September 27, 2014 Season 40 episode
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| Episode | 767 |
| Season Episode | 1 |
| Host | Chris Pratt |
| Musical Guest(s) | Ariana Grande |
| Song(s) performed by Musical Guest(s) |
"Break Free" "Love Me Harder" (with The Weeknd) |
| Previous Episode May 17, 2014 (Season 39) |
Next Episode October 4, 2014 |
The 767th episode and the season premiere of Season 40 of Saturday Night Live premiered on September 27, 2014, hosted by actor Chris Pratt, star of the NBC's hit political satire mockumentary sitcom Parks and Recreation, as well as the Marvel Studios hit films Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Gurdians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and the Jurassic World trilogy, and the animated films The Lego Movie and the sequel The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, Disney's Onward, and The Super Mario Bros. Movie, with musical guest Ariana Grande, a singer-songwriter, who performs "Break Free" and "Love Me Harder" with The Weeknd. Ariana Grande made her musical guest debut, and this is also the first time as host on SNL for Chris Pratt.
This marked the first episode with Michael Che as both a cast member and a Weekend Update co-anchor and Pete Davidson as a cast member.
This is also marked the first episode with longtime former cast member Darrell Hammond as the show's new announcer.
Chris Pratt's goodnight speech is:
"Thank You!... to Ariana Grande. The Weeknd. My Lovely, Darling Wife Anna. The Cast, the Crew, My Family Watching. To Everybody. Thank You, Thank you!". (Cheers and applause)
Cast[]
Repertory Players[]
- Vanessa Bayer
- Aidy Bryant
- Taran Killam
- Kate McKinnon
- Bobby Moynihan
- Jay Pharoah
- Cecily Strong
- Kenan Thompson
Featured Players[]
- Beck Bennett
- Michael Che (First Appearance)
- Pete Davidson (First Appearance)
- Colin Jost
- Kyle Mooney
- Sasheer Zamata
Writer and future cast member Leslie Jones makes her two uncredited appearances. Cameo Appearance by Pratt's then-wife Anna Faris.
Musical guest cameo appearance by The Weeknd.
Sketches and Musical Performances[]
Cold Open Sketch Pre-recorded Weekend Update Music Performance Other
| Title | Image | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| State of the Union with Candy Crowley Cold Opening | 
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CNN's Candy Crowley (Aidy Bryant) hosts former NFL players Ray Lewis (Kenan Thompson) and Shannon Sharpe (Jay Pharoah) to talk about Roger Goodell (Chris Pratt) and players running afoul of the law. |
| Opening Montage |   
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Changed the new opening montage in honor of the show's 40th anniversary. Shows the cast engaging in various locations in New York City. Additionally, longtime cast member Nasim Pedrad, and first-year featured players John Milhiser, Mike O'Brien, Noël Wells, and Brooks Wheelan are gone from the intro since 5 of them left the show before the start of the season. First credits for Michael Che as both a cast member and Weekend Update co-anchor and Pete Davidson as a cast member. Lastly, this is also the first episode for SNL alum Darrell Hammond as the show's new announcer. Only for the season premiere, a shot of the GE building. |
| Monologue by Chris Pratt | 
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Hosting for the first time, longtime SNL fan and actor Chris Pratt sings an original song for the audience about himself, with a cameo by his then-wife Anna Faris. |
| Cialis Turnt | 
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Cialis Turnt is the only pill that combats erectile dysfunction while giving the user that unbeatable hip hop sensation of getting "turnt," because there's a lot of ecstasy in it. With Cecily Strong, Taran Killam, Aidy Bryant, and Beck Bennett. |
| Birthday Wish: Action Figures He-Man and Lion-O | 
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A child (Kyle Mooney) wishes his toys He-Man, Lion-O, and She-Ra (Chris Pratt, Taran Killam, and Ariana Grande) to life. With Aidy Bryant (his mother) and Cecily Strong (his sister). |
| Animal Hospital | 
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Return of a sketch from the November 23, 2013 episode of the previous season. Veterinarians (Chris Pratt, Kate McKinnon, and Cecily Strong) kill off animals belonging to customers (Vanessa Bayer, Bobby Moynihan, and Kyle Mooney). |
| Marvel Can’t Fail | 
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New line of Marvel films are made with no original thought and guaranteed to attract audiences everywhere. Long-time production designer Akira Yoshimura appears as one of the bus passengers. |
| Ariana Grande performs "Break Free" | 
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She began the song sitting on a piano and sang a slow, beautiful ballad version of "Break Free". She then moved to another part of the stage and finished the number with dancing and a backup crew. |
| Weekend Update with Colin Jost and Michael Che. | 
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Features the return of "The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started A Conversation With At A Party" and commentaries by Leslie Jones and Pete Davidson (in his first Weekend Update appearance on the show). Colin Jost and Michael Che advise President Barack Obama to cheer up by delivering sensible advice, as Kenan Thompson sings the song. First appearances of Michael Che as both a cast member and Weekend Update co-anchor and Pete Davidson as a cast member. |
| In Memoriam | 
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After Weekend Update, an image of Don Pardo – SNL's nearly four-decade-long announcer, who died six weeks earlier – is shown in silence. |
| Legends Booty Rap | 
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Aidy Bryant and Chris Pratt are bar patrons who turn to hip-hop to flirt. Also stars Vanessa Bayer, Sasheer Zamata, Cecily Strong, Bobby Moynihan, Beck Bennett, and Kyle Mooney. |
| Roommate Sitcom: Bad Boys | 
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Beck Bennett, Kyle Mooney, and Chris Pratt are playing roommates in a bad sitcom. In a spoof of 90s sitcoms, (Chris Pratt) falls in with a group of young bad boys, nearly alienating himself from his roommates (Beck Bennett, Kyle Mooney). But the question is what kind of shoes are those, Chris? |
| NFL on CBS Truth in Advertising | 
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NFL players are introduced with their crimes, rather than universities. Features the entire male cast of SNL (Pete Davidson, Kyle Mooney, Bobby Moynihan, Jay Pharoah, and Kenan Thompson) as football players, including the first non-Update appearances of Colin Jost and Michael Che. Also features Leslie Jones. |
| Ariana Grande performs "Love Me Harder" with The Weeknd | 
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| Video Game Testers | 
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A game developer (Taran Killam) asks three teens (Bobby Moynihan, Sasheer Zamata, and Pete Davidson) to review a game. They are horrified by the gratuitous making-out of the game's characters (Vanessa Bayer, Chris Pratt, and Kenan Thompson). |
| Goodnights and Closing Credits | 
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Chris Pratt thanked Ariana Grande, The Weeknd, his lovely, darling then-wife Anna Faris, the cast and crew, and he especially thanked to his family for watching and everybody for coming. |
Trivia[]
- After Weekend Update, an image of Don Pardo - SNL's nearly four decades longtime announcer, who died six weeks earlier on August 18, 2014 - is shown in silence.
- This also marked the first episode for Alison Rich, Nick Rutherford, Natasha Rothwell, Streeter Seidell and Jermey Beiler as writers on SNL.
- Starting with this episode, writers Chris Kelly, Sarah Schneider (both of whom were hired in 2011), and Kent Sublette (who has been writing for the show since 2007) were named as the show's writing supervisors.
- Before joining the cast, Michael Che was a writer for the previous season.
Trivia/Notes[]
- This marked the return of The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started A Conversation With At A Party, as well as her 6th appearance.
- This is the 2nd and last appearance of the Animal Hospital (Vet Office) sketch.
- (September 27, 2014) SNL returned this week with the all-rookie lineup of Chris Pratt and Ariana Grande, making their respective Host and Musical Guest debuts.
| Preceded by: May 17, 2014 (Season 39) |
Saturday Night Live episode | Followed by: October 4, 2014 |