jason Momoa, there are 12 of 21 SNL hosts from Season 44 that have hosted more than once.
With Jason Momoa's monologue, this is also the shortest monologue in SNL history.
Timothée Chalamet and Jason Momoa became second-time SNL hosts in this month.
Tate McRae becomes one of the youngest solo musical guests in SNL history.
During the goodnights, Colin Jost holds up a sign reading "We Love you, Dana and Paula", referring to the death of longtime former cast member Dana Carvey's son Dex earlier in the week.

Preceded by: November 11, 2023	Saturday Night Live episode	Followed by: December 2, 2023